1. They have begun to read Irish books with a ________ and passionate interest.
A. inquisitive
B. curious
C. prying
D. inquiring
 
2. ______, it is quite easy to drill a hole in it with a laser.
A. Hard a diamond is
B. Hard as a diamond is
C. As a diamond is hard
D. How hard is a diamond






  1.A
【句意】他们开始怀着浓厚的好奇和兴趣去阅读爱尔兰书籍。
【解析】形容词词义辨析。inquisitive“好学的；好奇的；兴趣广泛的”；curious“好奇的”；prying“爱打听的”；inquiring“好问的；爱探索的”。根据“passionate热情的”可知应该选一个正面意义的“好奇的”。curious侧重于“好奇打听他人私事的”，而inquisitive有一个“好学的”之意。因此，A项是正确答案，更符合语境。
 
2.B
【句意】尽管金刚石是硬的，但是用激光在它上面钻孔却很容易。
【解析】语法结构——部分倒装。这是一个as引导的让步状语从句的倒装，其模式为“形容词+as+主语+谓语或表语”，由此知B项正确。
 
【翻译参考译文】
(1) The education of humanists cannot be regarded as complete or even adequate without exposure in some depth to where things stand in the various branches of science, particularly in the areas of our ignorance. (2) Most of Physics professors look with revulsion on assignments to teach their subjects to poets. (3) The faculties of liberal arts for their part will continue to view the scientists with suspicion and apprehension. (4) But maybe a new set of courses dealing systematically with ignorance in science will be set up. (5) The scientists might discover in it a new and subversive technique for catching the attention of students driven by curiosity, delighted and surprised to learn that science is exactly as some scientists described it: an “endless frontier.” (6) The humanists for their part might take considerable satisfaction in watching their scientific colleagues confess openly to not fully knowing everything. (7) And the poets on whose shoulders the future rests might late night think things over and begin to see some meanings that elude the rest of us.