文章大意:这是一篇记叙文。文章介绍了两个伟大的科学家。第一位介绍的中国航天之父——钱学森,主要介绍了他的生平,对中国航天科学的影响以及突出贡献。第二位介绍的是科学家斯蒂芬·霍金,文章主要介绍了他的性格,两个主要理论,以及他所做出的贡献。
【课文原文
】THE FATHER OF CHINA’S AEROSPACE
Perhaps no other scientist has had a greater impact on China’s aerospace science than Qian Xuesen. Described by the authors of the Story of Qian Xuesen as a man with “great scientific thought and scientific spirit” who was patriotic and served his homeland with effort, achievement, and devotion, Qian was an extremely wellrespected man.
Born in Hangzhou in 1911, Qian attended schools in Beijing and then entered Shanghai Jiao Tong University to study Railway Mechanical Engineering. However, after the Songhu Battle broke out in 1932, Qian made the decision to switch his major to aviation because he realised that China needed its own powerful air force to protect and defend the country.
Qian went to the United States in 1935 to pursue his graduate studies. Over the course of the 1930s and 1940s, Qian became a pioneer in American jet and rocket technology. As a graduate assistant at the California Institute of Technology during the 1930s, Qian helped conduct important research into rocket propulsion, and in the 1940s, he and several other people founded the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, now one of NASA’s leading spaceexploration centres.
After overcoming some difficulties during his final few years in the US, Qian returned to China in 1955. He received a hero’s welcome from his homeland and was put in charge of not only developing China’s rocket science but also its space and missile programme. At that time, China was poor and its rocket science was undeveloped. No institute or university in China offered rocket science as a major, and there were no talents or experts in this field in China. Nevertheless, Qian did not let that discourage him from taking on the challenge. When he was asked “Can we Chinese possibly make missiles?”, his reply was a determined “Why not? We Chinese are able to make the same things that other people make.”
Under Qian’s leadership, China developed the Dongfeng missiles, followed by the first generation of Long March rockets. In 1970, China successfully launched its first manmade satellite, Dong Fang Hong I, from a Long March rocket. Because much of the technology behind the Shenzhou spacecrafts can also be traced back to Qian’s research, Qian earned the name of “the father of China’s aerospace”.
Qian read a lot and was extremely knowledgeable, especially in the area of frontier science research. However, what might have made him such an outstanding and creative scientist was probably his strong interest in other things, such as music and drawing. His deep appreciation for art often gave him inspiration in his scientific research.
On 31 October 2009, the whole country was saddened by Qian’s death, and people honoured and remembered him in different ways.
A WORLD OF PURE THOUGHT
Stephen Hawking was one of the most famous and gifted scientists in physics. Most people are familiar with images of him in his wheelchair, unable to move and using a computer to talk. Since he came down with a disease which caused him to lose the use of most of his muscles, his world became one of abstract thought.
Hawking first achieved fame when he was still healthy enough to walk, as a graduate student in physics at Cambridge University in 1964. In general, there were two main theories on the origin of the universe. The first was the steady state theory, which holds that the universe has no beginning or end. The other was the big bang theory, which holds that the universe began at a single point in time and space. The biggest champion of the steady state concept was Fred Hoyle, a professor at Cambridge. During the question and answer period after one of Hoyle’s lectures, Hawking stood up and pointed out that Hoyle had made a mistake in his maths. Once the maths was corrected, it showed that the big bang theory—and not the steady state theory—was true. Hawking’s own work on the big bang theory was soon proven by astronomers with telescopes. A star was born.
So,what made Stephen Hawking a genius? Besides being brilliant, he was brave, though sometimes careless in what he said or did. He was willing to say what others were afraid to say, and to dream of what others were afraid to dream about. Furthermore, he was quite determined. This had helped him as a scientist, and had helped him even more in his fight against his disease. Above all, Hawking was willing to admit his faults. This odd combination of characteristics had made him one of the greatest thinkers of the 20th and 21st centuries.
25. Qian Xuesen returned to China when he was ________ years old.
26. Which of the following is NOT developed under Qian’s leadership?
A.Dong Fang Hong Ⅰ. | B.The Dongfeng missiles. |
C.Long March rockets. | D.Shenzhou rockets. |
27. Which of the following is TRUE about Qian Xuesen’s experience?
A.He majored in aviation in the beginning. |
B.He founded the Jet Propulsion Laboratory by himself in America. |
C.He was greatly interested in music. |
D.There are fewer difficulties to develop rocket science of China. |
28. Which spirit cannot be concluded from Qian Xuesen?
A.Creative. | B.Patriotic. | C.Brilliant. | D.Humorous. |
29. Which is NOT true about Stephen Hawking?
A.He was one of the most famous and gifted scientists in physics. |
B.He proved the big bang theory. |
C.He was too stubborn to admit his faults. |
D.He was determined in science and fought against the disease. |