英语六级巅峰阅读附详解 第69期:自然环境
日期:2015-06-10 11:53

(单词翻译:单击)

阅读试题

“The world's environment is surprisingly healthy. Discuss.”If that were an examination topic, most students would tear it apart. offering a long list of complaints: from local smog (烟雾) to global climate change, from the felling(砍伐) of forests to the extinction of species. The list would largely be accurate,the concern legitimate. Yet the students who should be given the highest marks would actually be those who agreed with the statement. The surprise is how good things are, not how bad.

After all. the world's population has more than tripled during this century, and world output has risen hugely. so you would expect the earth itself to have been affected. Indeed, if people lived, consumed and produced things in the same way as they did in 1900 (or 1950. or indeed 1980), the world by now would be a pretty disgusting place: smelly, dirty. toxic and dangerous.

But they don't. The reasons why they don't. and why the environment has not been ruined. have to do with prices. technological innovation, social change and government regulation in response to popular pressure. That is why today's environmental problems in the poor countries ought. in principle, to be solvable.

Raw materials have not run out. and show no sign of doing so. Logically. one day they must: the planet is a finite place. Yet it is also very big. and man is very ingenious. What has happened is chat every time a material seems to be running short, the price has risen and. in response. people have looked for new sources of supply, tried to find ways to use less of the material, or looked for a new substitute. For this reason prices for energy and for minerals have fallen in real terms during the century. The same is true for food. Prices fluctuate, in response to harvests. natural disasters and political instability; and when they rise, it takes some time before new sources of supply become available. But they always do. assisted by new farming and crop technology. The long-term trend has been downwards.

It is where prices and markets do not operate properly that this benign (良性的) trend begins to scumble, and the genuine problems arise. Markets cannot always keep the environment healthy. If no one owns the resource concerned. no one has an interest in conserving it or fostering it: fish is the best example of this.

参考译文

[1]“全球环境好得惊人。讨论。”如果这是一个考试题目的话,大多数学生会把试题撕碎,列出一长串的抱怨:从当地的烟雾污染到全球的气候变化,从森林的砍伐到物种的灭绝。这一长串的抱怨大多数是准确的,所关注的也合情合理,然而应该得到最高的实际上是那些同意考题说法的学生。令人惊异之处在于情况有多好,而不是有多糟。

[2]毕竟,世界人口在这个世纪已经增长了三倍多,而且世界产量大幅度增加,因此,你会预期地球本身会受到影响。的确,如果人们像1900年(或1950年,甚或1980)那样居住、消费和生产的话,那么现在的世界会变成一个相当令人厌恶的地方:恶臭、肮脏、有毒、危险。

但是人们没有这样做。人们为什么没有这样做?环境为什么还没有被毁坏?这与价格、技术革新、社会变化,以及政府回应公众的压力进行立法有关。这就是为什么当今贫穷国家的环境问题原则上应该能够得到解决的原因所在。

原材料还没有枯竭,也没有枯竭的迹象。按逻辑推理,一定会有这么一天,毕竟地球是一个有限的地方。然而,地球也很大,人类又聪明。迄今的情况是,[3]每当一种原料似乎快要匮乏的时候,价格已经上涨,相应地,人们已经开始寻找新的供给来源,努力找到少用这种原料的方法,或者寻找一种新的替代物。因此,本世纪的能源和矿产的价格实质上已经下降。食品也一样。价格会随着收成、自然灾害、政治不稳定而波动;价格上升时,需要经过一段时间,才会得到新的供给来源。但是,在新的农作技术的支持下,新的供给来源总能得到。长期的趋势一直是下降的。

[5]在价格和市场不能正常运转的地方,这种良性趋势开始动摇,真正的问题开始产生。[4]市场不能总是使环境保持良好。如果某种相关的资源不属于任何人,就没有人有兴趣保护或培育它:鱼类就是这样一个最好的例子。

测试题

1.According to the author, most students_________________.

A) believe the world's environment is in an undesirable condition

B) agree that the environment of the world is not as bad as it is thought to be

C) get high marks for their good knowledge of the world's environment

D) appear somewhat unconcerned about the state of the world's environment

2.The huge increase in world production and population________________.

A) has made the world a worse place to live in

B) has had a positive influence on che environment

C) has not significantly affected the environment

D) has made the world a dangerous place to live in

3.One of the reasons why the long-term trend of prices bas been downwards is that__________.

A) technological innovation can promote social stability

B) political instability will cause consumption io drop

C) new farming and crop technology can lead to overproduction

D) new sources are always becoming available

4.Fish resources are diminishing because_________________.

A) no new substitutes can be found in large quantities

B) they are not owned by any particular entity

C) improper methods of fishing have ruined che fishing grounds

D) water pollution is extremely serious

5.The primary solution to environmental problems is_______________.

A) to allow market forces to operate properly

B) to curb consumption of natural resources

C) to limit the growth of the world population

D) to avoid fluctuations in prices

选项翻译与答案详解

1.作者认为,大部分学生__________________。

A)相信全球环境现在是糟糕的

B)同意全球环境没有人们想象的那么糟糕

C)在关于全球环境知识上掌握得很好,取得了很高的分数

D)对全球环境表现出不关心的态度

[A]根据文章第1段前两句“如果以《全球环境状况非常好》作为考试题,大多数学生会将试卷撕碎,并列出一大堆的抱怨,从烟雾到全球气候变暖,从砍伐森林到物种灭绝”,由此可推断,大多数学生认为全球环境并不令人满意。因此,A正确。

2.世界生产力和人口的激增,_________________。

A)使得这个世界的居住环境更加糟糕

B)已经对环境造成了正面的影响

C)并没有严重地影响环境

D)使得世界的居住环境更加危险

[C]根据文章第2段全段和第3段首句“本世纪,全球人口增加了三倍多,全球产量也有巨大的增长,因此你可能会认为地球会受到影响。的确.如果人们还像1900年或1950年甚至1980年那样居住,消费和生产,那么到现在,地球很可能是一个令人厌恶的地方但人们没有这样做”,注意此处的虚拟语气,由此可推断产量和人口的增加并没有对全球环境造成太大的影响,故此,应选C。

3.从长期来看,价格是下降的,其中的一个原因是_____________。

A)技术创新促进了社会稳定型

B)政治的不稳定性会导致消费下降

C)新的农耕和作物技术会导致过度生产

D)总能获得新的资源

[D]根据文章第4段第4、5句“每次当一种资源似乎就要匮乏时,价格就会上升,相应地,人们会寻找新的资源,想方设法找到节省资源的方法或者寻找新的替代品。正因为如此,本世纪能源和矿产品的价格实质上已经下降了一,故应选D。

4.鱼类资源在减少,因为___________________。

A)没有大量的新替代品

B)鱼类资源不属于任何一个实体

C)不当的捕鱼方法损坏了渔区

D)水质污染非常严重

[B]根据文章最后一段第2、3句“市场并不能总是保持环境的健康发展。如果相关的资源不属于任何人,人们就没有兴趣保护它、培养它。鱼类资源就是一个最好的例子”,因此,可推断B正是鱼类减少的原因。

5.解决环境问题的主要办法是_________________。

A)让市场力量恰当地运作

B)减步自然资源的消耗

C)限制世界人口增长

D)避免价格波动

[A]根据文章展后一段第1句“在价格和市场手段不能正常运转的地方,这种良性的趋势就会动摇,就会出现环境能源等问题”,故此,让市场价格手段正常地发挥作用才是解决环境问题的方法,A与文章的意思相符,故而正确。

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