(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

Now often one hears children wishing they were grown-ups and old people wishing they were young again．Each age has its pleasures and its pains, and the happiest person is the one who enjoys what each age gives him without, t wasting his time in useless regrets．

    Childhood is a time when there are few responsibilities to make life difficult．If a child has good parents, he is fed, looked after and loved, whatever be may do．It is impossible that he will                                                                                                                                                                                                             ever, again in his life be given so much without having to do anything in return．What's more, life is always giving new things to the child--things that have lost their interest for older people because they are too well known, but a child has his pains : he is not so free to do what he wishes to do ; he is repeatedly being told not to do something, or being punished for what he has wrongly done．    

   When a young man starts to earn his own living, he can no longer expect others to pay for his food, his clothes, and his room, but has to work if he wants to live comfortable．If he spends most of his time playing about in the way that he used to as a child, he will go hungry．And if he breaks the laws of society as he used to break the laws of his parents, he may go to prison．

    If, however, he works hard, keeps out troubled and has good health, he can have the great happiness of building up for himself his oven position in society．

1．In the second paragraph, the writer tries to tell us that_____________．

A．life for a child is fairly easy

B．a(chǎn) child is always loved whatever he does

C．if much is given to a child, he must do something in return

D．only children are interested in life

2．Which of the following is TRUE about children according to the text?

A．Children often break laws when they are young．

B．There are a few responsibilities for childhood their-make life difficult．                                                                                                                  

C．Children have pleasures and pains as well．

D．If a child has good parents, he can do whatever he likes．

3．the main idea of the text is that ___________．

A．life is not enjoyable since each age has some pains

B．young men can have the greatest happiness if they work hard

C．childhood is the most enjoyable time in one's life  

D．one is the happiest if he 'can make good use of each age in his life

Although Thomas Edison created the technologies behind three major 21st century industries  electrical power，recorded music and movies—his greatest invention may have been the modern method of inventing．He basically came up with the modern system of research and development．Edison was not the only scientist doing research in his garage but someone who gathered around him a team of creative scientific minds．Edison’s laboratories were the forerunners（ 先驅(qū)）of Apple，Google and Microsoft．

Yet for all his scientific gifts，he was no Steve Jobs or Bill Gates．He once said，“Anything that won’ t sell，I don’ t want to invent．” But Edison，unlike Jobs or Gates，had no real sense of what the public wanted or how to change his discoveries into products that might sell．It took him years to understand that the phonograph（ 留聲機(jī)）was not a business tool but an entertainment invention．He helped create movies but resisted the idea that people might want to go into a theater to watch one．

We chose Edison this year because we need his example now more than ever．Though we live in a time of great reformation，the U．S．is in danger of losing its advantage in science and technology．American investment（ 投資）in research and development has not increased as a percentage of GDP since the mid一1980s，while the government’ s share has been dropping．And this is at a time when China is rapidly increasing its money on research and development．The U．S．was once among the leading nations．Now it ranks near the bottom of the 23 nations that collect such data．We hope that Edison’ s story might not only encourage reformation but also inspire more young Americans to study science and engineering．

1．The first paragraph is mainly about         .

    A．the number of Edison’ s great inventions

    B．Edison’ s special personal characters

    C．Edi son’ s modern system of research

    D．Apple．Google and Microsoft and their forerunners

2．Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

    A．All the things Edison invented sold well．

    B．Edison wanted to invent things that sold well．

    C．Edison’ s inventions were not valuable for being unpopular．

    D．Edison had a gift for changing his discoveries into best sellers.

3．The author’ s main purpose is to    ．

      A．inform US of the danger the USA is in

      B．get young Americans to study science

      C．be in honor of Edison for his contributions

      D．tell US how important Edison’ s inventions are

4．We can infer from the text that    ．

    A．the USA is no longer advanced in science and technology

    B．the USA falls behind China in research and inventions

    C．more and more young Americans will be interested in science

    D．China is spending more and more money on research and development