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 a 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, longerlived 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 fossilfuel (化石燃料) electricity is forbidden by wellmeaning 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 nosebleed by putting a tourniquet (止血带) around our necks.
1.What is the theme of Ridley's most recent book?
A. Optimism about human progress. B. Concern about climate change.
C. Importance of practical thinking. D. Weakness of human nature.
2.How does Ridley look at shopping?
A. It demands more fossil fuels. B. It results in shortage of goods.
C. It encourages the creation of things. D. It causes a poverty problem.
3.The candle and lamp example is used to show that ________.
A. oil lamps give off more light than candles
B. increased production rate leads to lower cost of goods
C. advanced technology helps to produce better candles
D. shortening working time brings about a happier life
4.What does the last sentence of the passage imply?
A. Cutting carbon is necessary in spite of the huge cost.
B. People's health is closely related to climate change.
C. Overreaction to climate change may be dangerous.
D. Careless medical treatment may cause great pain.
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题
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.
1.What is the theme of Ridley’s most recent book?
A. Weakness of human nature.
B. Concern about climate change.
C. Importance of practical thinking.
D. Optimism about human progress.
2. How does Ridley look at shopping?
A. It encourages the creation of things.
B. It results in shortage of goods.
C. It demands more fossil fuels.
D. It causes a poverty problem.
3.The candle and lamp example is used to show that__________.
A. oil lamps give off more light than candles
B. shortening working time brings about a happier life.
C. advanced technology helps to produce better candles.
D. increased production rate leads to lower cost of goods.
4. What does the last sentence of the passage imply?
A. Cutting carbon is necessary in spite of the huge cost.
B. Overreaction to climate change may be dangerous.
C. People’s health is closely related to climate change.
D. Careless medical treatment may cause great pain.
5. According to the passage, which of the following statements is True?
A. Matt Ridley doesn’t think the world is a good place to live in.
B. Climate change won’t cause a child’s death.
C. Matt Ridley based his unique point of view on his long-term research.
D. People will have more freedom for the development of the world.
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
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 a 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, longerlived 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 fossilfuel (化石燃料) electricity is forbidden by wellmeaning 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 nosebleed by putting a tourniquet (止血带) around our necks.
1.What is the theme of Ridley's most recent book?
A. Optimism about human progress. B. Concern about climate change.
C. Importance of practical thinking. D. Weakness of human nature.
2.How does Ridley look at shopping?
A. It demands more fossil fuels. B. It results in shortage of goods.
C. It encourages the creation of things. D. It causes a poverty problem.
3.The candle and lamp example is used to show that ________.
A. oil lamps give off more light than candles
B. increased production rate leads to lower cost of goods
C. advanced technology helps to produce better candles
D. shortening working time brings about a happier life
4.What does the last sentence of the passage imply?
A. Cutting carbon is necessary in spite of the huge cost.
B. People's health is closely related to climate change.
C. Overreaction to climate change may be dangerous.
D. Careless medical treatment may cause great pain.
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
Feeling blue about 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 got nature.”
Ridley calls himself a tat ional optimist—tactical .because he’s carefully weighed the evidence optimistic .because that offence shows human progress to be both unavoidable and good .And this is what he’s set out to prone from unique point of view in his most recent book. The Rant anal Opting .He views mankind as grand enterprise that .on the whole .has done little but progress for 100.000 years. He backed his finding with hard gathered though years of research.
Here’s how he explains his views.
Shopping fuels invention
It is reported that there are more than ten billion different producers 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 ears .and of course, more pounds and dollars than any who lived before us .This will continue as long as we there things to make other things, This 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 ener before is that the four most basie 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 welface as climate change itself. A child that dies from indoor smoke in a village, where the use of fassil-fuel(化石燃料) electrieity is forhidden by well meaming members of green polucal movements trying to save the world, is just as great a tragedy as a child that mes in a flood caused by climate change. If chmaic change proves to be xxxx, but cutting carbon canses realparn, we may well find that we have stopped a nose bleed by putting a tournquet(止血带) around our necks.
1.What is the theme of Ridley’s most recent book?
A. Weakness of human nature.
B. Concern about climate change.
C. Importance of practical thinking.
D. Optimism about human progress.
2.How does Ridley look at shopping?
A. It encourages the creation of things.
B. It results in shortage of goods.
C. It demands more fossil fuels.
D. It causes a poverry problem.
3.The candle and lamp example is used to show that .
A. oil lamps give off more light than candles
B. shortening working time brings about a happier life.
C. advanced technology helps to produce better candles.
D. increased production rate leads to lower cost of goods.
4.What does the last sentence of the passage imply?
A. Cutting carbon is necessary in spite of the huge cost.
B. Overreaction to cliamate change may be dangerous.
C. People’s health is closely related to climate change.
D. Careless medical treatment may cause great pain.
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
根据短文内容,从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。
Having bad feeling about 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.” 1.
1 ) 2.
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, and better cars. 3. 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. 4. Today it's half second.
3 )Let's not kill ourselves for climate change
5. 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.
A. Ridley calls himself a rational optimist—rational, because he's carefully weighed the evidence.
B. Overreaction to climate change could prove just as damaging to human welfare as climate change itself.
C. Shopping fuels invention.
D. And, of course, we earn more pounds and dollars than any who lived before us.
E. In 1950 it was eight seconds.
F. It’s high time that we took immediate action to fight climate change.
G. Here's how he explains his views.
高三英语七选五简单题查看答案及解析
根据短文内容,从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。
Having bad feeling about 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.” 1.
1. 2.
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, and better cars. 3. 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. 4. Today it's half second.
3.Let's not kill ourselves for climate change
5. 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.
A. Ridley calls himself a rational optimist—rational, because he's carefully weighed the evidence.
B. Overreaction to climate change could prove just as damaging to human welfare as climate change itself.
C. Shopping fuels invention.
D. And, of course, we earn more pounds and dollars than any who lived before us.
E. In 1950 it was eight seconds.
F. It’s high time that we took immediate action to fight climate change.
G. Here's how he explains his views.
高三英语七选五中等难度题查看答案及解析
What will the future be like? Good or bad? A lot of science-fiction writing imagines a world which is dark and scary. In Blade Runner, Harrison Ford hunts robots in a chaotic (混乱的) Los Angeles. Planet of the Apes shows a hopeless future for humankind.
There's a word to describe the kind of future world which often appears in science fiction: dystopia. It means an imagined place where things are unpleasant or bad. The opposite is utopia. But does tomorrow's world have to be so disappointing?
No. A new project wants to use the power of science fiction to inspire people to create a better future. Project Hieroglyph brings together writers, scientists, engineers and artists to create optimistic stories about things which really could happen in the next 50 years.
It's just a matter of making an effort. Experts say it's easier to create a dystopia than write a feel-good story. There's more conflict in a world full of problems, and stories are interesting when there are a lot of problems to solve. No challenge, no story!
But the project produced a book with some promising plots. One of them is about environmentalists who fight to stop entrepreneurs (创业者) from building the first hotel in Antarctica. Well, there's conflict there and it seems reasonable, so it could be a good story.
But will these stories actually change anything or just keep us entertained? Ed Finn, the book's editor, thinks the former. He says: "A good science-fiction story can be very powerful. It can inspire hundreds, thousands, millions of people to do something that they want to do."
The influence of science fiction can already be seen in modern research, says Professor Braden Allenby. He asks: "Why are people working on, for example, invisibility cloaks (斗篷)? Well, it's Harry Potter, right?"
Time will tell how far we can go. Let's dream big and think outside the box. Who knows the wonderful things we can come up with?
1.The underlined word “utopia” in paragraph 2 most probably means “______’.
A. a real world where people can do anything they like
B. an imagined place where things are unpleasant or bad
C. an imaginary perfect world where everyone is happy
D. a wild and terrible place where no one can live happily
2.Experts say it’s easier to create a dystopia than a feel-good story because ______.
A. a dystopia needs less imagination
B. a feel-good story is more interesting
C. there is no conflict in a feel-good story
D. there are more problems to solve in a dystopia
3.Professor Braden Allenby takes “invisibility cloaks” as an example ______.
A. to cause readers’ attention
B. to amuse science fiction readers
C. to introduce a science fiction story
D. to show the influence of science fiction
4.What is the best title for the passage?
A. What is science fiction?
B. Can science fiction help us?
C. What will man do in the future?
D. Shall we live a better life in the future?
高三英语阅读理解简单题查看答案及解析
From July to October every year, about a quarter of the world’s blue whales feed in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California. But the whales currently face a major threat in their favorite feeding area. Ships carrying cargo (货物)sail in the same area at the same time. All too often, the whales’ paths and the ships’ travel lines overlap (重叠),and a ship will hit a whale.
According to a new study, these ship strikes have become a serious threat to the overall population of the world’s blue whales. Only about 10,000 of the creatures still exist worldwide. Blue whales are the largest known animals ever to live on Earth. Even so, if hit by a container ship, a blue whale will likely die from its injuries.
In 2007 alone, large ships killed five blue whales in the waters off San Francisco and Los Angeles, California. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) says that because there are so few whales already, losing three to five from the California whale population every year is a significant loss. “The estimated population of blue whales in this part of the Pacific is 2,500”, says Sean Hastings, a NOAA analyst. “So every whale counts toward this species moving off the endangered-species list.”
Now, marine scientists must figure out how to protect the whales from the giant container ships. One very simple program is already under way in the Santa Barbara Channel, a waterway that separates mainland California from the nearby Channel Islands.
The Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary has asked large container ships passing through the area to voluntarily slow down. Sailing slower will allow the ships’ crew (船员)more time to change course before hitting a whale.
Several of the world’s largest shipping lines are set to participate in the new program. For every ship that passes through the Santa Barbara Channel at or below the reduced speed of 12 knots (海里 / 小时),the company that owns the ship will be paid $2,500.
1.From Paragraph 1, we can know that_____.
A. people intend to illegally hunt blue whales for money
B. large ships often carrying goods may pollute the sea
C. there is fewer fish in blue whales’ favorite feeding area
D. the container ships may hit the blue whales frequently
2.Why is the death of several whales regarded as significant loss to the world's blue whales?
A. Because other blue whales will be scared away.
B. Because the number of the blue whales is so small.
C. Because blue whales are the largest animals in the world.
D. Because many blue whales get killed throughout the year.
3.According to Sean Hastings,it’s inferred that .
A. the blue whales are still on the endangered-species list.
B. the number of the blue whales is decreasing sharply.
C. most of the world’s blue whales live in the Pacific Ocean.
D. blue whales are often disturbed by other endangered creatures.
4.What are the last three paragraphs mainly about?
A. The basic responsibility of a sailor.
B. The world’s largest shipping lines.
C. Measures to protect the blue whales.
D. Ways to slow down the speed of the ships.
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
Life is not always easy. One day you wake up feeling like you can take over the world, and the next day you wake up feeling like all you want to do is to lie in bed and hide from everything.
People walk into your life, grab your hand, and lead you through the most beautiful path you’ve known, but sometimes the same people let go of your hand without warning, and you become stranded at a place where you never thought you’d feel lost.
Let’s be honest, sometimes everything is going so great and it seems like nothing could go wrong, but right when you begin to think that, something so horrible comes crashing down and all of a sudden more problems come drowning around you and you just feel so hopeless because it’s so bad…
It’s so hard to understand why such things happen in life, and I personally wish I had an answer to that “why” you always ask yourself, but all I can say is no matter how hard life gets, you have to keep going. The life around you will never stop going on.
I’ll be honest and say that sometimes I feel a little bit worried and all I can think is “Will I be able to keep up? What if everything goes too fast?” But I realize that being scared and living with that burden of running away from problems only slow me down even more.
And I’ve come to the point where I believe that because life never stops, I shouldn’t stop either. It’s okay to take a break and to give yourself time to heal, but you cannot give up and you cannot quit.
Keep positive, fill your heart with gratitude for what you already have, and always remind yourself to be humble and true to who you are!
1.How does the author illustrate “Life is not always easy”?
A. By making comparisons B. By using some famous sayings
C. By presenting his own experience D. By listing statistics
2.According to the author, it is to try running away from problems.
A. pointless B. reasonable
C. helpful D. considerate
3.Which saying can exhibit the author’s attitude towards life?
A. Save against a rainy day.
B. Constant dripping wears away the stone.
C. A good medicine tastes bitter.
D. Think it over before you leap.
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
26.I like the feeling of being up high in the sky.I can’t think of anything_______in the world.
A.best | B.better | C.worse | D.Worst |
高三英语单项填空简单题查看答案及解析
Many science fiction stories tell about explorers arriving in a new world. The explorers then use some kind of high-tech device to test for breathable air or signs of life. But here on Earth, science fiction is becoming reality through a new sampling technology called environmental DNA, or e-DNA for short. Scientists can use it to identify rare or invasive species, study bio-diversity or estimate fish populations with just a little air or water.
Ryan Kelly is an ecologist at the School of Marine and Environmental Affairs at the University of Washington in Seattle. He works in a laboratory there with other researchers. They study the genetic material released by living creatures. “Essentially we can take a sample of soil or air — and in our case — water, and we can sequence(to arrange the order of genes)the DNA out of it and tell you what is there.”
Ryan Kelly says he and his research team are studying water samples collected from Puget Sound. He says the cost of gene sequencing has “been reduced greatly in recent years.” That makes DNA testing more widely available.
Environmental DNA can be used in two ways. One is to identify the creatures that live in a certain place. The other is to confirm the presence or lack of a specific creature.
Caren Goldberg heads the new e-DNA lab at Washington State University in Pullman, Washington. She is one of the first biologists in the northwestern United States to take the technology from the testing phase to actually using it.
“It is extremely useful for species that are really hard to find. I have spent many hours looking for species that I was pretty sure were there — looking under rocks, looking in water, doing all kinds of surveys.”
Caren Goldberg sees e-DNA as a way to get answers more efficiently, safely and with less destruction compared to traditional survey techniques. Until recently, scientists depended on diving deep, netting or using an electric current to temporarily catch fish.
“We’re absolutely at this point where proof-of-concept has been established. I don't think everyone necessarily is ready for it yet, but I think the majority of people are.”
This newer way to identify what lives in the environment is becoming popular around the world. Animal experts in Vietnam are using the e-DNA to find the last, wild Yangtze giant softshell turtles. One researcher on the Caribbean island of Trinidad is using the sampling technology to find endangered golden tree-frogs. And in Madagascar, it is being used to identify amphibian diseases.
Ms. Goldberg has used e-DNA testing to confirm the local extinction, disappearance, of a leopard frog in the American state of Idaho. She has also been asked to document the spread of the New Zealand mud-snail in the state of Washington. The creature has been found in lakes and other waterways across the state.
Now, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management wants Caren Goldberg to look for the Columbia spotted frog in two other western states. The rare amphibian is a candidate for the federal government's threatened species list.
Scientists working with the technology say they do not expect robots to replace field biologists anytime soon. But the old-fashioned field work could soon be more targeted.
A related research goal is to show how long environmental DNA can last and how far it can travel in different environments.
1.Paragraph One is intended as _____ of the passage.
A. the main idea
B. the introduction of the topic
C. a supporting detail of the main idea
D. a contrast of the main idea
2.What has made E-DNA magic is that with E-DNA_____.
A. you are likely to find information about a species with a little air, water, or soil
B. some kind of high-tech device can be used to test for breathable air or signs of life
C. you are able to get answers more efficiently, safely though with more damage
D. the cost of gene sequencing has been reduced greatly in recent years.
3.So far, the technique of E-DNA has NOT helped scientists search for ______.
A. wild Yangtze giant soft-shell turtles
B. endangered golden tree-frogs
C. the local extinction of a leopard frog
D. the spread of the New Zealand mud-snail
4.Despites its advantage, we are still not sure of something about E-DNA. That is _____ .
A. the lasting time and the spreading area of E-DNA
B .the lasting time of E-DNA and too many species for E-DNA
C. too many candidates for E-DNA and the lasting time of E-DNA
D. robots and old-fashioned field work’s replacing E-DNA
5.The passage can be sorted as a(n) _____.
A. science fiction B. experiment report
C. science report D. bio-diversity discovery
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析