中科院真题阅读理解 2000 20001.doc

Passage OneGordon Shaw the physicist, 66, and colleagues have discovered whats known as the “Mozart effect”, the ability of a Mozart sonata, under the right circumstances, to improve the listeners mathematical and reasoning abilities. But the findings are controversial and have launched all kinds of crank notions about using music to make kids smarter. The hype, he warns, has gotten out of hand.But first, the essence: Is there something about the brain cells work to explain the effect? In 1978 the neuroscientist Vernon Mountcastle devised a model of the neural structure of the brains gray matter. Looking like a thick band of colorful bead work, it represents the firing patterns of groups of neurons. Building on Mountcastle, Shaw and his team constructed a model of their own. On a lark, Xiaodan Leng, who was Shaws colleague at the time, used a synthesizer to translate these patterns into music. What came out of the speakers wasnt exactly toe-tapping, but it was music. Shaw and Leng inferred that music and brain-wave activity are built on the same sort of patterns.“Gordon is a contrarian in his thinking”, says his longtime friend, Nobel Prize-winning Stanford physicist Martin Perl. “Thats important. In new areas of science, such as brain research, nobody knows how to do it.”What do neuroscientists and psychologists think of Shaws findings? They havent condemned it, but neither have they confirmed it. Maybe you have to take them with a grain of salt, but the experiments by Shaw and his colleagues are intriguing. In March a team led by Shaw announced that young children who had listened to the Mozart sonata and studied the piano over a period of months improved their scores by 27% on a test of ratios and proportions. The control group against which they were measured received compatible enrichment courses-minus the music. The Mozart-trained kids are now doing math three grade levels ahead of their peers, Shaw claims.Proof of all this, of course, is necessarily elusive because it can be difficult to do a double-blind experiment of educational techniques. In a double-blind trial of an arthritis drug, neither the study subjects nor the experts evaluating them know which ones got the test treatment and which a dummy pill. How do you keep the participants from knowing its Mozart on the CD?61. In the first paragraph Gordon Shaws concern is shown overA. the open hostility by the media towards his findings.B. his strength to keep trying out the “Mozart effect”.C. a widespread misunderstanding of his findings.D. the sharp disagreement about his discovery.62. Shaw and Lengs experiment on the model of their own seems to be based on the hypothesis thatA. listening to Mozart could change the brains hardware.B. brain-waves could be invariably translated into music.C. listening to music could stimulate brain development.D. Toe-tapping could be very close to something musical.63. The remarks made by Martin Perl in Paragraph 3 about Gordon Shaw could be taken as Aa compliment B. an outspoken criticism C. an expression of jealousy D. something a little sarcastic64. in the sentence “maybe you have to take them”(Para. 4) the word “them” best refer to A. neuroscientists and psychologists. B. B. Shaw and his colleagues.C. the experiments by Shaw and his teamD. Shaws findings.65. the most important condition for the Mozart-trained kids to outsmart the control group is A. being particularly trained to tackle math problems B. listening to a specific Mozart and playing the piano C. having extra courses designed exclusively for them D. studying the piano for its breathtaking complexity66. According to the author, proof of what Shaw claims is difficult becauseA. the control group will also enjoy the same kind of Mozart.B. some educational techniques need re-evaluation.C. the double-blind experiment is not reliable and thus rejected by Shaw.D. participants cannot be kept from knowing what is used in the test.Passage Two Sometimes opponents of capital punishment horrify with tales of lingering death on the gallows, of faulty electric chairs, or of agony in the gas chamber. Partly in response to such protests, several states such as North Carolina and Texas switched to execution by lethal injection. The condemned person is put to death painlessly, without ropes, voltage, bullets, or gas. Did this answer the objections of death penalty opponents? Of course not. On June 22, 1984, The New York Times published an editorial that sarcastically attacked the new “hygienic” method of death by injection, and stated that “execution can never be made humane through science”. So its not the method that really troubles opponents. Its the death itself they consider barbaric.Admittedly, capital punishment is not a pleasant topic. However, one does not have to like the death penalty in order to support it any more than one must like radical surgery, radiation, or chemotherapy in order to find necessary these attempts at curing cancer. Ultimately we may learn how to cure cancer with a simple pill. Unfortunately, that day has not yet arrived. Today we are faced with the choice of letting the cancer spread or trying to cure it with the methods available, method that one day will almost certainly and would certainly delay the discovery of an eventual cure. We may not like the death penalty, but it must be available to punish crimes of cold-blooded murder, cases in which any other form of punishment would be inadequate and, therefore, unjust. If we create a society in which injustice is not tolerated, incidents of murder-the most flagrant form of justice-will diminish.67. How did Texas respond to the protests mentiond in Paragraph 1?A. No one was ever executed there later on.B. The criminal there was put to death in the gas chamber instead.C. Life of the condemned person there was terminated with a shot of drug.D. The murderer there was punished with life imprisonment instead.68. What is the main idea of Paragraph?A. The objections of death penalty have become less severe.B. The death itself is considered inhumane and unacceptable.C. Death penalty opponents only care about how one is put to death.D. The “hygienic” was of execution is even more barbaric.69. It can be safely inferred that the authorA. supports capital punishment.B. Is trying to learn how to cure cancer.C. Fears that someone might be punished by mistake.D. Likes radical surgery, radiation and chemotherapy.70. The authors analogy between cancer and murder is made in order to showA. the lack of perfect solution to the present problems.B. the new discovery of modern science.C. the necessity of doing nothing till an ultimate cure is available.D. the availability of adequate punishment.71. Which of the following stands for the authors attitude?A. Letting the injustice spread if we dont want to be barbarous.B. Minimizing incidents of murder by means of death penalty.C. Being tolerant of peoples choice of not having any medical treatment.D. Looking for a better form of punishment than death penalty.72. What type of writing is mostly adopted in this passage?A. Narration.B. Classification.C. Exemplification.D. Persuasion.Passage ThreeShyness is a nearly universal human trait. Almost everyone has bouts of it, and half of those surveyed describe themselves as shy. Perhaps because its so widespread, and because it suggests vulnerability, shyness is often an endearing trait: Princess Diana, for example, won millions of admirers with her “Shy Di” manner. The human species might not even exist if not for an instinctive wariness of other creatures. In fact, the ability to sense a threat and a desire to flee are lodged in the most primitive regions of the brain.But at some life juncture, roughly 1 out of every 8 people becomes so timid that encounters with others turn into a source of overwhelming dread. The heart races, palms sweat, mouth grows dry, words vanish, thoughts become cluttered, and an urge to escape takes over. This is the face of social phobia (also known as “social anxiety disorder”), the third most common mental disorder in the United States, behind depression and alcoholism. Some social phobics can hardly utter a sentence without obsession over the impression they are making. Others refuse to use public restrooms or talk on the telephone. Sometimes they go mute in front of the boss or a member of the opposite sex. At the extreme, they built a hermitic life, avoiding contact with others.Though social anxietys symptoms have been noted since the time of Hippocrates, the disorder was a nameless affliction until the late 1960s and didnt make it way into psychiatry manuals until 1980. As it became better known, patients previously thought to suffer panic disorder were recognized as being anxious only in social settings. A decade ago, 40 percent of people said they were shy, but in todays “nation of strangers” in which computers and ATMs make face-to-face relations less and less common that often favored by those who fear human interaction, greases the slope from shyness to social anxiety. If people were slightly shy to begin with, they can now interact less and less, and that will make the shyness much worse.73. According to Paragraph One, shyness isA. against human nature. B. completely an endearing trait.C. so widespread that a problem may arise. D. essential to the survival of the human species.74. The author suggests that our ability to sense a threat and desire to fleeA. are connected with types of shyness.B. make us more timid and less successfulC. distinguish humans from other creatures.D. are the results of the influence of our environment.75. Which is NOT mentioned as a sign of social anxiety disorder?A. Speechless in front of ones supervisor.B. Unwilling to go to the public toilets.C. Getting drunk in social settings.D. The heart pumping fast.76. The term “social anxiety disorder” was coined A. at the time of ancient meditation.B. in the 1960s. C. in 1980.D. a decade ago.77. It is shown that the most common mental disorder in the U.S. is A. depression. B. alcoholism. C. social phobia. D. panic disorder.78. What is the cited attitude of some psychologists towards the Internet culture?A. It is the main cause of social phobia.B. It is destructive and thus should be kept away from the youth.C. It encourages peple who are rather inhibited to communicate more freely.D. It helps accelerate the degradation from shyness to social phobia.Passage FourBenjamin Day was only 22 years old when he developed the idea of a newspaper for the masses and launched his New York Sun in 1833, which would profoundly alter journalism by his new approach. Yet, several conditions had to exist before a mass press could come into existence. It was impossible to launch a mass-appeal newspaper without invention of a printing press able to produce extremely cheap newspaper affordable almost to everyone. The second element that led to the growth of the mass newspaper was the increased level of literacy in the population. The then increased emphasis on education led to a concurrent growth of literacy as many people in the middle and lower economic groups acquired reading skills. The trend toward “democratization” of business and politics fostered the creation of a mass audience responsive to a mass press.Having seen others fail in their attempts to market a mass-appeal newspaper, he forged ahead with his New York Sun, which would be a daily and sell for a penny, as compared to the other dailies that went for six cents a copy. Local happenings, sex, violence, features, and human-interest stories would constitute his content. Conspicuously absent were the dull political debates t hat still characterized many of the six-cent papers. Within six months the Sun achieved a circulation approximately 8,000 issues, far ahead of its nearest competitor. Days gamble had paid off, and the penny press was launched.James Gordon Bennett, perhaps the most significant and certainly the most colorful of the individuals imitating Days paper, launched his New York Herald in 1835, even more of a rapid success than the Sun. Part of Bennetts success can be attributed to his skillful reporting of crime news, the institution of a financial page, sports reporting, and an aggressive editorial policy. He looked upon himself a reformer, and wrote in one of his editorials: “I go for a general reformation of morals. I mean to begin a new movement in the progress of civilization.”Horace Greeley was another important pioneer of the era. He launched his New York Tribune in 1841 and would rank third behind the Sun and Herald in daily circulation, but his weekly edition was circulated nationally and proved to be a great success. Greeleys Tribune was not as sensational as its competitors. He used his editorial page for crusades and causes. He opposed capital punishment, alcohol, gambling and tobacco. Greeley also favored womens rights. Greeley never talked down to the mass audience and attracted his readers by appealing to their intellect more than to their emotions.The last of the major newspapers of the penny-press era began in 1851. The New York Times, edited by Henry Raymond, promised to be less sensational than the Sun or Herald and less impassioned than Greeley. The paper soon established a reputation for objective and reasoned journalism. Raymond stressed the gathering of foreign news and served as foreign correspondent himself in 1859. The Times circulation reached more than 40,000 before the Civil war.79. Which is NOT mentioned as the contributing element in the launch of the mass press?A. The upgraded educational level of the masses.B. The increased wealth of the population as a whole.C. The democratic background and drive of the general publicD. The lowered cost of newspaper production.80. The New York Sun rarely featuredA. business newsB. womens pages.C. lengthy discussion about politics.D. local shipment information.81. Which of the following papers issued a nationally circulated edition?A. The New York Tribune.B. The New York Sun.C. The New York Herald.D. The New York Times.82. Which of the following papers is viewed as the most dispassionate one?A The New York Tribune.B. The New York Sun.C. The New York Herald.D. The New York Times.83. The penny-press approach was pioneered by A. Henry Raymond. B. James Gordon Bennett. C. Benjamin day. D. Joseph Pulitzer84. It can be inferred thatA. the New York Times had the largest daily circulation at that time.B. the papers before the penny-press era only appealed to a small circle of readers.C. the success of the four papers lies in their endeavor to improve peples literacy.D. the papers being sensational was not favored by a majority of American readers.85. The main purpose of the passage is to A. give a brief introduction to the growth of the mass newspaper.B. trace the cause of the failures of the six-cent papers.C. find out which was the most significant newspaper of that time.D. show how a mass-appeal newspaper made a great fortune.Passage FiveInstead of advancing the public discussion of biotechnology, David Shenk succeeds merely in displaying his general ignorance and unfounded fears in his recent article “Biocapitalism”. His claim that “no living creature has ever before been able to upgrade its own operating system” ignores transduction (the act or process of transferring genetic material or characteristics from one bacterial cell to another) and bacterial conjugation (the temporary union of two bacterial cells), which are ways organisms have “upgraded” their own genomes with novel DNA for hundreds of millions of years. A first-year biology major could have told him that. For Shenk to suggest that his daughter may someday use a before-birth genetic test for “quick-wittedness” is extremely dull-witted, ignoring the complexity of polygenetic traits while embracing a shallow genetic determinism. Nurture-utterly absent from his discussion-really does matter.Finally, worrying about the effects on the gene pool of a “culture in which millions choose the same desirable genes” is worse than pointless. The United Nations projects an approximate human population of eight billion by the year 2020. Even if Shenks worst fears are realized, and the wealthy parents of 100 million children can and do select for a polygenetic trait-say, blue eyes-this would represent only a modest shift in the gene pool of 1 in 80, or 1.25 percent, assuming that none of those children would otherwise have been born with blue eyes. But what truly matters for the gene pool in the 1,000-year-long run is the capacity of this trait to grant reproductive success in subsequent generations. Whatever advantage blue eyes currently grant in acquiring a mate presumably derives in part from the traits relative scarcity. Elementary economics shows that if you flood the market with an asset, you diminish the relative value of that asset: more blue eyes will make blue eyes less sexy. Is it really too much to expect familiarity with either biology or economics from an essay entitled “Biocapitalism”?86. The purpose of David Shenks writing is most probably to A. draw the publics attention to “biocapitalism”.B. cover his general ignorance about “biocapitalism”.C. show his approval of the advancement in biotechnology.D. Report his success in biotechnological research.87. According to the author, David Shenks claim about the upgrading of living creatures A. is obviously a fault. B. is comprehensible to college students.C. is identical to his own argumen