What is the nature of the scientific attitude, the attitude of the man or woman who studies and applies physics, biology, chemistry, geology, engineering, medicine or any other science?
We all know that science plays an important role in our societies. However, many people believe that our progress depends on two different aspects of science. The first aspect is the application of the machines, products and systems of knowledge that scientists and technologists develop.  The second is the application of the special methods of thought and action that scientists use in their work. 
What are these special methods of thinking and acting? First of all, it seems that a successful scientist is curious - he wants to find out how and why the universe works. He usually pays attention to problems which he notices have no satisfying explanation, and looks for relationships even if the data available seem to be unconnected. Moreover, he thinks he can improve the existing conditions and enjoys trying to solve the problems which this involves.
He is a good observer, accurate, patient and objective and uses the facts he observes to the fullest. For example, trained observers obtain a very large amount of information about a star mainly from the accurate analysis of the simple lines that appear in a spectrum(光谱).
He does not accept statements which are not based on the most complete evidence available. He rejects authority as the only basis for truth. Scientists always check statements and make experiments carefully and objectively.
Furthermore, he does not readily accept his own idea, since he knows that man is the least reliable of scientific instruments and that a number of factors tend to disturb objective investigation.
Lastly, he is full of imagination since he often has to look for relationships in data which are not only complex but also frequently incomplete. Furthermore, he needs imagination if he wants to guess how processes work and how events take place.
These seem to be some of the ways in which a successful scientist or technologist thinks and acts. 
【小题1】Many people believe that science helps society to progress through_________

A．knowledge only.	B．more than one aspect.
C．technology only.	D．the use of machines.

【小题2】Which of the following statements about a curious scientist is TRUE?

A．He doesn’t find confidence and pleasure in work.

B．He is interested in problems that are explained.

C．He makes efforts to investigate potential connections.

D．He looks for new ways of acting.

【小题3】According to the passage, a successful scientist would NOT_______________.

A．easily believe in unchecked statements.

B．easily criticize others' research work.

C．always use his imagination in work.

D．always use evidence from observation.

【小题4】Which word can be used to describe the data that a good scientist uses?

A．complete

B．objective

C．complicated

D．accurate

What will man be like in the future — in 5,000 or even 50,000 years from now? We can only make guesses, of course, but we can be sure that he will be different from what he is today, for man is slowly changing all the time.
Let us take an obvious example. Man, even five hundred years ago, was shorter than he is today. Now, on average, men are about three inches taller. Five hundred years is relatively a short period of time, so we may suppose that man will continue to grow taller. Again, in the modern world we use our brains a great deal. Even so, we still make use of only about 20% of the brain’s capacity(容量). As time goes on, however, we shall have to use our brains more and more, and finally we shall need our brains more and more, and finally we shall need larger ones! This is likely to bring a physical change too: the head, in particular the forehead, will grow larger.
Nowadays our eyes are in constant use. In fact, we use them so much that very often they become weaker and we have to wear glasses. But over long period of time it is likely that man’s eyes will grow stronger.
On the other hand, we tend to make less use of our arms and legs. These, as a result, are likely to grow weaker. At the same time, however, our fingers will grow more sensitive because they are used a great deal in modern life.
But what about hair? This will probably disappear from the body altogether in course of time because it does not serve a useful purpose any longer. In the future, then, both sexes are likely to be bald.
Perhaps all this gives the impression that future man will not be a very attractive creature to look at! This may well be true. All the same, in spite of all these changes, future man will still have a lot in common with us. He will still be a human being, with thoughts and motions similar to our own.
【小题1】The passage mainly tells us that __________.

A．Man’s life will be different in the future

B．Future man will look quite different from us

C．Man is growing taller and uglier as time passes

D．Man’s organs’ functions will change

【小题2】What serves as the evidence that man is changing?

A．Man has got stronger eyes now than he ever had.

B．Man’s hair is getting thinner and thinner.

C．Man’s arms and legs have become lighter and weaker.

D．Man has been growing taller over the past 500 years.

【小题3】The change in man’s size of the forehead is probably because __________.

A．he makes use of only 20% of the brain’s capacity

B．his brain has grown larger over the past centuries

C．he will use his brain more and more as time goes on

D．the other 80% of his brain will grow in due time

【小题4】Which of the following is TRUE about a human being in the future?

A．He is hairless because hair is no longer useful.

B．He has smaller eyes and wears better glasses.

C．His fingers grow weaker because he doesn’t have to make use of them.

D．He thinks and feels in a different way.

【小题5】It is implied that __________.

A．human beings will become less attractive in the future

B．body organs will become poorer if they are not used often

C．human beings hope for a change in the future life

D．future life is always predictable

The first moment came when I was in the local dollar store. There was an older woman in front of me just wrapping(包裹) up her goods.   1.   

    Before I could even offer to help, the young cashier gave her a big smile. She said, “Oh, don’t worry about it,” and sent the woman on her way.

    As I came up she said, “It’s only a few cents. I can’t make a big deal out of it.” I responded, “Here’s the seventeen cents.   2.    In this way your cash won’t be short.”

      3.  We passed a young man whose arms and face were covered in tattoos (纹身). He wore torn clothes and sat on the sidewalk with a sign that said “Homeless—Hungry—Sick.”

    Now as we passed I was thinking “Junkie (有毒瘾者)”.    4.    But, as we went a little further, I said to myself, “Who am I to judge? I should just put something in his paper cup.”

    At the same moment my son said, “That man is homeless, hungry and sick. I want to help him.”

    I gave him some money and told him he could put it in the cup. As I watched the young man gave my son a big smile and said, “Thank you!” My son told him, “No problem.” When my son came back to me he said, “That was good. Now he can get better.”

     5.   And, once again, I learned that children are often our best role models for the acceptance of others.

A. You did a really nice thing.

B. It was an automatic reaction (自动反应).

C. His sign says he needs more clothes.

D. The rate (几率) of people giving her money is low.

E. Just two little moments, but they taught me lots.

F. The second moment came when I was walking along with my son.

G. When she came to pay for them she discovered that she was seventeen cents short.

 

The days of the hunter are almost over in India. This is partly because there is practically nothing left to kill, and partly because some steps have been taken mainly by banning tiger-shooting to protect those animals which still survive.

Some people say that Man is naturally a hunter. I disagree with this view. Surely our earliest forefathers, who at first possessed no weapons, spent their time digging for roots, and were no doubt themselves often hunted by meat-eating animals.

I believe the main reason why the modern hunter kills is that he thinks people will admire his courage in overpowering dangerous animals. Of course, there are some who truly believe that the killing is not really the important thing, and that the chief pleasure lies in the joy of the hunt and the beauty of the wild countryside. There are also those for whom hunting in fact offers a chance to prove themselves and risk death by design; these men go out after dangerous animals like tigers, even if they say they only do it to rid the countryside of a threat. I can respect reasons like these, but they are clearly different from the need to strengthen your high opinion of yourself.

    The greatest big-game hunters expressed in their writings something of these finer motives. One of them wrote:

“You must properly respect what you are after and shoot it clearly and on the animal’s own territory (领地).You must fix forever in your mind all the wonders of that particular day. This is better than letting him grow a few years older to be attacked and wounded by his own son and eventually eaten, half alive, by other animals. Hunting is not a cruel and senseless killing — not if you respect the thing you kill, not if you kill to enrich your memories, not if you kill to feed your people.”

I can understand such beliefs, and can compare these hunters with those who hunted lions with spears and bravely caught them by the tail. But this is very different from many tiger-shoots I have seen, in which modern weapons were used. The so-called hunters fired from tall trees or from the backs of trained elephants. Such methods made tigers seem no more dangerous than rabbits.

There is no more hunting in India now partly because ________.

       A. it is dangerous to hunt there                          B. hunting is already out of date

C. hunters want to protect animals                      D. there are few animals left to hunt

The author thinks modern hunters kill mainly ________.

       A. to make the countryside safe                         B. to earn people’s admiration

C. to gain power and influence                          D. to improve their health

What do we learn about the big-game hunters?

       A. They hunt old animals.                                 B. They mistreat animals.

C. They hunt for food.                                      D. They hunt for money.

What is the author’s view on the tiger-shoots he has seen?

       A. Modern hunters lack the courage to hunt face-to-face.

B. Modern hunters should use more advanced weapons.

C. Modern hunters like to hunt rabbits instead of tigers.

D. Modern hunters should put their safety first.

Everywhere man is altering the balance of nature．He is facilitating the spread of plants and animals into new regions, sometimes deliberately, sometimes unconsciously．He is covering huge areas with new kinds of plants, or with houses, factories, slag-heaps and other products of his civilization．He exterminates some species on a large scale, but favors the multiplication of others．In brief, he has done more in five thousand years to alter the biological aspect of the planet than has nature in five million．
Many of these changes which he has brought about have had unforeseen consequences．Who would have thought that the throwing away of a piece of Canadian waterweed would have caused half the waterways of Britain to be blocked for a decade, or that the provision of pot cacti for lonely settlers’ wives would have led to Eastern Australian being overrun with forests of Prickly Pear? Who would have prophesied that the cutting down of forests on the Adriatic coasts, or in parts of Central Africa, could have reduced the land to a semi desert, with the very soil washed away from the bare rock? Who would have thought that improved communications would have changed history by the spreading of disease-sleeping sickness into East Africa, measles into Oceania, very possibly malaria into ancient Greece?
These are spectacular examples; but examples on a smaller scale are everywhere to be found．We make a nature sanctuary for rare birds, prescribing absolute security for all species; and we may find that some common and hardy kind of bird multiplies beyond measure and ousts the rare kinds in which we were particularly interested．We see, owing to some little change brought about by civilization, the starling spread over the English country-side in hordes．We improve the yielding capacities of our cattle; and find that now they exhaust the pastures which sufficed for less exigent stock．
【小题1】The following examples except _______________ reflect man altering the balance of nature．

A．man is covering huge areas with new kinds of plants

B．man is facilitating the spread of animals into new regions．

C．man is killing some species on a large scale

D．man is getting to know the importance of keeping the balance of nature．

【小题2】What had a piece of Canadian waterweed cause?

A．Eastern Australian was overrun with forests．

B．Half the waterways of Britain blocked for a decade．

C．In parts of central Africa, the land reduced to a semi desert．

D．Disease-sleeping has been caused．

【小题3】What have spread diseases?

A．Disease-sleeping sickness．	B．Measles．
C．Improved communications．	D．Malaria．

【小题4】We make a nature sanctuary for rare birds but _______________.

A．some common and hardy kind of bird multiplies

B．rare kinds multiply

C．all bird multiply

D．no bird multiply

【小题5】The main idea of the passage is ______________．

A．that man is deliberately destroying the balance of nature

B．that man has foreseen the consequences of altering the balance old nature

C．that improved communications have changed history

D．that man is altering the balance of nature