If there is one thing scientists have to hear, it is that the game is over. Raised on the belief of an endless voyage of discove

admin2012-06-18  41

问题     If there is one thing scientists have to hear, it is that the game is over. Raised on the belief of an endless voyage of discovery, they recoil (畏缩) from the suggestion that most of the best things have already been located If they have, today’ s scientists can hope to contribute no more than a few grace notes to the symphony of science.
    A book to be published in Britain this week, The End of Science, argues persuasively that this is the case. Its author, John Horgan, is a senior writer for Scientific American magazine, who has interviewed many of today’s leading scientists and science philosophers. The shock of realizing that science might be over came to him, he says, when he was talking to Oxford mathematician and physicist Sir Roger Penrose.
    The End of Science provoked a wave of denunciation (谴责) in the United States last year. "The reaction has been one of complete shock and disbelief, " Mr. Horgan says.
    The real question is whether any remaining unsolved problems, of which there are plenty, lend themselves to universal solutions. If they do not, then the focus of scientific discovery is already narrowing. Since the triumphs of the 1960s — the genetic code, plate tectonics (板块构造说), and the microwave background radiation that went a long way towards proving the Big Bang — genuine scientific revolutions have been scarce. More scientists are now alive, spending more money on research, than ever. Yet most of the great discoveries of the 19th and 20th centuries were made before the appearance of state sponsorship, when the scientific enterprise was a fraction of its present size.
    Were the scientists who made these discoveries brighter than today’s? That seems unlikely. A far more reasonable explanation is that fundamental science has already entered a period of diminished returns. "Look, don’t get me wrong, " says Mr. Horgan. "There are lots of important things still to study, and applied science and engineering can go on for ever. I hope we get a cure for cancer, and for mental disease, though there are few real signs of progress. "
John Horgan_______.I. has published a book entitled The End of Science II. has been working as an editor of Scientific American III. has been working many years as a literary critic IV. is working as a science writer

选项 A、I and II
B、I only
C、I and IV
D、I , II and IV

答案C

解析 文章第二段“A book to be published in Britain this week,The End of Science,argues persuasivelythat this is the case.Its author,John Horgan,is a senior writer for Scientific American magazine,whohas interviewed many of today’s leading scientists and science philosophers.”本周在英国出版的《科学的末日》一书的作者约翰·霍根是《科学的美国》杂志的一名资深撰稿人,他采访了许多当今最主要的科学家和自然科学哲学家。可见,约翰·霍根出版了书籍《科学的末日》,是《科学的美国》杂志的撰稿人,写的是有关科学的文章。所以I和Ⅳ说法正确。约翰·霍根是《科学的美国》的撰稿人而不是编辑,I的内容不对;Ⅲ的内容文章没有提到。
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/r5nO777K
0

最新回复(0)