A
Throughout history scientists have risked their health and their lives in their search for the truth.
Sir Isaac Newton, the seventeenth century scientist, was very smart, but that didn’t stop him from doing some pretty stupid things. In his laboratory in Cambridge he often did the strangest experiments. Once, while testing how light passes through lenses (晶状体), he put a long needle into his eye, pushed it to the back, and then moved it around just to see what would happen. Luckily, nothing long-lasting did. On another occasion he stared at the sun for as long as he could bear, to discover what effect this would have on his sight. Again he escaped suffering permanent damage, though he had to spend some days in a darkened room before his eyes recovered.
In the 1750s the Swedish chemist Karl Scheele was the first person to find a way to produce phosphorus (磷). He in fact discovered eight more chemical elements including chlorine (氯), though he didn’t get any praise for them. He was a very clever scientist, but his one failing was a curious habit of tasting a little of every substance he worked with. This risky practice finally caught up with him, and in 1786 he was found dead in his laboratory surrounded by a large number of dangerous chemicals, any of which might have been responsible for his death.
Eugene Shoemaker was a respected geologist. He spent a large part of his life studying craters (火山口) on the moon, and how they were formed, and later did research into the comets of the planet Jupiter. In 1997 he and his wife were in the Australian desert where they went every year to search for places where comets might have hit the earth. While driving in the Tanami desert, normally one of the emptiest places in the world, another vehicle crashed into them and Shoemaker was killed on the spot. Some of his ashes (骨灰) were sent to the moon aboard the Lunar Prospector spacecraft and left there — he is the only person who has had this honor.
1. What did Karl Scheele like doing when performing experiments?
A. Tasting chemicals. B. Staying in the empty lab.
C. Experimenting in darkness. D. Working together with others.
2. What special honor was Shoemaker given after his death?
A. He was buried in the Tanami desert.
B. Some of his ashes were placed on the moon.
C. One comet of Jupiter was named after him.
D. A spacecraft carrying him traveled around Jupiter.
3. The text is mainly about three great scientists’ _____.
A. special honors B. great achievements
C. famous experiments D. sufferings in the job
【答案】1. A 2. B 3. D
【解析】
本文是一篇应用文，主要介绍了历史上几位冒着生命和健康的危险寻找真相的科学家。
【1题详解】
细节理解题。根据第三段中的“He was a very clever scientist, but his one failing was a curious habit of tasting a little of every substance he worked with.”可知，卡尔·舍勒有一个奇怪的习惯——他在做实验时喜欢品尝他所研究的化学物质，故A项正确。
【2题详解】
细节理解题。根据最后一段中的“Some of his ashes (骨灰) were sent to the moon aboard the Lunar Prospector spacecraft and left there — he is the only person who has had this honor.”可知，尤金·舒梅克死后得到的特别荣誉是他的一些骨灰被留在了月球，故B项正确。
【3题详解】
主旨大意题。通读全文，特别是根据第一段“Throughout history scientists have risked their health and their lives in their search for the truth.”可知，本文主要介绍了历史上几位冒着生命和健康的危险寻找真相的科学家，也就是介绍的是他们在科学研究中经历的苦难，故D项正确。
