Science is a dominant theme in our culture. Since it touches almost every facet of our life, educated people need at least some acquaintance with its structure and operation. They should also have an understanding of the subculture in which scientists live and the kinds of people they are. An understanding of general characteristics of science as well as specific scientific concepts is easier to attain if one knows something about the things that excite and frustrate the scientist.
This book is written for the intelligent student or lay person whose acquaintance with science is superficial; for the person who has been presented with science as a musty storehouse of dried facts; for the person who sees the chief objective of science as the production of gadgets; and for the person who views the scientists as some sort of magician. The book can be used to supplement a course in any science, to accompany any course that attempts to give an understanding of the modern world, or – independently of any course – simply to provide a better understanding of science. We hope this book will lead readers to a broader perspective on scientific attitudes and a more realistic view of what science is, who scientists are, and what they do. It will give them an awareness and understanding of the relationship between science and our culture and an appreciation of the roles science may play in our culture. In addition, readers may learn to appreciate the relationship between scientific views and some of the values and philosophies that are pervasive in our culture.
We have tried to present in this book an accurate and up-to-date picture of the scientific community and the people who populate it. That population has in recent years come to comprise more and more women. This increasing role of women in the scientific subculture is not an unique incident but, rather, part of the trend evident in all segments of society as more women enter traditionally male-dominated fields and make significant contributions. In discussing these changes and contribution, however, we are faced with a language that is implicitly sexist, one that uses male nouns or pronouns in referring to unspecified individuals. To offset this built-in bias, we have adopted the policy of using plural nouns and pronouns whenever possible and, when absolutely necessary, alternating he and she. This policy is far form being ideal, but it is at least an acknowledgment of the inadequacy of our language in treating half of the human race equally.
We have also tried to make the book entertaining as well as informative. Our approach is usually informal. We feel, as do many other scientists, that we shouldn’t take ourselves too seriously. As the reader may observe, we see science as a delightful pastime rather than as a grim and dreary way to earn a living.
1.According to the passage, ‘scientific subculture’ means
[A] cultural groups that are formed by scientists.
people whose knowledge of science is very limited.
[C] the scientific community.
[D] people who make good contribution to science.
2.We need to know something about the structure and operation of science because
[A] it is not easy to understand the things that excite and frustrate scientists.
Science affects almost every aspect of our life.
[C] Scientists live in a specific subculture.
[D] It is easier to understand general characteristics of science.
3.The book mentioned in this passage is written for readers who
[A] are intelligent college students and lay person who do not know much about science.
are good at producing various gadgets.
[C] work in a storehouse of dried facts.
[D] want to have a superficial understanding of science.
4.According to this passage,
[A] English is a sexist language.
only in the scientific world is the role of women increasing rapidly.
[C] women are making significant contributions to eliminating the inadequacy of our language.
[D] male nouns or pronouns should not be used to refer to scientists.
5.This passage most probably is
[A] a book review.
the preface of a book.
[C] the postscript of a book.
[D] the concluding part of a book.
Vocabulary
subculture 亚文化群（指在一个社会或一种文化内具有独特性的一群人）
superficial 肤浅的，浅薄的，表面的
lay person 外行，门外汉，俗人
musty 发毒的，老朽的，陈腐的
gadget 小玩意儿，小配件，新发明
pervasive 渗透的，弥漫的，遍布的
populate 居住于……中，在……中占一席之地
implicit 含蓄的，内含的
unspecified 未特别提出的
offset 抵消，补偿
Science can't explain the power of pets, but many studies have shown that the company of pets can help lower blood pressure (血压) and raise chances of recovering from a heart attack, reduce loneliness and spread all-round good cheer.
Any owner will tall you how much joy a pet brings. For some, an animal provides more comfort than a husband/wife. A 2002 study by Karen Allen of the State University of New York measured stress (紧张) levels and blood pressure in people - half of them pet owners –while they performed 5 minutes of mental arithmetic (算术) or held a hand in ice water. Subjects completed the tasks alone, with a husband/wife, a close friend or with a pet. People with pets did
It best .Those tested with their animal friends had smaller change in blood pressure and returned
Most quickly to baseline heart rates .With pets in the room ,people also made fewer math mistakes
Than when doing in front of other companions. It seems people feel more released (放松)around
Pets, says Allen, who thinks it may be because pets don’t judge.
A study reported last fall suggests that having a pet dog not only raises your spirits but may also have an effect on your eating habits. Researchers at Northwesterm Memorial Hospital spent a
Year studying 36 fat people and were put on a diet-and-exercise programs; a separate group of
56 fat people without pets were put on a diet program. On average，people lost about 11 pounds，
Or 5% of their body weight .Their dogs did even better，losing an average of 12 pounds，more then
15%of their body weight .Dog owners didn’t lose any more weight than those without dogs but ,say
Researchers，got more exercise overall –mostly with their dogs –and found it worth doing.
1. What does the text mainly discuss?
A．What pets bring to their owners
B．How pets help people calm down
C．people’s opinions of keeping pets
D．Pet’s value in medical research
2.We learn from the text that a person with heart disease has a better chance of getting well if
____________
A．he has a pet companion
B．he has less stress of work
C．he often dose mental arithmetic
D．he is taken care of by his family
3.According to Allen, why did the people do better with pets around when facing stressful tasks?
A．They have lower blood pressure.
B．They become more patient.
C．They are less nervous.
D．They are in higher spirits.
4. The research mentioned in the last paragraph reports that
A．people with dogs did more exercise
B．dogs lost the same weight as people did
C．dogs liked exercise much more than people did
D．people without dogs found the program unhelpful
Along the river banks of the Amazon and the Orinoco there lives a bird that swims before it can fly, flies like a fat chicken, eats green leaves, has the stomach of a cow and has claws(爪)on its wings when young .They build their homes about 4.6m above the river ,an important feature(特征)for the safety of the young. It is called the hoatzin.
In appearance，the birds of both sexes look very much alike with brown on the back and cream and red on the underside .The head is small, with a large set of feathers on the top, bright red eyes, and blue skin. Its nearest relatives are the common birds, cuckoos. Its most striking feature, though, is only found in the young.
Baby hoatzins have a claw on the leading edge of each wing and another at the end of each wing tip .Using these four claws ,together with the beak(喙),they can climb about in the bushes, looking very much like primitive birds must have done. When the young hoatzins have learned to fly, they lose their claws.
During the drier months between December and March hoatzins fly about the forest in groups of 20 to 30 birds, but in April, when the rainy season begins, they collect together in smaller living units of two to seven birds for producing purposes.
1.What is the text mainly about?
A．Hoatzins in dry and rainy seasons.
B．The relatives and enemies of hoatzins.
C．Primitive birds and hoatzins of the Amazon.
D．The appearance and living habits of hoatzins.
2.Young hoatzins are different from their parents in that ．
A．they look like young cuckoos
B．they have claws on the wings
C．they eat a lot like a cow
D．they live on river banks
3. What can we infer about primitive birds from the text?
A．They had claws to help them climb.
B．They could fly long distances.
C．They had four wings like hoatzins.
D．They had a head with long feathers on the top.
4. Why do hoatzins collect together in smaller groups when the rainy season comes?
A．To find more food.
B．To protect themselves better.
C．To keep themselves warm.
D．To produce their young.
Advertisers tend to think big and perhaps this is why they’re always coming in for criticism. Their critics seem to resent them because they have a flair for self-promotion and because they have so much money to throw around. ‘It’s iniquitous,’ they say, ‘that this entirely unproductive industry (if we can call it that) should absorb millions of pounds each year. It only goes to show how much profit the big companies are making. Why don’t they stop advertising and reduce the price of their goods? After all, it’s the consumer who pays…’
The poor old consumer! He’d have to pay a great deal more if advertising didn’t create mass markets for products. It is precisely because of the heavy advertising that consumer goods are so cheap. But we get the wrong idea if we think the only purpose of advertising is to sell goods. Another equally important function is to inform. A great deal of the knowledge we have about household goods derives largely from the advertisements we read. Advertisements introduce us to new products or remind us of the existence of ones we already know about. Supposing you wanted to buy a washing machine, it is more than likely you would obtain details regarding performance, price, etc., from an advertisement.
Lots of people pretend that they never read advertisements, but this claim may be seriously doubted. It is hardly possible not to read advertisements these days. And what fun they often are, too! Just think what a railway station or a newspaper would be like without advertisements. Would you enjoy gazing at a blank wall or reading railway byelaws while waiting for a train? Would you like to read only closely printed columns of news in your daily paper? A cheerful, witty advertisement makes such a difference to a drab wall or a newspaper full of the daily ration of calamities.
We must not forget, either, that advertising makes a positive contribution to our pockets. Newspapers, commercial radio and television companies could not subsist without this source of revenue. The fact that we pay so little for our daily paper, or can enjoy so many broadcast programmes is due entirely to the money spent by advertisers. Just think what a newspaper would cost if we had to pay its full price!
Another thing we mustn’t forget is the ‘small ads.’ which are in virtually every newspaper and magazine. What a tremendously useful service they perform for the community! Just about anything can be accomplished through these columns. For instance, you can find a job, buy or sell a house, announce a birth, marriage or death in what used to be called the ‘hatch, match and dispatch’ column but by far the most fascinating section is the personal or ‘agony’ column. No other item in a newspaper provides such entertaining reading or offers such a deep insight into human nature. It’s the best advertisement for advertising there is!
1.What is main idea of this passage?
A. Advertisement.
B. The benefits of advertisement.
C. Advertisers perform a useful service to communities.
D. The costs of advertisement.
2.The attitude of the author toward advertisers is
A. appreciative.
B. trustworthy.
C. critical.
D. dissatisfactory.
3.Why do the critics criticize advertisers?
A. Because advertisers often brag.
B. Because critics think advertisement is a “waste of money”.
C. Because customers are encouraged to buy more than necessary.
D. Because customers pay more.
4.Which of the following is Not True?
A. Advertisement makes contribution to our pockets and we may know everything.
B. We can buy what we want.
C. Good quality products don’t need to be advertised.
D. Advertisement makes our life colorful.
5.The passage is
A. Narration.
B. Description.
C. Criticism.
D. Argumentation.
Vocabulary
come in for ( sth. ) 是某事物的对象，吸引（某事物），获得
flair 天资，天分
iniquitous 极邪恶的，极不公正的
drab 单调的，乏味的
subsist 活下去，生存下去，维持下去
hatch 孵化（指生孩子）
match 匹配，婚姻
dispatch 派遣，发送
agony 极大痛苦，煎熬
agony column （报刊中关于个人疑难问题征询意见的）读者来信专栏
Businesses are witnessing a difficult time, which has in turn produced influence on consumers’ desire to go green. However, shoppers are still laying stress on environmental concerns.
Two thirds of customers say that environmental considerations inform their purchases to the same degree as they did a year ago, while more than a quarter say that they are now even better aware of the environmental effect on what they buy.
This may help to influence how shops store goods on their shelves. And the companies should still make efforts to become more environmentally friendly. Two out of three people think it is important to buy from environmentally responsible companies, with about one in seven saying that they had even decided to take their custom elsewhere if they felt a company’s environmental reputation was not good enough.
Harry Morrison, chief executive（主管）of the Carbon Trust, sympathizes：“I understand this situation where survival is very important now. But from environmental considerations, the clock is ticking—we don’t have much time. In addition, cutting carbon has an immediate effect as costs drop and a medium-term benefit for the brand.”
Larger companies have an extra motivation to look at reducing their carbon footprint, as new rules next year will require businesses to buy carbon allowances to make up for their emissions（排放）. Those that have taken early action will have a head start. More than two thirds of consumers are not clear about which companies are environmentally responsible. This suggests that firms that are able to relay clearly their message to the public will be in a pole position to attract shoppers.
The Carbon Trust believes that it can help by informing customers about the good work companies are doing. “When companies are granted（授予）the standard, they can use a logo（标识）in all their marketing which makes it clear that they are working towards cutting emissions,” Mr. Morrison said.
1. What’s the main idea of the passage?
A. Businesses are finding ways to send their message to the shoppers.
B. Companies will soon get information about cutting carbon emissions.
C. Firms are making efforts to encourage customers to keep goods at home.
D. Firms are urged to cut carbon emissions by shoppers’ environmental awareness.
2. The underlined word “inform” in Paragraph 2 probably means“ ”.
A. affect B. change C. disturb D. reject
3.According to Harry Morrison, businesses .
A. will benefit from cutting carbon emissions
B. should buy carbon allowances for shoppers
C. are required to make up for their carbon emissions
D. have encouraged shoppers to take their custom elsewhere
4.We can learn from the passage that businesses will .
A. have a strong desire to reduce costs
B. use the same logo in their marketing
C. gain advantages by taking early action
D. attract more shoppers by storing goods
(2013·高考安徽卷)David is ________ animal fur，so he won’t visit anyone who has cats or dogs in the house.
A．curious about B．allergic to
C．satisfied with D．fond of
