Question

    Did you know that if you attach a weighed stick to the back of a chicken, it walks like a dinosaur?

No, you did not know(or care to know) such things, but now you do! Thanks to this year’s winners of the 12 Noel Prize! Now in is 251h year, the lg Nobel is the goofy younger cousin of the honored Nobel Prize. It applauds achievements in the fields of medicine, biology, physics, economies. literature. etc. Every September at Harvard University, awards are presented in 10 categories that change year to year, depending on - according to the organization - what makes the judges “laugh, then think”.

The ceremony officially begins when audience members launch paper airplanes at an assigned human target on the stage, then speakers only have 60 seconds to present their research. In previous year, the one-minute rule was imposed by a young girl - nicknamed Miss Sweetie Poo -who would go up to the platform and repeat the words: “Please stop, I’m bored.” in a sharp tone until the speaker left the stage.

Fortunately for candidates though, the Ig Informal Lectures are held afterwards on Saturday to give presenters more time to explain the crazy things they're working on.

The research can seem more like the brainchildren of teenage boys than of respectable adults. Justin Schmidt won the physiology Ig for creating the “Sting(蛰) Pain Index," which rates the pain people fell after getting stung by insects. Smith pressed bees against 25 different parts of his body until they stung him. Five stings a day for 38 days, Smith concluded that the most painful sting locations were the nose and the upper lip. Ouch.

As silly as they sound, not all of the Ig awards lack scientific applicability, A group of scientists from 12 different counties won in the medicine category for accurately diagnosing patients with appendicitis (阑尾炎) based on an unusual measurement: speed bumps(减速带) . They found that patients are more likely to have appendicitis if they report pain during bumpy car rides.

All these weird experiments have just one thing in common. They’re improbable. It can be tempting to assume that “improbable” implies more than that--implies bad or good, worthless or valuable, trivial or important. Something improbable can be any of those, or none of them, or all of them, in different ways. And what you don't expect can be a powerful force for not only entertaining science, but also for the boundary-pushing science we call innovation.

1.The underlined word “goofy” in Paragraph 2 probably means_______.

A.amusing B.boring

C.serious D.precious

2.According to the passage, what can we know about the awarding ceremony of Ig Nobel?

A.Ig Informal Lecture gives presenters 60 seconds.

B.The audience throw paper airplanes to end the ceremony.

C.Its categories of awards vary each yea.

D.It is held at a fixed place every other September.

3.The example in Paragraph 6 is used to show that Ig Nobel_______.

A.offers another opportunity to those who miss the Nobel Prizes

B.celebrates the diligent work of researchers

C.has no serious purpose except for amusing the audience

D.serves as a platform for the creative and practical achievements

4.Among the four candidates below, who is most likely to win an Ig Nobel?

A.A chemist who invents a type of battery.

B.An economist who studies which county's paper money is best at spreading bacteria.

C.A biologist who discovers how cell sense and adapt to oxygen availability.

D.A novelist who criticizes social injustice.

Answer

1.A

2.C

3.D

4.B

【解析】

这是一篇说明文。文章主要介绍了搞笑诺贝尔奖。搞笑诺贝尔奖每年九月在哈佛大学举行，授予那些能让评委“乍看之下令人发笑，之后发人深省”的成果奖励。尽管这些研究成果听起来很傻，但是其中一些还是有科学实用性的。这些不太可能的事情不仅能使科学更加有趣，还能推进创新。

1.词义猜测题。根据后文what makes the judges “laugh, then think”.可知搞笑诺贝尔是诺贝尔奖的搞笑表亲，会使人发笑。故划线单词意思为“令人发笑的，好玩的”。故选A。

2.细节理解题。根据第二段中Every September at Harvard University, awards are presented in 10 categories that change year to year…可知每年9月，哈佛大学都会颁发10个奖项，每年都有所不同。由此可知，搞笑诺贝尔奖的奖项类别每年都不同。故选C。

3.推理判断题。根据第六段第一句As silly as they sound, not all of the Ig awards lack scientific applicability.可知尽管听起来很傻，但并不是所有的搞笑诺贝尔奖都缺乏科学适用性。接着下文举出汽车减速带感到疼痛的人很可能有阑尾炎，正是在体现搞笑诺贝尔奖的实用性，由此可推知，第六段的例子表明，搞笑诺贝尔奖是一个创造性和实践性成就的平台。故选D。

4.推理判断题。根据第二段中what makes the judges “laugh, then think”.可知，搞笑诺贝尔奖励的是那些“乍看之下令人发笑，之后发人深省”的成就，结合选项可推知，B选项“研究哪个国家的纸币最擅长传播细菌的经济学家”具有既搞笑又发人深省的特性。故选B。