(南昌市南昌二中高三沖刺模擬考試A篇)

It is predicted that there will be 5 scientific breakthroughs in the 21^st century．

We’ll know where we came from．Why does the universe exist? To put it another way, why is there something instead of nothing? Since the 1920s, scientists have known the universe is expanding, which means it must have started at a definite time in the past．They even have developed theories that give a detailed picture of the evolution（演變） of the universe．

We’ll crack（破譯）the genetic（基因）code and conquer cancer．Thanks to 20^th-century antibiotics, the once dreaded, once incurable disease now can mean nothing more serious than taking some pills．As scientists learn more about the genetic code and the way cells work, many serious diseases ---cancer, for one ---will become less threatening．Using manufactured “therapeutic”（治療的） viruses, doctors will be able to replace cancer—causing damaged DNA with healthy genes．

We’ll live longer （120 years?）．If the normal aging process is basically an invisible contest in our cells ---a contest between damage to our DNA and our cells’ ability to repair that damage ---then 21st –century progress in genetic medicine may let us control and even reverse the process．

We’ll manage Earth．In the 21st century, we’ll stop talking about the weather but will do something about it．We’ll gradually learn how to predict the effects of human activity on the Earth, its climate and its ecosystems（生態(tài)系統(tǒng)）．And with that knowledge will come an increasing willingness to use it to manage the workings of our planet．

We’ll have a brain “road map”．This is the real “final frontier” of the 21^st century: The brain is the most complex system we know．It contains about 100 billion neurons, each connected to as many as 1,000 others．

56．In the 20th century, __________ made the serious disease become curable．

       A．genetic code    B．healthy genes       C．a(chǎn)ntibiotics           D．DNA

57．Which of the following is not mentioned in the text?

       A．In the 21st century, we will be more willing to manage the working of our planet

       B．The brain contains about 1000 billion neurons．

       C．The 21st century progress in genetic may let us control the aging process．

       D．The universe must have started at a definite time in the past．

58．What’s the main idea of the text?

       A．People will live longer and become much stronger in the 21st century．

       B．There will be 5 scientific breakthroughs in the 21st century

C．Science will develop more quickly in the 21st century．

       D．People will know more about our world