【改编】Feeling blue about the world? “Cheer up,” says science writer Matt Ridley. “The world has never been a better place to live in, and it will keep on getting better both for humans and for nature.”
Ridley calls himself a rational optimist—rational, because he’s carefully weighed the evidence; optimistic, because that evidence shows human progress to be both unavoidable and good. And this is what he’s set out to prove from a unique point of view in his most recent book, The Rational Optimist . He views mankind as grand enterprise that, on the whole, has done little but progress for 100,000 years. He backs his findings with hard facts gathered through years of research.
Here’s how he explains his views.
1）Shopping fuels invention
It is reported that there are more than ten billion different products for sale in London alone. Even allowing for the many people who still live in poverty, our own generation has access to more nutritious food, more convenient transport, bigger houses, better cars, and, of course, more pounds and dollars than any who lived before us. This will continue as long as we use these things to make other things. The more we specialize and exchange, the better off we’ll be.
2) Brilliant advances
One reason we are richer, healthier, taller, cleverer, longer-lived and freer than ever before is that the four most basic human needs—food, clothing, fuel and shelter—have grown a lot cheaper. Take one example. In 1800 a candle providing one hour’s light cost six hours’ work. In the 1880s the same light from an oil lamp took 15 minutes’ work to pay for. In 1950 it was eight seconds. Today it’s half second.
3) Let’s not kill ourselves for climate change
Mitigating(减轻) climate change could prove just as damaging to human welfare as climate change itself. A child that dies from indoor smoke in a village, where the use of fossil-fuel(化石燃料) electricity is forbidden by well- meaning members of green political movements trying to save the world, is just as great a tragedy as a child that dies in a flood caused by climate change. If climate change proves to be mild, but cutting carbon causes real pain, we may well find that we have stopped a nose-bleed by putting a tourniquet(止血带) around our necks.What does “blue” mean in the first paragraph?
| A．Anxious. | B．Depressed. |
| C．Curious. | D．Positive. |
What is Ridley’s recent book about?
| A．Facts about human progress. |
| B．Opinions about climate change. |
| C．Importance of reducing pollution. |
| D．Protection of environment. |
Which is the writer’s opinion?
| A．The earth will no long fit to live on if we don’t take action to protect the earth. |
| B．The more we specialize and exchange, the better off we’ll be. |
| C．The price of everything is growing higher and higher. |
| D．People mustn’t use fossil-fuel for environmental protection. |
According to the writer , One reason why humans live longer is that_____.
| A．people can be treated immediately |
| B．people pay more attention to health |
| C．people can eat better food without spending much money |
| D．climate becomes much warmer |
The author develops the passage mainly by_____.
| A．Topic- Explanation |
| B．Explanation ---Conclusion |
| C．Argument --- Topic ---Conclusion |
| D．Conclusion - Topic |
The writer Margaret Mitchell is best known for writing Gone with the Wind, first published in 1936. Her book and the movie based on it, tell a story of love and survival during the American Civil War. Visitors to the Margaret Mitchell House in Atlanta, Georgia, can go where she lived when she started composing the story and learn more about her life.
Our first stop at the Margaret Mitchell House is an exhibit area telling about the writer’s life. She was born in Atlanta in 1900. She started writing stories when she was a child. She started working as a reporter for the Atlanta Journal newspaper in 1922. One photograph of Ms. Mitchell, called Peggy, shows her talking to a group of young college boys. She was only about one and a half meters tall. The young men tower over her, but she seems very happy and sure of herself. The tour guide explains: “Now in this picture Peggy is interviewing some boys from Georgia Tech, asking them such questions as “would you really marry a woman who works?” And today it’d be “would you marry one who doesn’t?”
The Margaret Mitchell House is a building that once contained several apartments. Now we enter the first floor apartment where Ms. Mitchell lived with her husband, John Marsh. They made fun of the small apartment by calling it “The Dump”.
Around 1926, Margaret Mitchell had stopped working as a reporter and was at home healing after an injury. Her husband brought her books to read from the library. She read so many books that he brought her typewriter and said it was time for her to write her own book. Our guide says Gone with the Wind became a huge success. Margaret Mitchell received the Pulitzer Prize for the book. In 1939 the film version was released. It won ten Academy Awards, including Best Picture.The book Gone with the Wind was_______.
| A．written in “ The Dump” |
| B．awarded ten Academy Awards |
| C．first published on a newspaper |
| D．adapted from a movie |
The underlined phrase “tower over” in paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to _________?
| A．be very pleased with |
| B．be much taller than |
| C．show great respect for |
| D．show little interest in |
Why did Ms. Mitchell stop working as a reporter according to the passage?
| A．Because she was rich enough. |
| B．Because she was injured then. |
| C．Because her husband didn’t like it. |
| D．Because she wanted to write books. |
We can know about Margaret Mitchell from the passage that________.
| A．her height made her marriage unhappy |
| B．writing stopped her working as a reporter |
| C．her interest in writing continued as an adult |
| D．her life was full of hardship and sadness |
Which is the best title for the passage?
| A．An Introduction of the Margaret Mitchell House |
| B．Gone with the Wind: A Huge Success. |
| C．A Trip to Know Margaret Mitchell. |
| D．Margaret Mitchell: A Great Female Writer. |
Next time a customer comes to your office, offer him a cup of coffee. And when you’re doing your holiday shopping online, make sure you’re holding a large glass of iced tea. The physical sensation（感觉）of warmth encourages emotional warmth while a cold drink in hand prevents you from making unwise decisions — those are the practical lesson being drawn from recent research by psychologist John A. Bargh.
Psychologists have known that one person’s perception（感知）of another’s “warmth” is a powerful determiner in social relationships. Judging someone to be either “warm” or “cold” is a primary consideration, even trumping evidence that a “cold” person may be more capable. Much of this is rooted in very early childhood experiences, Bargh argues, when babies’ conceptual sense of the world around them is shaped by physical sensations, particularly warmth and coldness. Classic studies by Harry Harlow, published in 1958, showed monkeys preferred to stay close to a cloth “mother” rather than one made of wire, even when the wire “mother” carried a food bottle. Harlow’s work and later studies have led psychologists to stress the need for warm physical contact from caregivers to help young children grow into healthy adults with normal social skills.
Feelings of “warmth” and “coldness” in social judgments appear to be universal. Although no worldwide study has been done, Bargh says that describing people as “warm” or “cold” is common to many cultures, and studies have found those perceptions influence judgment in dozens of countries.
To test the relationship between physical and psychological warmth, Bargh conducted an experiment which involved 41 college students. A research assistant who was unaware of the study’s hypotheses（假设）, handed the students either a hot cup of coffee, or a cold drink, to hold while the researcher filled out a short information form. The drink was then handed back. After that, the students were asked to rate the personality of “Person A” based on a particular description. Those who had briefly held the warm drink regarded Person A as warmer than those who had held the iced drink.
“We are grounded in our physical experiences even when we think abstractly,” says Bargh.According to Paragraph 1, a person’s emotion may be affected by ______.
| A．the visitors to his office |
| B．the psychology lessons he has |
| C．the things he has bought online |
| D．his physical feeling of coldness |
The author mentions Harlow’s experiment to show that ____________.
| A．adults should develop social skills |
| B．caregivers should be healthy adults |
| C．babies need warm physical contact |
| D．monkeys have social relationships |
In Bargh’s experiment, the students were asked to _______________.
| A．evaluate someone’s personality |
| B．write down their hypotheses |
| C．fill out a personal information form |
| D．hold coffee and cold drink alternatively |
We can infer from the passage that _____________________.
| A．abstract thinking does not come from physical experiences |
| B．physical temperature affects how we see others |
| C．feelings of warmth and coldness are studied worldwide |
| D．capable persons are often cold to others |
What would be the best title for the passage?
| A．Drinking for Better Social Relationships. |
| B．Experiments of Personality Evaluation. |
| C．Physical Sensations and Emotions. |
| D．Developing Better Drinking Habits. |
Grandparents are important people in everyone’s life．They are those people who take care of you and love you. They are special persons who can give you wise advice．
My grandparents always teach me to respect others，and they show me that love and feelings are important things in life and that we shouldn't pay much attention to material things or what people look like．
My grandparents show a mixture of cultures and nationalities(国籍)because they come from different countries．For example，my grandfather on my mother's side is from Spain，and my grandmother is also from Spain，but from a different city．On my father's side，my grandfather is from Venezuela，and my grandmother is from Italy．A1though they are from different countries，my grandparents have a very good relationship．
What’s more，my grandparents are people that always keep in touch with the new things in the world. For example，my grandmothers always care about fashion，how they dress and their personal appearance. And my grandfathers always care about the important events in the world．
I think I am very lucky that all of my grandparents are alive because I have learned so much from them，I would like to continue learning from them even though we are living in different countries now．I will always remember my grandparents as role models for me．The author’s grandfathers ________________．
| A．care about fashion very much |
| B．are from the same country |
| C．care about important events in the world |
| D．don’t 1ike new things |
The author’s grandparents would NOT agree that______________．
| A．people should show respect for others |
| B．love is a very important thing in people’s life |
| C．people shouldn’t judge others by appearance |
| D． everyone should have lots of money |
In the writer’s opinion, how should we treat our grandparents?
| A．We should treat them as children. |
| B．We should respect them and learn from them. |
| C．We should not spend too much time in looking after them because they are old. |
| D．We should live together with our grandparents. |
Here’s this week’s list of four open jobs throughout the local area. Whether you’re unemployed and need a job or you are just sick of the one you have, Roswell Patch wants to help. We know new jobs can be hard to come by these days, which is why we’ll try to post a selection of jobs we’ve found in the area on the site each week. Happy hunting!
Part-time Spanish Instructor-World Language Institute, Inc. – Roswell.
World Language Institute, Inc. in Roswell is currently hiring a part-time, native-speaking Spanish instructor. Applicants must be able to pass a background check and drive a 15-passenger bus to pick up students from several schools, from 2 p. m. – 6 p. m. Monday-Friday. The position pays $ 10 per hour. More information about the job is available online.
Experienced Servers – Chili’s – Alpharetta
Chili’s in Alpharetta is seeking experienced servers to add to its team. Qualifications will include being clean and neat and having great attitude and customer service skills. The pay is $ 2.13, plus tips. Stop by the store to fill out an application. More information about this position is available online.
Registered Nurse-North Fulton Regional Hospital-Roswell
North Fulton Regional Hospital is looking for a RN/Registered Nurse to fill a 12-hour night shift. Applicants must be registered and previous hospital experience is preferred. More information about the position is available online.
Software Engineer-ControlScan-Alpharetta
ControlScan in Alpharetta is hiring a software engineer. Applicants should have five or more years of relevant experience, as well as advanced knowledge of computer technology. Pay is commensurate（相称）with experience. More information about the position can be found online.Where can we most probably read the passage?
| A．On a website. | B．In a newspaper. |
| C．In a magazine. | D．In a textbook. |
What does the underlined word "sick" mean?
| A．Ill. | B．Bored. |
| C．Absent. | D．Unfamiliar |
World Language Institute, Inc. is looking for____.
A. a school bus driver. B. a full-time teacher.
C. a Spanish teacher. D a Spanish manager.Who will mainly work at night?
| A．Robert, hired by ControlScan. |
| B．John, hired by World Language Institute. Inc. |
| C．Jane, hired by North Fulton Regional Hospital. |
| D．Sally, hired by Chili’s. |
Humankind has tried to improve its standard of living since the very beginning of civilization. Back then, as well as today, providing food and security was the basic task for a person. However, nowadays the range of required goods has expanded significantly. People feel the need for not only some primary things, such as a piece of bread and a roof over their heads, but also for various facilities and luxuries. Providing humanity with these things is connected to the use of natural resources, which requires energy. In turn, the common sources of energy we use today cause pollution, so economic growth is almost inevitably(必然地) associated with environmental damage.
Economic growth is the increase in numbers of goods and services produced over time by an economy, and it's calculated in terms of real Gross Domestic Product（GDP）. Before growth is calculated, inflation （通货膨胀） is adjusted in order to take into account its misleading effect on the price of goods and services. Economic growth can also be explained as the increase in expected output, which results from an increase in actual output, or total demand.
There are certain aspects of economic growth which affect the environment. The first of these is the fact that in order to produce more goods and products, at a faster rate, the construction of large industrial plants is required. These plants produce a lot of waste, leading to the pollution of water and the atmosphere, which may cause negative long term health effects to nearby populations of animals, or people. They also lead to global warming.
Industrial manufacturing leads to the constantly increasing energy consumption. The traditional energy sources, which are commonly used nowadays, are considered to be the greatest polluters to the environment. There also exist so-called eco-friendly sources of energy. They are sometimes preferred but replacing the traditional sources with them also requires time, during which people have to make some sacrifices to support these undertakings.
In order to produce economically practical energy, a sometimes significant transformation of the natural site is often inevitable（必然的，不可避免的）. This is expensive and, has harmful effects on the environment. Application of wind energy would block airflows' natural speed, which is the reason for their decrease in strength, after crossing the windmill. Consequently, the pressure balance that is brought about by this current will be affected, and it is important to remember that the environment and weather conditions are directly affected by atmospheric pressure.
For these reasons, bringing about economic growth without any resulting environmental damage, whatsoever, is impossible.What does the passage mainly talk about?
| A．Pollution caused by plant construction |
| B．Effects of windmills on the environment |
| C．Economic growth and human civilization |
| D．Economic growth and environmental damage |
What does the underlined word "They" in the third paragraph refer to?
| A．Goods and products | B．The industrial plants |
| C．Water and atmosphere | D．Negative health effects |
According to the passage, the author holds the opinion that ____.
| A．economic growth should be calculated in terms of GDP |
| B．use of natural resources causes no damage to the environment |
| C．industrial manufacturing may cause damage to the environment |
| D．a windmill is a perfect way to produce economically practical energy |
Which of the following shows the structure of the passage?
