1999年全国硕士研究生入学考试英语试题

　　In talking to some scientists, particularly younger ones, you might gather the impression that they find the"scientific method"a substitute for imaginative thought. I've attended research conferences where a scientist has been asked what he thinks about the advisability of continuting a certain experiment. The scientist has frowned, looked at the graphs, and said"the data are still inconclusive.""We know that,"the men from the budget office have said."but what do you think? Is it worthwhile going on? What do you think we might expect?"The scientist has been shocked at having even been asked to speculate.

　　What this amounts to, of course, is that the scientist has become the victim of his own writings. He has put forward unquestioned claims so consistently that he not only believes them himself, but has convinced industrial and business management that they are true. If experiments are planned and carried out according to plan as faithfully as the reports in the science journals indicate, then it is perfectly logical for management to expect research to produce results measurable in dollars and cents. It is entirely reasonable for auditors to believe that scientists who know exactly where they are going and how they will get there should not be distracted by the necessity of keeping one eye on the cash register while the other eye is on the microscope. Nor, if regularity and conformity to a standard pattern are as desirable to the scientist as the writing of his papers would appear to reflect is managament to be blamed for discriminating against the"odd balls"among researchers in favor of more conventional thinkers who"work well with the team."

　　67、The author wants to proved with the example of Isaac Newton that [].

　　（本题分值：2分）

　　「正确答案」

　　A

　　[注释]这是一道逻辑细节题。本题又是“FOR EXAMPLE”题型，举例是为了说明第一句的观点：科学更依靠观察实验的人的有准备的头脑。

　　[A]inquiring minds are more important than scientific experiments

　　[B]science advances when fruitful researches are conducted

　　[C]scientists seldom forget the essential nature of research

　　[D]unpredictability weighs less than prediction in scientific research

　　68、The author asserts that scientists [].

　　（本题分值：2分）

　　「正确答案」

　　B

　　[注释]这是一道细节题。原文第二段“UNPREDICTABLE”一词反复出现，意即科学家应该注意“不可预见的东西”，它是研究的本质。

　　[A]shouldn't replace "scientific method" with imaginative thought

　　[B]shouldn't neglect to speculate on unpredictable things

　　[C]should write more concise reports for technical journals

　　[D]should be confident about their research findings

　　69、It seems that some young scientists [].

　　（本题分值：2分）

　　「正确答案」

　　D

　　[注释]这又是一道细节题。原文第13—14行：年轻科学家喜欢用SCIENTIFIC METHOD来作为IMAGINATIVE THOUGHTS的替代品，而后者是作者所坚持的，可见年轻的科学家坚持SCIENTIFIC METHOD.

　　[A]have a keen interest in prediction

　　[B]often speculate on the future

　　[C]think highly of creative thinking

　　[D]stick to "scientific method"

　　70、The author implies that the results of scientific research [].

　　（本题分值：2分）

　　「正确答案」

　　A

　　[注释]这是一道推断题。本题较难，是综合推断题。第22—23行可知MANAGEMENT喜欢认为研究总是能挣钱的，作者后面对此表示了怀疑，故答案为[A]。

　　译文解读在实践中，科学与其说依靠事先准备的实验还不如说是依靠实验观察者有所准备的头脑。艾萨克·牛顿爵士通过对苹果落地进行研究发现了万有引力定律。多少个世纪以来苹果一直在许多地方落到地面上，成千上万的人也看到过苹果落地。但多年来牛顿一直对月球和行星绕轨道运行的起因好奇。是什么力促使它们处于现在的位置呢？它们为何不落到天空之外呢？苹果向下落到地上而不是向上飞到树上这一事实回答了牛顿长期以来一直对月球和行星所存有的疑问，月球和行星是苍天中更大的果实。

　　有多少人考虑过苹果向上飞到树上的可能性呢？然而牛顿就考虑过，因为他不想对任何事情进行预测。他只是喜欢思索。他的思想在准备思考不可预测的事。不可预测性是科学研究不可缺少的一个重要特征。如果没有不可预测现象，就用不着研究了。科学家们在为科学杂志撰写千篇一律的报告时往往会忘记这一点，但是历史上这样的例子历历可数。这是一篇议论文。

　　第一、二段通过牛顿的例子说明，在实践中做实验的人的心理准备比实验本身更加重要。在与一些科学家，特别是青年科学家交谈时，你可能会形成这样一种印象：他们找到了“科学的方法”——一种取代了想象思维的方法。我出席过一些科研会议，在会上曾经有人问一位科学家继续某项实验是否是明智之举。这位科学家皱了皱眉头，看了看图表，然后说：“数据还是不够充分。”主管预算的人员说：“这点我们知道，但你的意见怎样？值得继续进行吗？你认为我们可以期待着什么呢？”这位科学家感到很震惊，他没想到他们会叫他做出臆测。

　　当然，这似乎等于说：这位科学家已成了他自己论文的受害者。他们对实验结果所下的断言是如此不容置疑、如此一致，以至于不仅令他们自己，而且也让工商管理部门相信其预测的准确性。如果实验完全按科学杂志报告中所陈述的那样按事先的计划去设计完成，那么管理部门可以期待研究成果用美元、美分来衡量，这完全是符合逻辑的。审计员们也完全有理由相信那些有明确目标，并知道如何实现这一目标的科学家没有必要分心，一只眼睛盯着现