Section C

　　Passage One

　　More than a decade ago, cognitive scientists John Bransfgord and Daniel Schwartz, both then at Vanderbilt University, found that knowledge to a new situation but a quality was not the ability to retain facts or apply prior knowledge to a new situation but a quality they called "preparation for future learning." The researches asked fifth graders and college students to create a recovery plan to protect bald eagles from extinction. Shockingly, the two groups came up with plans of similar quality (through the college students had better spelling skills). From the standpoint of a traditional educator, this outcome indicated that schooling had failed to help students think about ecosystems and extinction, major scientific ideas.

　　The researches decided to go deeper, however. They asked both groups to generate questions about important issues needed to create recovery plans. On this task, they found large differences. College students focused on critical issues of interdependence between eagles("How big are they?" and "What do they eat?"). The college students had cultivated the ability to ask questions, the cornerstone of critical thinking. They had learned how to learn.

　　Museums and other institutions of informal learning may be better suited to teach this skill than elementary and secondly schools. At the Exploratorium in San Francisco, we recently studied how learning to ask good questions can affect the quality of people's scientific inquiry We found that when we taught participants to ask "What if?" and "How can?" questions that nobody present would know the answer to and that would spark exploration, they engaged in better inquiry at the next exhibit-asking more questions, performing more experiments and making better interpretations of their results. Specially, their questions became more comprehensive at the new exhibit. Rather than merely asking about something they wanted to try, they tended to include both cause and effect in their question. Asking juicy questions appears to be a transferable skill for deepening collaborative inquiry into the science content found in exhibits.

　　This type of learning is not confined to museums of institutional settings. Informal learning environment tolerate failure better than schools. Perhaps many teachers have too little time to allow students to form and pursue their own questions and too much ground to cover in the curriculum. But people must acquire this skill somewhere. Our society depend on them being able to make critical decisions about their own medical treatment, says, or what we must do about global energy needs and demands. For that, we have a robust informal system that gives no grades, takes all comers, and is available even on holidays and weekends.

　　57.【题干】What is traditional educators' interpretation of the search outcome mentioned in the first paragraph?

　　【选项】

　　A.Students are not able to apply prior knowledge to new problems

　　B.College students are no better than fifth graders in memorizing issues.

　　C.Education has not paid enough attention to major environmental issues.

　　D.Educated has failed to lead students to think about major scientific ideas.

　　【答案】D

　　【解析】第一段最后一句话From the standpoint of a traditional educator, this outcome indicated that schooling had failed to help students think about ecosystems and extinction, major scientific ideas.可以看出。

　　58.【题干】In what way are college students different from children?

　　【选项】

　　A.They have learned to think critically

　　B.They are concerned about social issues

　　C.They are curious about specific features.

　　D.They have learned to work independently

　　【答案】A

　　【解析】第二段倒数第二句The college students had cultivated the ability to ask questions, the cornerstone of critical thinking.可以得知A正确。

　　59.【题干】What is benefit of asking questions with no ready answers?

　　【选项】

　　A.It arouse students' interest in things around them.

　　B.It cultivates students' ability to make scientific inquiries.

　　C.It trains students' ability to design scientific experiments.

　　D.It helps students realize not every question has an answer

　　【答案】B

　　【解析】第三段的第三句提到了questions with no ready answers，表明“这些问题可以让人更加具有疑问精神，比如问更多问题、进行更多实验等”。

　　60.【题干】What is said to be the advantage of informal learning?

　　【选项】

　　A.It allows for failures

　　B.It is entertaining

　　C.It charges no tuition

　　D.It meets practical need.

　　【答案】A

　　【解析】由倒数第一段的第二句话“Informal learning environments tolerate failure better than schools”非正式学习是宽容对待失败的。可以得出A选项It allows for failures.

　　61.【题干】What does author seem to encourage educators to do at the end of the passage?

　　【选项】

　　A.Train students to think about global issues.

　　B.Design more interactive classroom activities.

　　C.Make full use of informal learning resources.

　　D.Include collaborative inquiry in the curriculum.

　　【答案】C

　　【解析】最后一段作者强调非正式学习的好处，尤其是最后一段的最后一句话，For that, we have a robust informal system that gives no grades, takes all comers, and is available even on holidays and weekends.

　　Passage Two

　　"There's an old saying in the space world: amateurs talk about technology, professionals talk about insurance." In an interview last year with The Economist, George Whitesides, chief executive of space-tourism firm Virgin Galactic, was placing his company in the latter category. But insurance will be cold comfort following the failure on October 31st of VSS Enterprise, resulting in the death of one pilot and the severe injury to another.

　　On top of the tragic loss of life, the accident in California will cast a long shadow over the future of space tourism, even before it has properly begun.

　　The notion of space tourism took hold in 2001 with a $20 million flight aboard a Russian spacecraft by Dennis Tito, a millionaire engineer with an adventurous streak. Just half a dozen holiday-makers have reached orbit since then, for similarly astronomical price tags. But more recently, companies have begun to plan more affordable "suborbital" flights-briefer ventures just to the edge of space's vast darkness. Virgin Galactic had, prior to this week's accident, seemed closest to starting regular flights. The company has already taken deposits from around 800 would be space tourists, including Stephen Hawking.

　　After being dogged by technical delays for years, Sir Richard Branson, Virgin Galactic's founder, had recently suggested that a SpaceShipTwo craft would carry its first paying customers as soon as February 2015. That now seems an impossible timeline. In July, a sister craft of the crashed spaceplane was reported to be about half-finished. The other half will have to wait, as authorities of America's Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and National Transportation Safety Board work out what went wrong.

　　In the meantime, the entire space tourism industry will be on tenterhooks(坐立不安). The 2004 Commercial Space Launch Amendments Act, intended to encourage private space vehicles and services, prohibits the transportation secretary (and thereby the FAA) from regulating the design or operation of private spacecraft, unless they have resulted in a serious or fatal injury to crew or passengers. That means that the FAA could suspend Virgin Galactic's licence to fly. It could also insist on checking private manned spacecraft as thoroughly as it does commercial aircraft. While that may make subotbital travel safer, it would add significant cost and complexity to an emerging industry that has until now operated largely as the playground of billionaires and dreamy engineers.

　　How Virgin Galactic, regulators and the public respond to this most recent tragedy will determine whether and how soon private space travel can transcend that playground. There is no doubt that spaceflight entails risks, and to pioneer a new mode of travel is to free those risks, and to reduce them with the benefit of hard-won experience.

　　62.【题干】What is said about the failure of VSS Enterprise?

　　【选项】

　　A.It may lead to the bankruptcy of Virgin Galactic.

　　B.It has a strong negative impact on space tourism.

　　C.It may discourage rich people from space travel.

　　D.It has aroused public attention to safety issues.

　　【答案】B

　　【解析】第一段最后一句the accident in California will cast a long shadow over the future of space tourism, even before it has properly begun.可以看出VSS的失败是对太空旅行产生了消极的影响。

　　63.【题干】What do we learn about the space-tourism firm Virgin Galactic?

　　【选项】

　　A.It has just built a craft for commercial flights.

　　B.It has sent half a dozen passengers into space.

　　C.It was about ready to start regular business.

　　D.It is the first to launch "suborbital” flights.

　　【答案】C

　　【解析】第二段倒数第二句话Virgin Galactic had, prior to this week's accident, seemed closest to starting regular flights.可以看出C符合题意。

　　64.【题干】What is the purpose of the 2004 Commercial Space Launch Amendments Ace?(商业空间的发射修正案)

　　【选项】

　　A.To ensure space travel safety.

　　B.To limit the FAA's functions.

　　C.To legalize private space exploration.

　　D.Tp promote the space tourism industry.

　　【答案】D

　　【解析】文中第四段第二句提到这个法案是“intended to encourage private space vehicles and services”，也就是为了“推动太空旅游业”。

　　65.【题干】What might the FAA do after the recent accident in California?

　　【选项】

　　A.Impose more rigid safety standards.

　　B.Stop certifying new space-tourist agencies.

　　C.Amend its 2004 Commercial Space Launch Amendments Act.

　　D.Suspend Virgin Galactic's licence to take passengers into space.

　　【答案】D

　　【解析】根据关键词FAA定位到第四段，第三句“That means to suspend VG’s license to fly”可看出选项和选项D是相符的。

　　66.【题干】What does the author think of private space travel?

　　【选项】

　　A.It is worth promoting despite the risks involved.

　　B.It should not be confined to the rich only.

　　C.It should be strictly regulated.

　　D.It is too risky to carry on.

　　【答案】A

　　【解析】通过最后一句There is no doubt that spaceflight entails risks, and to pioneer a new mode of travel is to free those risks, and to reduce them with the benefit of hard-won experience.可以看出作者对私人太空之旅是持积极态度的。

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