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.
ABADA
暫無解析
Scattered through the seas of the world are billions of tons of small plants and animals called plankton. Most of these plants and animals are too small for the human eye to see. They drift about lazily with the currents, providing a basic food for many larger animals. Plankton has been described as the equivalent of the grasses that grow on the dry land continents, and the comparison is an appropriate one. In potential food value however, plankton far outweighs that of the land grasses. One scientist has estimated that while grasses of the world produce about 49 billion tons of valuable carbohydrates each year. The sea’s plankton generates more than twice as much.
Despite its enormous food potential, little effort was made until recently to farm plankton as we farm grasses on land. Now marine scientists have at last begun to study this possibility, especially as the sea’s resources loom even more important as a means of feeding an expanding world population.
No one yet has seriously suggested that “planktonburgers” may soon become popular around the world. As a possible farmed supplementary food source, however, plankton is gaining considerable interest among marine scientists.
One type of plankton that seems to have great harvest possibilities is a tiny shrimplike creature called krill. Growing to two or three inches long, krill provide the major food for the giant blue whale, the largest animal ever to inhabit the Earth. Realizing that this whale may grow 100 feet and weigh 150 tons at maturity, it is not surprising that each one devours more than one ton of krill daily.
Krill swim about just below the surface in huge schools sometimes miles wide, mainly in the cold Antarctic. Because of their pink color, they often appear as a solid reddish mass when viewed from a ship or from the air. Krill are very high in food value. A pound of these crustaceans contains about 460 calories—about the same as shrimp or lobster, to which they are related.
If the krill can feed such huge creatures as whales, many scientists reason, they must certainly be contenders as new food source for humans.
1.Which of the following best portrays the organization of the passage?
A.The author presents the advantages and disadvantages of plankton as a food source.
B.The author quotes public opinion to support the argument for farming plankton.
C.The author classifies the different food sources according to amount of carbohydrate.
D.The author makes a general statement about plankton as a food source and then moves to a specific example.
2.According to the passage, why is plankton regarded to be more valuable than land grasses?
A.It is easier to cultivate.
B.It produces more carbohydrates.
C.It does not require soil.
D.It is more palatable.
3.Why does the author mention “planktonburgers”?
A.To describe the appearance of one type of plankton.
B.To illustrate how much plankton a whale consumes.
C.To suggest plankton as a possible food sources.
D.To compare the food values of beef and plankton.
4.What is mentioned as one conspicuous feature of krill?
A.They are the smallest marine animals.
B.They are pink in color.
C.They are similar in size to lobsters.
D.They have grass like bodies.
5.The author mentions all of the following as reasons why plankton could be considered a human food source except that it is ___.
A.high in food value.
B.in abundant supply in the oceans.
C.an appropriate food for other animals.
D.free of chemicals and pollutants.
翻譯：
鄧小平同志曾說：“社會主義財富屬于人民，社會主義的致富是全民共同致富。”構建和諧社會，就是要把民生問題作為重中之重，讓廣大人民群眾有活干，有學上，有飯吃，有衣穿，有屋住，病有醫，老有養，生活幸福，都過上好日子。自此，在就業、教育、收入分配、醫療、養老、住房等領域，一大批關注民生的實事工程接連開工，一件件事關百姓冷暖的民生大事讓各族群眾喜笑顏開。
翻譯：
Bymakingvehicleslighterinweightaluminumhasgreatlyreducedtheamountoffuelneededtomovethem,(PassageTwo)
翻譯：
中國位于亞洲東部，是世界上人口最多的國家。中國是世界四大文明古國之一，擁有大量的中華文化光輝的古跡，此外，中國地大物博，擁有茂密的森林、雄偉壯麗的瀑布、秀麗的湖泊以及如利劍直插云霄的山峰，所有這些都令世界各國人民神往。但是，更重要的是，中國以擁有五千多年的歷史而自豪，遺留下無數的歷史文物，其中包括珍貴珠寶、古跡名勝、宮殿及數不盡的雄偉建筑，令人驚嘆不已。這種種原因都促使中國成為許多人夢寐以求的旅游勝地。
翻譯訓練：
酒和飲酒文化在中國的歷史中占據著重要地位。從宋代開始，白酒(whiteliquor)成為中國人飲用的主要酒類。中國白酒制作工藝復雜，原料豐富多樣，是世界著名的六大蒸餾酒(distilledliquor)之一。中國有很多優秀的白酒品牌，受到不同人群的喜愛。在當代社會，飲酒文化得到了前所未有的豐富和發展。不同地區和場合的飲酒習俗和禮儀已成為中國人日常生活中重要的部分。在幾千年的文明史中，酒幾乎滲透到社會生活中的各個領域，如文學創作、飲食保健等。
