2021年英语专业考研基础英语阅读理解高分特训100篇

目　录第1章　阅读理解技巧指南
1.1　考核要求和出题形式
1.2　解题技巧指南
第2章　阅读理解高分特训100篇
2.1　多项选择
2.2　回答问题
2.3　补全文章
2.4　判断正误
第1章　阅读理解技巧指南
对于绝大多数报考英语专业的考生而言，“基础英语”是全国各院校英语专业研究生入学考试必考的科目。

一般来说，报考英语专业研究生的考核科目为：政治（分值100分）、第二外语（分值100分）、基础英语（分值150分）以及专业课（包括英美文学、语言学与应用语言学、翻译理论及实践等）（分值150分）。

需要说明的是，有些院校对此科目的考试名称有所不同：例如北京大学称之为“专业能力”，上海外国语大学称之为“英语综合”，北京外国语大学称之为“英语基础测试（技能）”，上海交通大学、广东外语外贸大学等称之为“英语水平考试”，四川大学称之为“英语专业基础”，山东大学称之为“实践英语”。

上述院校的科目名称和大多数院校所用的“基础英语”名称虽有差别，但实质是一样的，都是由各学校自主命题、考核英语专业考生基本功底的考试科目。

1.1　考核要求和出题形式
1．基础英语阅读理解部分考核要求
对于“基础英语”，全国各大院校自主命题，而且各院校的考核要求水平也有差异，所以没有相应的考试大纲来说明其考核要求。

但国内大部分院校在命题时都会把1999年教育部批准实施的《高等学校英语专业英语教学大纲》作为指导标准，因此，这个大纲仍能反映目前高校对英语专业学生基本功的大体要求。

其对阅读理解部分的要求如下：阅读方面，能读懂一般英美报刊杂志上的社论和书评、英语国家出版的有一定难度的历史传记和文学作品；能分析上述题材文章的思想观点、语篇结构、语言特点和修辞手法。

能在5分钟内速读1600词左右的文章，掌握文章的主旨和大意，理解事实和细节。

2．试题类型和出题形式
阅读理解题考查的范围很大，其考核的内容主要包括：能理解所读材料的主旨大意，分辨出其中的事实和细节；能理解字面意义和隐含意义；能根据所读材料进行判断和推理；能分析所读材料的思想观点、语篇结构、语言特点和修辞手法。

具体的出题形式有以下几种：
①要求考生阅读若干篇短文，每篇短文后有若干个问题。

考生应根据文章内容从4个选择项中选出一个最佳答案。

（例如上海外国语大学阅读理解文章有5个选项，有些像GRE题型。

）
②要求考生阅读若干篇短文，每篇短文后有若干个问题。

考生应根据文章内容作出简要回答。

问题多种多样，既可以针对整篇文章，也可以针对文中的某个单词，比如：概括文章的主旨大意；提问文中画线的句子或单词暗含的意思，要求用自己的语言来表述（即Paraphrase或Explain）；指明文中运用的修辞手法，如反复、对比、比喻等；对文中的某个观点进行评论，要求简要说明理由等等。

③给出一篇文章，文中一般有6个空白处，空白处可能位于段首、段落中间、段尾，选项部分一般为8段文字，每段可能为一个句子，也可能是两三个句子。

要求考生从选项中选6段文字放回到文章中相应的6个空白处。

（各院校留出的空白处个数并不统一，一般选项部分要比空白处多出几个。

）
④根据文章内容，对所给出的题干内容判断正误。

1.2　解题技巧指南
1．阅读理解常见考题分析
阅读理解中，常见的考题主要有：主旨题、细节题、推断题和语义题等。

每种题型对考生的能力和知识考查的侧重点都有所不同。

下面就每一种题型及其解题思路进行分析讲解。

(1)主旨题
测试考生对整篇短文主要内容、中心大意的理解。

文章的主题思想就是作者通过文章所要表达的观点、感情和思想等。

主题思想往往是通过文章中各部分内容及其内在联系体现出来的，通常由一个或两个句子来表达，这类题目的解题关键在于文章的第一段和最后一段。

(2)细节题
细节题是阅读理解部分常见的题目类型，考查考生对文章中某个具体信息的理解。

这类题通常是根据短文提供的信息和事实进行提问，选择的依据必须是短文本身提供的信息。

做这类题的关键先找出每道题所包含的关键词和短语，然后再回到原文中寻找到含有关键词的原句。

(3)推理题
推理题考查的是考生根据已知信息进行判断推理、挖掘深层内涵的能力。

由于这类题的答案往往在短文的字面上不会出现，因此有一定的难度。

做这类题的关键在于要抓住问题中的某一个或几个关键词或短语，根据上下文推断出这些词所在的句子或句群的深刻含义。

这类题就是要考生从原文中的相关信息推出原文中没有直接表达出来的含义。

解答这类题目时，通常应该注意以下几点：
①这类题型，在文字表面并没有明显反映作者的全部意图，需要从字里行间去体会作者的隐含意义，靠自己的逻辑推理能力去判断，从上下文的联贯及文中有关部分的暗示去理解；
②推理题的答案一般不能在原文中直接找到，但在原文中有间接的提示和线索；
③有时需要根据作者叙述的语气，以及所提供的事实和细节进行分析和推理才能找到正确答案；
④推理题中有一类判断作者态度的题目。

做这类题时，不能只把注意力放在文章中所描述的事实上，而应该更加注意作者在描述某一事实时所使用的语言，如作者所使用的修饰
语。

这一类词最能反映出作者写作时的心态以及他深藏在语言文字后面的对某一事件的立场。

为了更好地解答这类问题，考生应注意在平时积累一些表示人的态度观点的词，比如：褒义类:amused(愉快的)，supporting（支持的），admiring（赞赏的），optimistic（乐观的），praising（赞扬的），humorous（幽默的），enthusiastic（热情的），pleasant（愉快的），sober（冷静的），approving（满意的），positive(肯定的)；
中性类:subjective(主观的)，exaggerated(夸大的)，skeptical(怀疑的)，sympathetic(同情的)，indifferent（冷漠的），neutral（中立的），impersonal（客观的），objective（客观的），subjective（主观的），impassive（冷漠的），ambivalent（矛盾的），apathetic（无动于衷的），impartial（公平的）；
贬义类:critical(批判的)，doubtful(怀疑的)，mocking(嘲笑的)，cynical(冷嘲热讽的)，sarcastic(讽刺的)，ironic(讽刺的)，disgusted（厌恶的），depressed（沮丧的），disappointed（失望的），sentimental（伤感的），negative（消极的，否定的），suspicious（怀疑的），tolerant（容忍的），biased（有偏见的）等。

(4)语义题
确定文章中特定词语的意义以及it，they，this，that，those等代词的指代关系。

这类题测试考生在短文中理解单词和词组意义的能力。

解决这类题的关键在于要先找到题干中需要解释的句子在文章中的具体位置，然后将四个选项分别代入原文，结合上下文看哪一个选项最符合文意。

解答语义分析类的题目时，绝对不能根据词语或短语本身而望文生义，必须要根据该词或短语所在的具体上下文加以分析推测。

2．阅读方法
(1)扫读
扫读(scanning)是指以最快的速度扫视所读材料，在找到所需信息时才仔细阅读该项内容。

如查找某个人名、地名、时间、地点等，也即在寻找特定信息、寻找具体事实、寻找答题所需内容时都用得着这种方法。

(2)略读
略读(skimming)是指选择性地阅读。

通常的阅读要求看到每一个词，每次注目看1-2个词。

而略读对眼睛跳动的频率和幅度的要求较高，不需要看清每一个词，有时甚至从上一行跳到下一行。

略读不可能全部了解文章内容，但是能大大地提高阅读速度，也能获得大量的信息。

略读的主要作用是了解文章的大意。

经过略读之后，考生对所读内容已经有了大致的了解，再仔细阅读，这时的印象会更深刻，理解更透彻。

略读的关键是增加眼跳的幅度，高度集中注意力，努力捕捉那些能引起注意或者你认为重要的内容。

(3)研读
研读（study reading）就是指仔细阅读，通过这种阅读可以对文章有透彻深刻的理解。

根据考题，运用上下文、逻辑关系、背景知识进行判断和推论。

对难句的理解和推理以及一些事实性细节题需要用这种方法。

3．阅读考试解题技巧
(1)浏览试题明确目标
在阅读文章之前，最好首先浏览一遍试题、选项，确定题目的类型（比如说是主旨题还是细节题）。

然后，再带着问题读原文，这样有目的地去阅读文章，有助于更快地找到所需要的信息。

(2)找出段落的中心思想
任何阅读材料都有其大意。

非小说体的阅读材料通常有比较明显的大意，其结构也比较清楚。

文章的开头部分(introduction)一般会比较明确地指出文章的中心思想。

文章主体部分的每一段也有主题句，通常在段首或段尾。

文章的结尾还要对全文作一个总的概括。

文章的各个段落都是为表达主旨服务的，所以只有对文章主旨有了了解，做起任何题型就都不会偏离主题。

(3)如何解决生词问题
提高阅读速度的一个重要内容是扩大词汇量。

词汇量决定了你的阅读理解能力，词汇量越大，你阅读得越广，视野就越开阔，你阅读理解的得分就可能越高。

但阅读过程中不可避免地要遇到生词。

遇到生词最好的解决方法是通过上下文猜测。

以下几条建议可帮助你猜测词义：
◆利用文章中词与词的同义或者反义关系猜测词义；
例如：In the northern regions the winters are generally cold and humid, and the summers hot and dry.
显然，冬天和夏天的气候是截然相反的，它们的修饰词的意思也应该截然相
反。

“cold”与“hot”对应，“humid”与“dry”对应。

因此，“humid”是“潮湿”意思。

◆通过文章中对词的定义猜测词义；
例如：Jack is now a florist, who keeps a shop for selling flowers in our district.
“florist”的意思就是其后定语从句“who keeps a shop for selling flowers”所描述的“拥有一家专门卖花的商店的人”，即“花店主”。

◆通过文章中对词的解释和举例猜测词义；
例如：Today young couples who are just starting their households of ten spend lots of their money on appliances, for instance, washing machines, refrigerators and color TVs.
通过所举的例子（washing machines ,refrigerators and color TVs）可以看
出，“appliances”应是这些名词的总称，即“家用电器”。

◆通过构词法知识（前缀和后缀）猜测词义。

例如：They overestimate the interviewee’s ability and asked him many difficult questions.
“estimate”是“估计”的意思，“over-”前缀意为“过分，过度，超过”等，因
此“overestimate”就是“高估”的意思。

(4)利用篇章连接词
篇章连接词是指在文章中用来说明上下句或前后句两个意思之间关系的词或词组。

连接词一般用于以下几种情况：
☉连接词通常用于开篇，引出扩展句；
☉连接词也可用于句中，尤其是用于较长的复杂句子中，以作为上下文的连接纽带；
☉连接词还可以用于文章结尾处或者段末，用于总结上文或结束本段内容。

在阅读过程中，如果我们能够利用这些连接词，便能快速理清文章的思路，这就在一定程度上提高了英语的阅读效率。

常见的连接词通常可以用来表示以下几种关系：
◆表示平行或递进关系
and, also, as well(as),at the same time, besides, both...and...,further more, in
addition(to),likewise, moreover, similarly, worse still等。

在阅读过程中，当看到其中的任何一个连接词时，应该想到：下文将出现与前边差不多的、同类性质的内容，或是对前面内容的进一步阐述。

◆表示转折关系
although, but, however, nevertheless, on the contrary, otherwise, to the opposite, while, yet等。

这些词表明作者正在向读者发出一种信号，下文所述的将是一种全新的或是相反的内容、见解和观点，需要引起读者的格外注意。

在阅读过程中，当碰到其中任何一个表示转折关系的连接词时，应该放慢阅读速度，多留心下文在意义上的变化。

◆表示目的或因果关系：
as, as a result, because (of), consequently, due to, for, now that, since, so, so...that..., such...that..., therefore, thus等。

在阅读过程中，这些连接词也是帮助读者理解作者行文思路的有用信号。

◆表示层次、顺序关系
after (that), another, before, first(ly), second(ly), third(ly), at last, finally, later on, next, then, on the one hand..., on the other hand等。

抓住这些连接词，读者能快速地把握作者的行文思路。

比如：first, second, third, finally 等词，表明了一种顺序，读者能通过它们迅速从大体上理清文章的脉络。

◆表示列举关系
for example, for instance, for one thing, for another, such as等。

在阅读过程中，当碰到其中任何一个时，应该明白，作者在下文将举出一个类似情形的事例。

而往往这些事例都是为前面的陈述做进一步解释或论证的。

◆表示归纳、总结
as a result, briefly, in a word, in brief, in short, on the whole, to sum up等。

作者通过这些连接词给读者一种暗示，下面的内容将是对前面所述内容的概括或总结。

掌握了这些连接词的使用特点，将有助于读者对全文脉络有个清晰的把握，对提高阅读速度和效率都有很大的帮助。

第2章　阅读理解高分特训100篇
本部分精选的100篇阅读理解按照“基础英语”常考的题型，分为：常规多项选择题型、根据文章回答问题、用给出的句子补全文章、判断文章后表述的正误。

2.1　多项选择
◇文学传记类
Passage 1 题材：文学传记类　字数：548
Two hundred years ago the English poet William W ordsworth wrote “I wander’d lonely as a cloud”, a poem that expresses a basic spirit of the early English Romanticism. It was Thursday, 15th April 1802, William and Dorothy W ordsworth, the poet’s devoted, journal-writing sister, were walking home to Dove Cottage in the Lake District. The wind was fierce, but the W ordsworth siblings were used to striding long distances in foul weather. They were in the woods close to the water side when they first clapped eyes on a field of daffodils “fluttering and dancing in the breeze”.
What makes this poem an example of Romantic thinking? It isn’t just that W ordsworth chooses to write about a natural scene: it is the way he describes the scene as if it had human emotions. For him, nature is not merely a neutral mixture of scenery, colours, plants, rocks, soil, water and air. It is a riving force that feels joy and sadness, shares human pain and even tries to educate us human beings by showing us the beauty of life.
W ordsworth’s home, Dove Cottage, is now one of the most popular destinations in the Lake District. Y ou can go on a tour of the garden which William planted with wild flowers and which survived in his back yard even after they disappeared from the area. “He always said that if he hadn’t been a poet, he would have been a terrific landscape gardener,” says Allan King of the W ordsworth Trust, the organization that looks after the cottage and gardens.
The Lake District in the north west of England becomes particularly crowded during the summer months with tourists and ramblers eager to enjoy the region’s majestic valleys, hills and sparkling lakes. W ordsworth himself was far from keen on tourists, which was quite apparent. He wanted outsiders to admire the local sights he enjoyed so much, but was afraid the district might be “damaged” by too many visitors. He opposed the coming of the trains, and campaigned in the 1840s against a plan to link the towns in the area—Kendal, Windermere and Keswick—by rail.
The place near Ullswater, where W ordsworth saw the daffodils, is at the southernmost end of the lake. The lake is wide and calm at this turning point. There’s a bay where the trees have had their soil eroded by lake water so that their roots are shockingly exposed. Y ou walk along from tree to tree, hardly daring to breathe, because you are walking in the footprints of William and Dorothy from two
centuries ago. The first clumps of daffodils appear, but they aren’t tall yellow trumpets proudly swaying in the breeze. They’re tiny wild daffodils, most of them still green and unopened, in clumps of six or seven. They’re grouped around individual trees rather than collecting together.
But as you look north, from beside a huge ancient oak, you realize this is what delighted the W ordsworths: clump after clump of the things, spread out to left and right but coming together in your vision so that they form a beautiful, pale-yellow carpet. What you’re seeing at last is nature transformed by human sight and imagination. For a second, you share that revelation of Dorothy and William W ordsworth’s, the glimpse of pantheism, the central mystery of English Romanticism.
1. According to the article, W ordsworth’s poem _____.
[A] started the Romantic movement
[B] was based on actual experience
[C] was written while he was visiting his sister
[D] was written after he had been lonely
2. What was W ordsworth’s attitude to nature?
[A] He believed nature had a character of its own.
[B] He felt nature was human.
[C] He thought nature could talk to people.
[D] He believed that we could influence nature.
3.W e are told that Dove Cottage _____.
[A] has gardens designed by a landscape gardener
[B] has very old plants in the garden
[C] gets a lot of visitors
[D] has a large back yard
4. What does the writer suggest by the words “hardly daring to breathe” in line 4, paragraph 5?
[A] Y ou have to walk carefully here.
[B] Y ou can’t breathe because the atmosphere is suffocating.
[C] Y ou might feel excited to be in this place.
[D] Y ou must concentrate to stay on the footpath.
5. What does the writer think of W ordsworth as a poet?
[A] He believes that W ordsworth was an important figure in English culture.
[B] He is critical of W ordsworth.
[C] He believes W ordsworth was a sentimental person.
[D] He disagrees with W ordsworth’s opinion about nature.
1.B 根据第一段大意，可知W ordsworth的诗是根据他和姐妹步行回家所看到的风景写成的。

A项未提及，C和D项错误。

2.A 根据第二段he describes the scene as if it had human emotions以及最后一句可推出
W ordsworth对待自然的态度。

3.C 根据第三段第一句one of the most popular destinations可知Dove Cottage有很多游客。

4.C 由第五段because you are walking in the footprints of William and Dorothy from two centuries ago可知可能是因为太激动了而不敢呼吸。

5.A 从全文来看，作者对于W ordsworth赞赏有加，无负面评价，故选项A正确。

『词汇词组』
·wander vi. 徘徊；漫步；迷路；离题
vt. 游荡，漫游
·foul adj. 犯规的；邪恶的；污秽的；淤塞的
vt. 犯规；弄脏；淤塞；缠住，妨害
vi. 犯规；腐烂；缠
n. 犯规；缠绕
adv. 违反规则地，不正当地
·neutral adj. 中立的，中性的；中立国的；非彩色的
n. 中立国；中立者
·terrific adj. 极好的；极其的，非常的
·clump n. 丛；笨重的脚步声；土块
vi. 形成一丛；以沉重的步子行走
vt. 使成一丛；使凝结成块
Passage 2 题材：文学传记类　字数：605
I have been living in London for more than 60 years, but still, when I’m driving and take some clever back-street short-cut, I catch myself thinking how extraordinary it is that I am doing this! For a moment the town mouse I have become is being seen by the country mouse I used to be. And although, given a new start, I would again become a town mouse, when I visit relations in the country, I envy them.
Recently, I stood beside a freshwater lake in Norfolk, made by diverting a small river, near where my brother lives. As he was identifying some of the birds we could see, in came seven swans. They circled, then the haunting sound of their wing beats gave way to silence as they glided into a splash-down.
It is not a “picturesque” part of the coast, but it has a definite character of line and fight and color. “Y ou do live in a lovely place,” I said to my brother, and he answered, “Y es, I do.” There are probably few days when he does not pause to recognize its loveliness as he works with his boats—he teaches sailing—or goes about his many other occupations.
The lake’s creator is a local landowner, continuing the tradition whereby the nature of our countryside has been determined by those who own the land. Formerly, landowners would almost certainly have made such changes for their own benefit, but this time it was done to help preserve the wildlife here, which is available for any visitor to see, providing they do nothing to disturb the birds. It is evidence of change: country life is changing fast.
One of the biggest changes I have witnessed is that second-homers, together with commuters, have come to be accepted as a vital part of the country scene. Also the men and women who service their cars, dig their gardens, install their phones, repair their word processors, lay their carpets and
do all the other things they need, are vital to modern country life.
It is quite likely that the children of today’s workers may be moving into the same kind of jobs as the second-homers and the retired. Both the children of a country woman I know are at university, and she herself, now that they have left home, is working towards a university degree. One of the delights of country life today, it seems, is that there you can see how much social mobility is increasing.
Much depends, of course, on the part of the countryside you are living in and on personality —your own and that of your neighbors. In my brother’s Norfolk village, social life seems dizzying to a Londoner. In addition to dropping in on neighbors, people throw and attend parties far more often than we do. My brother’s wife, Mary, and her friends fly off on the most dashing bargain breaks in Krakow or Prague or V enice, and are always going into Norwich for a concert or to King’s Lynn for an exhibition. The boring country life that people from cities talk about is a thing of the past—or perhaps that was only ever an impression.
This is very unlike living in a London street for 50 years and knowing only the names of four other residents. In these 50 years I have made only one real friend among them. I do enjoy my life, and Mary says that she sometimes envies it (the grass on the other side of the fence), but whenever I go to Norfolk, I end up feeling that the lives of country mice are more admirable than my own.
1. It is sometimes a source of surprise to the writer______.
[A] to find herself driving through back streets
[B] that she has been in the city for so long
[C] to realize how much she has got used to living in London
[D] that she lives in the city when she prefers the country
2. The atmosphere created by the writer when she describes the swans is ______.
[A] magical
[B] frightening
[C] deafening
[D] disturbing
3. What does “It” in line 5, paragraph 4 refer to?
[A] The freshwater lake in a Norfolk village.
[B] The fact that the lake belongs to a landowner here.
[C] The fact that wildlife now needs to be preserved.
[D] The reason for the landowner’s action.
4. What is suggested about outsiders who now live in the country?
[A] That country people no longer reject them.
[B] That they often do work like servicing cars and digging gardens.
[C] That the men and women who work for them are from the city.
[D] That many of them have been in the countryside for a long time.
5. Social life in the country______ .
[A] depends completely on where you live
[B] is not as dull as people in the cities sometimes think it is
[C] is not affected by your neighbors
[D] is always less exciting than life in the city
1.C 文章第一句说I have been living in London for more than 60 years, 住在伦敦六十多年了,然而还会catch myself thinking how extraordinary it is that I am doing this。

此处的this正是指生活在伦敦那么久，并且如此熟悉，以致能够很聪明地从后巷抄近路。

2.A 在第二段中，作者描写七只天鹅在空中盘旋，从haunting、silence、splash-down等词能够看出其中的魔幻的意境。

frightening令人恐惧的。

deafening震耳欲聋的。

disturbing令人不安的。

3.D 第四段第二句提到，过去，土地的拥有者是为了自己的利益在自己的领地里做改动，但是这次的改动是因为要帮助保护本地的野生生命。

所以第三句中提到的it应该是指土地拥有者做出改动的原因，有所不同了。

4.A 第五段第一句提到second-homers, together with commuters, have come to be accepted as
a vital part of the country scene，即这些外来的人已经被接纳，不再受到排斥，成为乡村的一个重要部分。

5.B 倒数第二段细说了乡村人生活的多彩，最后一句提到，the boring country life that people from cities talk about已然成为过去，并且，也许从来就只是一个不实的印象而已。

『词汇词组』
·extraordinary adj. 非凡的；特别的；离奇的；临时的；特派的
·divert vt. 转移；使…欢娱；使…转向
vi. 转移
·haunt vt. 常出没于…；萦绕于…；经常去…
vi. 出没；作祟
n. 栖息地；常去的地方
·disturb vt. 打扰；妨碍；使不安；弄乱；使恼怒
vi. 打扰；妨碍
·vital adj. 至关重要的；生死攸关的；有活力的
·dizzy adj. 晕眩的；使人头晕的；昏乱的；心不在焉的；愚蠢的
vt. 使头晕眼花；使混乱；使茫然
Passage 3 题材：文学传记类　字数：548
Charles Darwin's "On the Origin of Species" is credited with sparking evolution's revolution in scientific thought, but many observers had pondered evolution before him. It was understanding the idea's significance and soiling it to the public that made Darwin great according to the Arnold Arboretum's new director.
　William Friedman, the Arnold Professor of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology who took over as arboretum director Jan. 1, has studied Darwin's writings as well as those of his predecessors and contemporaries. While Darwin is widely credited as the father of evolution, Friedman said the "historical sketch" that Darwin attached to later printings of his masterpiece was intended to calm down those who demanded credit for their own, earlier ideas.
The historical sketch grew with each subsequent printing Friedman told .an audience on Jan. 10, until; by the 6th edition, 34 authors: were mentioned in it. Scholars now believe that somewhere between 50 and 60 authors had beaten Darwin in their writings about evolution. Included was Darwin's grandfather; Erasmus Darwin, a physician who irritated clergymen with his insistence that life arose from lower forms, specifically mollusks.
Friedman's talk, “A Darwinian Look at Darwin’s Evolution Ancestors,” took place at the arboretum's Honeywell Building and was the first in a new Director's Lecture Series.
Though others had clearly pondered evolution before Darwin, he wasn’t originality. Friedman said that Darwin's thinking on natural selection as the mechanism of evolution was shared by few, most prominently Alfred W allace, whose writing on the subject after years in the field spurred Darwin's writing of “On the Origin of Species.” Although the book runs more than 400 pages, Friedman said it was never the book on evolution, and natural selection that Darwin intended. In 1856, three years before the book was published, he began work on a detailed book on natural selection that wouldn't see publication until 1975.
The seminal event in creating “On the Origin of Species” occurred in 1858, when W allace wrote Darwin detailing W allace’s ideas of evolution by natural selection. The arrival of W allace’s ideas spurred Darwin into writing "On the Origin of Species" as an "abstract" of the ideas he was painstakingly laying out in the larger work.
This was a lucky break for Darwin, because it forced him to write his ideas in plain language, which led to a book that was not only revolutionary, despite those who'd tread similar ground before, but that was also very readable.
Though others thought about evolution before Darwin scientific discovery requires more than just an idea. In addition to the concept, discovery requires the understanding of the significance of the idea, sometimes some of the earlier authors clearly did not have—such as the arborist who buried his thoughts on natural selection in the appendix of a book on naval timber. Lastly, scientific discovery demands the ability to convince others of the correctness of an idea. Darwin through “On the Origin of Species,” was the only thinker of the time who had all three of those traits, Friedman said.
"Darwin had the ability to convince others of the correctness of the idea," Friedman said, adding that even W allace, whose claim to new thinking on evolution and natural selection was stronger than all the others, paid homage to Darwin by titling his 1889 book on the subject,
"Darwinism."
1. According to William Friedman, Darwin's "On the Origin of Species" is great in that______.
[A] it was the most studied by later scientists
[B] it had Significant ideas about evolution
[C] it was the first to talk about evolution
[D] it was well received by the public
2. Friedman believes that Darwin attached a "historical sketch" to later printings of his book in an attempt to______.
[A] credit the ideas about evolution before his
[B] Claim himself as the father of evolution
[C] introduce his grandfather to the reader
[D] summarize his predecessors' work
3: In Friedman’s view, Darwin's originality lies in ______.
[A] his thinking on natural selection as the mechanism of evolution
[B] his sharing ideas about evolution with his contemporaries
[C] the way he wrote "On the Origins of Species
[D] the way he lectured on the ideas of evolution.
4.W e have learned that at first Darwin intended to write his ideas in______.
[A] a much larger book
[B] a 400-page book
[C] scientific terms
[D] plain language
5. Scientific discovery requires all the following Except______.
[A] coming up with a new idea
[B] understanding the significance of the idea
[C] making claims to the idea by writing books
[D] convincing others of the correctness of the idea
1.D 根据第一段新主管讲的话可知，让人们认识到了进化论思想的重要性，让大众接受了这一思想，并让这一思想广泛生根发芽是达尔文伟大的原因，所以选D。

2.A 根据第二段最后一句可知，他后来附录在他巨作的“历史背景描述”平息了那些为自己的观点—— 比达尔文进化论思想出现的更早的观点——而争斗的人。

所以，他的历史背景描述承认了在他之前的关于进化论的思想。

所以选A。

3.A 第五段第一句提到了独创性这一话题，根据第五段第二句可知，达尔文关于进化论机制是自然选择的思想很少为其他人共享，连华莱士也没有这样的观点，所以选A。

4.A 根据第六段最后一句，达尔文把他的思想提炼出来，就不用再费力写一本大得多的书，可知，达尔文本来打算写一本大得多的书。

所以选A。

5.C 根据倒数第二段弗里德曼的观点，科学发现不仅仅要有想法，还要有对这一想法的意义的理解，要能说服人们关于想法的正确性，C项没有提及，所以选C。

『词汇词组』
·credit n. 信用，信誉；[金融] 贷款；学分；信任；声望
vt. 相信，信任；把…归给，归功于；赞颂
·sketch n. 素描；略图；梗概
vt. 画素描或速写
vi. 画素描或速写
·irritate vt. 刺激，使兴奋；激怒
vi. 引起恼怒，引起不愉快
·spur n. 鼓舞，刺激；马刺；山坡
vi. 骑马疾驰；给予刺激
vt. 激励，鞭策；给…装马刺。