專題五科學(xué)技術(shù) 下一個(gè)專題自然環(huán)保

1、專題五：科學(xué)技術(shù) 下一個(gè)專題：自然環(huán)保 Passage 51 Science and our daily life We are now living in a time that science is developing at a great speed. With the development of science many countries have improved not only their economy but also their peoples living conditions. In our daily life we can get a lot of benef

2、it from science. If we look at the things around us well find how closely our daily life is connected with science. For example, at home we can turn on the central heating or air conditioner when we feel cold or hot, and we can watch TV or listen to the tape recorder for entertainment, and we can us

3、e a gas stove to cook our meals, and we have computers to help us with our work when we are working in the office, and we also have cars, buses, even airplanes as traffic tools when we go out. All these things are the results of the development of science. It goes without saying that without science

4、 our society cannot make rapid progress and our life cannot be comfortable and convenient. Since science is so important in our daily life, we should try to make as much contribution as possible to the development of science. As college students, we must first of all study hard, to gain useful scien

5、tific knowledge, and then put what we have learned into practice. We should take advantage of science to serve our society. 1. Which cant show the relation between science and daily life? _ A. We can use computers to help our work B. We can travel by plane. C. We can play basketball in a sport cente

6、r. D. We can enjoy ourselves by watching TV. 2. What should the college students do to take advantage of science except _ A. studying hard B. serving the society with knowledge C. putting what we have learned into practice D. taking physical exercise Passage 52 Gene technology to benefit people Amon

7、g all the fast growing science and technology, the research of human genes, or biological engineering as people call it, is drawing more and more attention now. Sometimes it is a hot topic discussed by people. The greatest thing that gene technology can do is to cure serious diseases that doctors at

8、 present can almost do nothing with, such as cancer and heart disease. Every year, millions of people are murdered by these two killers. And to date, doctors have not found an effective way to cure them. But if the gene technology is applied, not only these two diseases can be cured completely, brin

9、ging happiness and more living days to the patients, but also the great amount of money people spend on curing their diseases can be saved, therefore it benefits the economy as well. In addition, human life span(壽命) can be prolonged. Gene technology can help people to give birth to more healthy and

10、clever children. Some families, with the English imperial family being a good example, have hereditary diseases. This means their children will for sure have the family disease, which is a great trouble for these families. In the past, doctors could do nothing about hereditary diseases. But gene tec

11、hnology can solve this problem perfectly. The scientist just need to find the wrong gene and correct it, and a healthy child will be born. Some people are worrying that the gene research can be used to manufacture human beings in large quantities. In the past few years, scientists have succeeded in

12、cloning a sheep, therefore these people predict that human babies would soon be cloned. But I believe cloned babies will not come out in large quantities, for most couples in the world can have babies in very normal way. Of course, the governments must take care to control gene technology. 1. What d

13、oes “these two killers” in the second paragraph refer to ? A. gene technology and another treatment of the two diseases. B. The two murderers who killed the cloned baby C. The two diseases of cancer and heart disease D. Hereditary diseases and cancer 2.Whats the main idea of the third paragraph? A.

14、How gene technology can be applied in the field of treating hereditary diseases. B. Gene technology can be used to clone human babies. C. Gene technology can help people to give birth of a baby. D. Gene technology can help the English imperial family out 3.In what way gene technology can help to tre

15、at hereditary diseases? A. Using gene technology, people with hereditary diseases can have more living days. B. Using gene technology, scientist finds the wrong gene and corrects it. C. Using gene technology, human babies can be cloned. D. Doctors can cure cancer and heart disease with the help of g

16、ene technology. 4.What is the main purpose of writing this passage? A. Expressing the writers idea that gene technology will benefit people B. Telling people the advantages of gene technology C. Telling the readers that gene technology will not benefit people D. Explaining that gene technology will

17、also do harm to the humanity Passage 53 The genetic and environmental influence on mans intelligence Although a man may be born clever, his intelligence need also to be further developed. To some extent our intelligence is given us at birth, and no amount of special education can make a genius out o

18、f a child born with low intelligence. On the other hand, a child who lives in a boring environment will develop his intelligence less than one who lives in rich and varied surroundings. Thus the limits of a persons intelligence are fixed at birth, but whether or not he reaches those limits will depe

19、nd on his environment. It is easy to show that intelligence is to some extent something we are born with. The closer the blood relationship between two people, the closer they are likely to be in intelligence. Thus if we take two unrelated people at random from the population, it is likely that thei

20、r degrees of intelligence will be completely different. If on the other hand we take two identical twins will very likely be as intelligent as each other. Relations like brothers and sisters, parents and children, usually have similar intelligence, and this clearly suggests that intelligence depends

21、 on birth. Imagine now that we take two identical twins and put them in different environments. We might send one, for example, to a university and the other to a factory where the work is boring. We would soon find differences in intelligence developing and indicates that environment as well as bir

22、th plays a part. This conclusion is also suggested by the fact that people who live in close contact with each other, but who are not related at all, are likely to have similar degrees of intelligence. 1. The example shown in the third paragraph tells us that _ A. the one who was sent to college is

23、more clever than another twin B. we can control peoples intelligence freely C. birth doesnt play a role in developing of intelligence D. environment plays an important role in affecting peoples intelligence 2. Which statement is true? A. Intelligence is something we are born with. B. Intelligence de

24、pends on birth. C. We can make a boy born with low intelligence clever by special education. D. People who have no blood relation cant have the same intelligence. 3. Choose the phrase which has the same meaning with “at random”. A. at will B. on purpose C. freely D. particularly Passage 54 America p

25、lants tougher trees Special trees that grow faster, fight pollution, produce better wood, and even sense chemical attacks are being planted by scientists in the US. When 40 per cent of Hawaiis US$14 million-a-year papaya (木瓜)industry was destroyed by a virus five years ago, work began on creating ge

26、netically engineered (轉(zhuǎn)基因的) trees. Researchers successfully introduced seeds that were designed to resist the virus. Since then, more and more people have been testing genetically engineered trees. Some researchers put special bacteria into trees to help them grow faster and produce better wood. Oth

27、ers are trying to create trees that can clean polluted soil. Meanwhile fruit farmers are looking for trees that are strong enough to resist worms, and paper companies want trees that produce more wood and therefore more paper. The Pentagon (五角大樓，美國(guó)國(guó)防部所在地) even gave the researchers US$500,000 this ye

28、ar after they developed a pine tree that changes its colours if it senses a chemical attack. So far, the poplar, eucalyptus (楊樹與桉樹), apple and coffee trees are among those being engineered. All this is can be done today because we have a better understanding of tree genomes (基因組). However, some peop

29、le fear that the genetically engineered trees will cause dangerous results. They are worried that the new trees will breed with natural species and change the balance of the forest environment. It could be destructive, said Jim Diamond, an environmentalist. Trees are what is left of our natural envi

30、ronment and home to many endangered species. But researchers insist that science could give nature a fighting chance against both natural and man-made dangers. They hope to answer the critics by stopping the new trees from breeding, so their effect on the environment can be controlled. 1. Which kind

31、 of tree is not the ones that scientists are planting in the US? A. Trees that worms cant hurt. B. Trees that can protect themselves at a chemical attack. C. Trees that can resist wind better. D. Genetically engineered trees. 2. What caused the American scientists to work on special trees? A. They t

32、hink science could give nature a fighting chance against both natural and man-made dangers. B. Great numbers of trees have been lost due to attacks by viruses. C. Researchers successfully introduced seeds designed to resist the virus. D. Tree genomes are mapped out so scientists know how to improve

33、trees. 3. Which of the following was probably the first kind of trees being engineered? A. Papaya. B. Pine. C. Apple. D. Poplar. 4. Why did critics think engineered trees dangerous? Because _. A. these trees can destroy the balance of nature B. everything except trees has been genetically engineered

34、 C. trees are home to many endangered species D. these trees may affect normal trees Passage 55 Cars drive into cleaner future Ford, the second-largest car maker in the world, celebrates its 100th birthday this month. And it is already looking forward to its next 100 years. Ford expects to have near

35、ly half its cars powered by fuel cells (燃料電池) by the year 2050. In the meantime, another car maker in the US, General Motors (GM, 通用汽車公司), is building the technology for cars to be powered by fuel cells. So, what makes fuel cells so special? Why are car makers so enthusiastic about them? Fuel cells

36、are based on an electrochemical (電氣化學(xué)的) process. They change chemical energy from hydrogen and oxygen (氫和氧) into electrical energy. Fuel cells pollute much less than traditional power sources. They produce little more than water as a by-product. Car makers expect them to cut CO2 emissions (散發(fā)) in ha

37、lf and so make cars more environmentally friendly. Fuel cells are not dependent on oil supplies. Instead, they run on hydrogen, the most common element in the universe. And they can be refuelled. Car makers expect fuel cells to lesson the industrys need to rely on decreasing oil supplies. Using fuel

38、 cells, without the traditional motor, engineers have many more possibilities for developing cars. A fuel cell frame can last 20 years, so car bodies could change with drivers needs or even with the seasons and be replaced at will. Owners could switch from a sports car to a family car while keeping

39、the same fuel cell frame. This is a much cheaper solution to buying a whole new vehicle. A fuel cell car is more than just a new concept car; its the start of a revolution in how cars are designed, built and used, said GM Chief Executive Rick Wagoner. While this may sound great, fuel cells are still

40、 too expensive to produce. For cars, they can be ten times the price of normal engines. The current test models can cost US$1 million or more. Besides Ford and GM, a number of other car makers are now testing fuel cell vehicles. And all are aiming for mass production by 2010. By that time, the cost

41、of buying a fuel cell car should be as affordable as that of a traditional car. 1. Besides Ford, the writer uses GM as another example to show _. A. another car war is on B. big car makers are depending on fuel cells for their future C. fuel cells will replace traditional power sources D. fuel cell

42、car will be produced earlier than expected 2. What makes the traditional car frame not able to change with drivers needs? A. Traditional fuels. B. High cost of changing the frames. C. The traditional car frame cant last many years. D. Traditional motor. 3. What does Rick Wagoner mean by a fuel cell

43、car is more than just a new concept car? A. A fuel cell car is not something that only exists in future. B. A fuel cell car will be very important in the future. C. It will become a reality. D. A fuel cell car is still very expensive. Passage 56 Drawing comes alive If you watched the animated film (

44、動(dòng)畫電影), Shrek, did you wonder how this big cartoon monster (怪物) could look, act and speak like a real human being? Well, people at DreamWorks in the US are now working on Shrek 2. And they have given us a little look at the making of Shrek and how animation works. Shrek may be hi-tech now, but he sta

45、rted out as a simple piece of art. People drew hundreds of monsters until they found the best-looking one. He had to be ugly but lovable, says Raman Hui, the leading animator for the film. A clay (陶土) model of Shrek was then made. And animators made a three-dimensional (三維的) copy of the model on a c

46、omputer. Building the body To make Shrek walk, talk and move like a person, they built his body in the computer as if it were a human body. First, they made a skeleton (骨架). The joints (knees, fingers and so on) are controlled by the animator. And they move like a real body. Then, it took three mont

47、hs to decide how a monster should act said Hui. Since Shrek is so heavy, they decided he shouldnt walk too fast. But, when we made him walk more slowly, he looked too old. So we made him walk like a muscular (強(qiáng)健的) man. . If you watch, when he moves pretty fast, you will see that his tummy bounces (肚

48、子抖動(dòng)). Better moves When Shrek speaks, his mouth matches his words. Stand in front of a mirror and say donkey. See the shape of your mouth? Computer animators copy that shape and put it on Shreks mouth when he says donkey to make it move just like yours. Animators then started working on Shreks looks

49、 his face, his skin, his clothing. They got their ideas from all over the place. For example, the texture (紋路) on Shreks jaw came from a photo of the jaw of one of the animators. Putting it together Three minutes of animation is called a sequence. Each sequence is first drawn out by hand so the anim

50、ators know what to do. Each one has 4,320 frames and six people working on it. In Shrek, each sequence took two months to finish. There were about 30 in total and 128,000 frames. As each sequence is finished, editors put it in the right place of the movie. And when all the sequences are finished, th

51、e movie is done. Shrek took three years to complete. 1. When the animator decided how Shrek should walk, _. A. they built his body in the computer just like a humans B. they drew a lot of pictures and chose the best looking one C. they made a clay model of the body D. they thought about Shreks chara

52、cter 2. The word one in the sentence in the last paragraph (Each one has 4,320 frames and six people working on it) refers to _. A. animator B. animation C. sequence D. movie 3. The passages main idea is _. A. how the film Shrek came into being B. how Shrek was brought to life for the audience C. th

53、e work of animators D. how hard it is to make an animated film Passage 57 Robots look for life The first scientists to visit Mars are not going to be flesh and blood humans, but metal robots. This summer, NASA (美國(guó)國(guó)家宇航局) plans to start the Mars Exploration Rovers mission (MER, 火星漫游者探險(xiǎn)任務(wù)), sending a p

54、air of robotic twins into space. If all goes well, the six-wheeled rovers will be rolling around the Red Planet sometime in January 2004. NASA first sent a rover to Mars in 1997. It proved that the technology could get to, and land on, the planet. This time, the MER robot will act as a scientist and

55、 seek out any signs of water past or present. Both MER robots will be delivered into space by a rocket. Wrapped in a landing shell, an airbag (氣囊) will protect them when the shell hits the planets surface. Once it lands, the shell will open, and the rovers will come out. What we tried to do was take

56、 everything youd find in a field scientists bag on earth and make a robotic field scientist for Mars, said Steven Squyres, a NASA scientist. Each carries nine cameras, which will send pictures of Mars back down to Earth. One camera sits on the tip of each robots arm. This arm is the same size as tha

57、t of a human adult. Every time the robot moves, the cameras feed images to its computer. The computer then decides whether an obstacle can be dealt with or should be avoided. And if it gets in a real jam, the rover phones home for instructions. The rule is: Dont go over anything larger than your wheel, said Squyres. The wheels on each of the 180kg rovers stand at about 25cm tall. And they move slowly around