(a) a group of scientists
found a special goose that could lay
golden eggs
(b) a group of
scientists succeeded in hatching a golden egg after carrying out numerous
tests
(c) a group of scientists
succeeded in finding out why the special goose laid golden eggs but failed
to discover what kept it safe from radiation
(d) a group of
scientists developed the defense against radiation sickness in The Goose after
conducting various tests on its chemistry
B.
Comprehending the text.
Choose
the best answer.
1.
Who owned The Goose at first? ( C
)
(a)
The narrator.
(b) The US government.
(c)
A Texas farmer.
(d)
A biochemist.
2.
What did MacGregor do to his special goose? ( D
)
(a)
He mistreated it.
(b)
He would not let it hatch its eggs.
(c)
He did not let it live with his other geese.
(d)
He took every measure to keep it safe.
3.
How did The Goose keep alive when there was a poisonous substance in
its blood? ( A
)
(a)
The Goose was able to change the poisonous substance into eggshells, which
killed the eggs but not the goose.
(b)
The poisonous substance was absorbed by The Goose's liver before it went into
the blood.
(c)
The Goose was able to transform the poisonous substance into proteins.
(d)
The poisonous substance was turned into a soluble form of iron.
4.
How did the narrator decide that the egg of yellow metal was not brass? ( D )
(a) He found that the metal was heavier than brass.
(b)
His experiment showed that the egg was made of special metal.
(c)
He knew from experience that the yellow metal was gold.
(d)
His experiment showed that the metal did not react with concentrated nitric
acid.
5.
Which of the following statements is true, according to the text? ( B )
(a)
The egg was not solid gold inside out.
(b)
The egg consisted of a gold yolk and authentic eggshell.
(c)
The egg had gold shell with nothing inside.
(d)
The egg contained no proteins or other nutritious stuff.
6.
What was unusual about the hemoglobin in The Goose's blood? (
B )
(a)
The hemoglobin looked like a crystal substance.
(b)
The hemoglobin had gold atoms in it.
(c)
The hemoglobin contained both iron and gold atoms.
(d)
The hemoglobin broke down to bile pigment.
7.
What did they do after Nevis suggested that maybe The Goose changed the iron
into gold by radioactive transformation? ( D
)
(a)
They decided to give up the project.
(b) They rejected his suggestion and did nothing.
(c)
They decided to write the whole thing up as a science-fiction story.
(d)
They invited John Billings, one of the country's best nuclear physicists,
to join the research.
8.
What did Billings' tests discover? ( A
)
(a)
The Goose was like a nuclear reactor that can transform iron into gold.
(b)
The hemoglobin of The Goose contained no iron.
(c)
The iron of The Goose contained four different isotopes, of which the
most abundant was iron-56.
(d)
The Goose was able to transform three types of iron atoms into gold.
9.
What probably caused The Goose to have such a complex chemical make-up?
(
C )
(a) Its unusually bad
temper.
(b) A fever that it developed at
birth.
(c) Its exposure to radiation.
(d) What the farmer fed it.
10.
What did they decide to do in order to find out how The Goose developed the
defense against radiation? ( B
)
(a)
They decided to
invite more scientists to join them in the research.
(b)
They decided to tell it as a science-fiction story and advertise for ideas
from the reader.
(c) They decided to remove The Goose's liver for study.
(d) They
decided to hatch some of the eggs and get more gold-laying geese.
C.
Understanding vocabulary.
Choose
the correct definition according to the context.
1. I'm in the employ of the Department and I was attending a convention
in San Antonio in July of 1957, so my boss asked me to stop off at
MacGregor's
place and see what I could do. ( D
)
(a) party
(b) competition
(c)
show
(d)
conference
2. Then
he muttered, "Come with me." ( C
)
(a)
said noisily
(b)
shouted
(c)
said in a low voice
(d)
screamed
3.
It looked like any other goose: fat, self-satisfied, short-tempered.
( B
)
(a)
easy-going
(b)
easy to become angry
(c)
difficult to please
(d)
quick-minded
4. He
produced the egg from a capacious overalls pocket, letting it
lie on the palm of his hand. ( A
)
(a) large
(b)
small
(c)
dirty
(d)
round
5. The
white eggshell had shattered where the egg had struck. ( D
)
(a)
had straightened
(b)
had flattened
(c)
had changed color
(d)
had broken into pieces
6. Pieces
of it had flaked away and what shone through was a dull yellow
in color. ( C
)
(a)
had become thin
(b)
had become irregular
(c)
had fallen off
(d)
had grown hard
7. "I
don't want the Government butting in," he said stubbornly.
( B
)
(a) knowing about it
(b) interfering
(c)
paying me
(d)
questioning me
8. In
the end I signed a receipt and he dogged me out to my car and
stood in the road as I drove away, following me with his eyes. ( B
)
(a)
took
(b)
followed
(c)
showed
(d) pushed
9.
"Only
it isn't, because it's inert to concentrated nitric
acid."
(
A )
(a)
not reacting with
(b)
active in
(c)
responsive to
(d)
unmoved by
10.
The blood of The Goose was put through every test conceivable.
( D )
(a) manageable
(b)
noticeable
(c)
describable
(d)
imaginable
11. Promptly
we took more blood samples. ( C
)
(a)
Deliberately
(b) With extreme care
(c)
Without delay
(d)
Hopefully
12. This
still left us with the question of where the gold came from, and it was Nevis
who first made the crucial suggestion. ( A
)
(a)
very important
(b) very clever
(c)
very thoughtful
(d)
very crude
13.
First, some simple isotope must be converted to iron-56.
( B
)
(a) returned to
(b)
changed to
(c)
exchanged for
(d)
mixed with
14. Nuclear
tests conducted in 1954 and 1955 had resulted in fallouts
passing near MacGregor's farm. ( D
)
(a)
polluted water
(b) strong wind
(c)
explosives
(d)
radioactive dust
15. If
we could find out how The Goose does it and duplicate it in industry we'd
have the perfect way of disposing of radioactive ash from nuclear
power plants. ( C
)
(a)
making use of
(b) changing
(c)
getting rid of
(d)
absorbing
D.
Discussing the following topics.
1.
This is a science-fiction story but the author has successfully
made it more like a real story than a fictitious one. How did he achieve his
purpose?
答案
At the beginning of the story, the author explains that he is writing
it up for someone else because "I", the storyteller, does
not write well. He further explains that he uses "fictitious
names" for the owner of The Goose and the head of his section
at the Department of Agriculture. Towards the end of the story, the
author brings the reader back to the question of why he is asked to
write the story, and finally casts the unsolved problem of the golden
eggs to the reader, as if inviting them to join "Project Goose".
All these add to the "authenticity" of the story.
