Question

Science, as we think, was born when the Greek(希腊) philosopher ( 哲学家 ) Thales ( about 640-546 B.C.) asked a difficult question: What makes up our universe?

No one had a ready answer, so Thales went on studying the earth around him, the sky and the stars. He saw so much water on earth and so much water falling from the sky as rain that he decided water must be the basic substance ( 物质 ) of the universe.

Other Greek thinkers became interested in this question. They suggested other answers. One said that because air lies around the earth, it must be air that makes up all things. Another said that fire, appearing in different forms, was the building block of the universe.

The Greek philosophers were feeling their way towards the ideas on which chemistry is based. Centuries later, scientists proved that the universe is made up of certain basic substances. But the list is much more complicated than the Greeks realized. We now know of 103 basic substances which we call “ elements ( 元素 )”.

1.Thales, the famous Greek philosopher, died when he was about _______________.

A. 94 years old    B. 106years old

C. 40 years old    D. 46 years old

2.The meaning of the underlined word “ complicated” in the last paragraph is “ ____________”.

A. not difficult    B. not simple

C. not famous    D. not different

3.On the whole, the passage tells about ______________.

A. early tries to understand the universe    B. the famous Greek thinkers

C. water falling from the sky    D. air lying all around the earth

4.After reading the passage, we can be sure that________________.

A. nothing ever changes in the universe

B. Thales decided that the basic substance of the universe was air

C. the universe is made up of four different substances

D. the early Greek thinkers did much valuable work for the progress of science

Answer

1.A

2.B

3.A

4.D

【解析】文中讲述的是科学起源的话题，古希望思想家Thales提出了宇宙是由什么组成的时候，科学就出现了。并讲述了希腊人对这个问题的研究。

1.A

推理判断题。根据文章第一行“Thales ( about 640-546 B.C.)”可知他大约94岁所以是在94岁的时候去世的。

2.B

猜测词义题。根据But the list is much more complicated than the Greeks realized. We now know of 103 basic substances which we call “ elements ( 元素 )”说明名单上列出来的物质的数量要比人们原来认为的要多得多，故该词应该指复杂，故B正确。

3.A

推理判断题。通读全文可知：很早的时候人们就开始研究宇宙，故选A

4.D

细节题。根据文章3,4段Other Greek thinkers became interested in this question.和The Greek philosophers were feeling their way towards the ideas on which chemistry is based. Centuries later, scientists proved that the universe is made up of certain basic substances. 可知希腊的思想家和哲学家都对这个问题进行了探讨，对于科技的发展做出了巨大的贡献。故D正确。

【名师点睛】

本文讲述的是科学起源的话题。在解题时要立足已知，推断未知。立足现在，猜测未来。不能主观臆想，凭空想象，随意揣测，更不能以自己的观点代替作者的观点;要把握句、段之间的逻辑关系，了解语篇的结构。要体会文章的基调，揣摸作者的态度，摸准逻辑发展的方向，悟出作者的弦外之音。