4
C. He serves as chairman of committee to choose the recipients of the prizes.
D. He won the first Nobel prize for his work in philanthropy.
Question 38.What does this passage mainly discussed?
A. Alfred Bernard Nobel. B. Great contributions to mankind.
C. Swedish philanthropy. D. The Nobel prizes.
Question 39.How often are the Nobel prizes awarded?
A. Once a year B. Twice a year C. Five times a year D. Once every two year
Question 40.A Nobel prize would NOT be given to _______.
A. a doctor who discovered a vaccine B. a composer who wrote a symphony
C. an author who wrote a novel D. a diplomat who negotiated a peace settlement
Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C,or D on your answer sheet to indicate the
correct answer to each of the questions from 43 to 50.
The goal of Internet-based encyclopedia Wikipedia (www.wikipedia.org) is to give everyone on the
planet access to information. Like other encyclopedias, Wikipedia contains lots of information: more than 2.5
million articles in 200 different languages covering just about every subject. Unlike other encyclopedias,
however, Wikepedia is not written by experts, but by ordinary people. These writers are not paid and their
names are not published. They contribute to Wikipedia simply because they want to share their knowledge.
Encyclopedias began in ancient times as collections of writings about all aspects of human knowledge.
The word itself comes from ancient Greek, and means “a complete general education”. Real popularity for
encyclopedias came in the nineteenth century in Europe and the United States, with the publication of
encyclopedias written for ordinary readers. With the invention of the CD-ROM, the same amount of
information could be put on a few computer discs. Then with the Internet, it became possible to create an online
encyclopedia that could be constantly updated, like Microsoft’s Encarta. However, even Internet-based
encyclopedias like Encarta were written by paid experts. At first, Wikipedia, the brainchild of Jimmy Wales, a
businessman in Chicago, was not so different from these. In 2001, he had the idea for an Internet-based
encyclopedia that would provide information quickly and easily to everyone. Furthermore, that information
would be available free, unlike other Internet encyclopedias at that time.
But Wales, like everyone else, believed that people with special knowledge were needed to write the
articles, and so he began by hiring experts. He soon changed his approach, however, as it took them a long time
to finish their work. He decided to open up the encyclopedia in a radical new way, so that everyone would have
access not only to the information, but also to the process of putting this information online. To do this, he used
what is known as “Wiki” software (from the Hawaiian word for “fast”), which allows users to create or alter
content on web page. The system is very simple: When you open the web site, you can simply search for
information or you can log on to become a writer or editor of articles. If you find an article that interests you –
about your hometown, for example – you can correct it or expand it. This process goes on until no one is
interested in making any more changes.
Question 41: Wikipedia is written by_________.
A. paid written B. millionaires C. normal people D. world experts
Question 42: The phrase “these writers” in the first paragraph refers to____.
A. ordinary readers B. ordinary people C. encyclopedia experts D. every subject
Question 43: The phrase “the word” in the second paragraph refers to_________.
A. knowledge B. encyclopedia C. writing D. collection
Question 44: Microsoft’s Encarta is cited in the passage as an example of_________.
A. CD-ROM dictionary B. printed encyclopedia
C. online encyclopedia D. updateable online encyclopedia
Question 45: The word “brainchild” in the second paragraph of the passage can be best replaced by________.
A. born B. child C. product D. father
Question 46: The word “approach” in the third paragraph of the passage means_________.