B
Stephen Hawking was born on 8 January, 1942 in Oxford, England.When he was eight, his family moved to St Albans，a town about 20 miles north of London.At age eleven Stephen went to St Albans School，and then went on to Oxford University, his father's old college.Stephen wanted to do mathematics，although his father would have preferred medicine.Mathematics was not available at Oxford University, so he did physics instead.After three years and not very much work he was awarded a firstclass degree in natural science.
Stephen then went on to Cambridge to do research in cosmology (宇宙学), because no one worked in that area in Oxford at that time.After gaining his PhD, first he became a research fellow，and later on a professorial fellow at Gonville and Caius College.After leaving the Institute of Astronomy in 1973 Stephen went to the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics，and since 1979 he has held the post of professor of mathematics，which was held by Isaac Newton in 1663.He is a fellow of the Royal Society and a member of the US National Academy of Sciences.
Stephen Hawking has been working on the basic laws that govern the universe.He is particularly interested in unifying the General Relativity Theory and Quantum Theory to study black hole.
A great man of science sitting in the wheelchair，Stephen Hawking has suffered from a serious disease for decades.In 1963，he caught a disease that couldn't be cured then.Up to 1974，he was able to feed himself, and a private nurse went to his house for an hour or two in the morning and evening.In 1985 ，he caught pneumonia (肺炎) and had an operation.After the operation，he lost his ability to speak.For a time, the only way he could communicate was to spell out words letter by letter，by raising his eyebrows when someone pointed to the right letter on a spelling card.
文章介绍了霍金各方面的情况。
24．Stephen Hawking studied ________ at Oxford University.
A．mathematics B．physics C．medicine D．cosmology
解析：根据第一段可知，霍金在牛津大学最终学的是物理。
答案：B
25．We can infer from the passage that Stephen Hawking ________.
A．gained his PhD of Cosmology at Cambridge
B．was a professor at Gonville and Caius College
C．was a research fellow of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics
D．was a member of the UK National Academy of Sciences
解析：根据文章第二段的前两句可得出答案。B、C、D三项与原文不符。
答案：A
26．Stephen Hawking lost his ability to speak at the age of ________.
A．21 B．32 C．43 D．38
解析：根据第四段可知，霍金失去说话能力是在1985年，根据第一段可知，霍金1942年出生，故选C项。
答案：C
27．What would be the best title for the passage?
A．Stephen Hawking：the Man of the Strongest Will
B．Stephen Hawking：the Most Beautiful Mind
C．Different Aspects of Stephen Hawking：Learning，Working and Struggle against Illness
D．Stephen Hawking：the Man of Great Achievements
解析：文章介绍了霍金各方面的情况，因此C项最能体现文章的中心。
答案：C
