2017年12月英语四级阅读练习（六）
For about three centuries we have been doing science, trying science out,using science for the construction of what we call modern civilization. Every
dispensable item of contemporary technology, from canal locks to dial telephones
to penicillin, was pieced together from the analysis of data provided by one or
another series of scientific experiments. Three hundred years seems a long time
for testing a new approach to human inter-living, long enough to set back for
critical appraisal of the scientific method, maybe even long enough to vote on
whether to go on with it or not. There is an argument. Voices have been raised
in protest since the beginning, rising in pitch and violence in the nineteenth
century during the early stages of the industrial revolution, summoning urgent
crowds into the streets on the issue of nuclear energy. "Give it back," say some
of the voices, "It doesn't really work, we've tried it and it doesn't work. Go
back three hundred years and start again on something else less chancy for the
race of man." The principle discoveries in this century, taking all in all, are
the glimpses of the depth of our ignorance of nature. Things that used to seem
clear and rational, and matters of absolute certainty-Newtonian mechanics, for
example-have slipped through our fingers; and we are left with a new set of
gigantic puzzles, cosmic uncertainties, and ambiguities. Some of the laws of
physics are amended every few years; some are canceled outright; some undergo
revised versions of legislative intent as if they were acts of Congress. Just
thirty years ago we call it a biological revolution when the fantastic geometry
of the DNA molecule was exposed to public view and the linear language of
genetics was decoded. For a while, things seemed simple and clear: the cell was
a neat little machine, a mechanical device ready for taking to pieces and
reassembling, like a tiny watch. But just in the last few years it has become
almost unbelievably complex, filled with strange parts whose functions are
beyond today's imagining. It is not just that there is more to do, there is
everything to do. What lies ahead, or what can lie ahead if the efforts in basic
research are continued, is much more than the conquest of human disease or the
improvement of agricultural technology or the cultivation of nutrients in the
sea. As we learn more about fundamental processes of living things in general we
will learn more about ourselves.
52. What CANNOT be inferred from the first paragraph?
Scientific experiments in the past three hundred years have produced
many valuable items.
For three hundred years there have been people holding a hostile
attitude toward science.
Modern civilization depends on science so man supports scientific
progress unanimously.
Some people think three hundred years is not long enough to set back
for critical appraisal of scientific method.
53. The principle discovery in this century shows ________.
man has overthrown Newton's laws of physics
man has solved a new set of gigantic puzzles
man has lost many scientific discoveries
man has given up some of the once accepted theories
54. Now scientists have found in the past few years ________.
the exposure of DNA to the public is unnecessary
the tiny cell in DNA is a neat little machine
man knows nothing about DNA
man has much to learn about DNA
55. The writer's main purpose in writing the passage is to say that
________.
science is just at its beginning
science has greatly improved man's life
science has made profound progress
science has done too little to human beings
56. The writer's attitude towards science is ________.
critical approving neutral regretful
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