Do you suppose Darwin, one of the greatest scientists of all time, really did fools experiments? Or did he do experiments that were so simple and basic that other people just thought they were foolish?

　　Sometimes, people think they already know the answer to a question or the solution (解决办法) to a problem. Sometimes, they really do know an answer or a solution, but without thinking they are important.

　　Charles Darwin didn’t settle for (满足于) just thinking he knew something. And, he believed all things could be important however simple they seemed to be.

　　Suppose you drop sheets of paper that are of exactly the same size and shape. If you drop them at the same time in the same place, they will fall in the same way. Now make one of the sheets of paper into a tight (紧的) little ball and let it drop along with the other sheets. What happens? You have done an experiment that is so simple that you might think it couldn’t be worth anything.

　　But this simple experiment is important. It explains part of our present-day understandings of physics, ideas that were worked out long ago by Galileo and Newton. And these understandings set aside some of ancient Greek physics.

Scientist sometimes stops to look at very simple things and to think very hard about them. Even the simplest idea, which we might think is foolish, can shake the foundations of science.

1. The passage tells us that Charles Darwin ____.

　　A. was a great English scientist

　　B. always liked doing the experiments that others thought difficult

　　C. thought even the simplest thing was important

　　D. didn’t get well with others

2. The phrase “set aside” most probably means____ .

　　A. throw away      B. store up

　　C. put to use        D. realize

3. The author of the passage tries to ________.

　　A. convince us that Charles Darwin, Galileo and Newton are the greatest scientists in the world

　　B. draw the conclusion that basic sciences are simple things

　　C. prove that two sheets of paper, with the same size and shape, will fall at the same speed

　　D. draw our attention to everyday happenings around us

4Which of the following is TRUE?

　　A. Darwin really did fools experiments.

　　B. According to some people Darwin did foolish experiments.

　　C. It is believed by all the people that things could be important though they seemed to be simple.

　　D. Galileo and Newton worked out ancient Greek physics.

The question ______ last night was of great importance.

　　A. discussed　　B. discussing 　　C. to be discussed　D. discuss

Microsoft founder  Bill Gates said that he planned to give away almost all of his fortune(财富)，largely to the cause of global health，during the course of his lifetime.With an estimated(估计)worth of more than $40 billion，according to Forbes，the project will be no small fate(功绩) for Gates.Having already provided the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation with $24 billion to address global health issues，Gates said that finally his entire fortune will be put towards the cause except “a few percent left for the kids”.

So what has made the richest man in the world to channel his resources so heavily into one interest？Gates believes that “the equality of opportunity（机会）”in which Americans take such pride needs to extend to other nations around the world. Improving the health of the populations，he says，has proven to be an essential method in helping poor countries to be financially successful.“National borders allow inequalities，”said Gates.“We all need  to take a more global view，rather than just saying my country is doing well.We have to step up these health issues，knowing how few resources are going into them.”

Gates said that both his parents set up an example for him as a child.His father，William H．Gates，was the head of the local Planned Parenthood，and his mother，Mary，volunteered for the United Way.As he gathered his fortune，Gates knew he would finally want to give back as well，but he didn’t expect to devote himself whole?heartedly to one project until he was about 60.

However，Gates,47，began to question his ability to wait that long.“It seemed there was a real time urgency，”Gates said.“I started to think how many lives I could save before then.”

1.Bill Gates will give away his vast fortune to　　　　.

A．improve the health of population all over the world

B．improve the health of population in America alone

C．avoid leaving his children too much money

D．spare the American government the burden of health care

2.Bill Gates believes that one important way of developing poor countries is　　　　.

A．to set up more foundations for them

B．to help them with natural resources

C．to put more efforts into the health issues in them

D．to help them take a more global view

3.It can be learned from the passage that Bill Gates thinks　　　　.

A．Americans can be world?famous by giving away vast fortune

B．Americans should treat fellow citizens well

C．Americans should devote themselves to certain projects

D．Americans should care about people in other countries

阅读下列短文，并做每篇后面的题目，从四个选项中，选出能回答所提问题或完成所给句子的最佳答案。

Early in the 18th century, Captain Cook, a famous explorer of England, unexpectedly caught sight of an unusual animal during his first visit to Australia. The animal had a large mouse like head and jumped along on its large legs. To his great surprise, the unusual animal carried its young in a special pocket of flesh. Captain Cook pointed to the animal which was eating grass in the distance and asked his native guide what the animal was referred to. The guide seemed not to know what he was pointing at and finally said “Kangaroo”, but their requests were met with puzzled looks of the native people. Before long they got to discover that the native guide who made the answer to Cook's question really meant, “I don't know what you are pointing at. ” Funny enough, the name “Kangaroo”, stuck and it is still in use today.

1．Which of the following sentences best expresses the main idea ?

[　　]

A．Captain Cook's guide made a joke.

B．Native Australians could not speak English in Cook's time.

C．Some words have rather funny origings (起源).

D．Captain Cook was a lover of wild animals.

2．When the native guide said “Kang-a-roo”, he really meant “________”

[　　]

A．Ah, it is a special kind of animal.

B．I wonder what you have said

C．What do you mean by pointing at that animal ?

D．I have no idea of what you are referring to.

3．We can infer from this passage _________.

[　　]

A．we should learn many different languages

B．Captain Cook made a mistake in understanding

C．Captain Cook was a foolish explorer

D．the importance of a language in common

　　Is it possible that the people of the world today could agree upon a single international language that everyone would be able to speak and understand?

　　In the United Nations there are five official languages-English, Chinese,

Russian, French and Spanish. How about making one of them into an international language? English has been worked on for this purpose. A basic word list of 850 English words named Basic English was made. These are the only verbs in the entire list,“come, go, give, keep, let, do, put, make, say, be, seem, may, will, have, send.”Writing in Basic English may require you to use a greater number of words-as in having to say“It came to my ears”instead of I heard-but you can still say anything you want to with just 850 different words and a few sufixes（后缀）and prefixes（前缀）．This is a much smaller number of words to have to remember than the ordinary number offered to the students of a foreign language.

　　But people have always had a need to do more than simply“Tell it as it is”. Language is for reporting not only one's work. For this, a language needs idioms, needs all kinds of grammar and style（文体）that show its history and development just as a person needs eyebrows（眉毛）. Is there some special reason why our lips should be a different color from the rest of our face? Perhaps not, but this is how people-real people-are. For communication between people, languages of all kinds will remain to reflect（反映）the growth and soul of the societies that speak them.

(1) The phrase“tell it as it is”in the third paragraph means __________.

[　　]

A．people can use Basic English to say what they want to

B．people think Basic English can express what they see or hear

C．people say what they want to according to the fact

D．people tell something they like to

(2) If we write a composition in Basic English, it will be________.

[　　]

A．longer than usual

B．shorter than usual

C．hard for us to express what we want to

D．able to express ourselves in different style as we like to

(3) Which of the following Statements is NOT true?

[　　]

A．Basic English is easier for students to learn.

B．Languages are like mirrors which can reflect the growth of the mankind.

C．Grammar and idioms are still necessary for us when we are learning a language.

D．Basic English will take the place not only of Queen's English, but also of the other languages in the world.

(4) This passage begins with a question．According to the writer's opinion, the answer to the question may be _________.

[　　]

A．it will be possible in the future

B．it seems to be possible if people agree to use Basic English

C．it seems impossible that people can use a simple language to express them-selves in various lives

D．it is impossible except that five official UN languages are used at the same time

(5) Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

[　　]

A．The words used in Basic English are strictly limited to 850, and nothing more.

B．Basic English is not a natural development of the English language.

C．Basic English can be used to express our thought easily.

D．Basic English seems not so easy to learn.