《2025年天利38套五年高考真题汇编详解英语》

C
The notion that we live in someone else's video game is irresistible to many. Searching the term “simulation hypothesis”(模拟假说) returns numerous results that debate whether the universe is a computer simulation—a concept that some scientists actually take seriously. Unfortunately, this is not a scientific question. We will probably never know whether it's true. We can, instead, use this idea to advance scientific knowledge.
The 18th - century philosopher Kant argued that the universe ultimately consists of things - in - themselves that are unknowable. While he held the notion that objective reality exists, he said our mind plays a necessary role in structuring and shaping our perceptions. Modern sciences have revealed that our perceptual experience of the world is the result of many stages of processing by sensory systems and cognitive(认知的) functions in the brain. No one knows exactly what happens within this black box. If empirical(实证的) experience fails to reveal reality, reasoning won't reveal reality either since it relies on concepts and words that are contingent on our social, cultural and psychological histories. Again, a black box.
So, if we accept that the universe is unknowable, we also accept we will never know if we live in a computer simulation. And then, we can shift our inquiry from “Is the universe a computer simulation?” to “Can we model the universe as a computer simulation?” Modelling reality is what we do. To facilitate our comprehension of the world, we build models based on conceptual metaphors(隐喻) that are familiar to us. In Newton's era, we imagined the universe as a clock. In Einstein's, we uncovered the standard model of particle(粒子) physics.
Now that we are in the information age, we have new concepts such as the computer, information processing, virtual reality, and simulation. Unsurprisingly, these new concepts inspire us to build new models of the universe. Models are not the reality, however. There is no point in arguing if the universe is a clock, a set of particles or an output of computation. All these models are tools to deal with the unknown and to make discoveries. And the more tools we have, the more effective and insightful we can become.
It can be imagined that comparable to the process of building previous scientific models, developing the “computer simulation” metaphor - based model will also be a hugely rewarding exercise.
28. What does the author intend to do by challenging a hypothesis?
A. Make an assumption.
B. Illustrate an argument.
C. Give a suggestion.
D. Justify a comparison.
29. What does the phrase “contingent on” underlined in Paragraph 2 probably mean?
A. Accepted by.
B. Determined by.
C. Awakened by.
D. Discovered by.
30. As for Kant's argument, the author is ________.
A. appreciative
B. doubtful
C. unconcerned
D. disapproving
31. It is implied in this passage that we should ________.
A. compare the current models with the previous ones
B. continue exploring the classical models in history
C. stop arguing whether the universe is a simulation
D. turn simulations of the universe into realities

答案： 28.C 推理判断题 [定位句]Unfortunately, this is not a scientific question. We will probably never know whether it's true. We can, instead, use this idea to advance scientific knowledge.(第一段最后三句)
译文：不幸的是，这不是一个科学问题。我们可能永远不会知道这是不是真的。相反，我们可以用这个想法来推进科学知识(发展)。
[解析]根据第一段内容尤其是定位句可推知，作者想通过质疑假说来给出建议。故选C。
29.B 词义猜测题 [解析]accepted by被接受；determined by被决定；awakened by被唤醒；discovered by被发现。根据画线短语所在句中的“If empirical(实证的) experience fails to reveal reality, reasoning won't reveal reality either since it relies on concepts and words”可知，如果实证经验无法揭示现实，那么推理也不会揭示现实，因为它依赖于概念和文字。此处that指代“concepts and words”，作定语从句的主语；根据画线短语所在句中的“our social, cultural and psychological histories”可知，此处指推理所依赖的这些概念和文字由我们的社会、文化和心理历史决定。由此可推知，contingent on应意为“取决于”，与B项意思相近。故选B。
30.A 观点态度题 [解析]appreciative欣赏的；doubtful怀疑的；unconcerned不关心的；disapproving反对的。根据第二段第一句“The 18th - century philosopher Kant argued that the universe ultimately consists of things - in - themselves that are unknowable.”和第三、四段内容可知，Kant认为宇宙是由不可知的自在之物构成的。因为接受宇宙是不可知的，我们会对此进行探究，为现实建模。而所有这些模型都是应对未知和做出发现的工具。我们拥有的工具越多，效率越高。由此可推知，对于Kant的论证，作者是欣赏的。故选A。
31.C 推理判断题 [定位句]①There is no point in arguing if the universe is a clock, a set of particles or an output of computation.(第四段第四句)
译文：争论宇宙是否是一个时钟，是否是一组粒子或是否是一个计算输出产物没有意义。
②It can be imagined that comparable to the process of building previous scientific models, developing the “computer simulation” metaphor - based model will also be a hugely rewarding exercise.(第五段)
译文：可以想象，与构建以往的科学模型的过程相比，开发基于“计算机模拟”隐喻的模型也将是一项极具价值的工作。
[解析]通读全文尤其是定位句可推知，我们应该停止争论宇宙是否是虚拟的这一问题。故选C。