考研英语阅读unit17.docx

考研英语阅读unit17.docx

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考研英语阅读unit17

Unit17

Allthingsaredifficultbeforetheyareeasy.

万事开头难。

学习内容

题材

词数

建议时间

得分统计

做题备忘

PartA

Text1

商业经济

425

/10

Text2

科普知识

397

/10

Text3

社会生活

413

/10

Text4

文化教育

391

/10

PartB

社会生活

602

/10

PartC

科普知识

442

/10

PartA

Directions：

Readthefollowingtexts.Answerthequestionsbloweachtextbychoosing[A],[B],[C]or[D].

Text1

TheUnitedStatesInterstateHighwaySystemisaninfrastructurefeatofunprecedentedproportions.Notonlydoesitjoinallfiftystatesintheuniontogetherallowingforrapidtransportofgoodsandpeople,butitalsohaslegitimateclaimtothetitleofthelargestpublicworkerprograminhistory.Theprojectwasmotivatedbybothmilitaryandeconomicgoals.Interestintheprojectexistedsincetheearly1940s,butwasdelayedbytheoutbreakofWorldWarII,followedbythepostwarrecovery.AlthoughapprovedbyCongressin1944,thebuildingdidnotactuallybeginuntil1956.

ThepostwarprosperityinAmericaaccentuatedtheneedforsuchamassiveinfrastructureproject.AfterAmerica’ssuccessinWorldWarIIandrecoveryofitseconomyfromtheGreatDepression,thepopulation’sdisposableincomesoared,allowingmostfamiliestopurchaseautomobiles,previouslythoughtofasluxuryitems.Withthesuddenboomofcars,amoreefficientroadonwhichtotravelwasdesperatelyneeded,andtheinterstatehighwaysystemprovidedthat,allowingtravelerstosafelyandreliablyvisitotherstatesordestinationsclosertohome.

Thesamesurgeincarownershipthatcreatedtheneedfortheinterstatehighwaysystemalsoprovidedthemeansbywhichtopayfortheproject.Anewtaxongasolineprovided90percentofthefundingfortheproject,andstatetaxescoveredtheremaining10percent.Withthenewhighwaysysteminplace,notonlycouldtravelersvisitpreviouslyunfeasibledestinationsontheirholidaysandvacations,butbusinessescouldtransporttheirproductstomarketsinotherstates,increasingcompetitionacrossthecountry,tothebenefitofconsumersandproductqualityalike.

Themilitaryhadakeeneyeonthesystemaswell.TrooptransportwasnowpossibletoallcornersofAmericainarapidandefficientmanner,andthelongstretchesofstraighthighwaysinstantlyprovidedrunwaysformilitaryaircraftintimesofemergency.Thecountry,linkedtogetherbyanetwork,ofroadsthatgreatlyreducedtraveltime,couldnowmoreefficientlybedefended.

Inthelastfortyyearsalone,17trillionmileshavebeentraveledontheUSInterstateHighwaySystem.ThosemilescanbeequatedtothreetripsaroundtheworldforeveryAmerican,atriptothemoonfor75millionpeople,orthreelightyearsinspace.Nomatterwhatfigureisused,thenumbersarestunning.TheinterstatehighwayhasgottenandcontinuestogetpeoplewheretheyneedtogoinAmerica,andatafractionofthetimeitwouldotherwisetake.

1.TheoutbreakofWorldWarII

[A]wastedprecioustimebydelayingtheInterstateHighwayproject.

[B]hadapositiveimpactbycontributingtothemeansbywhichtheInterstateHighwaySystemwasbuilt.

[C]delayedthestartoftheprojectbutresultedinmoremoneybywhichtofundit.

[D]spurredthemilitarytothrowtheirsupportinfavoroftheInterstateHighwayproject.

2.TheUSInterstateHighwaySystemwasbuiltmainly

[A]torespondtourgentneedsthathadarisen.

[B]inordertobetterdefendacountryinatimeofwar.

[C]witheconomicandbusinessesinmind.

[D]fromstatetaxpayerdollars.

3.WhatcanweinferfromtheParagraph3?

[A]Thetaxongasolinewasthemostefficientwaybywhichtofundthebuildingoftheinterstatehighwaysystem.

[B]Theinterstatehighwaysystemwasanimmensefinancialburdenthatrequiredhugeamountsofresourcestocomplete.

[C]Withoutthepostwarsurgeincarownership,fundingfortheinterstatehighwaysystemwouldhavebeeninsufficient.

[D]Thosewhostoodtobenefitmostfromtheinterstatehighwaysystemprovidedthemajorityofthefundingforitsconstruction.

4.By“Thosemiles…inspace”（Line2-3,Para.5）,theauthorintendsto

[A]stresstheeffectsoftheinterstatehighwaysystemthatcontinuetothisday.

[B]highlighttheincredibledistancesthathavebeentraveledontheinterstatehighwaysystem.

[C]statethedistancestraveledontheinterstatehighwaysysteminmorecomparableterms.

[D]makeafinalstatementattestingtothegreatnessoftheinterstatehighwaysystem.

5.TheauthorviewstheUnitedStatesInterstateHighwaySystemwith

[A]whole-heartedapproval.

[B]ajudgmentofthegoodoutweighingthebad.

[C]positivefeelingsonitseconomicimpact.

[D]criticalsupport.

Text2

Thewordscienceisheardsoofteninmoderntimesthatalmosteverybodyhassomenotionofitsmeaning.Ontheotherhand,itsdefinitionisdifficultformanypeople.Themeaningofthetermisconfused,buteveryoneshouldunderstanditsmeaningandobjectives.Justtomaketheexplanationassimpleaspossible,supposescienceisdefinedasclassifiedknowledge（facts）.

Eveninthetruesciencesdistinguishingfactfromfictionisnotalwayseasy.Forthisreasongreatcareshouldbetakentodistinguishbetweenbeliefsandtruths.Thereisnodangeraslongasacleardifferenceismadebetweentemporaryandprovedexplanations.Forexample,hypothesesandtheoriesareattemptstoexplainnaturalphenomena.Fromthesepositionsthescientistcontinuestoexperimentandobserveuntiltheyareprovedordiscredited.Theexactstatusofanyexplanationshouldbeclearlylabeledtoavoidconfusion.

Theobjectivesofscienceareprimarilythediscoveryandthesubsequentunderstandingoftheunknown.Mancannotbesatisfiedwithrecognizingthatsecretsexistinnatureorthatquestionsareunanswerable;hemustsolvethem.Towardthatendspecialistsinthefieldofbiologyandrelatedfieldsofinterestaredirectingmuchoftheirtimeandenergy.

Actually,twobasicapproachesleadtothediscoveryofnewinformation.One,aimedatsatisfyingcuriosity,isreferredtoaspurescience.Theotherisaimedatusingknowledgeforspecificpurposes—forinstance,improvinghealth,raisingstandardsofliving,orcreatingnewconsumerproducts.Inthiscaseknowledgeisputtoeconomicuse.Suchanapproachisreferredtoasappliedscience.

Sometimespractical-mindedpeoplemissthepointofpurescienceinthinkingonlyofitsimmediateapplicationforeconomicrewards.Chemistsresponsibleformanyofthediscoveriescouldhardlyhaveanticipatedthattheirfindingswouldonedayresultinapplicationsofsuchapracticalnatureasthosedirectlyrelatedtolifeanddeath.Thediscoveriesofonebitofinformationopensthedoortothediscoveryofanother.Somediscoveriesseemsosimplethatoneisamazedtheywerenotmadeyearsago;however,oneshouldrememberthattheconstructionofthemicroscopehadtoprecedethediscoveryofthecell.Thehostsofscientistsdedicatingtheirlivestopuresciencearenotapologeticaboutignoringthepracticalsideoftheirdiscoveries;theyknowfromexperiencethatmostknowledgeiseventuallyapplied.

6.Wemaysimplydefinescienceas

[A]thestudyofunrelatedsubjects.

[B]anattempttoexplainnaturalphenomena.

[C]thestudyofrelatedfields.

[D]labelledknowledge.

7.Ascientistinterestedinaddingtoourgeneralknowledgeaboutoxygenwouldprobablycallhisapproach

[A]appliedscience.

[B]agriculturescience.

[C]purescience.

[D]environmentalscience.

18.Purescience,leadingtotheconstructionofamicroscope,

[A]mayleadtoantiscientific,“impure”results.

[B]necessarilyprecedesappliedscience,leadingtothediscoveryofacell.

[C]isnotalwaysaspureaswesuppose.

[D]necessarilyresultsfromappliedscienceandthediscoveryofacell.

9.Onwhichofthefollowingstatementswouldtheauthormostprobablyagree?

[A]Scientistsengagedintheoreticalresearchshouldnotbeblamedforignoringthepracticalsideoftheirdiscoveries.

[B]Todayfewpeoplehaveanynotionsofthemeaningofscience.

[C]Inscience,itisnotdifficulttodistinguishfactfromfiction.

[D]Practical-mindedpeoplecanunderstandthemeaningandobjectivesofpurescience.

10.Whichofthefollowingwouldbethebesttitleforthetext?

[A]TheNatureofScienceandScientists

[B]BiologyandtheScienceandScientist

[C]HypothesesandTheories

[D]OnDistinguishingFactfromFiction

Text3

Greatemotionalandintellectualresourcesaredemandedinquarrels;staminahelps,asdoesacapacityforobsession.Butnooneisbornagoodquarreler,thecraftmustbelearned.

Therearetwogenerallyrecognizedapprenticeships.First,anduniversallypreferred,isalongchildhoodspentinthecompanyoffractioussiblings.Afterseveralyearsofrainyafternoon,brothersandsistersdevelopasurefeelforthetacticsofattritionandthenicetiesofstrategysonecessaryinfirst-ratequarreling.

Theonlychild,orthechildofpeacefulorrepressedhouseholds,islikelytogrowupfailingtounderstandthatquarrels,unlikearguments,arenotaboutanything,leastofallthepursuitoftruth.Theapparentsubjectofaquarrelisamerepretext;therealbusinessisthequarrelitself.

Essentially,adversariesinaquarrelareouttoestablishorrescuetheirdignity;hencetheelementaryprinciple:

anythingmaybesaid.Theunschooled,mayspendanhourwithknockingheart,siftingtheconsequencesofcallingthisoldacquaintancealyingfraud.

Thosewhomisstheirfirstapprenticeshipmaycaretoenrollinthesecond,thebadmarriage,Thiscanbeperilousfortheneophyte;themutualintimacyofspousesmakesthematoncemorevulnerableandmoredangerousinattack.O