A

Stephen Hawking, arguably the most famous scientist alive today, cannot write on paper and cannot even hold a pen. His disabilities, however, have not affected his mind. Hawking is able to grasp some of the most complex concepts known to man and somehow simplify them for others.

Hawking was born in Oxford, England on January 8, 1942. When he was about 8 years old, his family moved to the town of St Albans, about 20 miles to the north of London, where he attended St Albans school at the age of eleven. Hawking then attended his father’s old college, University College. Stephen wanted to do mathematics, which was not available at University College, so he did physics instead. He earned a degree in Natural Science with first class honours in just three years. Hawking then headed to Cambridge to study Cosmology. He completed his PhD and then stayed on at Cambridge at first a Research Fellow and then a Professor Fellow. In 1973, Hawking moved from the Institute of Astronomy to the department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics. In 1979, he was given the post of Lucasian Professor of Mathematics, which he continues to hold to this day. He is today a fellow of the Royal Society and a member of the US national Academy of Sciences.

Hawking’s great interest has been to understand the basic laws that our universe follows. One of his most well-known achievements was to demonstrate, along with Roger Penrose, that Einstein’s theory of general relativity needed to be brought together with quantum theory. Hawking and Penrose showed that if Einstein’s theory was carried out logically, space and time must have begun in something like the “Big Bang” of evolutionary theory and must end in black holes.

Hawking has received numerous medals, awards and other prizes for his work. He is known today not only among professional scientists but also by the general public. He has published several books specially written to try to explain his theories to the common man. Three of his most popular books are his bestsellers A Brief History of Time, Black Holes and Baby Universes and Other Essays and most recently in 2001, The Universe in a Nutshell. Hawking continues to research and write, not letting his disabilities slow him down. His goal is simple, he says. He simply wants “a complete understanding of the universe. Why it is as it is and why it exists at all.”

1. Stephen Hawking is arguably the most famous scientist because _____.

A. he is the only one who is alive today

B. he is totally disabled

C. he can not only understand but explain complex theories in simpler ways

D. he has received numerous medals

2. The underlined sentence probably means ______.

A. he studied physics instead of mathematics because the degree studies weren’t provided

B. he couldn’t afford to study at University College

C. University College was more famous for physics teaching and research

D. he was more interested in physics than mathematics

3. Stephen Hawking worked in the Institute of Astronomy ______.

A. before 1979    B. after he gained his PhD

C. before 1973 D. after his books were published

4. It can be inferred from the passage that Stephen Hawking ______.

A. has been a student of Einstein

B. has been a Nobel Prize winner

C. completed his three most popular books in 2001

D. is a well-known theoretical scientist with many honours

5. The writer wrote this article mainly to ______.

A. compare Einstein’s with Stephen Hawking’s achievements

B. show how Stephen Hawking became a great scientist

C. introduce Stephen Hawking and his greatness

D. encourage young people to learn from him

B 

Two China astronauts, Fei Junlong and Nie Haisheng, are safely back on earth after their Shenzhou 6 spacecraft successfully touched down on the grasslands of Inner Mongolia Sunday at 4:32:50 pm, ending a five-day mission and China’s second manned space flight.

“I want to thank the people for their love and care,” Fei said during the ceremony, in which both astronauts were given flowers and seated in chairs. 

The Shenzhou 6 crew spent 115 hours and 32 minutes in space, and travelled 2 million miles (3.25 million kilometres) during their mission, which set new human spaceflight records for China. 

Fei and Nie were sent into space on October 12th, Beijing time on China’s second manned spaceflight, the first to carry two astronauts. The spaceship lifted off from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in the Gobi desert almost two years to the day after China’s first manned launch.

That first mission, Shenzhou 5, launched astonaut Yang Liwei into orbit on October 15th, 2003, China is the third country to independently launched humans into Earth orbit after Russia and the US. But unlike Yang’s flight, which the public did not get to see much of, much of Shenzhou 6 mission from lift-off to landing was shown live on national Chinese television. With Shenzhou 6, China has “achieved another milestone … in … space exploration,” said Wu Bangguo, Chairman of the Chinese NPC during his speech which was broadcast live on CCTV.

6. In which year was Shenzhou 6 launched into space?

  A. 2003.        B. 2004.        C. 2005.        D. 2006.

7. What was the speed of Shenzhou 6 when it was travelling into space?

  A. 28,130 kilometres per hour.    B. 28,130 miles per hour.

  C. 35,540 kilometres per hour.    D. 35,540 miles per hour.

 

8. Which of the following countries has not succeeded in launching humans into Earth orbit?

  A. China.      B. Russia.        C. The US.      D. The UK.

9. Which of the following statements is NOT true?

  A. Shenzhou 6 landed on grasslands of Inner Mongolia Sunday at 4:32:50 pm.

  B. The Shenzhou 6 crew spent 115 hours and 32 minutes in space.

  C. The Shenzhou 6 crew set new human spaceflight records around the world.

  D. Yang Liwei’s flight was not shown live on national Chinese television.

10. Which one is the best title of this passage?

A. Shenzhou 6’s Safe Return

B. History of China’s Space Exploration

C. New Human Spaceflight Records

D. Chinese Astronauts