题目内容
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解析:
(1) |
第一段最后一句话意思是:对于我们当中的很多人,“无现金社会”已经到来。所以,当今很多美国人不以现金方式支付。 |
(2) |
从下文“They can keep a wide range of records,including who sold what,when,and to whom”可推测出,该词意为“把出售情况记入现金记录机”。 |
(3) |
文章主要讲述了通过电脑,人们进行信用卡支付。以及电脑帮助人们进行商业记录和决策,故选B. |
(4) |
从最后一段“bring better and more efficient services to consumers through the use of computers”可知。 |
People with bigger brains ftend to score higher on standardized tests of intelligence, according to new study findings.
However, the study author Dr Michael A.McDaniel of the Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond emphasized that these findings represent a general trend, and people with small heads should not automatically believe they are less intelligent. For instance, Albert Einstein’s brain was “not particularly large”, McDaniel noted. “There’s some relationship between brain size and intelligence on the average, but there’s plenty of room for exceptions,” he said.
Interest in the relationship between brain size and intelligence grew in the1830s, when German anatomist(解剖学家) Frederich Tiedmann wrote that he believed there was “an unquestionable connection between the size of the brain and the mental energy displayed by the individual man”. Since that statement, scientists have conducted numerous studies to determine if Tiedmann’s assertion was, in fact, correct. Most studies have looked into the link between head size and intelligence. More recently, however, researchers have published additional studies on brain size and intelligence, measured using MRI scan(核磁共振成像扫描).
For his study, McDaniel analyzed more than 20 studies that looked into the relationship between brain size and intelligence in a total of 1,530 people. The studies showed that on the average, people with larger brain volume tended to be more intelligent. The relationship between brain volume and intelligence was stronger in women than men, and in adults than in children. McDaniel notes in the journal Intelligence.
McDaniel is not sure why the relationship was stronger for adults and women. “Other research has shown that women, on the average, tend to have smaller brains than men, but score just as well—if not higher—in tests of intelligence,” he said.
McDaniel insisted that the relationship between brain size and intelligence is not a “perfect” one. “One can certainly find lots of examples of smaller-sized people who are highly intelligent,” he said, “But, on the average, the relationship holds.”
【小题1】. What does the text mainly talk about?
A.MRI scans are applied to intelligence. |
B.On the average, a bigger brain means higher IQ. |
C.Dr McDaniel did well in his intelligence study. |
D.Scientists are interested in Tiedmann’s idea. |
A.Albert Einstein was intelligent |
B.the result of intelligence test was false |
C.being hard working is more important than intelligence |
D.brain size doesn’t necessarily decide the level of intelligence |
A. experiment B. statement C proof D. demand
【小题4】 After Frederich Tiedmann wrote his article, .
A.many scientists agreed with him |
B.numerous studies have failed to prove his idea |
C.MRI scan became popularly used |
D.lots of researchers were interested in the connections between head size and intelligence |
A.proves Tiedmann’s idea was completely true |
B.shows women are smarter than men |
C.involves many studies and a lot of people |
D.explains why people with smaller brains are clever |
Sustainable development is applied to just about everything from energy to clean water and economic growth, and as a result it has become difficult to question either the basic assumptions behind it or the way the concept is put to use. This is especially true in agriculture, where sustainable development is often taken as the measure of progress without a proper appreciation of historical and cultural perspectives.
To start with, it is important to remember that the nature of agriculture has changed markedly throughout history, and will continue to do so. Medieval agriculture in northern Europe fed, clothed and sheltered a mainly rural society with a much lower population density than it is today. It had minimal effect on biodiversity, and any pollution it caused was typically localized. In terms of energy use and the nutrients captured in the product it was relatively inefficient.
Contrast this with farming since the start of the industrial revolution. Competition from overseas led farmers to specialize and increase yields. Throughout this period food became cheaper, safer and more reliable. However, these changes have also led to habitat loss and to reducing biodiversity.
All this means that agriculture in the 21st century will have to be very different from how it was in the 20th. This will require thorough thinking. For example, we need to move away from the idea that traditional practices are certainly more sustainable than new ones. We also need to abandon the notion that agriculture can be “zero impact”. The key will be to abandon the rather simple and static(稳定的)measures of sustainability, which centre on the need to maintain production without increasing damage. Instead we need a more dynamic interpretation, one that looks at the pros and cons of all the various way land is used. There are many different ways to measure agricultural performance besides food yield: energy use, environmental costs, water purity, carbon footprint and biodiversity. It is clear, for example, that the carbon of transporting tomatoes from Spain to the UK is less than that of producing them in the UK with additional heating and lighting. But we do not know whether lower carbon footprints will always be better for biodiversity.
What is important is recognizing that sustainable agriculture is not just about sustainable food production.
【小题1】How do people often measure progress in agriculture?
A.By its impact on the environment | B.By its contribution to economic growth |
C.By its productivity | D.By its sustainability |
A.Localized pollution | B.The shrinking of farmland |
C.the decrease of biodiversity | D.competition from overseas |
A.They are not necessarily sustainable | B.They have not kept pace with population growth |
C.They have remained the same over the centuries | D.They are environmentally friendly |
A.It will abandon traditional farming practices | B.It will mainly keep traditional farming |
C.It will go through complete changes | D.It will cause zero damage to the environment |
A.To remind people of the need of sustainable development. |
B.To urge people to rethink what sustainable agriculture is. |
C.To advance new criteria for measuring farming progress. |
D.To suggest ways of ensuring sustainable food production. |