第一节(共15小题；每小题2.5分，共37.5分)阅读下列短文，从每题所给的A、B、C和D四个选项中，选出最佳选项。
A
Johannes Gutenberg
Johannes Gutenberg, born around the year 1400 in Germany, is widely regarded as the inventor of the modern printing press. Before about 1450, most books were written or copied by hand. This made them extremely time-consuming to produce and expensive to buy. But in 1455 Gutenberg developed a machine which could print multiple copies of the same book. Gutenberg did not achieve financial success as a result of his breakthrough, but his invention helped to spread knowledge across Europe and was a major factor in the Renaissance.
Louis Braille
Born in France in 1809, Louis Braille became blind at the age of three after an accident in his father’s workshop. When he was ten, he earned a place at a special school for blind children in Paris. In 1821, Charles Barbiera, a former soldier, visited the school and talked about a code that he’d invented which allowed soldiers to share information on the battlefield without speaking. Impressed by this idea, Louis worked on his own code to help the blind read. The code that Louis invented has become standard throughout the world.
Samuel Morse
Samuel Morse, born in 1791 in Massachusetts, USA, started his career not as an inventor but as an artist. He had great artistic talent and soon became well-known for his portraits, but he also had a passion for new technology. In 1832, while travelling home by sea from Europe, he overheard a conversation about electromagnetism, and this gave him the idea for a new form of communication-the electric telegraph. Although other inventors had developed similar machine, Morse’s worked better and he applied for and got the patent in 1837.
Alexander Graham Bell
Alexander Graham Bell, a pioneer in the field of telecommunications, was born in 1847 in Edinburgh, Scotland. Perhaps because of his mother’s hearing problems, Bell had a particular interest in the education of deaf people. This led him to invent the microphone. Bell was not the only inventor working in this field, but his lawyer managed to secure the all-important patent which gave Bell ownership of the idea.
1. According to the passage, what do the four people have in common?
A. All of them had several failures before their success.
B. All of them had a miserable life at the beginning.
C. All of them are pioneers in their own areas.
D. All of them made a big fortune in life.
2. ________ had another career before starting to invent.
A. Johannes Gutenberg B. Samuel Morse
C. Louis Braille D. Alexander Graham Bell
3. Which of the following statement is TRUE according to the passage?
A. Louis Braille was inspired by a military invention.
B. Johannes Gutenberg had a difficult time during his education.
C. Samuel Morse helped to educate people in many countries.
D. Alexander Graham Bell suffered a terrible injury at a young age.
【答案】1. C2. B3. A
【解析】
【导语】本文是一篇应用文，介绍了世界上四个伟大的发明家。
【1题详解】
根据第一个发明家“Gutenberg did not achieve financial success as a result of his breakthrough, but his invention helped to spread knowledge across Europe and was a major factor in the Renaissance.(古腾堡的突破并没有带来经济上的成功，但他的发明有助于在欧洲传播知识，是文艺复兴的一个主要因素)”、第二个发明家“The code that Louis invented has become standard throughout the world(路易斯发明的代码已经成为全世界的标准)”、第三个发明家“Although other inventors had developed similar machine, Morse’s worked better and he applied for and got the patent in 1837 (虽然其他发明家也开发了类似的机器，但莫尔斯的工作得更好，他在1837年申请并获得了专利)”以及最后一个发明家“Bell was not the only inventor working in this field, but his lawyer managed to secure the all-important patent which gave Bell ownership of the idea (贝尔不是这个领域唯一的发明家，但他的律师设法获得了至关重要的专利，让贝尔拥有了这个想法)”可知，四位发明家在各自的领域都是先驱者。故选C。
【2题详解】
细节理解题。根据Samuel Morse部分中“Samuel Morse, born in 1791 in Massachusetts, USA, started his career not as an inventor but as an artist(塞缪尔·莫尔斯，1791年出生于美国马萨诸塞州，他的职业生涯不是作为一个发明家，而是作为一个艺术家)”可知，Samuel Morse之前是一位艺术家，即Samuel Morse在开始发明前有另一个事业。故选B。
【3题详解】
细节理解题。根据Louis Braille部分中“In 1821, Charles Barbiera, a former soldier, visited the school and talked about a code that he’d invented which allowed soldiers to share information on the battlefield without speaking. Impressed by this idea, Louis worked on his own code to help the blind read.( 1821年，退伍军人Charles Barbiera参观了这所学校，并谈到了他发明的一种密码，这种密码可以让士兵在战场上不用说话就能分享信息。这个想法给路易斯留下了深刻的印象，他编写了自己的代码来帮助盲人阅读)”可知，Braiile的发明灵感来自于一项军事发明。故选A。
