1、大学英语六级改革适用（阅读）模拟试卷 21及答案与解析 Section B 0 The Birth of Scientific English A)World science is dominated today by a small number of languages, including Japanese, German and French, but it is English which is probably the most popular global language of science. This is not just because of the importanc
2、e of English-speaking countries such as the USA in scientific research; the scientists of many non-English-speaking countries find that they need to write their research papers in English to reach a wide international audience. B)Given the prominence of scientific English today, it may seem surprisi
3、ng that no one really knew how to write science in English before the 17th century. Before that, Latin was regarded as the lingua franca for European intellectuals. C)The European Renaissance(c. 14th16th century)is sometimes called the “revival of learning“, a time of renewed interest in the “lost k
4、nowledge“ of classical times. At the same time, however, scholars also began to test and extend this knowledge. D)The emergent nation states of Europe developed competitive interests in world exploration and the development of trade. Such expansion, which was to take the English language west to Ame
5、rica and east to India, was supported by scientific developments such as the discovery of magnetism(and hence the invention of the compass), improvements in cartography and perhaps the most important scientific revolution of them all the new theories of astronomy and the movement of the Earth in rel
6、ation to the planets and stars, developed by Copernicus(1473-1543). E)England was one of the first countries where scientists adopted and publicized Copernican ideas with enthusiasm. Some of these scholars, including two with interests in language John Walls and John Wilkins helped Found the Royal S
7、ociety in 1660 in order to promote empirical scientific research. F)Across Europe similar academies and societies arose, creating new national traditions of science. In the initial stages of the scientific revolution, most publications in the national languages were popular works, encyclopaedias, ed
8、ucational textbooks and translations. G)Original science was not done in English until the second half of the 17th century. For example, Newton published his mathematical treatise, known as the Principia, in Latin, but published his later work on the properties of light Opticks in English. H)There w
9、ere several reasons why original science continued to be written in Latin. The first was simply a matter of audience. Latin was suitable for an international audience of scholars, whereas English reached a socially wider, but more local, audience. Hence, popular science was written in English. I)A s
10、econd reason for writing in Latin may, perversely, have been a concern for secrecy. Open publication had dangers in putting into the public domain preliminary ideas which had not yet been fully exploited by their “author“. This growing concern about intellectual properly rights was a feature of the
11、period it reflected both the humanist notion of the individual, rational scientist who invents and discovers through private intellectual labour, and the growing connection between original science and commercial exploitation. J)There was something of a social distinction between “scholars and gentl
12、emen“ who understood Latin, and men of trade who lacked a classical education. And in the mid-17th century it was common practice for mathematicians to keep their discoveries and proofs secret, by writing them in cipher, in obscure languages, or in private messages deposited in a sealed box with the
13、 Royal Society. Some scientists might have felt more comfortable with Latin precisely because its audience, though international, was socially restricted. Doctors clung the most keenly to Latin as an “insider language“. K)A third reason why the writing of original science in English was delayed may
14、have been to do with the linguistic inadequacy of English in the early modern period. English was not well equipped to deal with scientific argument. First, it lacked the necessary technical vocabulary. Second, it lacked the grammatical resources required to represent the world in an objective and i
15、mpersonal way, and to discuss the relations, such as cause and effect, that might hold between complex and hypothetical entities. L)Fortunately, several members of the Royal Society possessed an interest in language and became engaged in various linguistic projects. Although a proposal in 1664 to es
16、tablish a committee for improving the English language came to little, the societys members did a great deal to foster the publication of science in English and to encourage the development of a suitable writing style. M)Many members of the Royal Society also published monographs in English. One of
17、the first was by Robert Hooke, the society s first curator of experiments, who described his experiments with microscopes in Micrographia(1665). This work is largely narrative in style, based on a transcript of oral demonstrations and lectures. N)In 1665 a new scientific journal, Philosophical Trans
18、actions, was inaugurated. Perhaps the first international English-language scientific journal, it encouraged a new genre of scientific writing, that of short, focused accounts of particular experiments. O)The 17th century was thus a formative period in the establishment of scientific English. In the
19、 following century much of this momentum was lost as German established itself as the leading European language of science. It is estimated that by the end of the 18th century 401 German scientific journals had been established as opposed to 96 in France and 50 in England. However, in the 19th centu
20、ry scientific English again enjoyed substantial lexical growth as the industrial revolution created the need for new technical vocabulary, and new, specialised, professional societies were instituted to promote and publish in the new disciplines. 1 In seventeenth century Britain, those profound thin
21、kers combined their interests in science with an enthusiasm in how to express ideas. 2 The worldwide scientists have to write their essays in English if they want to attract audience from different countries. 3 Scientific English developed again in the 19th century as a direct result of the industri
22、al revolution. 4 The another reason for writing in Latin instead of in English is to keep discoveries secret. 5 An early scientific journal fostered a new kind of writing based on short description of specific experiments. 6 Since the importance of scientific English nowadays, it is difficult for us
23、 to imagine that few people could write science in English before 1600s. 7 One reason for writing of popular science in English has been the concern for a majority of audience. 8 In Britain, scientists worried that English had neither the technical vocabulary nor the grammatical resources to express
24、 their ideas. 9 Luckily, scientists associated with the Royal Society set about developing English. 10 In mid-17th century, the desire to protect ideas seems to have been strong, especially in the case of mathematicians and doctors. 10 Eating Disorders A)Eating disorders have been most commonly asso
25、ciated with women and therefore most studies on anorexia nervosa have been concentrated within the female population. Such gender bias however makes it less likely that a doctor will diagnose a male as having an eating disorder or anorexia even though the symptoms might be identical. B)Men are far l
26、ess likely to discuss an eating disorder with other men or with women. Their doctors are more likely to diagnose them as having a bout of depression due to stress or some kind of upset rather than suffering from an eating disorder because such disorders have been largely labelled female diseases. Th
27、is is mostly due to the cultural differences between men and women. C)Discussions about beauty, new diets and body weight are seen as the female arena of discussion that males seldom enter. Also, traditionally mens beauty is displayed in body mass, building muscle and body building and therefore to
28、discuss issues surrounding weight loss in not seen as particularly masculine because men “Dont have psychological problems“ and “Dont talk about their feelings“ even though men do suffer from anorexia. D)The disease is far more common in the Western world than anywhere else and there is much cause f
29、or concern as recent research suggests that the disease is on the increase. The disease mostly manifests itself during adolescence when the signs of obvious weight loss become apparent. People who suffer from the disease have a genuine and constant terrifying fear of gaining weight, even when their
30、weight is much less than people of their same height and stature. . E)Doctors have been able to characterize the disease because the sufferer s body weight is about 15% below average for their height. Suffers also tend to avoid fatty foods, use laxatives, diuretics or engage in excessive exercise. F
31、)Because people live in a world obsessed with image and a fashion and cosmetics industry that forces an image of the ideal body, it can sometimes be difficult to distinguish between anorexics and those who have a higher interest in their physical appearance than most people. Anorexics can be disting
32、uished from a non-anorexics because weight loss is completely self-induced and the sufferer goes to extremes to lose weight, also engaging in self-induced vomiting until eventually the situation fast gets our of control. G)Suffers are also completely preoccupied with their bodies and actually believ
33、e themselves to be fat when in reality they are malnourished and starkly thinner than their peers. They also begin to lose interest in activities their peers are involved in such as socializing and very often become withdrawn. These are common symptoms in many adolescents but coupled with the obviou
34、s and drastic weight loss and lack of concentration it is easier to diagnose an adolescent with the beginning stages of anorexia. H)The actual cause of the disease is unknown but scientists believe that biological and social factors play a role and sometimes the disease can be triggered by traumatic
35、 events such as a death in the family, stress or the onset of puberty. I)While it is true that most suffers of the disease are female, some 10% are male. Studies show that there are differences between male and female anorexics. Female suffers tend to view themselves as fatter, more overweight than
36、males with the same condition. Males tend to engage in less self-induced vomiting, take fewer laxatives and diuretics, and are more motivated but have more physical complaints. J)It has been suggested also that there is a link between males with the disease to tending to be homosexual. The actual fi
37、gure is unknown and it is important to understand that such a link does not indicate that all male sufferers of anorexia nervosa or eating disorder are homosexual. Also there tends to a higher rate in suicide attempts in male sufferers. K)The biggest problem, however, is diagnosing male anorexia or
38、eating disorder because of the common belief that such disease are essentially female although the medical profession is more aware of male anorexia than ever before. L)Suffers can go many years without treatment but eventually sufferers lose more body weight, as much as 25%-30%, which leads to chro
39、nic illness and even death. The mortality rate is as high as 5%. Others are lucky because sometimes onset of the disease can be temporary with complete recovery. M)There is treatment for suffers of this terrible disease. In some cases suffers are treated by medication, usually when the disease is ac
40、companied by severe depression. Usually though sufferers are referred to a psychologist or a therapist and are encouraged to join self-help groups and are counselled by people who have first-hand experience of the disease themselves. 11 It is hard to distinguish non-anorexic from genuine suffers due
41、 to the appearance preoccupation in our societies. 12 Doctors are so easily to be influenced by gender prejudice that they are unlikely to diagnose men as having eating disorders like women. 13 Those, who have experienced painful events like death of relatives and pressure, are likely to get the dis
42、ease. 14 The reason why we should pay more attention on the disease is for the rising number claimed by a research. 15 For those lucky people, anorexia is sometimes merely a passing phase. 16 When patients suffer from both anorexia and severe depression, they are required to take medication. 17 A do
43、ctor wrongly diagnoses an eating disorder in males as stress related because some diseases are thought to affect women more than men. 18 A combination of physical and emotions symptoms are the warning signs that an adolescent might be developing the disease. 19 Men, suffering from anorexia, are more
44、 likely to commit suicide. 20 Previously male beauty focus on the physical aspects of the body. 20 Advantages of Public Transport A)A new study conducted for the World Bank by Murdoch University s Institute for Science and Technology Policy(ISTP)has demonstrated that public transport is more efficie
45、nt than cars. The study compared the proportion of wealth poured into transport by thirty-seven cities around the world. This included both the public and private costs of building, maintaining and using a transport system. B)The study found that the Western Australian city of Perth is a good exampl
46、e of a city with minimal public transport. As a result, 17% of its wealth went into transport costs. Some European and Asian cities, on the other hand, spent as little as 5%. Professor Peter Newman, ISTP Director, pointed out that these more efficient cities were able to put the difference into attr
47、acting industry and jobs or creating a better place to live. C)According to Professor Newman, the larger Australian city of Melbourne is a rather unusual city in this sort of comparison. He describes it as two cities: A European city surrounded by a car-dependent one. Melbourne s large tram network
48、has made car use in the inner city much lower, but the outer suburbs have the same car-based structure as most other Australian cities. The explosion in demand for accommodation in the inner suburbs of Melbourne suggests a recent change in many people s preferences as to where they live. D)Newman sa
49、ys this is a new, broader way of considering public transport issues. In the past, the case for public transport has been made on the basis of environmental and social justice considerations rather than economics. Newman, however, believes the study demonstrates that “the auto-dependent city model is inefficient and grossly inadequate in economic as well as environmental terms“. E)Bicycle use was not included in the study but Newman noted that the two most “bicycle friendly“ cities considered Amsterdam and Copenhagen were very efficient,
