Prolonging Human Life

   Prolonging human life has increased the size of the human population.¹ Many people alive today would have died of childhood diseases if they had been born 100 years ago.² Because more people live longer, there are more people around at any given time.³ In fact, it is a decrease in death rates, not an increase in birthrates, that has led to the population explosion.
　　Prolonging human life has also increased the dependency load⁴. In all societies, people who are disabled or too young or too old to work are dependent on the rest of society to provide for them. In hunting and gathering cultures, old people who could not keep up might be left behind to die. In times of famine,⁵ infants might be allowed to die because they could not survive if their parents starved, whereas if the parents survived they could have another child. In most contemporary societies, people feel a moral obligation to keep people alive whether they can work or not. We have a great many people today who live past the age at which they want to work or are able to work; we also have rules which require people to retire at a certain age. Unless these people were able to save money for their retirement, somebody else must support them. In the United Statesmany retired people live on social security checks which are so little that they must live in near poverty. Older people have more illness than young or middle-aged people; unless they have wealth or private or government insurance, they must often "go on welfare"⁶ if they have a serious illness.
　　When older people become senile or too weak and ill to care for themselves, they create grave problems⁷ for their families. In the past and in some traditional cultures, they would be cared for at home until they died. Today, with most members of a household working or in school, there is often no one at home who can care for a sick or weak person. To meet this need, a great many nursing homes and convalescent hospitals⁸ have been built. These are often profit-making organizations,⁹ although some are sponsored by religious and other nonprofit groups. While a few of these institutions arc good, most of them are simply "dumping grounds"¹⁰ for the dying in which "care" is given by poorly paid, overworked, and under-skilled personnel.

词汇：

dependency/ dɪˈpendənsi/n. 依赖性 

contemporary/ kənˈtemprəri/adj. 现代的
obligation/ ˌɒblɪ"ɡeɪʃn/n. 义务

insurance / ɪnˈʃʊərəns/n. 保险
welfare / "welfeə/n.福利

senile / ˈsi:naɪl/adj. 衰老的
grave / ɡreɪv/adj. 严肃的 

convalescent / ˌkɒnvəˈlesnt/adj.康复的
sponsor / "spɒnsə/v.发起，资助 

institution / ˌɪnstɪˈtju:ʃn/n.机构

 

注释:

1. Prolonging human life has increased the size of the human population:延长人类生命的结果使得人口的数量有了增加。句中的 prolonging human life是动名词短语。由动名词短语作句子的主语时，句中动词必须用单数形式。如 : Collecting stamps is his hobby.
2. Many people alive today would have died of childhood diseases if they had been born 100 years ago:如果今天活着的很多人生于一百年以前，他们会死于各种儿童疾病。
3. Because more people live longer, there are more people around at any given time:因为有更多的人寿命更长，所以在任何一个特定的时间里的人也就更多。
4. the dependency load: 抚养人口数量。
5. In times of famine: 在饥荒年代
6. go on welfare : 靠福利救济 go on 有许多意思，其中的一个意思是"依靠……过活"。例:Many people go on welfare when jobs become scarce.(工作难找时，许多人靠政府救济金过日子。)
7. grave problems: 严重的问题
8. convalescent hospitals: 康复医院;疗养院
9. profit-making organizations: 赢利机构
10. dumping grounds: 垃圾场

According to the passage, which of the following statements about retired people in the United States is true?

A:Many of them have a very hard life B:They cannot live a decent life without enough bank savings C:They rely mainly on their children for financial support D:Most of them live with their children and therefore are well looked after

The Only Way Is Up

    Think of a modem city and the first image that come to mind is the skyline. It is full of great buildings, pointing like fingers to heaven. It is true that some cities don"t permit buildings to go above a certain height. But these are cities concerned with the past. The first thing any city does when it wants to tell the world that it has arrived is to build skyscrapers.

    When people gather together in cities, they create a demand for land. Since cities are places where money is made, that demand can be met. And the best way to make money out of city land is to put as many people as possible in a space that covers the smallest amount of ground. That means building upwards.

    The technology existed to do this as early as the 19th century. But the height of buildings was limited by one important factor. They had to be small enough for people on the top floors to climb stairs. People could not be expected to climb a mountain at the end of their journey to work, or home.

    Elisha Otis, a USinventor, was the man who brought us the lift-or elevator, as he preferred to call it. However, most of the technology is very old. Lifts work using the same pulley system the Egyptians used to create the Pyramids. What Otis did was attach the system to a steam engine and develop the elevator brake, which stops the lift falling if the cords that hold it up are broken. It was this that did the most to gain public confidence in the new invention ¹. In fact, he spent a number of years exhibiting lifts at fairgrounds, giving people the chance to try them out before selling the idea to architects and builders.

    A lift would not be a very good theme park attraction now. Going in a lift is such an everyday thing that it would just be boring. Yet psychologists and others who study human behavior find lifts fascinating. The reason is simple. Scientists have always studied animals in zoos. The nearest they can get to that with humans is in observing them in lifts ².

    "It breaks all the usual conventions about the bubble of personal space ³ we carry around with us -- and you just can"t choose to move away," says workplace psychologist, Gary Fitzgibbon. Being trapped in this setting can create different types of tensions, he says. Some people are scared of them. Others use them as an opportunity to get close to the boss. Some stand close to the door. Others hide in the comers. Most people try and shrink into the background. But some behave in a way that makes others notice them. There are a few people who just stand in a comer taking notes.

    Don"t worry about them. They are probably from a university.

 

词汇:

skyline["skaɪlaɪn] n.空中轮廓线  

tension["tenʃ(ə)n] n.紧张

pulley ["pʊlɪ] n.滑轮

bubble["bʌbl] n.幻想,妄想;

fairground [ˈfeəgraʊnd] n.露天市场

 

注释：

1．It was this that did the most to gain public confidence in the new invention.正是这项技术赢得了人们对新发明的信心。本句使用了强调句型It is... that...被强调的是this，所指代的是上文中所说的Otis发明了电梯刹车的事。

2．The nearest they can get to that with humans is in observing them in lifts.对于研究人类来说，最接近的方式就是在电梯里观察他们。句中的that指的是上一句中提到的科学家一直对动物园里的动物进行观察。

3．about the bubble of personal space:有关私人空间的幻想。

 

When Oti.s came up with the idea of a lift,____.

A:he sold it to the architects and builders immediately B:the Egyptians used it to build the Pyramids C:it was accepted favorably by the public D:most people had doubt about its safety

The media can impact current events. As a graduate student at Berkeley in the 1960s,I remember experiencing the events related to the People’s Park that were occurring on campus. Some of these events were given national media coverage in the press and on TV. I found it interesting to compare my impressions of what was going on with perceptions obtained from the news media. I could begin to see events of that time feed on news coverage. This also provided me with some healthy insights into the distinctions between these realities.
Electronic media are having a greater impact on the people’s lives every day. People gather more and more of their impressions from representations. Television and telephone communications are linking people to a global village, or what one writer calls the electronic city. Consider the information that television brings into your home every day. Consider also the contract you have with others simply by using telephone. These media extend your consciousness and your contact. For example, the video coverage of the 1989 San Francisco earthquake focused on "live action" such as the fires or the rescue efforts. This gave the viewer the impression of total disaster. Television coverage of the Iraqi War also developed an immediacy. CNN reported events as they happened. This coverage was distributed worldwide. Although most people were far away from these events, they developed some perception of these realities.
In 1992, many people watched in horror as riots broke out on a sad Wednesday evening in Los Angeles, seemingly fed by video coverage from helicopters. This event was triggered by the verdict in the Rodney King beating. We are now in an age where the public can have access to information that enables it to make its own judgements, and most people, who had seen the video of this beating, could not understand how the jury was able to acquit the policemen involved. Media coverage of events as they occur also provides powerful feedback that influences events. This can have harmful results, as it seemed on that Wednesday night in Los Angeles. By Friday night the public got to see Rodney King on television pleading, "Can we all get along" By Saturday, television seemed to provide positive feedback as the Los Angeles riot turned out into a rally for peace. The television showed thousands of people marching with banners and cleaning tools. Because of that, many more people turned out to join the peaceful event they saw unfolding on television. The real healing, of course, will take much longer, but electronic media will continue to be a part of that process.
It can be inferred from the passage that______.

A:media coverage of events as they occur can have either good or bad results B:most people who had seen the video of the Rodney King beating agree with the verdict of the jury C:the1992 Los Angeles riots lasted a whole week D:Rodney king seemed very angry when he appeared on television on Friday

Earthquakes are something that most people fear. There are some places that have (36) 0r no earthquakes. Most places in the world, however, have them regularly. Some places, like Iran and Guatemala have them frequently. Countries that have a lot of earthquakes are usually quite mountainous.
The earthquake that the people most talked about in the United States was the one happening in San Francisco in 1906. Over 500 people died in it. The strongest one in North America was in 1964. It happened in Alaska.
Strong earthquakes are not always the ones that kill (37) . In 1755, one of the strongest earthquakes ever (38) happened in Portugal. Around 20,000 people died.
In 1923,a very powerful earthquake (39) the Tokyo-Yokohama area of Japan. A hundred and forty thousand people died. Most of them died in fires which (40) the earthquake.
One of the worst earthquakes ever was in China in 1976. It killed (41) people. The most destructive(破坏性的) earthquake ever reported was also in China. 400,000 people were killed or (42) in this quqke, which happened in 1556.
Earthquakes are (43) which people fear. Floods and tidal waves also cause people to be (44) ,as (45) like typhoons and cyclones(飓风). Sometimes these things cause lots of deaths. In 1970, a cyclone and tidal wave killed over 200,000 in Pakistan.

37（）

A:most  B:the majority   C:most the people D:the most people

{{B}}第二篇{{/B}}

It can be inferred from the passage that______.

A:media coverage of events as they occur can have either good or had results B:most people who had seen the video of the Rodney King beating agree with the verdict of the jury C:the 1992 Los Angeles riots lasted a whole week D:Rodney King seemed very angry when he appeared on television on Friday

Think of a modem city and the first image that come to mind is the skyline. It is full of great buildings, pointing like fingers to heaven. It is true that some cities don’t permit buildings to go above a certain height. But these are cities concerned with the past. The first thing any city does when it wants to tell the world that it has arrived is to build skyscrapers.
When people gather together in cities, they create a demand for land since cities are places where money is made, that demand can be met. And the best way to make money out of city land is to put as many people as possible in a space that covers the smallest amount of ground that means building upwards.
The technology existed to do this as early as the 19th century. But the height of buildings was limited by one important factor. They had to be small enough for people on the top floors to climb stairs. People could not be expected to climb a mountain at the end of their journey to work, or home.
Elisha Otis, a US inventor, was the man who brought us the lift or elevator, as he preferred to call it. However, most of the technology is very old lifts work using the same pulley system the Egyptians used to create the Pyramids. What Otis did was attach the system to a steam engine and develop the elevator brake, which stops the lift falling if the cords that hold it up are broken. It was this that did the most to gain public confidence in the new invention. In fact, he spent a number of years exhibiting lifts at fairgrounds, giving people the chance to try them out before selling the idea to architects and builders.
A lift would not be a very good theme park attraction now. Going in a lift is such an everyday thing that it would just be boring. Yet psychologists and others who study human behavior find lifts fascinating. The reason is simple. Scientists have always studied animals in zoos. The nearest they can get to that with humans is in observing them in lifts.
"It breaks all the usual conventions about the bubble of personal space we carry around with us and you just can’t choose to move away," says workplace psychologist, Gary Fitzgibbon. Being trapped in this setting can create different types of tensions, he says. Some people are scared of them. Others use them as an opportunity to get close to the boss. Some stand close to the door. Others hide in the comers. Most people try and shrink into the background but some behave in a way that makes others notice them. There are a few people who just stand in a comer taking notes.
Don’t worry about them. They are probably from a university.
When Otis came up with the idea of a lift,______.

A:he sold it to the architects and builders immediately B:the Egyptians used it to build the Pyramids C:it was accepted favorably by the public D:most people had doubt about its safety

The Only Way Is Up
Think of a modem city and the first image that come to mind is the skyline. It is full of great buildings, pointing like fingers to heaven. It is true that some cities don’t permit buildings to go above a certain height. But these are cities concerned with the past. The first thing any city does when it wants to tell the world that it has arrived is to build skyscrapers.
When people gather together in cities, they create a demand for land. Since cities are places where money is made, that demand can be met. And the best way to make money out of city land is to put as many people as possible in a space that covers the smallest amount of ground. That means building upwards.
The technology existed to do this as early as the 19^th century. But the height of buildings was limited by one important factor. They had to be small enough for people on the top floors to climb stairs. People could not be expected to climb a mountain at the end of their journey to work, or home.
Elisha Otis, a US inventor, was the man who brought us the lift - or elevator, as he preferred to call it. However, most of the technology is very old. Lifts work using the same pulley system the Egyptians used to create the Pyramids. What Otis did was attach the system to a steam engine and develop the elevator brake, which stops the lift falling if the cords that hold it up are broken. It was this that did the most to gain public confidence in the new invention, In fact, he spent a number of years exhibiting lifts at fairgrounds, giving people the chance to try them out before selling the idea to architects and builders.
A lift would not be a very good theme park attraction now. Going in a lift is such an everyday thing that it would just be boring. Yet psychologists and others who study human behavior fund lifts fascinating. The reason is simple. Scientists have always studied animals in zoos. The nearest they can get to that with humans is in observing them in lifts.
"It breaks all the usual conventions about the bubble of personal space we carry around with us — and you just can’t choose to move away," says workplace psychologist, Gary Fitzgibbon. Being trapped in this setting can create different types of tensions, he says. Some people are scared of them. Others use them as an opportunity to get close to the boss. Some stand close to the door. Others hide in the corners. Most people try and shrink into the background. But some behave in a way that makes others notice them. There are a few people who just stand in a corner taking notes,
Don’t worry about them. They are probably from a university.
When Otis came up with the idea of a lift,

A:he sold it to the architects and builders immediately. B:the Egyptians used it to build the Pyramids. C:it was accepted favorably by the public. D:most people had doubt about its safety.

Think of a modem city and the first image that come to mind is the skyline. It is full of great buildings, pointing like fingers to heaven. It is true that some cities don’t permit buildings to go above a certain height. But these are cities concerned with the past. The first thing any city does when it wants to tell the world that it has arrived is to build skyscrapers.
When people gather together in cities, they create a demand for land. Since cities are places where money is made, that demand can be met. And the best way to make money out of city land is to put as many people as possible in a space that covers the smallest amount of ground. That means building upwards.
The technology existed to do this as early as the 19th century. But the height of buildings was limited by one important factor. They had to be small enough for people on the top floors to climb stairs. People could not be expected to climb a mountain at the end of their journey to work, or home.
Elisha Otis, a US inventor, was the man who brought us the lift--or elevator, as he preferred to call it. However, most of the technology is very old. Lifts work using the same pulley system the Egyptians used to create the Pyramids. What Otis did was attach the system to a steam engine and develop the elevator brake, which stops the lift falling if the cords that hold it up are broken. It was this that did the most to gain public confidence in the new invention. In fact, he spent a number of years exhibiting lifts at fairgrounds, giving people the chance to try them out before selling the idea to architects and builders.
A lift would not be a very good theme park attraction now. Going in a lift is such an everyday thing that it would just be boring. Yet psychologists and others who study human behavior find lifts fascinating. The reason is simple. Scientists have always studied animals in zoos. The nearest they can get to that with humans is in observing them in lifts.
"It breaks all the usual conventions about the bubble of personal space we carry around with us--and you just can’t choose to move away," says workplace psychologist, Gary Fitzgibbon. Being trapped in this setting can create different types of tensions, he says. Some people are scared of them. Others use them as an opportunity to get close to the boss. Some stand close to the door. Others hide in the comers. Most people try and shrink into the background. But some behave in a way that makes others notice them. There are a few people who just stand in a comer taking notes.
Don’t worry about them. They fire probably from a university.
When Otis came up with the idea of a lift, ______.

A:he sold it to the architects and builders immediately B:the Egyptians used it to build the Pyramids C:it was accepted favorably by the public D:most people had doubt about its safety