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.
26. What can’t be inferred from the 1st paragraph?
A) Scientific experiments in the past three hundred years have produced many valuable items.
B) For three hundred years there have been people holding hostile attitude toward science.
C) Modern civilization depends on science so man supports scientific progress unanimously.
D) Three hundred years is not long enough to settle back critical appraisal of scientific method.
27. The principle discovery in this century shows .
A) man has overthrown Newton’s laws of physics
B) man has solved a new set of gigantic puzzles
C) man has lost many scientific discoveries
D) man has given up some of the once accepted theories
28. Now scientists have found in the past few years .
A) the exposure of DNA to the public is unnecessary
B) the tiny cell in DNA is a neat little machine
C) man knows nothing about DNA
D) man has much to learn about DNA
29. The writer’s main purpose in writing the passage is to say that .
A) science is just at its beginning B) science has greatly improved man’s life
C) science has made profound progress D) science has done too little to human beings
30. The writer’s attitude towards science is .
A) criticalB) approvingC) neutralD) regretful
Passage Three
Questions 31 to 35 are based on the following passage.
The desire for achievement is one of life’s great mysteries. Social scientists have devoted lifetimes to studying the drives that spur us out of bed in the morning,compel us to work or study hard and spark all manner of human endeavor.Indeed, a 1992 textbook actually documents 32 distinct theories of human motivation.
Given this diversity of thought,it’s easy to forget that for a half century,American society has been dominated by the psychological school known as behaviorism, or Skinnerian psychology. Although behaviorism and its fundamental principle of “positive reinforcement” have long since lost their sway in academic circles, the Skinnerian legacy remains powerful in every realm of trash out. Do it, and you can go to the movies Friday night.Not in the mood for work? Keep plugging away,and you might get a bonus. Not interest in calculus? Strive for an A in the class, and you will make the honor roll. The theory may be bankrupt, but incentives and rewards are so much a part of American culture that it’s hard to imagine life without them.
