5.Knots are the kind of stuff that even myths are made of.
In the Greek legend of the Gordian knot,for example,Alexander the Great used his sword to slice through a knot that had failed all previous attempts to unite it.Knots,enjoy a long history of tales and fanciful names such as"Englishman's tie,""and"cat's paw."Knots became the subject of serious scientific investigation when in the 1860s the English physicist William Thomson (known today as Lord Kelvin) proposed that atoms were in fact knotted tubes of ether(醚).In order to be able to develop the equivalent of a periodic table of the elements,Thomson had to be able to classify knots-find out which different knots were possible.This sparked a great interest in the mathematical theory of knots.
A mathematical knot looks very much like a familiar knot in a string,only with the string's ends joined.In Thomson's theory,knots could,in principle at least,model atoms of increasing complexity,such as the hydrogen,carbon,and oxygen atoms,respectively.For knots to be truly useful in a mathematical theory,however,mathematicians searched for some precise way of proving that what appeared to be different knots were really different-the couldn't be transformed one into the other by some simple manipulation(操作).Towards the end of the nineteenth century,the Scottish mathematician Peter Guthrie Tait and the University of Nebraska professor Charles Newton Little published complete tables of knots with up to ten crossings.Unfortunately,by the time that this heroic effort was completed,Kelvin's theory had already been totally discarded as a model for atomic structure.Nevertheless,even without any other application in sight,the mathematical interest in knot theory continued at that point for its own sake.In fact,mathematical became even more fascinated by knots.The only difference was that,as the British mathematician Sir Michael Atiyah has put it,"the study of knots became a special branch of pure mathematics."
Two major breakthroughs in knot theory occurred in 1928 and in 1984.In 1928,the American mathematician James Waddell Alexander discovered an algebraic expression that uses the arrangement of crossings to label the knot.For example,t2-t+1or t2-3t+1,or else.Decades of work in the theory of knots finally produced the second breakthrough in 1984.The New Zealander-American mathematician Vaughan Jones noticed an unexpected relation between knots and another abstract branch of mathematics,which led to the discovery of a more sensitive invariant known as the Jones polynomial.
63.What is surprising about knots?B
A.They originated from ancient Greek legend.
B.The study of knots is a branch of mathematics.
C.Knots led to the discovery of atom structure.
D.Alexander the Great made knots well known.
64.What does the underlined word"that"in Paragraph 3refer to?A
A.No other application found except tables of knots.
B.The study of knots meeting a seemingly dead end.
C.Few scientist showing interest in knots.
D.The publication of complete tables of knots.
65.According to the passage,D shows the most updated study about knots.
A.t2-t+1
B.t2-3t+1
C.Alexander polynomial
D.Jones polynomial
66.Which one would be the best title for this passage?B
A.Mathematicians VS Physicians
B.To be or Knot to be
C.Knot or Atom
D.Knot VS Mathematics.
分析 本文屬于說明文閱讀,作者通過這篇文章主要向我們介紹了有關(guān)數(shù)學(xué)中的分支的討論,首先向我們介紹了神話中的"結(jié)",從而過渡到數(shù)學(xué)中的"結(jié)",數(shù)學(xué)家用一些精確的方法證明了結(jié)成為數(shù)學(xué)中一個特殊的分支,并就此展開了討論.
解答 63.B 細(xì)節(jié)理解題,根據(jù)第三段The only difference was that,as the British mathematician Sir Michael Atiyah has put it,"the study of knots became a special branch of pure mathematics."可知"knots"即為結(jié),已經(jīng)變成數(shù)學(xué)的一個分支了,故選B.
64.A 詞義猜測題,根據(jù)第三段Nevertheless,even without any other application in sight,the mathematical interest in knot theory continued at that point for its own sake.In fact,mathematical became even more fascinated by knots.The only difference was that,as the British mathematician Sir Michael Atiyah has put it可知除了knots,沒有任何其他應(yīng)用程序能有研究數(shù)學(xué)的興趣,因此"that"指的是"No other application found except tables of knots",故選A.
65.D 細(xì)節(jié)理解題,根據(jù)最后一段The New Zealander-American mathematician Vaughan Jones noticed an unexpected relation between knots and another abstract branch of mathematics,which led to the discovery of a more sensitive invariant known as the Jones polynomial.可知瓊斯多項式的發(fā)現(xiàn)顯示了最新的關(guān)于結(jié)的研究,故選D.
66.B 主旨大意題,通讀全文可知本文主要告訴我們knot變成數(shù)學(xué)分支的歷史,并就其進(jìn)行討論,故選B.
點評 考查學(xué)生的細(xì)節(jié)理解和推理判斷能力.做細(xì)節(jié)理解題時一定要找到文章中的原句,和題干進(jìn)行比較,再做出正確選擇.在做推理判斷題時不要以個人的主觀想象代替文章的事實,要根據(jù)文章事實進(jìn)行合乎邏輯的推理判斷.