Question

17．"The British government will offer￡1，000，000to anyone who can solve the world's biggest problem-whatever it might be，"said Prime Minister（首相） David Cameron at a science conference．In an unusual competition，the Government will ask people to find out the greatest challenge（挑戰(zhàn)） today，such as finding a replacement（替代） for oil，producing low cost food or curing AIDS/HIV．When the toughest problem has been decided，the Prime Minister will give away￡1，000，000to the person who successfully works out the answer．The competition follows the example of the Longitude Prize started by the government in 1714，which offered￡20，000 （worth￡6，000，000today） to anyone who could discover how far east or west ships had sailed．Sailors could work out their location north and south，and were able to decide their local time from the sun．However，they needed to know the time at a reference（參照） point in order to find out how far they had travelled east or west．Many people thought the problem was impossible to solve，but the prize was finally won by John Harrison，an ordinary worker．He did this by designing a clock that kept accurate（準確的） time at sea and made it possible for sailors to work out their location．Almost exactly 300years on，Mr Cameron will have a group of scientists collect suggestions and draw up a short list of problems facing the world．He will then start a race to solve the most difficult problem．A government officer said，"We want people to think big：what does the world need and how can we achieve that？We are looking for the next penicillin（青霉素），airplane or World Wide Web．Something that is going to really change what we do and how we live our lives-sending us ahead in the global race．"According to Mr Cameron，it is important to"encourage new ideas"and"attract back the best and the brightest"to Britain．
32、The British government promises￡1，000，000to any person whoA．
A．can solve the biggest challenge facing the world
B．can find how the next penicillin works on illnesses
C．can think of the most difficult problem in the world
D．can help the Prime Minister run his government better
33、The Longitude Prize is mentioned mainly toD．
A．explain why the government set up the prize in 1714
B．show John Harrison was a great success as an inventor
C．show that the government is very grateful to John Harrison
D．explain what gave Mr Cameron the idea of starting the competition
34、We can infer（推斷） from Paragraphs 4and 5 thatD．
A．ships no longer get lost at sea with Harrison's invention
B．clocks on ships kept good time before Harrison's invention
C．sailors found it hard to work out their location north and south
D．the sailing industry was very important in Britain around the 1700s
35、Which of the following is true according to the text？C
A．John Harrison was sure that he would win the prize．
B．The million pound prize will go to a British scientist．
C．The British government pays special attention to the nation's creativity．
D．A replacement for oil is considered as the toughest problem by the scientists．

Answer 1

分析 短文大意：
"英國政府提供1，000，000英鎊，給那些能解決世界最大問題的人，不管什么問題都可以．"首相戴維卡梅倫在一個科學(xué)會議說到．通過一個不尋常的競爭，政府讓人們找到今天的最大的挑戰(zhàn)．如發(fā)現(xiàn)代替石油的燃料，生產(chǎn)成本低的食物或者治療艾滋病的藥．當這些棘手的問題已經(jīng)被解決了，政府將會獎勵解決這些問題的人￡1000000獎金．在1714年，英國政府提供20，000英鎊的獎金，設(shè)立了經(jīng)度獎，獎勵能在海上準確定位的人．水手可以在任何地方工作，并能根據(jù)太陽判定他們的當?shù)貢r間．然而，他們需要在參照點找出他們曾前往東或西．許多人認為這個問題不可能解決，但是最后這筆獎金被一個叫John Harrison的普通工人獲得．他通過設(shè)計一個在海上能準確知道時間的鬧鐘，讓水手們確定他們所處的位置成為了可能．在幾乎三百年時間里，卡梅倫將會組織一組科學(xué)家收集建議和制定一個世界面臨的問題的短名單．他將通過一場比賽來解決最困難的問題．政府官員說，"我們希望人們認為大：世界需要什么，我們?nèi)绾尾拍軐崿F(xiàn)？我們正在尋找下一個青霉素（青霉素），飛機或萬維網(wǎng)．這是要真正改變我們做什么和在全球競爭中向我們大踏步的前進．據(jù)卡梅倫先生說，重要的是要"鼓勵新思路"和"吸引最好的和最聰明的"英國．

解答 32．A．細節(jié)理解題．根據(jù)The British government will offer￡1，000，000 to anyone who can solve the world's biggest problem-whatever it might be．可知，英國政府提供1，000，000英鎊，給那些能解決世界最大問題的人，不管什么問題都可以．故選A．
33．D．推理判斷題．根據(jù)The competition follows the example of the Longitude Prize started by the government in 1714．可知短文中提到了經(jīng)度獎，這是一個英國政府用來獎勵能在海上確定準確方位的人的獎項，是在1714年設(shè)立的．現(xiàn)在300年后，受經(jīng)度獎的影響，Cameron又重新設(shè)立獎項，獎勵那些能解決世界難題的人．故選D．
34．D．推理判斷題．根據(jù)Paragraphs 4 and 5，可知，在1714年，英國政府提供20，000英鎊的獎金，獎勵能在海上準確定位的人．由此我們可見，當時航海業(yè)對于英國是多么的重要．故選D．
35．C．推理判斷題．根據(jù)Many people thought the problem was impossible to solve，but the prize was finally won by John Harrison，an ordinary worker．He did this by designing a clock that kept accurate（準確的） time at sea and made it possible for sailors to work out their location．可知，第一個經(jīng)度獎被Harrison獲得，文章中并沒有提到說他就確定自己一定能得到這個獎項，故A不對；根據(jù)Almost exactly 300 years on，Mr Cameron will have a group of scientists collect suggestions and draw up a short list of problems facing the world．可知，這個獎項是給那些能破解世界難題的人，不一定是科學(xué)家，故B不對；根據(jù)such as finding a replacement（替代） for oil，producing low cost food or curing AIDS/HIV．可知，找到石油的替代品只是世界上難題之一，故D表述與文章內(nèi)容不一致；根據(jù)，it is important to"encourage new ideas"and"attract back the best and the brightest"to Britain．可知英國政府獎勵百萬英鎊給那些有創(chuàng)新能力，能解決世界難題的人，故C是正確的．故選C．

點評 這是一篇科普知識類閱讀短文．這篇短文講述的是英國政府在設(shè)立經(jīng)度獎300年后，重新設(shè)置了百萬獎項，給那些能破解世界難題的人．短文中還給我們講述了第一屆經(jīng)度獎，以及Cameron重設(shè)這一獎項的目的．要做好這類閱讀理解題，先要掌握這類文章的特點和結(jié)構(gòu)，真正讀懂并理解它．其次，工夫在課外，平時一定要多讀科技幻想類文章，比如：太空與海洋、創(chuàng)造與發(fā)明、計算機發(fā)展、人類未來、動物世界等．長期堅持，既可以增長知識、開闊視野，又可以擴充科技詞匯，還能提高解答這種類型試題的能力．