Wecanbeginourdiscussionof“populationasglobalissue”withwhatmostpersonsmeanwhentheydiscuss“thepopulationproblem”:toomanypeopleonearthandatoorapidincreaseinthenumberaddedeachyear.Thefactsarenotindispute,Itwasquiterighttoemploytheanalogythatlikeneddemographicgrowthto“along,thinpowderfusethatburnssteadilyandhaltinglyuntilitfinallyreachesthechargeandexplodes.”
Tounderstandthecurrentsituation,whichischaracterizedbyrapidincreasesinpopulation,itisnecessarytounderstandthehistoryofpopulationtrends.Rapidgrowthisacomparativelyrecentphenomenon.Lookingbackatthe8,000yearsofdemographichistory,wefindthatpopulationshavebeenvirtuallystableorgrowingveryslightlyformostofhumanhistory.Formostofourancestors,lifewashard,oftennasty,andveryshort.Therewashighfertilityinmostplaces,butthiswasusuallybalancedbyhighmortality.Formostofhumanhistory,itwasseldomthecasethatoneintenpersonswouldlivepastforty,whileinfancyandchildhoodwereespeciallyriskyperiods.Often,societieswereincleardangerofextinctionbecausedeathratescouldexceedtheirbirthrates.Thus,thepopulationproblemthroughoutmostofhistorywashowtopreventextinctionofthehumanrace.
Thispatternisimportanttonotice.Notonlydoesitputthecurrentproblemsofdemographicgrowthintoahistoricalperspective,butitsuggeststhatthecauseofrapidincreaseinpopulationinrecentyearsisnotasuddenenthusiasmformorechildren,butanimprovementintheconditionsthattraditionallyhavecausedhighmortality.
Demographichistorycanbedividedintotwomajorperiods:atimeoflong,slowgrowthwhichextendedfromabout8,000BC.tillapproximatelyAD.1650.Inthefirstperiodofsome9600years,thepopulationincreasedfromsome8millionto500millionin1650.Between1650andthepresent,thepopulationhasincreasedfrom500milliontomorethan4billion.Anditisestimatedthatbytheyear2000therewillbe6.2billionpeoplethroughouttheworld.Onewaytoappreciatethisdramaticdifferenceinsuchabstractnumbersistoreducethetimeframetosomethingthatismoremanageable.Between8000BCand1650,anaverageofonly50,000personswasbeingaddedannuallytotheworld’spopulationeachyear.Atpresent,thisnumberisaddedeverysixhours.Theincreaseisabout80,000,000personsannually.
1.Whichofthefollowingdemographicgrowthpatternismostsuitableforthelongthinpowderfuseanalogy?
A.Avirtuallystableorslightlydecreasingperiodandthenasuddenexplosionofpopulation.
B.Aslowgrowthforalongtimeandthenaperiodofrapid,dramaticincrease.
C.Toomanypeopleonearthandafewrapidincreaseinthenumberaddedeachyear.
D.Alongperiodwhendeathratesexceedsbirthratesandthenashortperiodwithhigherfertilityandlowermortality.
2.Duringthefirstperiodofdemographichistory,societieswereoftenindangerofextinctionbecause___.
A.onlyoneintenpersonscouldlivepast40.
B.therewashighermortalitythanfertilityinmostplaces.
C.itwastoodangeroustohavebabiesduetothepoorconditions.
D.ourancestorshadlittleenthusiasmformorechildren.
3.Whichstatementistrueaboutpopulationincrease?
A.Theremightbeanincreaseof2.2billionpersonsfromnowtotheyear2000.
B.About50,000babiesareborneverysixhoursatpresent.
C.Between8000BCandthepresent,thepopulationincreaseisabout80,000,000personseachyear.
D.Thepopulationincreasedfasterbetween8000BCand1650thanbetween1650andthepresent.
4.Theauthorofthepassageintendsto___.
A.warnpeopleagainstthepopulationexplosioninthenearfuture.
B.comparethedemographicgrowthpatterninthepastwiththatafter1650.
C.findoutthecauseforrapidincreaseinpopulationinrecentyears.
D.presentusaclearandcompletepictureofthedemographicgrowth.
5.Theword“demographic”inthefirstparagraphmeans___.
A.statisticsofhuman.
B.surroundingsstudy.
C.accumulationofhuman.
D.developmentofhuman.
Letchildrenlearntojudgetheirownwork.Achildlearningtotalkdoesnotlearnbybeingcorrectedallthetime;ifcorrectedtoomuch,hewillstoptalking.Henoticesathousandtimesadaythedifferencebetweenthelanguagesheusesandthelanguagethosearoundhimuse.Bitbybit,hemakesthenecessarychangestomakehislanguagelikeotherpeople.Inthesameway,whenchildrenlearntodoalltheotherthingstheylearntodowithoutbeingtaught-towalk,run,climb,whistle,rideabicycle-comparethoseperformanceswiththoseofmoreskilledpeople,andslowlymaketheneededchanges.Butinschoolwenevergiveachildachancetofindouthisownmistakesforhimself,letalonecorrectthem.Wedoitallforhim.Weactasifwethoughtthathewouldnevernoticeamistakeunlessitwaspointedouttohim,orcorrectitunlesshewasmadeto.Soonhebecomesdependentontheteacher.Lethimdoithimself.Lethimworkout,withthehelpofotherchildrenifhewantsit,whatthiswordsays,whatansweristothatproblem,whetherthisisagoodwayofsayingordoingthisornot.
Ifitisamatterofrightanswers,asitmaybeinmathematicsorscience,givehimtheanswerbook.Lethimcorrecthisownpapers.Whyshouldweteacherswastetimeonsuchroutinework?Ourjobshouldbetohelpthechildwhenhetellsusthathecan’tfindthewaytogettherightanswer.Let’sendthisnonsenseofgrades,exams,marks,Letusthrowthemallout,andletthechildrenlearnwhatalleducatedpersonsmustsomedaylearn,howtomeasuretheirownunderstanding,howtoknowwhattheyknowordonotknow.
Letthemgetonwiththisjobinthewaythatseemssensibletothem.Withourhelpasschoolteachersiftheyaskforit.Theideathatthereisabodyofknowledgetobelearntatschoolandusedfortherestofone’slifeisnonsenseinaworldascomplicatedandrapidlychangingasours.Anxiousparentsandteacherssay,“Butsupposetheyfailtolearnsomethingessentialtheywillneedtogetintheworld?”Don’tworry!Ifitisessential,theywillgooutintotheworldandlearnit.
1.Whatdoestheauthorthinkisthebestwayforchildrentolearnthings?
A.bycopyingwhatotherpeopledo.
B.bymakingmistakesandhavingthemcorrected.
C.bylisteningtoexplanationsfromskilledpeople.
D.byaskingagreatmanyquestions.
2.Whatdoestheauthorthinkteachersdowhichtheyshouldnotdo?
A.Theygivechildrencorrectanswers.
B.Theypointoutchildren’smistakestothem.
C.Theyallowchildrentomarktheirownwork.
D.Theyencouragechildrentomarktocopyfromoneanother.
3.Thepassagesuggeststhatlearningtospeakandlearningtorideabicycleare___.
A.notreallyimportantskills.
B.moreimportantthanotherskills.
C.basicallydifferentfromlearningadultskills.
D.basicallythesameaslearningotherskills.
4.Exams,grades,andmarksshouldbeabolishedbecausechildren’sprogressshouldonlybeestimatedby___.
A.educatedpersons.
B.thechildrenthemselves.
C.teachers.
D.parents.
5.Theauthorfearsthatchildrenwillgrowupintoadultswhilebeing___.
A.tooindependentofothers.
B.toocriticalofthemselves.
C.incapabletothinkforthemselves.
D.incapabletousebasicskills.
_____forthefactthatshebrokeherleg,shemighthavepassedtheexam.
PartIVTranslation
Tocoverthemarksofthefire,thebuildingwaspaintedwhite.BeforelongitbecameknownastheWhiteHouse.(PassageOne)
PartIIICloze
Directions:Therearetwentyblanksinthefollowingpassage.Foreachblanktherearefourchoices.ChoosetheonethatbestfitsintothepassageandthenmarksyouranswerontheAnswerSheet.
Therearetwofactorswhichdetermineanindividual’sintelligence.Thefirstisthesortofbrainheisborn61.Humanbrainsdifferconsiderably,62beingmorecapablethanothers.63nomatterhowgoodabrainhehastobeginwith,anindividualwillhavealoworderofintelligence64hehasopportunitiestolearn.Sothesecondfactoriswhat65totheindividual—thesortofenvironmentinwhichheisbrought66.Ifanindividualishandicapped(受阻碍)67,itislikelythathisbrainwill68todevelopandhewill69attainthelevelofintelligenceofwhichheis70.
Theimportanceofenvironmentindetermininganindividual’sintelligencecanbe71bythecasehistoryoftheidenticaltwins,PeterandJohn.Whenthetwinswerethreemonthsold,theirparentsdied,andtheyareplacedin72foster(寄养)homes.Peterwasrearedbyparentsoflowintelligenceinan73communitywithpooreducational74.John,75,waseducatedinthehomeofwell-to-doparentswhohasbeentocollege.Thisenvironmental76continueduntilthetwinswere77theirlateteens,78theyweregiventeststo79theirintelligence.John’sI.Q.(智商)was125,twenty-fivepointshigherthanthe80andfullyfortypointshigherthanhisidenticalbrother.
61.A.forB.byC.withD.in
62.A.mostB.someC.manyD.few
63.A.ButB.ForC.StillD.And
64.A.ifB.thoughtC.asD.unless
65.A.refersB.appliesC.happensD.concerns
66.A.aboutB.upC.forwardD.forth
67.A.relativelyB.intelligentlyC.regularlyD.environmentally
68.A.failB.helpC.manageD.stop
69.A.everB.neverC.evenD.nearly
70.A.ableB.capableC.availableD.acceptable
71.A.demonstratedB.deniedC.neglectedD.ignored
72.A.separateB.similarC.remoteD.individual
73.A.omittedB.isolatedC.enclosedD.occupied
74.A.possibilitiesB.opportunitiesC.capacitiesD.responsibilities
75.A.moreoverB.consequentlyC.thenD.however
76.A.exceptionB.divisionC.differenceD.alteration
77.A.inB.byC.atC.for
78.A.whileB.sinceC.whenD.because
79.A.estimateB.countC.decideD.measure
80.A.averageB.commonC.usualD.ordinary