TPO57阅读真题+题目+答案下载：The Debate over Spontaneous Generation

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TPO57阅读真题+题目+答案下载：The Debate over Spontaneous Generation

Until the second half of the nineteenth century, many scientists and philosophers believed that some forms of life could arise spontaneously from nonliving matter; they called this hypothetical process spontaneous generation. Not much more than 100 years ago, people commonly believed that toads, snakes, and mice could be born of moist soil; that flies could emerge from manure; and that maggots, the larvae of flies, could arise from decaying corpses.

15. The word "hypothetical" in the passage is closest in meaning to

A. biological

B. observable

C. supposed

D. repeated

A strong opponent of spontaneous generation, the Italian physician Francesco Redi, set out in 1668 to demonstrate that maggots did not arise spontaneously from decaying meat. Redi filled three jars with decaying meat and sealed them tightly. Then he arranged three other jars similarly but left them open. Maggots appeared in the open vessels after flies entered the jars and laid their eggs, but the sealed containers showed no signs of maggots. Still, Redi’s antagonists were not convinced; they claimed that fresh air was needed for spontaneous generation. So Redi set up a second experiment, in which three jars were covered with a fine net instead of being sealed. No larvae appeared in the net-covered jars, even though air was present. Maggots appeared only when flies were allowed to leave their eggs on the meat.

16. According to paragraph 2, the purpose of Redi's second experiment was to show that spontaneous generation did not occur when

A. air was allowed to enter the net-covered jars

B. flies were allowed to enter the open jars

C. larvae were removed from net-covered jars

D. meat decay was prevented

Redi's results were a serious blow to the long-held belief that large forms of life could arise from nonlife. However, many scientists still believed that tiny microorganisms were simple enough to be generated from nonliving materials.

17. According to paragraph 3, how did Redi's experiments change the debate over spontaneous generation?

A. His experiments strengthened the belief that large organisms could be generated from small organisms.

B. His experiments suggested that simple organisms could be generated from nonliving things.

C. His experiments provided evidence that at least some kinds of organisms did not arise spontaneously.

D. His experiments showed that small organisms survived the absence of air more easily than large ones did.

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