题目内容

8.Cowboy or spaceman?A dilemma for a children's party,perhaps.But also a question for economists,argued Kenneth Boulding,a British economist,in an essay published in 1966.We have run our economies,he warned,like cowboys on the open grassland:taking and using the world's resources,confident that more lies over the horizon.But the Earth is less a grassland than a spaceship-a closed system,alone in space,carrying limited supplies.We need,said Boulding,an economics that takes seriously the idea of environmental limits.In the half century since his essay,a new movement has responded to his challenge."Ecological economists",as they call themselves,want to revolutionise its aims and assumptions.What do they say-and will their ideas achieve lift-off?
To its advocators,ecological economics is neither ecology nor economics,but a mix of both.Their starting point is to recognise that the human economy is part of the natural world.Our environment,they note,is both a source of resources and a sink for wastes.But it is ignored in conventional textbooks,where neat diagrams trace the flows between firms,households and the government as though nature did not exist.That is a mistake,say ecological economists.
There are two ways our economies can grow,ecological economists point out:through technological change,or through more intensive use of resources.Only the former,they say,is worth having.They are suspicious of GDP,a crude measure which does not take account of resource exhaustion,unpaid work,and countless other factors.In its place they advocate more holistic(全面的) approaches,such as the Genuine Progress Indicator (GPI),a composite index(复合指标) that includes things like the cost of pollution,deforestation and car accidents.While GDP has kept growing,global GPI per person peaked in 1978:by destroying our environment we are making ourselves poorer,not richer.The solution,says Herman Daly,a former World Bank economist and eco-guru,is a"steady-state"economy,where the use of materials and energy is held constant.
Mainstream economists are unimpressed.The GPI,they point out,is a subjective measure.And talk of limits to growth has had a bad press since the days of Thomas Malthus,a gloomy 18th century cleric who predicted,wrongly,that overpopulation would lead to famine.Human beings find solutions to some of the most annoying problems.But ecological economists warn against self-satisfaction.In 2009 a paper in Nature,a scientific journal,argued that human activity is already overstepping safe planetary boundaries on issues such as biodiversity(生物多样性) and climate change.That suggests that ecological economists are at least asking some important questions,even if their answers turn out to be wrong.
 
73.Why does Boulding compare the way economy is run with cowboy and spaceship?D
A.To advocate the importance of space programs.
B.To applaud the appearance of ecological economists.
C.To arouse people's interest in cowboys'adventures on grassland.
D.To awaken people to the need of sustainable development of economy.
74.What does the underlined word"challenge"in paragraph 1 refer to?B
A.Sending a cowboy into space through a spaceship.
B.Establishing an economics taking environmental limits into account.
C.Revolutionizing the ecological economists'aims and assumptions.
D.Enabling ecological economists to make their ideas achieve lift-offs.
75.Ecological economists will disagree thatA.
A.economies are worth growing through intensive use of resources
B.economics should attach importance to the idea of environmental limits
C.ecological economics is neither ecology nor economics
D.the human economy is part of the natural world
76.According to the passage,which of the following about GPI is true?C
A.It keeps growing although the peak appeared in the year 1978.
B.Mainstream economists regard it as a holistic and objective approach.
C.Ecological economists believe it is a better indicator of economy than GDP.
D.It fails to take the factors such as deforestation and car accidents into consideration.
77.We can infer from the last paragraph that the mainstream economists'attitude toward ecological economics isA.
A.doubtful        B.sensitive          C.optimistic        D.over-concerned.

分析 本文属于说明文阅读,作者通过这篇文章主要向我们描述了生态经济学家认为我们需要建立一种新的经济学理论,在这个理论中认真的考虑环境限制的情况,GDP不够有真实意义,GPI是一种考虑更为全面的模式,然而主流经济学家并不赞同,但无论他们的想法是否正确,目前的经济学理论确实应该开拓创新.

解答 73.D.细节理解题.根据第一段"We need,said Boulding,an economics that takes seriously the idea of environmental limits",Boulding说,我们需要建立一种新的经济学理论,在这个理论中认真的考虑环境限制的情况,因此是为了要唤醒人们对经济可持续发展的需要;故选D.
74.B   细节理解题.根据第一段"We need,said Boulding,an economics that takes seriously the idea of environmental limits",Boulding说,我们需要建立一种新的经济学理论,在这个理论中认真的考虑环境限制的情况,可知他的挑战时建立一个考虑环境限制的经济学;故选B.
75.A.细节理解题.根据第三段"by destroying our environment we are making ourselves poorer,not richer",通过损害环境的方式发展经济,我们只会使自己更穷,而不是更富有,可知经济学家不同意过度损耗资源去发展经济;故选A.
76.C.细节理解题.根据第三段"In its place they advocate more holistic approaches,such as the Genuine Progress Indicator (GPI)"在他们看来,他们推崇更全面的考虑模式,比如真实发展指数GPI,可知他们更相信GPI;故选C.
77.A.推理判断题,根据最后一段"Mainstream economists are unimpressed"主流经济学家并不接受这一观点,可知他们的态度是怀疑的;故选A.

点评 考察学生的细节理解和推理判断能力,做细节理解题时一定要找到文章中的原句,和题干进行比较,再做出正确的选择.在做推理判断题不要以个人的主观想象代替文章的事实,要根据文章事实进行合乎逻辑的推理判断.

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Wisdom knows no age.One day at a county fair a"medicine man"(66)√was try to draw attention by auctioning off (拍卖) a dollar bill.(67)将try改为tryingEveryone thought the dollar was false,but the only offer he received(68)but改为andwas one for five cents from a twelve-years-old boy."Going once!(69)twelve-year-oldGoing twice!Going three time!"calling the man."The dollar(70)calling改为calledis mine,young man!Where is your five cents?"When the boy(71)mine改为yoursstepped backward,he heard someone laugh and say,"You just(72)backward改为forward或uplose five cents,boy."The boy looked up at the"medicine man"(73)lose改为lostas he held out of the dollar,and said,"Why don't you just take(74)去掉offive cents out of the dollar,mister,and give me change?"(75)change前加the.
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Only a small number of tree species have the genetic abilityto grow really big.The biggest are native to North America,but big trees grow all over the globe,from the tropics to the forests of the high latitudes(纬度).To achieve giant size,a tree needs three things:the right place to establish its seedling,good growing conditions and lots of time with low adult death rate.Lose any of these,and you will lose your biggest trees.
In some parts of the world,populations of big trees are dwindling because their seedlings cannot survive.In southern India,for instance,an aggressive non-native bush,Lantana camara,is invading the floor of many forests.Lantana grows so thickly that young trees often fail to take root.With no young trees to replace them,it is only a matter of time before most of the big trees disappear.
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Besides,big trees face threats from elsewhere.

73.According to the passage,big trees make great contributions to theecosystem becauseC.
A.they can capture large amounts of energy
B.they determine the change of global climate
C.they provide the essentials for many creatures
D.they can avoid a new cycle of further warming
74.All the following factors are a must for making big treesEXCEPTD.
A.no deadly damage
B.genetic contribution
C.ideal environmentfor growth
D.high-latitude location
75.The word"dwindling"(paragraph3)is closest in meaning to"D".
A.exploding
B.growing
C.changing
D.declining
76.What is the best title of the passageA?
A.Big trees in trouble.
B.Advantages of big trees.
C.Results of big trees'disappearing.
D.Importanceof big trees to humans.
77.What will the author most probably discuss after the last paragraphA?
A.More threats to the existence of big tress.
B.The effect of human activities on big trees.
C.Benefits of big trees to the whole atmosphere.
D.Comparison between common trees and big ones.
4.Nowadays many people are concerned about the problem of what to do with electronic waste such as old televisions,computers,radios,cellular telephones and other electronic equipment.
Electronic trash,or e-waste,is piling up faster than ever in American homes and businesses.People do not know what to do with old televisions or computers so they throw them in the trash.
National Solid Waste Management Association (NSWMA) state programs director Chaz Miller says the large amount of electronic waste Americans product is not unexpected.
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates more than 400million consumer electronic items are dumped each year,and there is a push by more states to ban the waste from landfills (垃圾填埋场) and create recycling programs.They can be torn apart and sorted for useable parts.Mike Fannon who runs the plant in Baltimore says,"There are lots of valuable metals that can be recovered and reused instead of just putting them in the landfill,and in certain components there are some materials that should not really be in the landfill."
Fannon says nearly 20percent of electronic waste is recycled nationwide.Thirteen years ago,it was only about 6percent.Recycling rates continue to rise as more communities have banned electronics from landfills in order to keep e-waste poisons like lead (铅) and mercury (汞) out of garbage dumps.
This year several states like Vermont imposed a ban on electronic waste in landfills.More than 25other states have also adopted bans on e-waste in landfills.Chaz Miller says more can be done to boost electronic waste recycling.
"We can do much better,"noted Miller."I think clearly our goal should be to do as well as we do recycling newspapers."

32.Which of the following does NOT belong to e-waste?D
A.Old televisions.
B.Old computers.
C.Old cell phones.
D.Old newspapers.
33.Why is e-waste banned from landfills in many states?C
A.Because it can not be recycled.
B.Because the landfills are already full.
C.Because it might damage the environment.
D.Because it can be shipped to other countries.
34.According to Mike Fannon,what might be the best way of dealing with e-waste?A
A.Recycling it.
B.Selling it.
C.Burying it.
D.Breaking it.
35.What can we learn from the passage?B
A.Chaz Miller works for EPA.
B.Miller is optimistic about the future of e-waste.
C.At present,less than 10percent of e-waste is recycled.
D.All states in the US have banned e-waste from landfills.
5.Starting in l972,the National Park Service established a policy for forest fires calle Natural Burn.It was acknowledged that some forest fires,such as those caused by lightning were necessary for forests to maintain balanced ecosystems,so the fire should be allowed to burn.However,a big fire in Yellowstone National Park in l988 caused this policy to be abandoned since the fire was initially allowed to burn yet soon out of control.As a result,the fire of l988 destroyed much of Yellowstone,which is America's oldest and most beloved national park.Massive areas of plants were destroyed,and large empty spaces and acres of burned and blackened trees greeted visitors.The rivers and streams were choked with ash,and the ecosystem of the park was changed beyond repair.
    In addition,great numbers of animals were killed by the fires that bumed out of control.The fires were driven by high winds,moving as many as ten miles a day.Many small animals died in the flames.The fires'rapid advances gave the wildlife little chance to escape.Even today,few of these small forest animals have returned to live in the park.In the years immediately following the fires,the numbers of visitors declined rapidly.No one was interested in seeing a blackened and treeless park on vacation.Yellowstone had previously been famous for its amazing views and unique geological formations such as the geyser Old Faithful.But now its reputation as America's wonder is damaged permanently.

46.Natural Burn was adopted because some forest fires wereC 
A.hard to put out
B.started by lightning
C.good for the balance of nature
D.approved by National Park Service
47.The big fire in Yellowstone in 1988D.
  A.became out of control at first
  B.destroyed the park completely
  C.was allowed to burn continuously
  D.brought the natural burn policy to an end
48.Why were so many animals killed in the big fire?D 
  A.Because winds were blown from high places.
  B.Because the animals moved only ten miles a day.
  C.Because the animals lived in lower places.
  D.Because strong winds contributed to the fire a lot.
49.Yellowstone was famous for itsC.
A.rare animals   B.unique plants    C.beautiful scenery  D.little streams
50.The text probably comes fromD.
A.a science fiction    B.a news report
C.a commercial ad      D.a geography magazine.

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