四、IV. Reading Comprehension ( 60 points )
Copernicuswas born in Torun, Poland, on February 19,1473. Little is known about his earlylife except that his father died when he was 10. An uncle adopted him, his twosisters, and his brother.The uncle saw to it that the two boys received a goodeducation. Copernicus went to the University of Cracow. There he studied suchsubjects as Latin, mathematics, and astronomy. It was probably at that timethat he changed his Polish name, Niklas Koppernigk, to the Latin form ofNicolaus Copernicus.
In 1496 Copernicus went to Italy,where he spent the next 10 yearsstudying at various universities. In Copernicus´ time people still believedthat all things--the sun, the stars, and the planets moved around the earth. Itwas an old belief that few men had ever questioned. Aristotle had based histheory of astronomy on this belief. Because the Church had long been the centerof learning, the theory was also linked to religious beliefs.
In 1506 Copernicus returned to his homeland. A few years later he beganto work for the Church. All those years Copernicus carried on his work inastronomy. He had just the most basic equipment and, like other scientists ofhis day, made observations with only his eyes. Still, using mathematics and logic,Copernicus worked out a different theory,which held that the planets wentaround the sun.
Copernicus did not announce his ideas. He did not want to maketrouble. But he could not hide the scientific truth. So he talked about histheory with his friends, who strongly advised him to have his work published.His great book, On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Bodies, appeared at the veryend of his life. Copernicus saw the first copy on the day he died, May 24,1543.
第36题单选 From the passage we can seethat astronomy is __
A.the life experience of great men
B.the movement of the stars and theplanets
C.the scientific study of natural objectsin space
D.the theories developed by scientists ofold times
第37题单选 Copernicus developed his theory __
A.using various telescopes
B.based on Aristotle's beliefs
C.through observations and reasoning
D.under the encouragement of his friends
第38题单选 The writer of the passage wants us toknow that __
A.Copernicus did not tell about hisdiscovery until the day of his death
B.for many years Copernicus dared to donothing openly against the Church
C.pushed by his friends Copernicusdecided to write a book in May 1543
D.shortly before he got back to PolandCopernicus started to work for the Church
第39题单选 Copernicus had his great bookpublished because __
A.he didn't agree with Aristotle
B.he could not hide the scientific truth
C.he worked for the Church
D.his friends advised him to do so
Inancient times wealth was measured and exchanged in things that could betouched: food,tools, and precious metals and stones. Then the barter system wasreplaced by coins, which still had real value since they were pieces of raremetal. Coins were followed by fiat money, paper notes that have value onlybecause everyone agrees to accept them.
Today electronic monetary systems are gradually being introducedthat will transform money into even less tangible forms, reducing it to aseries of "bits and bytes", or units of computerized information,going between machines at the speed of light. Already, electronic fund transferallows money to be instantly sent and received by different banks, companies,and countries through computers and telecommunications devices.
第40题单选 According to the passage, whichof the following was the earliest kind of exchange of wealth?
A.Bartered goods.
B.Fiat money.
C.Coin currency.
D.Intangible forms.
第41题单选 The author mentions food,tools andprecious metals and stones together because they are all
A.useful items
B.articles of value
C.difficult things to obtain
D.material objects
第42题单选 According to the passage,coins oncehad real value as currency because they __
A.represented a great improvement overbarter
B.permitted easy transportation of wealth
C.were made of precious metals
D.could become collector's items
第43题单选 Which of the following statementsabout computerized monetary systems is NOT supported by the passage?
A.They promote international trade.
B.They allow very rapid money transfers.
C.They are still limited to smalltransactions ( 交易).
D.They are dependent on goodtelecommunications systems.
2017成考报名：2017年成人高考报名时间/入口
2017通关计划：2017年成人高考81天备考复习通关计划
