1、【 精品教育资源文库 】 Unit 3 Inventors and inventions 单元加餐练 .阅读理解 A Looking back on my childhood, I am convinced that naturalists are born and not made. Although we were brought up in the same way, my brothers and sisters soon abandoned their pressed flowers and insects. Unlike them, I had no ear for music
2、and languages. I was not an early reader and I could not do mental arithmetic. Before World War we spent our summer holidays in Hungary. I have only the dim memory of the house we lived in, of my room and my toys. Nor do I recall clearly the large family of grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins wh
3、o gathered next door. But I do have a crystal (清澈的 ) clear memory of dogs, the farm animals, the local birds and above all, the insects. I am a naturalist, not a scientist. I have a strong love of the natural world, and my enthusiasm has led me into varied investigations. I love discussing my favori
4、te topics and enjoy burning the midnight oil reading about other peoples observations and discoveries. Then something happens that brings these observations together in my conscious (意识清醒的 ) mind. Suddenly you fancy you see the answer to the riddle, because it all seems to fit together. This has res
5、ulted in my publishing 300 papers and several books, in which some might be honored with the title of scientific research. But curiosity, a keen eye, a good memory and enjoyment of the animal and plant world do not make a scientist. One of the outstanding and essential qualities required is self dis
6、cipline, a quality I lack. A scientist can be made a naturalist. If you can combine the two, you get the best of both worlds. 篇章导读：本文是一篇夹叙夹议文。作者通过回忆自己的童年经历认为博物学家是天生的，不是后天造就的。作者在文章最后总结，仅拥有一颗好奇心、一双敏锐的眼睛以及对世间动植物的热爱并不能成就一位科学家，因为一个科学家最突出、最基本的特点是应具备自我约束能力。 1 The first paragraph tells us that the author _
7、. A lost his hearing when he was a child B didnt like his brothers and sisters C was interested in flowers and insects in his childhood D was born to a naturalists family 答案： C 推理判断题。第一段第一句中的 “. convinced that naturalists are born and not made” 表明作者认为博物学家是天生的，不是后天造就的。由关键信息 “my brothers and sisters s
8、oon abandoned . flowers and insects” 可知，他的姐妹兄弟对于花、虫等不感兴趣，但作者不像他们 (Unlike them)，由此推知作者在童年【 精品教育资源文库 】 时对花草是感兴趣的。故选 C 项。 2 According to the author, a born naturalist should first of all be _ . A full of ambition B self disciplined C full of enthusiasm D knowledgeable 答案： C 推理判断题。从第三段第一、二句 “I am a nat
9、uralist, not a scientist. I have a strong love of the natural world, and my enthusiasm has led me into varied investigations.” 可知，作者认为一个博物学家首先应具备的是对自然界的热爱 之情，故选C 项。 3 The author says that he is a naturalist rather than a scientist probably because he thinks he_ . A just reads about other peoples obs
10、ervations and discoveries B lacks some of the qualities required of scientists C has a great deal of trouble doing mental arithmetic D comes up with solutions in most natural ways 答案： B 细节理解题。根据最后一段第一句，并结合第二句 “One of the outstanding and essential qualities required is self discipline, a quality I la
11、ck.” 可知，作者认为自己不是科学家，因为一个科学家的基本素质就是有自律能力，但作者恰恰缺乏这一点。故选 B 项。 4 The author couldnt remember his relatives clearly because_ . A he didnt live very long with them B he was too young when he lived with them C the family was extremely large D he was fully occupied with observing nature 答案： D 推理判断题。第二段作者回忆了
12、在农场度过的日子，对于 那里的狗、鸟等动物作者至今仍历历在目，但对那里的亲戚、房子、玩具已记不清了，可见他从小就专注于观察自然界中的一切，其他事情他几乎很少关注。故选 D 项。 B Early one morning, more than a hundred years ago, an American inventor called Elias Howe finally fell asleep. He had been working all night on the design of a sewing machine but he had run into a very difficul
13、t problem: It seemed impossible to get the thread to run around the needle without any problems. Though he was tired, Howe slept badly. He turned and turned. Then he had a dream. He dreamt that he had been caught by terrible savages whose king wanted to kill him and eat him unless he could build a p
14、erfect sewing machine. When he tried to do so, Howe ran into the same problem as before. The thread kept getting caught around the needle. The king flew into a rage and ordered his soldiers to kill Howe. They came up towards him with their spears raised. But suddenly the inventor noticed something.
15、【 精品教育资源文库 】 There was a hole in the tip of each spear. The inventor awoke from the dream, realizing that he had just found the answer to the problem. Instead of trying to get the thread to run around the needle, he should make it run through a small hole in the center of the needle. This was the s
16、imple idea that finally made Howe design and build the first really practised sewing machine. Elias Howe was not the only one in finding the answer to his problem in this way. Thomas Edison, the inventor of the electric light, said his best ideas came into him in dreams. So did the great physicist A
17、lbert Einstein. Charlotte Bronte also drew in her dreams in writing Jane Eyre. To know the value of dreams, you have to understand what happens when you are asleep. Even then, a part of your mind is still working. This unconscious (无意识的 ), but still active part understands your experiences and goes
18、to work on the problems you have had during the day. It stores all sorts of information that you may have forgotten or never have really noticed. It is only when you fall asleep that this part of the brain can send messages to the part you use when you are awake. However, the unconscious part acts i
19、n a special way. It uses strange images which the conscious part may not understand at first. This is why dreams are sometimes called “secret messages to us” 篇章导读：本文是一篇说明文。一直困扰着发明家伊莱亚斯 豪的一个关于缝纫机的问题在梦中找到了答案。许多科学家像爱迪生、爱因斯坦等都有过在梦中找到问题答 案的经历，文章以缝纫机的诞生为例说明了梦的价值。 5 The problem Howe was trying to solve was
20、 _ . A what kind of thread to use B how to design a needle which would not break C where to put the needle D how to stop the thread from getting caught around the needle 答案： D 细节理解题。根 据第一段第二句中的 “but he had run into a very difficult problem: It seemed impossible to get the thread to run around the ne
21、edle” 及第二段中的 “Howe ran into the same problem as before. The thread kept getting caught around the needle.” 可知，豪面临的问题是如何避免线缠绕到针上，所以答案是 D。 6 Thomas Edison is spoken of because _ . A he also tried to invent a sewing machine B he got some of his ideas from dreams C he was one of Howes best friends D he
22、also had difficulty in falling asleep 答案： B 细节理解题。根据第三段前两句 “Elias Howe was not the only one in finding the answer to his problem in this way. Thomas Edison, the inventor of the electric light, said his best ideas came into him in dreams.” 可知，豪并不是唯一一个通过此【 精品教育资源文库 】 方法找到答案的人，爱迪生也是在梦中得到问题的答案的，所以答案是 B
23、。 7 Dreams are sometimes called “secret messages to us” because _ _ . A strange images are used to communicate ideas B images which have no meaning are used C we can never understand the real meaning D only specially trained people can understand them 答案： A 细节理解题。根据最后一段中的 “this part of the brain can send messages to the part you use when you are awake. Howev
