2019年6月英語六級閱讀練習(xí)：科學(xué)

　　The word science is heard so often in modern times that almost everybody has some notion of its meaning. On the other hand, its definition is difficult for many people. The meaning of the term is confused, but everyone should understand its meaning and objectives. Just to make the explanation as simple as possible, suppose science is defined as classified knowledge (facts).

　　Even in the true sciences distinguishing fact from fiction is not always easy. For this reason great care should be taken to distinguish between beliefs and truths. There is no danger as long as a clear difference is made between temporary and proved explanations. For example, hypotheses and theories are attempts to explain natural phenomena. From these positions the scientist continues to experiment and observe until they are proved or discredited. The exact status of any explanation should be clearly labeled to avoid confusion.

　　The objectives of science are primarily the discovery and the subsequent understanding of the unknown. Man cannot be satisfied with recognizing that secrets exist in nature or that questions are unanswerable; he must solve them. Toward that end specialists in the field of biology and related fields of interest are directing much of their time and energy.

　　Actually, two basic approaches lead to the discovery of new information. One, aimed at satisfying curiosity, is referred to as pure science. The other is aimed at using knowledge for specific purposes—for instance, improving health, raising standards of living, or creating new consumer products. In this case knowledge is put to economic use. Such an approach is referred to as applied science.

　　Sometimes practical-minded people miss the point of pure science in thinking only of its immediate application for economic rewards. Chemists responsible for many of the discoveries could hardly have anticipated that their findings would one day result in applications of such a practical nature as those directly related to life and death. The discoveries of one bit of information opens the door to the discovery of another. Some discoveries seem so simple that one is amazed they were not made years ago; however, one should remember that the construction of the microscope had to precede the discovery of the cell. The hosts of scientists dedicating their lives to pure science are not apologetic about ignoring the practical side of their discoveries; they know from experience that most knowledge is eventually applied.

　　6. We may simply define science as

　　[A] the study of unrelated subjects.

　　[B] an attempt to explain natural phenomena.

　　[C] the study of related fields.

　　[D] labelled knowledge.

　　7. A scientist interested in adding to our general knowledge about oxygen would probably call his approach

　　[A] applied science.

　　[B] agriculture science.

　　[C] pure science.

　　[D] environmental science.

　　18. Pure science, leading to the construction of a microscope,

　　[A] may lead to antiscientific, “impure” results.

　　[B] necessarily precedes applied science, leading to the discovery of a cell.

　　[C] is not always as pure as we suppose.

　　[D] necessarily results from applied science and the discovery of a cell.

　　9. On which of the following statements would the author most probably agree?

　　[A] Scientists engaged in theoretical research should not be blamed for ignoring the practical side of their discoveries.

　　[B] Today few people have any notions of the meaning of science.

　　[C] In science, it is not difficult to distinguish fact from fiction.

　　[D] Practical-minded people can understand the meaning and objectives of pure science.

　　10. Which of the following would be the best title for the text?

　　[A] The Nature of Science and Scientists

　　[B] Biology and the Science and Scientist

　　[C] Hypotheses and Theories

　　[D] On Distinguishing Fact from Fiction

　　語境詞匯

　　1.hypothesis n.假說，假設(shè)，前提

　　2.discredit v.證明…是假的;不信，懷疑n.信用的喪失

　　3.status n.情形，狀態(tài);地位，資格

　　4.open the door to 為…提供方便

　　5.microscepe n.顯微鏡

　　6.apologetic a.表示歉意的;道歉的

　　難句突破

　　1.Chemists (responsible for many of the discoveries) could hardly have anticipated that their findings would [one day] result in applications (of such a practical nature as those (directly related to life and death)).

　　【分析】復(fù)合句。本句的主干為Chemists...could hardly have anticipated that...，that后面引導(dǎo)賓語從句;其中形容詞短語responsible for many of the discoveries此處為主語chemists的定語;在賓語從句中，句子主語為their findings，謂語動詞為result in，介詞of引導(dǎo)的短語作賓語applications的定語。

　　【譯文】許多有重大發(fā)現(xiàn)的化學(xué)家們可能怎么也沒有想到，他們的科學(xué)研究結(jié)果有一天會被應(yīng)用到與人們的生死密切相關(guān)的實際應(yīng)用領(lǐng)域中去。

　　2.(Some) discoveries seem so simple [that one is amazed they were not made years ago]; however, one should remember that the construction of the microscope had to precede the discovery of the cell.

　　【分析】并列復(fù)合句。本句為兩個并列的分句，每個分句都是一個復(fù)合句;前一個分句是一個so...that...的結(jié)構(gòu)，后一個分句中that引導(dǎo)了一個賓語從句。

　　【譯文】有些科學(xué)發(fā)現(xiàn)看起來是如此簡單，人們甚至驚訝這樣簡單的發(fā)現(xiàn)在以前怎么會想不到呢;然而，我們不要忘記，要發(fā)現(xiàn)細(xì)胞的存在，必須首先有顯微鏡的發(fā)明作為前提。

　　3.The hosts of scientists (dedicating their lives to pure science) are not apologetic about ignoring the practical side of their discoveries; they know [from experience] that most knowledge is eventually applied.

　　【分析】復(fù)合句。注意分號的作用，此處為解釋作用，即后一個分句同前一個分句之間是解釋關(guān)系。前一個分句為主系表結(jié)構(gòu)，句子的主干為scientists are not apologetic，其中分詞短語dedicating their lives to pure science為主語scientists的定語;后一個分句中that引導(dǎo)了一個賓語從句。

　　【譯文】大量將畢生精力致力于純粹科學(xué)研究的科學(xué)家們并不為自己忽視了把科學(xué)發(fā)現(xiàn)應(yīng)用于實際而感到抱歉，因為他們從以往的經(jīng)驗知道，大部分新發(fā)明新發(fā)現(xiàn)最終都會被應(yīng)用到實踐中去。

　　本文講述了有關(guān)科學(xué)的含義及其研究目標(biāo)和研究方法。第一段指出人們需要了解科學(xué)，并把科學(xué)定義為分類的知識(事實);第二段進(jìn)一步講述了科學(xué)的特點;第三段講到了科學(xué)的研究目標(biāo);第四段講到知識的兩個類別：純粹科學(xué)及應(yīng)用科學(xué);最后一段中講到了科學(xué)家們對待這兩種科學(xué)類別的態(tài)度。

　　答案解析

　　6.【題眼】首段尾句設(shè)題

　　【解析】選[D]。事實細(xì)節(jié)題。文章第一段中指出，給科學(xué)下一個準(zhǔn)確的定義并不容易，且不同的人對此有不同的概念。第一段最后一句中，作者指出，為了盡可能簡單地解釋什么是科學(xué)，姑且假設(shè)科學(xué)“is defined as classified knowledge(facts)”，由此可見選項[D]正確。選項[A]與選項[C]文中未提及;而選項[B]比較片面，因為在第三段中指出，科學(xué)的研究目標(biāo)是發(fā)現(xiàn)并理解所有未知的事物，而選項中的“natural phenomena”只是科學(xué)研究對象的一部分，故錯誤。

　　7.【題眼】列舉處設(shè)題

　　【解析】選[C]。推理判斷題。從文中第三段來看，科學(xué)的研究目標(biāo)是發(fā)現(xiàn)并了解未知的事物;第四段中指出，純粹科學(xué)的目的是“aimed at satisfying curiosity”，即前文中所說的為了揭開自然界的秘密，發(fā)現(xiàn)新的信息和知識;而將知識用于某個特殊的目的，比如“improving health, raising standards of living, or creating new consumer products”等等，稱為應(yīng)用科學(xué);由此可見，若科學(xué)家研究的目的僅僅是為了增加人們有關(guān)氧氣的知識，則他的研究應(yīng)當(dāng)屬于“pure science”的范疇，故選項[C]正確。選項[A]錯誤。選項[B]和選項[D]在文中未提及，故錯誤。

　　8.【題眼】轉(zhuǎn)折處設(shè)題

　　【解析】選[B]。事實細(xì)節(jié)題。文章在最后一段講述純粹科學(xué)“pure science”同應(yīng)用科學(xué)之間的關(guān)系時指出，對某一種新信息的發(fā)現(xiàn)往往會為另一個新發(fā)現(xiàn)打開方便之門，緊接著在后面以顯微鏡發(fā)明和細(xì)胞的發(fā)現(xiàn)為例來說明這一論點，指出“the construction of the microscope ”必須在發(fā)現(xiàn)細(xì)胞之前，也就是說，顯微鏡的發(fā)明為發(fā)現(xiàn)細(xì)胞提供了條件，讀者可能注意到在這個句子中，作者用了“had to”這個詞，故選項[B]符合題意。選項[A]與選項[C]在原文中未提及;選項[D]“產(chǎn)生于應(yīng)用科學(xué)與細(xì)胞的發(fā)現(xiàn)”同文中表述正相反，故錯誤。

　　9.【題眼】尾段尾句設(shè)題

　　【解析】選[A]。事實細(xì)節(jié)題。文章最后一段中指出，做出發(fā)明或者有新發(fā)現(xiàn)的科學(xué)家們不必為自己“ignoring the practical side of their discoveries”而感到抱歉，因為他們知道這些發(fā)明遲早都會應(yīng)用到實踐中去，故選項[A]正確。選項[B]不正確，因為與文中第一段第一句話意思相反;文章第二段第一句中指出，即使在真正的科學(xué)界，區(qū)分事實與虛構(gòu)往往也不是一件容易的事情，故選項[C]錯誤;文章最后一段中指出，“practical-minded people”理解純粹科學(xué)時，往往只想到“its immediate application for economic rewards”，故選項[D]不正確。

　　10.【解析】選[A]。主旨大意題。文章一開始講述了科學(xué)的定義、科學(xué)的特點和研究對象。在后兩段中講到了科學(xué)的兩個類別以及它們的關(guān)系。在最后一段中講到了科學(xué)家們對待這兩種科學(xué)類別的態(tài)度，故選項[A]比較符合題意;選項[B]的生物學(xué)只在第三段和最后一段中有所提及;選項[C]、[D]只在第二段中提及，都不足以涵蓋整篇文章的內(nèi)容，故錯誤。

　　全文翻譯

　　當(dāng)今時代“科學(xué)”二字常常掛在人們嘴邊，幾乎每個人對這兩個字的含義都有自己的理解。另一方面，很多人其實并不理解它的真正含義是什么。這個詞的含義很容易混淆，但是每個人都需要了解它的真正含義，知道它的研究目標(biāo)是什么。[6]為了讓這個解釋盡可能簡單一些，我們姑且將科學(xué)定義為分類的知識(事實)。

　　即使在真正的科學(xué)界，區(qū)分事實與虛構(gòu)的事實往往也不是一件容易的事情。鑒于此，我們必須十分小心地將所相信的事實與事實的真相區(qū)分開來。只要將暫時性的解釋同被事實印證了的解釋區(qū)分開，就沒有什么可擔(dān)心的了。比如，假說和理論都是人們試圖用來解釋某些自然現(xiàn)象的。科學(xué)家從這些假說和理論出發(fā)，不停地進(jìn)行試驗和觀察，直到最終證明或者否定這些假說和理論。因此，必須對所有的解釋進(jìn)行歸類，對其進(jìn)行準(zhǔn)確的描述，以防止人們混淆。

　　科學(xué)的研究目標(biāo)主要是發(fā)現(xiàn)并了解未知的事物。人類往往不會滿足于僅僅意識到某些神秘的事物和現(xiàn)象存在于自然界中，不愿意看到某些疑惑和問題得不到解答;人類總想解決這些問題。正是出于這樣的目的，生物界的專家們和其他相關(guān)領(lǐng)域的科學(xué)家們付出自己大部分的時間和精力來研究這個未知的世界。

　　實際上，發(fā)現(xiàn)新知識主要是通過兩種基本的方法實現(xiàn)的。[7]一種被稱之為“純粹科學(xué)”，主要是為了滿足人們的求知欲;另一種是為了將知識運用于某種特殊的用途—比如，為了改善人們的健康狀況，提高人們的生活水平或者創(chuàng)造新的消費品。在這種情況下知識被運用到經(jīng)濟(jì)中去。這種科學(xué)研究被稱為“應(yīng)用科學(xué)”。

　　有時候，思想務(wù)實的人往往只會想到科學(xué)的直接運用以得到經(jīng)濟(jì)回報，會與純粹科學(xué)失之交臂。許多有重大發(fā)現(xiàn)的化學(xué)家們可能怎么也沒有想到，他們的科學(xué)研究結(jié)果有一天會被應(yīng)用到與人們的生死密切相關(guān)的實際應(yīng)用領(lǐng)域中去。一點新信息的發(fā)現(xiàn)往往為發(fā)現(xiàn)另一種新信息打開了大門。有些科學(xué)發(fā)現(xiàn)看起來是如此簡單，人們甚至驚訝這樣簡單的發(fā)現(xiàn)在以前怎么會想不到呢;[8]然而，我們不要忘記，要發(fā)現(xiàn)細(xì)胞的存在，必須首先有顯微鏡的發(fā)明作為前提。[9]大量將畢生精力致力于純粹科學(xué)研究的科學(xué)家們并不為自己忽視了把科學(xué)發(fā)現(xiàn)應(yīng)用于實際而感到抱歉，因為他們從以往的經(jīng)驗知道，大部分新發(fā)明新發(fā)現(xiàn)最終都會被應(yīng)用到實踐中去。