We can begin our discussion of “population as global issue” with what most persons mean when they discuss “the population problem”: too many people on earth and a too rapid increase in the number added each year. The facts are not in dispute, It was quite right to employ the analogy that likened demographic growth to “a long, thin powder fuse that burns steadily and haltingly until it finally reaches the charge and explodes.”
To understand the current situation, which is characterized by rapid increases in population, it is necessary to understand the history of population trends. Rapid growth is a comparatively recent phenomenon. Looking back at the 8,000 years of demographic history, we find that populations have been virtually stable or growing very slightly for most of human history. For most of our ancestors, life was hard, often nasty, and very short. There was high fertility in most places, but this was usually balanced by high mortality. For most of human history, it was seldom the case that one in ten persons would live past forty, while infancy and childhood were especially risky periods. Often, societies were in clear danger of extinction because death rates could exceed their birthrates. Thus, the population problem throughout most of history was how to prevent extinction of the human race.
This pattern is important to notice. Not only does it put the current problems of demographic growth into a historical perspective, but it suggests that the cause of rapid increase in population in recent years is not a sudden enthusiasm for more children, but an improvement in the conditions that traditionally have caused high mortality.
Demographic history can be divided into two major periods: a time of long, slow growth which extended from about 8,000 BC.till approximately AD. 1650. In the first period of some 9600 years, the population increased from some 8 million to 500 million in 1650. Between 1650 and the present, the population has increased from 500 million to more than 4 billion. And it is estimated that by the year 2000 there will be 6.2 billion people throughout the world. One way to appreciate this dramatic difference in such abstract numbers is to reduce the time frame to something that is more manageable. Between 8000BC and 1650, an average of only 50,000 persons was being added annually to the world’s population each year. At present, this number is added every six hours. The increase is about 80,000,000 persons annually.
1.Which of the following demographic growth pattern is most suitable for the long thin powder fuse analogy?
A.A virtually stable or slightly decreasing period and then a sudden explosion of population.
B.A slow growth for a long time and then a period of rapid, dramatic increase.
C.Too many people on earth and a few rapid increase in the number added each year.
D.A long period when death rates exceeds birthrates and then a short period with higher fertility and lower mortality.
2.During the first period of demographic history, societies were often in danger of extinction because___.
A.only one in ten persons could live past 40.
B.there was higher mortality than fertility in most places.
C.it was too dangerous to have babies due to the poor conditions.
D.our ancestors had little enthusiasm for more children.
3.Which statement is true about population increase?
A.There might be an increase of 2.2 billion persons from now to the year 2000.
B.About 50,000 babies are born every six hours at present.
C.Between 8000 BC and the present, the population increase is about 80,000,000 persons each year.
D.The population increased faster between 8000BC and 1650 than between 1650 and the present.
4.The author of the passage intends to___.
A.warn people against the population explosion in the near future.
B.compare the demographic growth pattern in the past with that after 1650.
C.find out the cause for rapid increase in population in recent years.
D.present us a clear and complete picture of the demographic growth.
5.The word “demographic” in the first paragraph means___.
A.statistics of human.
B.surroundings study.
C.accumulation of human.
D.development of human.
ABADA
暂无解析
“The president made a brilliant decision, didn’t he?”
“Yes, he did. I don’t know what I would have done if I____to make that decision.”
What does the future hold for the problem of housing? A good deal depends, of course, on the meaning of “future”. If one is thinking in terms of science fiction and the space age, it is at least possible to assume that man will have solved such trivial and earthly problems as housing. Writers of science fiction, from H.G. Wells onwards, have had little to say on the subject. They have conveyed the suggestion that men will live in great comfort, with every conceivable apparatus to make life smooth, healthy and easy, if not happy. But they have not said what his house will be made of. Perhaps some new building material, as yet unimagined, will have been discovered or invented at least. One may be certain that bricks and mortar(泥灰，灰浆) will long have gone out of fashion.
But the problems of the next generation or two can more readily be imagined. Scientists have already pointed out that unless something is done either to restrict the world’s rapid growth in population or to discover and develop new sources of food (or both), millions of people will be dying of starvation or at the best suffering from underfeeding before this century is out. But nobody has yet worked out any plan for housing these growing populations. Admittedly the worst situations will occur in the hottest parts of the world, where housing can be light structure or in backward areas where standards are traditionally low. But even the minimum shelter requires materials of some kind and in the teeming, bulging towns the low-standard “housing” of flattened petrol cans and dirty canvas is far more wasteful of ground space than can be tolerated.
Since the war, Hong Kong has suffered the kind of crisis which is likely to arise in many other places during the next generation. Literally millions of refugees arrived to swell the already growing population and emergency steps had to be taken rapidly to prevent squalor(肮脏)and disease and the spread crime. The city is tackling the situation energetically and enormous blocks of tenements(贫民住宅)are rising at an astonishing aped. But Hong Kong is only one small part of what will certainly become a vast problem and not merely a housing problem, because when population grows at this rate there are accompanying problems of education, transport, hospital services, drainage, water supply and so on. Not every area may give the same resources as Hong Kong to draw upon and the search for quicker and cheaper methods of construction must never cease.
1.What is the author’s opinion of housing problems in the first paragraph?
A.They may be completely solved at sometime in the future.
B.They are unimportant and easily dealt with.
C.They will not be solved until a new building material has been discovered.
D.They have been dealt with in specific detail in books describing the future.
2.The writer is sure that in the distant future ___.
A.bricks and mortar will be replaced by some other building material.
B.a new building material will have been invented.
C.bricks and mortar will not be used by people who want their house to be fashionable.
D.a new way of using bricks and mortar will have been discovered.
3.The writer believes that the biggest problem likely to confront the world before the end of the century ___.
A.is difficult to foresee.
B.will be how to feed the ever growing population.
C.will be how to provide enough houses in the hottest parts of the world.
D.is the question of finding enough ground space.
4.When the writer says that the worst situations will occur in the hottest parts of the world or in backward areas, he is referring to the fact that in these parts ___.
A.standards of building are low.
B.only minimum shelter will be possible.
C.there is not enough ground space.
D.the population growth will be the greatest.
5.Which of the following sentences best summarizes Paragraph 3?
A.Hong Kong has faced a serious crisis caused by millions of refugees.
B.Hong Kong has successfully dealt with the emergency caused by millions of refugees.
C.Hong Kong’s crisis was not only a matter of housing but included a number of other problems of population growth.
D.Many parts of the world may have to face the kind of problems encountered by Hong Kong and may find it much harder to deal with them.
Onereasonwhycollegesincreasetuitionandfeesisthatthestatesupportisshrinking.
Mostofusaretaughttopayattentiontowhatissaid—thewords.Wordsdoprovideuswithsomeinformation,butmeaningsarederivedfromsomanyothersourcesthatitwouldhinderoureffectivenessasapartnertoarelationshiptorelytooheavilyonwordsalone.Wordsareusedtodescribeonlyasmallpartofthemanyideasweassociatewithanygivenmessage.Sometimeswecangaininsightintosomeofthoseassociationsifwelistenformorethanwords.Wedon’talwayssaywhatwemeanormeanwhatwesay.Sometimesourwordsdon’tmeananythingexcept“I’mlettingoffsomesteam.Idon’treallywantyoutopaycloseattentiontowhatI’msaying.JustpayattentiontowhatI’mfeeling.”Mostlywemeanseveralthingsatonce.Apersonwantingtopurchaseahousesaystothecurrentowner,“ThisstephastobefixedbeforeI’llbuy.”Theownersays,“It’sbeenlikethatforyears.”Actually,thestephasn’tbeenlikethatforyears,buttheunspokenmessageis:“Idon’twanttofixit.Weputupwithit.Whycan’tyou?”Thesearchforamoreexpansiveviewofmeaningcanbedevelopedofexaminingamessageintermsofwhosaidit,whenitoccurred,therelatedconditionsorsituation,andhowitwassaid.
Whenamessageoccurscanalsorevealassociatedmeaning.Letusassumetwocouplesdoexactlythesameamountofkissingandarguing.Butonecouplealwayskissesafteranargumentandtheothercouplealwaysarguesafterakiss.Theorderingofthebehaviorsmaymeanagreatdealmorethanthefrequencyofthebehavior.Afriend’sunusuallydocilebehaviormayonlybeunderstoodbynotingthatitwasprecededbysituationsthatrequiredanabnormalamountofassertiveness.Someresponsesmaybedirectlylinkedtoadevelopingpatternofresponsesanddefylogic.Forexample,apersonwhosays“No!”toaserialsofchargeslike“You’redumb,”“You’relazy,”and“You’redishonest,”mayalsosay“No!”andtrytojustifyhisorherresponseifthenextstatementis“Andyou’regoodlooking.”
Wewoulddowelltolistenforhowmessagesarepresented.Thewords,“Ifsurehasbeennicetohaveyouover,”canbesaidwithemphasisandexcitementorritualistically.Thephrasecanbesaidonceorrepeatedseveraltimes.Andthemeaningsweassociatewiththephrasewillchangeaccordingly.Sometimesifwesaysomethinginfrequentlyitassumesmoreimportance;sometimesthemorewesaysomethingthelessimportanceitassumes.
1.Effectivecommunicationisrenderedpossiblebetweentwoconversingpartners,if___.
A.theyuseproperwordstocarrytheirideas.
B.theybothspeaktrulyoftheirownfeelings.
C.theytrytounderstandeachother’sideasbeyondwords.
D.theyarecapableofassociatingmeaningwiththeirwords.
2.“I’mlettingoffsomesteam”inparagraph1means___.
A.I’mjustcallingyourattention.
B.I’mjustkidding.
C.I’mjustsayingtheopposite.
D.I’mjustgivingoffsomesound.
3.Thehouse-owner’sexampleshowsthatheactuallymeans___.
A.thestephasbeenlikethatforyears.
B.hedoesn’tthinkitnecessarytofixthestep.
C.theconditionofthestepisonlyaminorfault.
D.thecostinvolvedinthefixingshouldbeshared.
4.Someresponsesandbehaviorsmayappearveryillogical,butarejustifiableif___.
A.linkedtoanabnormalamountofassertiveness.
B.seenasone’shabitualpatternofbehavior.
C.takenaspartofanorderingsequence.
D.expressedtoaseriesofcharges.
5.Theword“ritualistically”inthelastparagraphequalssomethingdone___.
A.withouttrueintention.
B.light-heartedly.
C.inawayofceremony.
D.withlessemphasis.
PartIReadingComprehension
Directions:Inthisparttherearefourpassages.Eachpassageisfollowedbyfourcomprehensionquestions.Readthepassageandanswerthequestions.ThenmarkyouranswerontheAnswerSheet.
Passage1
Questions1to5arebasedonthefollowingpassage:
Askthreepeopletolookthesamewindowatabusystreetcornerandtellyouwhattheysee.Chancesareyouwillreceivethreedifferentanswers.Eachpersonseesthesamescene,buteachperceivessomethingdifferentaboutit.
Perceivinggoesoninourminds.Ofthethreepeoplewholookoutthewindow,onemaysaythatheseesapolicemangivingamotoristaticket.Anothermaysaythatheseesarush-hourtrafficjamattheintersection.Thethirdmaytellyouthatheseesawomantryingtocrossthestreetwithfourchildrenintow.Forperceptionisthemind’sinterpretationofwhatthesenses—inthiscaseoureyes—tellus.
Manypsychologiststodayareworkingtotrytodeterminejusthowapersonexperiencesorperceivestheworldaroundhim.Usingascientificapproach,thesepsychologistssetupexperimentsinwhichtheycancontrolallofthefactors.Bymeasuringandchartingtheresultsofmanyexperiments,theyaretryingtofindoutwhatmakesdifferentpeopleperceivetotallydifferentthingsaboutthesamescene.
1.Seeingandperceivingare.
A.thesameaction
B.twoseparateactions
C.twoactionscarriedonentirelybyeyes
D.severalactionsthattakeplaceatdifferenttimes
2.Perceivingisanactionthattakesplace.
A.inoureyes
B.onlywhenwethinkveryhardaboutsomething
C.onlyunderthedirectionofapsychologist
D.ineveryperson’smind
3.Peopleperceivedifferentthingsaboutthesamescenebecause.
A.theyseedifferentthingsB.somehavebettereyesight
C.theycannotagreeaboutthingsD.noneofthese
4.Whichofthefollowingisimpliedbutnotstatedinthepassage?
A.Psychologistsdonotyetknowpeoplesee.
B.Theexperimentsinwhichallfactorsarecontrolledarebetter.
C.Thestudyofperceptionisgoingonnow.
D.Perceptiondoesnotinvolvepsychologicalfactors.
5.Thebesttitleforthisselectionis.
A.HowWeSee
B.LearningaboutOurMindsthroughScience
C.WhatPsychologistsPerceive
D.HowtoBecauseanExperimentalPsychologist
