阅读要求要明确
阅读理解是英语学习和英语测试的重要手段，阅读能力的测试分为理解能力和阅读速度。对于高中学生来说，阅读能力测试的主要要求如下：
1.正确理解作者的思想、观点和意图。
2.正确理解文章的主题。
3.正确理解文章细节，包括文章段落大意。
4.能够通过表面文字，挖掘和理解文章的深层含义。
5.能够依据所提供的信息，结合中学生应有的常识正确猜测词句的含义。
对于这些能力的考查主要体现在以下四种试题中：
1.推理判断题。
2.归纳概括题。
3.细节认定题。
4.词义猜测题。
阅读理解
Passage A
Francis Bacon， one of the most important philosophers （哲人） of England， was born in London and educated at Cambridge University. When he was only 15， he went to France to work for the English ambassador （大使）①. Two years later he went back to England to study law. At the age of twentythree he was chosen to parliament （议会）. His ideas about how scientists should study things in nature helped to bring the modern way of thinking， called the scientific method②.
One of the Bacons best known books was his Essays. Each essay was a short piece of writing in which he tried to give a lesson by discussing sides of a subject such as studying， conversation， friends and healthy living. In many of his books， Bacon explained how scientists should study things as they really existed in nature and then tried to figure out what caused a particular thing to be as it was. Later， by doing experiments， the scientist could see that any one cause would always have the same result. This method， which is called inductive reasoning， is used by all the scientists today， but it was new in Bacons time.
译注
① When he was only 15， he went to France to work for the English ambassador.
当他只有15岁时，他就去法国为英国大使工作。
词组work for...“为……工作， 为……做事”
② His ideas about how scientists should study things in nature help to bring the modern way of thinking， called the scientific method.
他的有关科学家应该从本质上来研究事物的思想有助于现代思维方式的形成，这种思维方式被称作科学方法。
词组in nature意思是“实际上，本质上”。
根据文章内容，选择正确答案：
1.According to the passage we know that .
A.Francis Bacon was the most important philosopher of England
B.Francis Bacon had good education
C.Francis Bacon worked for a French ambassador at the age of 15
D.Francis Bacon stayed in France until he was 23
2.It can be known that Francis Bacon was famous for.
A.inventing the scientific method of studying things in nature
B.his books
C.his Essays
D.being a member of parliament
3.His essay gave many useful lessons on .
A. studying
B. conversation
C. friends and healthy living
D. all of the above
4. The underlined phrase “inductive reasoning” in the last paragraph means.
A. to discover general laws from particular facts or examples
B. to reach a conclusion by reasoning from general laws to a particular case
C. to study things as they used to be
D. to study things in a particular way
5.Which of the following is NOT true？
A.Bacon was a learned man.
B.Bacon did a lot of philosophy.
C.The inductive reasoning was widely used both today and in Bacons time.
D.Bacon gave scientists much useful advice.
Passage B
Do you suppose Darwin， one of the greatest scientists of all time， really did fools experiments？ Or did he do experiments that were so simple and basic that other people just thought they were foolish？
Sometimes， people think they already know the answer to a question or the solution （解决办法） to a problem. Sometimes， they really do know an answer or a solution， but without thinking they are important.
Charles Darwin didnt settle for （满足于） just thinking he knew something①. And， he believed all things could be important however simple they seemed to be.
Suppose you drop sheets of paper that are of exactly the same size and shape. If you drop them at the same time in the same place， they will fall in the same way. Now make one of the sheets of paper into a tight （紧的） little ball and let it drop along with the other sheets. What happens？ You have done an experiment that is so simple that you might think it couldnt be worth anything②.
But this simple experiment is important. It explains part of our presentday understandings of physics， ideas that were worked out long ago by Galileo and Newton. And these understandings set aside some of ancient Greek physics.
Scientist sometimes stops to look at very simple things and to think very hard about them. Even the simplest idea， which we might think is foolish， can shake the foundations of science③.
译注
① Charles Darwin didnt settle for just thinking he knew something.
查理·达尔文不仅仅满足于认为自己知道某件事。
② You have done an experiment that is so simple that you might think it couldnt be worth anything.
你已经做了一个你可能认为不值得做的实验。
③ Even the simplest idea， which we might think is foolish， can shake the foundations of science.
即使我们可能认为是愚蠢的最简单的想法都能动摇科学的根基。
根据文章内容，选择正确答案：
1.The passage tells us that Charles Darwin .
A.was a great English scientist
B.always liked doing the experiments that others thought difficult
C.thought even the simplest thing was important
D.didnt get well with others
2.The phrase “set aside” most probably means .
A. throw awayB. store up
C. put to useD. realize
3.The author of the passage tries to .
A.convince us that Charles Darwin， Galileo and Newton are the greatest scientists in the world
B.draw the conclusion that basic sciences are simple things
C.prove that two sheets of paper， with the same size and shape， will fall at the same speed
D.draw our attention to everyday happenings around us
4.Which one of the following is TRUE？
A.Darwin really did fools experiments.
B.According to some people Darwin did foolish experiments.
C.It is believed by all the people that things could be important though they seemed to be simple.
D.Galileo and Newton worked out ancient Greek physics.
Passage C
Every one of us knows that Albert Einstein was a worldfamous scientist. Perhaps we dont know much about his life. Here are some amusing anecdotes （轶事） about him.
When he arrived in New York to be professor at Princeton University， Einstein was anxious to avoid visitors and newsmen. So his friends took him off the ship secretly before it docked （靠上码头） and hurried him away by car.
Einstein said that only twelve people at that time understood his Theory of Relativity （相对论）， although more than nine hundred books had been written to explain it.
Mrs. Einstein admitted that even she did not understand the Theory of Relativity； but she understood something far more important for a wife①； she understood her husband.