中国名校英语六级考试冲刺（四）

Part Ⅱ Reading Comprehension (35 minutes)
Directions: There are 4 passages it this part. Each passage is followed by some questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A),B),C)and D).You should decide on the best choice and mark the corresponding letter on the Answer Sheet with a single line through the center. ?

Passage One
Questions 21 to 25 are based on the following passage:

    Chemistry did not emerge as a science until after the scientific revolution in the seventeenth century and then only rather slowly and laboriously. But chemical knowledge is as old as history, being almost entirely concerned with the practical arts of living. Cooking is essentially a chemical process; so is the melting of metals and the administration of drugs and potions. This basic chemical knowledge, which was applied in most cases as a rule of thumb, was nevertheless dependent on previous experiment. It also served to stimulate a fundamental curiosity about the processes themselves. New information was always being gained as artisans improved techniques to gain better results. ?
    The development of a scientific approach to chemistry was, however, hampered by several factors. The most serious problem was the vast range of material available and the consequent difficulty of organizing it into some system. In addition, there were social and intellectual difficulties, chemistry is nothing if not practical; those who practice it must use their hands, they must have a certain practical flair. Yet in many ancient civilizations, practical tasks were primarily the province of a slave population. The thinker or philosopher stood apart from this mundane world, where the practical arts appeared to lack any intellectual content or interest. ?
    The final problem for early chemical science was the element of secrecy. Experts in specific trades had developed their own techniques and guarded their knowledge to prevent others from stealing their livelihood. Another factor that contributed to secrecy was the esoteric nature of the knowledge of alchemists, who were trying to transform base metals into gold or were concerned with the hunt for the elixir that would bestow the blessing of eternal life. In one sense, the second of these was the more serious impediment because the records of the chemical processes that early alchemists had discovered were often written down in symbolic language intelligible to very few or in symbols that were purposely obscure. ?

21. What is the passage mainly about? ?
A) The scientific revolution in the seventeenth century.?
B) Reasons that chemistry developed slowly as a science.?
C) The practical aspects of chemistry.?
D) Difficulties of organizing knowledge systematically. ?

22. According to the passage, how did knowledge about chemical processes increase before the seventeenth century? ?
A) Philosophers devised theories about chemical properties. ?
B) A special symbolic language was developed.?
C) Experience led workers to revise their techniques. ?
D) Experts shared their discoveries with the public. ?

23. The bold word “hampered” in Line 1 Para 2 is closest in meaning to____. ?
A) recognized B) determined ?C) solved D) hindered ?

24. The bold word “it” refers to which of the following? ?
A) Problem. B) Material.?C) Difficulty. D) System. ?

25. Which of the following statements best explains why “the second of these was the more serious impediment”(Underlined)??
A) Chemical knowledge was limited to a small number of people.?
B) The symbolic language used was very imprecise.?
C) Very few new discoveries were made by alchemists. ?
D) The records of the chemical processes were not based on experiments.?

Passage Two
Questions 26 to 30 are based on the following passage:?

    An important new industry, oil refining, grew after the Civil War. Crude oil, or petroleum a dark, thick ooze from the earth had been known for hundreds of years, but little use had ever　been made of it. In the 1850’s Samuel M. Kier, a manufacturer in western Pennsylvania, began　collecting the oil from local scapages and refining it into kerosene. Refining, like smelting, is a　process of removing impurities from a raw material.?
　　Kerosene was used to light lamps. It was a cheap substitute for whale oil, which was becoming harder to get. Soon there was a large demand for kerosene. People began to search for　new supplies of petroleum.?
　　The first oil well was drilled by E. L. Drake, are tired railroad conductor. In 1859 he began　drilling in Titusville, Pennsylvania. The whole venture seemed so impractical and foolish that　onlookers called it “Drake’s Folly”. But when he had drilled down about 70 feet(21 meters),　Drake struck oil. His well began to yield 20 barrels of crude oil a day.?
　　News of Drake’s success brought oil prospectors to the scene. By the early 1860’s these　wildcatters were drilling for “black gold” all over western Pennsylvania. The boom rivaled the　California gold rush of 1848 in its excitement and Wild West atmosphere. And it brought far　more wealth to the prospectors than any gold rush.?
　　Crude oil could be refined into many products. For some years kerosene continued to be the　principal one. It was sold in grocery stores and door-to-door. In the 1880’s and 1890’s refiners　learned how to make other petroleum products such as waxes and lubricating oils. Petroleum　was not then used to make gasoline or heatingoil.?

26.What is the best title for the passage??
A) Oil Refining: A Historical Perspective?
B) The California Gold Rush: Get Rich Quickly?
C) Private Property: Trespassers Will Be Prosecuted?
D) Kerosene Lamps: A Light in the Tunnel?

27.It can be inferred form the passage that kerosene was preferable to whale oil because whale　oil was too____.?
A) expensive B) thick ?C) hot D) polluted?

28.According to the passage, many people initially thought that E. L. Drake had made a mistake　by____.?
A) going on a whaling expedition ?
B) moving to Pennsylvania?
C) searching for oil ?
D) retiring from his job?

29.Why does the author mention the California gold rush??
A) To explain the need for an increased supply of gold?
B) To indicate the extent of United States mineral wealth?
C) To describe the mood when oil was first discovered?
D) To argue that gold was more valuable than oil?

30. Which of the following words could best replace the word “one” (Underlined)??
A) Oil. B) Door. ?C) Store. D) Product.?