Life and intelligence could sustain themselves indefinitely in such a universe, even as the stars blinked and the galaxies were all swallowed by black holes, Dr. Freeman Dyson, a physicist at the Institute for Advanced Study, argued in a landmark paper in 1979. “If my view of the future is correct,” he wrote “it means that the world of physics and astronomy is also inexhaustible, no matter how far we go into the future, there will always be new things happening, new information coming in, new worlds to explore a constantly expanding domain of life, consciousness, and memory.” Now, however, even Dr. Dyson admits that all bets are off. If recent astronomical observations are correct, the future of life and the universe will be far bleaker.
In the last four years astronomers have reported evidence that the expansion of the universe is not just continuing but is speeding up, under the influence of a mysterious “dark energy”, an antigravity that seems to be embedded in space itself. If that is true and the universe goes on accelerating, astronomers say, rather than coasting gently into the night, distant galaxies will eventually be moving apart so quickly that they cannot communicate with one another. In effect, it would be like living in the middle of a black hole that kept getting colder. In such a universe, some physicists say, the usual methods of formulating physics may not all apply. Instead of new worlds coming into view old ones would constantly be disappearing over the horizon, lost from view forever.
Cosmological knowledge would be fragmented, with different observers doomed to seeing different pieces of the puzzle and no single observer able to know the fate of the whole universe or arrive at a theory of physics that was more than approximate. “There would be a lot of things about the universe that we simply couldn't predict,” said Dr. Thomas Banks, a physicist at the University of California at Santa Cruz. And perhaps most important, starved finally of the energy even to complete a thought or a computation, the domain of life and intelligence would not expand, but compress and eventually vanish like a dwindling echo into the silence of eternity. “I find the fate of a universe that is accelerating forever not very appealing,” said Dr. Edward Witten, a theorist at the Institute for Advanced Study.
1. According to Dr. Freeman Dyson, we can conclude which of the following is NOT true?
2. From Para. 2, we can see the recent discovery for astronomers is that ____.
3. In Para. 2 the word “formulating” could best be replaced by ____.
4. Which of the following can appropriately reflect Dr. Edward Witten’s attitude towards the fate of human beings?
5. According to the passage, which of the statements about theories of physics and astronomy is true?
问题1选项
A.Dr. Freeman Dyson is an outstanding scholar majoring in physics and astronomy.
B.Dr. Freeman Dyson is greatly concerned about the fate of human beings.
C.Dr. Freeman Dyson is an optimist in terms of the fate of universe.
D.Dr. Freeman Dyson once held a belief that life and intelligence could sustain themselves indefinitely in the universe.
问题2选项
A.the universe is in the process of gradual evolution
B.universe evolution is accelerating its pace towards an ill-fated outcome
C.distant galaxies will eventually be moving apart to a separate location
D.the universe will stick to its original evolution trend for quite a long time
问题3选项
A.basic
B.advanced
C.expressing
D.establishing
问题4选项
A.Uncertain.
B.Indifferent.
C.Pessimistic.
D.Optimistic.
问题5选项
A.Dr. Freeman Dyson’s prediction is doomed to fail.
B.All experts have reached a consensus on new theories.
C.Dr. Thomas Banks has developed a new comprehensive theory to replace the old one.
D.Now one could be able to know the fate of the whole universe.
第1题:C
第2题:B
第3题:D
第4题:C
第5题:C
第1题:
【选项释义】
According to Dr. Freeman Dyson, we can conclude which of the following is NOT true? 根据弗里曼•戴森博士（Dr. Freeman Dyson）的观点，我们可以得出以下哪项结论不是正确的？
A. Dr. Freeman Dyson is an outstanding scholar majoring in physics and astronomy. A. 弗里曼•戴森博士是一位杰出的学者，主修物理学和天文学。
B. Dr. Freeman Dyson is greatly concerned about the fate of human beings. B. 弗里曼•戴森博士非常关心人类的命运。
C. Dr. Freeman Dyson is an optimist in terms of the fate of universe. C. 弗里曼•戴森博士对宇宙的命运持乐观态度。
D. Dr. Freeman Dyson once held a belief that life and intelligence could sustain themselves indefinitely in the universe. D. 弗里曼•戴森博士曾经相信生命和智慧可以在宇宙中无限期地维持下去。
【考查点】推理判断题
【解题思路】在文章的第一段中，弗里曼•戴森博士（Dr. Freeman Dyson）提出了一个观点，即生命和智慧可以在宇宙中无限期地维持下去，即使恒星闪烁，所有的星系都被黑洞吞噬（Life and intelligence could sustain themselves indefinitely in such a universe, even as the stars blinked and the galaxies were all swallowed by black holes）。这表明他在1979年的论文中持有一种乐观的态度。然而，文章的后续内容表明，戴森现在承认，如果最近的天文观测是正确的，那么生命和宇宙的未来将更加黯淡（Now, however, even Dr. Dyson admits that all bets are off. If recent astronomical observations are correct, the future of life and the universe will be far bleaker.）。因此，他之前可能是乐观的，但现在他的态度已经转变，不再那么乐观，C选项正确。
【干扰项排除】
A选项“弗里曼•戴森博士是一位杰出的学者，主修物理学和天文学”文章提到戴森是高级研究所的物理学家，并且他的论文是里程碑式的（Dr. Freeman Dyson, a physicist at the Institute for Advanced Study, argued in a landmark paper in 1979），这表明他在物理学和天文学领域是一个杰出的学者，属于答非所问；
B选项“弗里曼•戴森博士非常关心人类的命运”文章中戴森讨论了生命和智能在宇宙中的未来，这表明他对人类的命运有着深切的关注，属于答非所问；
D选项“弗里曼•戴森博士曾经相信生命和智慧可以在宇宙中无限期地维持下去”文章的第一段直接引用了戴森的话，即：Life and intelligence could sustain themselves indefinitely in such a universe, even as the stars blinked and the galaxies were all swallowed by black holes（在这样的宇宙中，即使恒星闪烁，星系被黑洞吞噬，生命和智慧也可以无限期地维持下去），这表明他曾经确实相信生命和智慧能够无限期地在宇宙中维持自己，属于答非所问。
第2题:
【选项释义】
From Para. 2, we can see the recent discovery for astronomers is that ____. 从第二段中，我们可以看出天文学家最近的发现是____。
A. the universe is in the process of gradual evolution A. 宇宙正处于逐渐进化的过程中
B. universe evolution is accelerating its pace towards an ill-fated outcome B. 宇宙进化的步伐正在加快，最终会走向毁灭
C. distant galaxies will eventually be moving apart to a separate location C. 遥远的星系最终会分离到不同的地方
D. the universe will stick to its original evolution trend for quite a long time D. 宇宙将在相当长的时间内保持原有的演化趋势
【考查点】细节事实题
【解题思路】在第二段中，文章提到了最近的天文观测结果，即宇宙的膨胀不仅在继续，而且还在加速，这是由于一种神秘的“暗能量”的影响（In the last four years astronomers have reported evidence that the expansion of the universe is not just continuing but is speeding up, under the influence of a mysterious “dark energy”, an antigravity that seems to be embedded in space itself.）。这种加速的膨胀导致了一个悲观的未来展望，其中遥远的星系将最终彼此快速分离到无法相互通信的程度（distant galaxies will eventually be moving apart so quickly that they cannot communicate with one another.）。这表明宇宙的演化正在加速其步伐，朝着一个不幸的结局发展，故B选项正确。
【干扰项排除】
A选项“宇宙正处于逐渐进化的过程中”文章明确指出宇宙的膨胀正在加速，而不是逐渐演变（not just continuing but is speeding up），属于曲解原文；
C选项“遥远的星系最终会分离到不同的地方”虽然文章提到了遥远星系最终会移动得太快而无法相互通信（distant galaxies will eventually be moving apart so quickly that they cannot communicate with one another），但并没有说它们会移动到完全分离的位置，属于过度推断；
D选项“宇宙将在相当长的时间内保持原有的演化趋势”文章表明宇宙的演化趋势正在改变，因为宇宙的膨胀正在加速，这与“原始演化趋势”相悖，属于曲解原文。
第3题:
【选项释义】
In Para. 2 the word “formulating” could best be replaced by ____. 第二段中的“formulating”一词最好用____代替。
A. basic A. 基本的
B. advanced B. 先进的
C. expressing C. 表达的
D. establishing D. 建立的
【考查点】语义推断题
【解题思路】根据“formulating”定位到第二段“In such a universe, some physicists say, the usual methods of formulating physics may not all apply.（一些物理学家说，在这样的宇宙中，……的常规方法可能并不完全适用。）”，句中“formulating”这个词是用于描述物理学的常规方法。结合上下文内容可知，这里是说一些物理学家认为，我们通常用来建立物理学的方法可能不再全部适用。这里的“formulating”涉及的是创建或建立物理定律和理论的过程。因此，最合适的替换词是“establishing”，D选项正确。
【干扰项排除】
A选项“基本的”、B选项“先进的”和C选项“表达的”均不符合上下文语境，属于曲解原文。
第4题:
【选项释义】
Which of the following can appropriately reflect Dr. Edward Witten’s attitude towards the fate of human beings? 以下哪项能恰当地反映爱德华•威滕博士（Dr. Edward Witten）对人类命运的态度？
A. Uncertain. A. 不确定。
B. Indifferent. B. 漠不关心。
C. Pessimistic. C. 悲观。
D. Optimistic. D. 乐观。
【考查点】观点态度题
【解题思路】在文章的最后一段中，爱德华•威滕博士（Dr. Edward Witten）对一个永远加速膨胀的宇宙的命运表达了他的看法：“I find the fate of a universe that is accelerating forever not very appealing.（我发现一个永远加速的宇宙的命运并不是很吸引人。）”。这句话直接表明了他对这种宇宙命运的悲观态度。他认为这样的宇宙命运并不吸引人，暗示了对未来的负面看法，故C选项正确。
【干扰项排除】
A选项“不确定”、B选项“漠不关心”和D选项“乐观”均不符合原文的表述，属于曲解原文。
第5题:
【选项释义】
According to the passage, which of the statements about theories of physics and astronomy is true? 根据这篇文章，关于物理学和天文学理论的哪种说法是正确的？
A. Dr. Freeman Dyson’s prediction is doomed to fail. A. 弗里曼•戴森博士的预测注定要失败。
B. All experts have reached a consensus on new theories. B. 所有专家都对新理论达成了共识。
C. Dr. Thomas Banks has developed a new comprehensive theory to replace the old one. C. 托马斯•班克斯博士提出了一个新的综合理论来取代旧理论。
D. Now one could be able to know the fate of the whole universe. D. 现在人们可以知道整个宇宙的命运了。
【考查点】推理判断题
【解题思路】文章最后一段提到了托马斯•班克斯博士的观点，即“宇宙中会有很多我们根本无法预测的东西。也许最重要的是，由于最终连完成一个思考或计算的能量都没有，生命和智慧的领域将不会扩大，而是压缩，最终像逐渐消失的回声一样，消失在永恒的寂静之中。”，故C选项正确。
【干扰项排除】
A选项“弗里曼•戴森博士的预测注定要失败”表述过于绝对，文章只是提出了他对未来的乐观看法，并指出了当前的情况可能与他的预测不同，属于曲解原文；
B选项“所有专家都对新理论达成了共识”文章并没有提到所有专家就新理论达成了共识。相反，文章讨论了关于宇宙加速扩张的不同观点和理论，这表明在科学界仍存在不同的看法和解释，属于反向干扰；
D选项“现在人们可以知道整个宇宙的命运了”与最后一段“...no single observer able to know the fate of the whole universe or arrive at a theory of physics that was more than approximate.（没有一个观察者能够知道整个宇宙的命运，也没有一个观察者能够得出一个非常近似的物理理论。）”相矛盾，属于曲解原文。
