Question

【题目】Bigger isn’t always better. People who are skeptical about this argument just need to look at personal computers. It is the continual shrinkage of components that have brought about the explosion of computing power and enabled these computers to be accessible to people across the world.

Inspired by this, researchers have been working on areas where making things small may mean big results. And this year, the Nobel Prize has challenged the convention of celebrating big by presenting the biggest prizes to discoveries on the smallest scales.

The committee presented the Nobel Prize for medicine to Yoshinori Ohsumi of the Tokyo Institute of Technology, for his research on “autophagy”, which is a “self-eating” process seen in cells.

What’s more, in recognition of their working on the unique nature of matter in extreme states and taking their research all the way down to an atomic scale, the Nobel Prize for physics was awarded to three British-born scientists who presently work in the US.

Another exceptional new field is that of nanotechnology（纳米技术）. The Nobel Prize for chemistry was awarded to a scientist who managed to build the world’s tiniest machines out of molecules（分子）, including a nano-sized car, which are so small that they are not seen by the human eye.

Small as the subjects are, the benefits of the scientists’ research are set to be huge. More importantly, their inventions may even eventually be turned into products that benefit mankind.

Ohsumi’s research on “autophagy” shines a light on common diseases such as Parkinson’s and diabetes. As for the molecular motors, they’re preparing to bring huge potential to the fields of medicine and energy. “The ground-breaking discoveries in physics have lighted a firestorm of research, and it’s only a matter of time before their research leads to advances as unimaginable to us now as computer chips were a hundred years ago,” Laura H. Greene, president-elect of the American Physical Society told The New York Times.

【1】The underlined word “shrinkage” in Paragraph 1 probably means .

A. reducing the size B. cutting down the cost

C. improving the quality D. strengthening the function

【2】What can be inferred from the passage?

A. Nano-sized cars are now popular all over the world.

B. Ohsumi's research has helped cure some common diseases.

C. Three scientists have made a great breakthrough in atomic energy.

D. The Nobel Prize used to have a preference for findings on big scales.

【3】What is Laura H. Greene’s attitude to the new discoveries in physics?

A. Positive B. Doubtful

C. Reserved D. Concerned.

【4】What is the message the passage conveys?

A. Great minds think alike.

B. Small things make a big difference.

C. Many small streams make a great river.

D. A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

Answer 1

【答案】

【1】A

【2】D

【3】A

【4】B

【解析】更大并不总是更好。本文传达的信息是，小事情会产生大意义。

【1】A

词义猜测题。根据第一段第一、二句Bigger isn’t always better. People who are skeptical about this argument just need to look at personal computers. 更大并不总是更好。那些对这个论点持怀疑态度的人只需要看看个人电脑就知道了。可知，It is the continual shrinkage of components that have brought about the explosion of computing power and enabled these computers to be accessible to people across the world. 正是由于组件的不断shrinkage，才导致了计算能力的爆炸式增长，并使这些计算机能够被世界各地的人们所接受。可知划线词的意思是“收缩”，故选A。

【2】D

推理判断题。根据第二段第二句this year, the Nobel Prize has challenged the convention of celebrating big by presenting the biggest prizes to discoveries on the smallest scales.可知，诺贝尔奖过去常常偏爱大规模的发现。故答案为D。

【3】A

推理判断题。根据文章最后一段最后一句“The ground-breaking discoveries in physics have lighted a firestorm of research, and it’s only a matter of time before their research leads to advances as unimaginable to us now as computer chips were a hundred years ago,” Laura H. Greene, president-elect of the American Physical Society told The New York Times.可知，Laura H. Greene对物理学新发现的态度是积极肯定的。故选A。

【4】B

主旨大意题。第一段第一句Bigger isn’t always better.更大并不总是更好。根据倒数第二段Small as the subjects are, the benefits of the scientists’ research are set to be huge. 尽管研究对象很小，但科学家们的研究成果将是巨大的。More importantly, their inventions may even eventually be turned into products that benefit mankind.最重要的是，他们的发明甚至可能最终会变成造福人类的产品。由此可知本文传达的信息是，小事情会产生大意义。故答案为B。