-
2000 Text 1
A
history of long and
effortless success can be a dreadful handicap,
but, if properly handled, it
may become
a driving force. When the United States entered
just such a glowing period after the
end of the Second World War, it had a
market eight times larger than any competitor,
giving
its
industries
unparalleled
economies
of
scale.
Its
scientists
were
the world's
best,
its workers
the
most skilled.
America and Americans were prosperous
beyond the dreams of the Europeans and
Asians whose economies the war had
destroyed.
It was inevitable that this primacy
should have narrowed as other countries grew
richer. Just as
inevitably, the retreat
from predominance proved painful. By the mid-1980s
Americans had found
themselves at a
loss over their fading industrial competitiveness.
Some huge American industries,
such as
consumer electronics, had shrunk or vanished in
the face of foreign competition. By 1987
there was only one American television
maker left, Zenith. (Now there is none: Zenith was
bought
by South Korea's LG Electronics
in July.) Foreign-made cars and textiles were
sweeping into the
domestic
market.
America's
machine-tool
industry
was
on
the ropes.
For
a while
it
looked
as
though
the making of semiconductors, which America had
invented and which sat at the heart of
the new computer age, was going to be
the next casualty.
All of
this caused a crisis of confidence. Americans
stopped taking prosperity for granted. They
began
to
believe
that
their
way
of
doing
business
was
failing,
and
that
their
incomes
would
therefore shortly begin to fall as
well. The mid-1980s brought one inquiry after
another into the
causes
of
America's
industrial
decline.
Their
sometimes
sensational
findings
were
filled
with
warnings about the growing competition
from overseas.
How things
have changed! In 1995 the United States can look
back on five years of solid growth
while Japan has been struggling. Few
Americans attribute this solely to such obvious
causes as a
devalued
dollar
or
the
turning
of
the
business
cycle.
Self-doubt
has
yielded
to
blind
pride.
industry
has
changed
its
structure,
has
gone
on
a
diet,
has
learnt
to
be
more
quick-witted,
Government.
their
productivity,
says Stephen
Moore
of
the
Cato Institute,
a
think-tank
in
Washington,
D.C.
And William Sahlman of the Harvard
Business School believes that people will look
back on this
period as
51.
The U.S. achieved its predominance after World War
Ⅱ
because________.
[A] it had made painstaking efforts
towards this goal
[B] its
domestic market was eight times larger than before
[C] the war had destroyed
the economies of most potential competitors
[D] the unparalleled size
of its workforce had given an impetus to its
economy
52. The loss of U.S.
predominance in the world economy in the 1980s is
manifested in the fact
that the American ______.
[A] TV industry had withdrawn to its
domestic market
[B]
semiconductor industry had been taken over by
foreign enterprises
[C]
machine-tool industry had collapsed after suicidal
actions
[D] auto industry
had lost part of its domestic market
53. What can be inferred from the
passage?
[A] It is human
nature to shift between self-doubt and blind
pride.
[B]
Intense competition may contribute to economic
progress.
[C] The revival
of the economy depends on international
cooperation.
[D]
A
long history of success may pave the
way for further development.
54. The
author seems to believe the revival of the US
economy in the 1990s can be attributed to
the________.
[A] turning of the business cycle
[B] restructuring of
industry
[C] improved
business management
[D]
success in education
核心词汇
1.
effortless
没有努力的
2. dreadful
可怕的
3. handicap
障碍
4. handle
处理；解决
5. drive
驱动；
driving force
驱动力
6. glowing
光辉的；灿烂的
7.
competitor
竞争对手
8. unparalleled
无可比拟的；
unmatched=matchless
无可比拟的
9. skilled
熟练的
10. beyond
超出
11. inevitable
不可避免的
12. primacy
主导地位
13. narrow
缩小
14. retreat
撤退；后退
15.
predominance
绝对主导地位
16. at a loss over
对
…
不知所措
17. fade
消退；减弱
18. competitiveness
竞争力
19. shrink
缩小；萎缩
20. vanish
消失
21. in the
face of
面对
22.
textile
纺织品
23.
sweep into
涌入
24.
domestic
国内
25.
on the ropes
危在旦夕；命悬一线
26. casualty
牺牲品
27. cause
引起
28. take…for granted
想当然
29. inquiry
调查；询问
30.
sensational
轰动一时的
31. look back on
回顾
32. solid
稳定；固定
33.
attribute…to
把
….
归因于
34. solely
仅仅
35. devalue
贬值
36. self-doubt
自我怀疑
37. yield to
让位于
38. blind
pride
盲目自豪
39. go
on a diet
减肥；裁剪机构
40. quick-witted
才智敏捷
难句精解
①
A
history of
long and effortless success can be a dreadful
handicap, but, if properly handled, it
may become a driving force.
▲
该句是一个并列句，由前后两个转折关系的分句组成，其间的
连词为
but
。
but
与后一
个分句之间又插入一个由
if
< br>引导的条件状语
if
properly
handled
，该状语原来是一个
if
引导
的条件状语从句，即
if it(a
history of long and effortless success) is
properly handled
，其中的
it
is
由于和该分句的主句部分主谓语一致而被省略掉了。
< br>
△本句结构比较简明，
只需注意
but
与
it may
become a driving force
之间的
if<
/p>
结构是一个
插入语，并且是一个省略了主语和系动词的被动语态。
此外
handicap
意为
“
不利条件
”
。
②
Its scientists
were the world's best, its workers the most
skilled. America and Americans were
prosperous
beyond
the
dreams
of
the
Europeans
and
Asians
whose
economies
the
war
had
destroyed.
▲
前一句中
its workers
the most skilled
是一个伴随状语，省略了其中的
being
，补齐成分
后应为
it
s workers
being
the
most
skilled
。后一句中
beyond
the
dreams
of
the
Europeans
and
Asians
作
prosperous
的状语，
beyond
为介词，
是
“
超越，
超出
”
的意思。
而
whose economies the
war
had destroyed
作定语从句修饰
the
Europeans and Asians
，原形是
the
war had destroyed the
economies of the
Europeans and Asians
。
△注意
beyond
一词的意思，它表示
“
在
……
之外
”
。
③
For a while
it looked as though the making of semiconductors,
which America had invented and
which
sat at the heart of the new computer age, was
going to be the next casualty.
▲
该句带有一个表语从句，其表语从句中又套有两个并列的定语从句。全
句主句部分的
主谓结构是
it
looked...
，
as
though
（即
as if
好像）引
导的从句是
looked
（看上去）的表语。
< br>表语从句中主语为
the making of semiconductors
，
谓语为
was going to
be
，
而逗号之间的两个
which<
/p>
从句是
the making of semiconducto
rs
的非限定性定语，同时又是插入语。
△注意理解
the
next
casualty
的含义，
casualty
本意为
“
伤亡
”
，此处是
“
被国外产品击败的
美国本土产业
”
。
④
Their sometimes sensational
findings were filled with warnings about the
growing competition
from overseas.
▲
英语的句式词汇一般都比较
简练，
如果将本句用中国人习惯的语式讲出应该如下：
Thei
r
sometimes
surprising
findings
about
the
causes
of
American's
industrial
decline
are
full
of
the
warnings
about the growing competition from overseas
nations.
△
sen
sational
即
surprising
。另外注意本句的中心意思在句末的
the
growing
competition
from overseas
。
⑤
Few Americans
attribute this solely to such obvious causes as a
devalued dollar or the turning of
the
business cycle. Self-doubt has yielded to blind
pride.
▲attribute...
to...
将
……
归功或归咎于
……
。
solely
作状语修饰
attribute
，
this
指
代上一句
中的
five years of solid
growth
，此外
as a devalued
dollar or the turning of the business
cycle
作
宾语
such
obvious causes
的补语。
△
yield to
是
“
向
……
屈服
”
，即
“
被取代
”
。此处使用了现在完成时，证明这种状
态到现在
已成型。
试题解析
51. [C]
意为：战争摧毁了多数潜在的竞争国的经济。
第一段指出，第二次世界大战以后，美国进入一个欣欣
向荣的
(glowing)
发展时期，它拥
有八倍于其他任何一个竞争国家的市场，
工业经济发展到空前规模，
它拥有世界上最优秀的
科学家和技术最高的工人。
美国
的繁荣和美国人的富裕水平，
是欧洲人和亚洲人做梦也达不
到的
，因为战争摧毁了他们的经济。
[A]
意为：它已经为实现这一
目标付出了艰苦的努力。
该选项错在
Painstaking
与原文的
effortless
相反。
[B]
选项错在
before
上，
应该改为比其它竞
争对手。
[D]
错误在
unparalled
< br>在原文是修饰
economies of scale
而
不是修饰
workforce
。
52. [D]
意为：汽车工业失去了部分国内市场。
第二段第六句提到，进口车和纺织品涌进（美国）国内
市场，这意味着美国失去了部分
国内市场。
[A]
意为；电视工业萎缩回到了国内市场（即：该工业失去了国际市场）
。根据第
二段，到
80
年代中期，面对其工业竞
争力的日益衰退，美国人感到无计可施
(at a loss)
，美
国某些大的行业
——
如电子消费品
——
在园际竞争的压力下，面临萎缩或消亡的威胁。到
1987
年为止，美国仅存的电视制造商只有
Z
enith
一家了（现在已荡然无存：
Zenith
于
7
月
份（指文章写作年
代的
7
月份）被韩国
LG
电子有限公司购买）
。这里并没有直接提到美国
电视
失去国际市场，事实上，它连国内市场也保不住了。
[B]
半导体行业被外国公司接管。第二段最后一句提到，在一
段时间内，半导体制造业似
乎要成为下一个受害者，
虽然美国是
半导体的发明者，
而且半导体又处于新的计算机时代的
核心位置
（即：在新的时代中起着关键作用）
。本句中
casualty
意为
“
伤亡
”
、
“
受害者
”
，与上
一句中
be
on
the
ropes
（美语俚语，意为
“
即将完蛋
”
）相照应。这里所说的是半导体制造商
似乎
(as
though)
要失去国内外市场．而不是被国外企业接管。
[C]
机床制造业自取灭亡。
第二段提
到了机床制造业
“
危在旦夕
”(on
the ropes)
。
这显然也是说
它正在失去国内外市场，并未提到它的消失。
53. [B]
意为：激烈的竞争可能促进经济的发展。
第三段提到，严峻的现实（
t
his
指上一段中提到的诸多现状）使美国人失去了自信，他们
不再认为繁荣是自然而至的事，他们开始认识到自己的经营方式存在严重问题
(fail
ing)
。在
80
年代中期，
他们开始挖掘美国经济衰退的原因，
他们有时有些轰动一时
(sensational)
发现，
其中往往提示人
们警惕外来竞争。第四段提到了
90
年代的经济复苏。其中的含
义是：在竞
争的压力下，
美国人在
80
年代进行了自我反思和产业结构调整，
因此带来了
90
年代的经济
复苏。
<
/p>
[A]
意为：
在自我怀疑和盲目骄傲之间
摆来摆去是人的本性。
（即：
人倾向于在这两种心态之
间摇摆）
。
[C]<
/p>
经济的复苏取决于国际间的合作。属于无中生有的选项。
[D]
长期的成功可以为进一步的发展铺平道路。这个选项错在主语没
有把原文中的内容讲完
整，
第一段第一句说到一个没有努力就能
获得漫长成功的历史，
如果处理得当就能是一种驱
动力，所以该
选项的主语没说完整。
54.
[A]
经济周期的转机。
在第四段，作者指出，截止到
1995
年，美国已经经历了五年的稳定（经济）增长，而日
本却在困境中挣扎，
但是，
美国人并不将这一增长看做是美元贬值或经济周期的转机等明显
的因素直接带来的，
而是由自我怀疑变为盲目的骄傲。
< br>这里作者实际上对当前美国人的盲目
乐观情绪进行了批评，认为，
90
年代的增长是由美元贬值或经济周期的转机等因素造成的。
属于正话反说的情况。
[B]
产业结构的调整。根据
Richard Cavanaugh
的看法，美国经济的持续增长是由产业结构的
调整造成，他认为美国的产业正在
“
节食
”(go on a diet)
，正在变得更加理智。但这并不是作
者的观点。参阅第四段。
[C]
经营管理的改善。
根据
Stephen Moore
的看法，
美国的经济正在提高其生产率。
但这也不
是作者的观点
。参阅第四段。
[D]
教育上的成功。属于无中生有的选项。<
/p>
参考译文
一段长时间并且不费力而成功的历史可能成为一种可怕
的不利因素，但若处理得当，这
种不利因素也有可能转化为一种积极的推动力。
二战结束后，
美国恰好进入了这样的一个辉
煌时
期，
当时，
它拥有比任何竞争者大
8<
/p>
倍的市场，
这使其工业经济具有前所未有的规模经
济。
美国的科学家是世上最优秀的，
它的工人是最富于
技术的。
美国的国富民强是那些经济
遭到战争破坏的欧亚诸国做
梦也无法
/
想到的或达到的。
随着其他国家日益强盛，美国的这一优势地位逐渐下降
是不可避免的。从优势地位上退
出的痛苦也同样是不可避免的。到了
80
年代中期，面对其日益衰退的工业竞争力，美国人
感到
不知所措。
面对国外竞争，
一些大型的美国工业，
如消费电子产业，
已经萎缩或渐渐消
失。到
1987
年，美国只剩下
Zenith
这一家电视生产商。
（现在一家也没有了：
Ze
nith
于当年
7
月被韩国
LG
电器公司收购。
）外国制造的汽车和纺织品正
在大举进入国内市场。美国的
机床工业也危在旦夕。
人们曾一度
感觉下一个在海外品牌面前全军覆没的似乎该轮到美国的
半导体制造业了，而在新计算机
时代有着核心作用的半导体正是美国人发明的。
所有这一切导致了信任危机。美国不再视繁荣为理所当然之事。他们开始相信自己的商
业经营方式不灵了，也相信不久他们的收入也会因此而下降。
80
年代中期，人们对美国工
业衰退的成因作了一次又一次的探寻。
在美国人那些有时耸人听闻的发现中充满着对其他国
家日益增长的经
济竞争的警告之词。
情况的
变化真快！
1995
年，当日本还在奋力拼搏的时候，美国却可
以对
5
年的稳固发展
作一回顾了。
没几个美国人将这一巨变单纯归因于美元贬值或商业周期循环这些显而易见的
原因。到如今，对自身的怀疑已被盲目乐观所取代。
“
美国的工业已经改变了结构，消除了
滞胀，学会了明智
”
，这是哈佛大学肯尼迪管理学院行政院长理查德
·
卡佛纳的看法。华盛顿
特区的智囊团
——
< br>卡托研究院的史蒂芬
·
莫尔说：
“
看到我们的企业正在提高自身的生产率，
作为一个美国人，<
/p>
我感到自豪。
”
哈佛商学院的威廉
·
萨尔曼相信人们将会把这一时期视为
“
美
国企业管理的黄金时代
”
。
2000 Text
2
Being a man has always
been dangerous. There are about 105 males born for
every 100 females,
but this ratio drops
to near balance at the age of maturity, and among
70-year-olds there are twice
as
many women
as
men.
But
the
great
universal
of
male
mortality
is
being
changed.
Now,
boy
babies
survive almost as well as girls do. This means
that, for the first time, there will be an excess
of boys in those crucial years when
they are searching for a mate. More important,
another chance
for
natural
selection
has
been
years
ago,
the
chance
of
a
baby(particularly
a
boy
baby) surviving depended
on its weight. A
kilogram too light or
too heavy meant almost certain
death.
Today it makes almost no difference. Since much of
the variation is due to genes, one more
agent of evolution has gone.
There is another way to
commit evolutionary suicide: stay alive, but have
fewer children. Few
people are as
fertile as in the past. Except in some religious
communities, very few women have
15
children. Nowadays the number of births, like the
age of death, has
become average. Most
of
us
have
roughly
the
same
number
of
offspring.
Again,
differences
between
people
and
the
opportunity
for
natural
selection
to
take
advantage
of
it
have
diminished.
India
shows what
is
happening. The country offers wealth
for a few in the great cities and poverty for the
remaining
tribal peoples. The grand
mediocrity of today
—
everyone being the same in survival and number
of offspring
—
means that natural selection has lost 80% of its
power in upper-middle-class India
compared to the tribes.
For
us,
this
means
that
evolution
is
over;
the
biological
Utopia
has
arrived.
Strangely,
it
has
involved
little
physical
change.
No
other
species
fills
so many
places
in
nature.
But
in
the
past
100,000 years
—
even the past 100 years
—
our lives have been
transformed but our bodies have
not.
We
did
not
evolve,
because
machines
and
society
did
it
for
us.
Darwin
had
a
phrase
to
describe those ignorant
of evolution: they
at something wholly
beyond his comprehension.
of
life
beyond comprehension
for
its
ugliness.
But
however
amazed
our
descendants
may
be
at
how far
from Utopia we were, they will look just like us.
55. What used to be the danger in being
a man according to the first paragraph?
[A] A
lack of
mates.
[B]
A
fierce competition.
[C] A
lower survival rate.
[D] A
defective gene.
56.
What does the example of India illustrate?
[A] Wealthy people tend to
have fewer children than poor people.
[B] Natural selection hardly works
among the rich and the poor.
[C] The middle class population is 80%
smaller than that of the tribes.
[D] India is one of the countries with
a very high birth rate.
57. The author
argues that our bodies have stopped evolving
because________.
[A] life
has been improved by technological advance
[B] the number of female
babies has been declining
[C] our species has reached the highest
stage of evolution
[D] the
difference between wealth and poverty is
disappearing
58. Which of the following
would be the best title for the passage?
[A] Sex Ration Changes in
Human Evolution.
[B] Ways of Continuing Man's
Evolution.
[C]
The Evolutionary Future of Nature.
[D] Human Evolution Going Nowhere.
核心词汇
1. ratio
比率
2. drop
下降
3. maturity
成熟
4. universal
普遍性
5. mortality
死亡；
morality
道德
6. excess
过剩
7. crucial
关键的
8. natural
selection
自然选择
9.
make no difference
无差别
10. variation
变化
11. due to
因为
12. agent
途径；代理
13. evolution
进化
14. commit
犯，做；致力于
15.
suicide
自杀
16.
fertile
肥沃的
17.
offspring
后代
18.
diminish
缩小；减少
19. poverty
贫困
20. remaining
剩余的；剩下的
21.
mediocrity
平庸；普通；普遍化
22. compared to
与
…
相比
23. evolution
进化
24. involve
涉及到
25. transform
改变
26. ignorant
无知的
27. savage
野蛮人
28. beyond comprehension
不能理解
29.
descendant
后代
30.
however amazed
无论怎样吃惊
难句精解
①
There are about 105 males
born for every 100 females, but this ratio drops
to near balance at the
age of maturity,
and among 70-year-olds there are twice as many
women as men.
▲
该句是由三个递进关系的简单句组成的并列句，句法结构比较清晰。
△第一个分句的关键词在
bor
n
，表明该比数是婴儿出生时的性别比例；第二个分句的关
键词
在
near
balance
（接近持平）和
at the age of
maturity
，表示性别比例的持平状态发生在
成年时期；
第三个分句的
70-year-olds
指代的是
“70
岁的人们
”
，作名词
。
②
Again, differences between
people and the opportunity for natural selection
to take advantage of
it have
diminished.
▲
注意
differences
between people
和
the
opportunity for natural selection to take
advantage of
it
是两个并列的主语，千万不要
理解成
people
与
the opp
ortunity
是
between
的
并列宾语。
△
and
连接的两个并列部分是
difference
s
between
people
和
the
opportunity
for
natural
selection to take
advantage of it
，而不是
people
和
the opportunity
。另外注
意句中的
it
指代的
是
differences between
people
。
③
The grand mediocrity of
today
—
everyone being the
same in survival and number of offspring
—
means that natural
selection has lost 80
％
of its power in upper-middle-class
India compared
to the tribes.
▲
该句的主语是
The grand
mediocrity
，谓语是
means
，其后跟着
that
引导的宾语从句
that
natural selection has lost
80
％
of its power
in upper-middle-class India compared to the tribes
，
其
中
com
pared to the tribes
是分词结构作状语，
省略了
if/when being
。
破折号中间
everyone being
the
same
in
survival
and
number
of
offspring
是典型的插入语，其中
s
urvival
和
number
of
offspring
都是介词
in
的宾语。
△
grand
在此处不是
“
宏伟，
壮丽
”
的意思，<
/p>
而是
“
程度很深
”
；
mediocrity
也非
“
平庸，
平常
”
，
而是
“
平均化<
/p>
”
或
“
折衷
”
；
offspring
< br>是
“
后代
”
。另外要理解
natural selection has lost
80
％
of its
power in upper-middle-class India
的意思，
这里是指在原来的社会不平等的情况下，
印
度中上
层阶级拥有一些能使自己在自然选择中处于优势的特权，
而随着医疗和卫生条件的改变，
下
层人民也拥有同样的生存条件
，因此中上层阶级就丧失了
80
％的自然选择中的优势。
④
Darwin had a phrase to
describe those ignorant of evolution: they
savage looks at a ship, as at something
wholly beyond his comprehension.
▲
冒号后的句子是主句中
a phra
se
的同位语。
该同位语从句中的结构是
A
does something as
B does
something
（
A
做某事的样子
正像
B
做某事的样子）
。
△
those
ignorant of evolution
指对生物进化过程一无所知的人，
其后的
they
也指代这些人。
最后的
his
指代前面的
a
savage
。
beyond his
comprehension
超出了他的理解范围。
试题解析
55. [C]
意为；较低的存活率。
第一段第一、
二句指出，
做男人总是有危险的。
出生时男孩比例高于女孩，
到成熟期时
男女比例已持平，
到
70<
/p>
岁时男人仅剩女人数量的一半了。
所以可以理解为男人的死亡率高
，
也就是生存率低。
[A]
配偶的缺乏。第一段第四、五句提到，现在，男孩的存活率几乎与女孩一样了，这意味
着，到寻找配偶的关键年龄时，就会有多余的男孩（找不到配偶）
。这两句
话仅是论据，说
明本段第三句指出的现象：过去普遍存在的男人死亡率高的现象正在改变
。
[B]
激烈的竞争。属于无中生有
的选项。
[D]
有缺陷的基因。第一
段最后一句指出，既然其中的差别都是由基因造成的，另一个进化
因素不复存在了。这里
并未提到基因的缺陷造成男人的高死亡率。
56. [B]
意为：自然选择的法则基本不适用于穷富的差别。
印度的例子用于说明第二段第六句指出的观点：不同的
人面对自然选择时所可利用的优
劣势差别已经变小。
根据下文．
这一句应理解为：
在存活率问题上，
富
人和穷人几乎面临着
同样的机会，即富人已渐失其优势。另请参阅本段最后一句。
[A]
富人（家庭）一般比穷人孩子少。文
章中提到不分穷人和富人，每个家庭孩子的数量都
几乎相等。
[C]
中产阶级人口数量比部落人口少
80
％。
第二段最后一句的意思是：
今
天的总平均趋势
——
存活率和孩子数量的平均化
——
意味着自然选择在印度的中高层家庭人口中
——<
/p>
与部落人
口相比
——
已失去
80
％的控制力；即：中高阶层不再拥有绝对的生存
优势，并没有提到人
口少了
80%
，命
题者把
80%
借来修饰人口。
[D]
印度是出生率很高的国家之一。相反，文章中提到印度也是一个
出生率在下降的国家。
57.
[A]
意为：技术的进步改进了生命（的质量）
。
第三段第四、五句指出，在过去的
10
万年乃至
100
年中，我们的生活得到了改变，但是
身体却没有改变，我们（的身体）没有进化的原因
是机器和社会使其然。这里所说的
“
机器
”
当指技术。
[B]
女婴数量减少了。参阅第
55
、
56
题题解。
[C]
我们这种物种（指人）已达到最高进化阶段。虽然在第三段中作者的确提到了进化已经
结束
(evolution is over)
，但
是造成这种现象的原因却只有在第五句中才提到。
[D]
贫富差别正在逐渐消失。即使在第二段，文章也没有提到贫富差别的消失，提到的只是
贫富家庭在婴孩存活率和孩子平均数量上差别正在缩小。
58. [D]
意为：人的进化已穷尽。
<
/p>
在第一段阐述男人死亡率降低的原因时，作者就指出了进化机制已不再起作用，第二段
在讨论每个家庭孩子平均数量减少这一现象时，
作者再次指出自然进
化机制已不能再左右人
口的出生率，
即：
人不再通过多生孩子来保持人口的均衡。
在总结全文的第三段时，
作者直
截了当地指出，进化已经结束。
< br>[A]
人的进化过程中性别比例的改变。这一点仅在第一段提到了，所以，该选择
项不足以概
括全文内容。
[B]
保持人类进化的方法，与全文主旨恰恰相反。
[C]
大自然未来的进化。本文侧重点在于探讨人口的结构变化与进化过程的关系，
而不是泛
泛地谈论大自然的进化，范围太大。
参考译文
做男人总是充满危险，出生时男女比例大约是
105:100
，但到了成熟期，这一比例几乎持
平，而在
70
岁的老人中女性是男性的两倍，但是男性死亡率
普遍偏高这种情况正在改变，
现在男婴存活率几乎同女婴一样高。
这就意味着男孩到了寻找伴侣的关键年龄将首次出现男
孩过剩现象。更重要的是，又一
次自然选择的机会不复存在了。
50
年前，婴儿（尤其是男
婴）
存活的机会取决于体重，
过轻或过重几
乎意味着必死无疑。
今日体重几乎不起什么作用，
因为大部分差
异是由基因引起的，又一个进化的因素消失了。
进化自杀还有另一种方法：存活，但少生孩子。现在没有几个人像过去那样具有旺盛的
生育力。除了在一些宗教社区之外，没有几名妇女有
15
个孩子。当今婴儿出生的数量同死
亡年龄一样已趋于平均化，
我们多数人的子女数量大致相同。
人与人之间的差异和利用差异
进行自然选择的机会再一次减少。
印度可以说明正在发生的一切。
这个国家给大城市里的少
数人提供财富，
而给其余的
各部落民族以贫困。
今天这种极其显著的平均化
——
每个人的生
存机会和子女数量都相同
——
意味着与部落相比较，自然选择在印度中、上层已经失去了
80
％的效力。
对我们来说，
这意味着进化已经结束；
生物学上的乌托邦已经降临。
奇怪
的是，
这一过程几
乎丝毫没有牵涉到身体上的变化，没有其他物
种充斥着自然中如此多的空间。但在过去的
10
万年
——
甚至过去的
100
年
中，我们的生活发生了变化，但我们的身体却没变。我们没
有进化。
因为机器和社会替我们办了这一切。
达尔文有一句话描述那些对进化一无所知的人，
他们
“
看有机的生命如同野人看船，<
/p>
好像看某种完全不能理解的东西
”
。
毫无疑问，
我们将记
住
20
世纪的生活方式，尽管对其丑陋之处不得其解，但是，不管我们的子孙后代对我
们离
乌托邦的理想境界还差多远感到有多么惊讶，他们的样子会同我们差不了多少。
2000 Text 3
When
a
new
movement
in
art
attains
a
certain
fashion,
it
is
advisable
to
find
out
what
its
advocates are aiming at, for, however
farfetched and unreasonable their principles may
seem today
,
it is possible
that in years to come they may be regarded as
normal. With regard to Futurist poetry,
however, the case is rather difficult,
for whatever Futurist poetry may be
—
even admitting that
the theory on which it is based may be
right
—
it can hardly be
classed as Literature.
This,
in
brief,
is
what
the
Futurist
says:
for
a
century,
past
conditions
of
life
have
been
conditionally
speeding
up,
till
now
we
live
in
a
world
of
noise
and
violence
and
speed.
Consequently, our
feelings, thoughts and emotions have undergone a
corresponding change. This
speeding up
of life, says the Futurist, requires a new form of
expression. We must speed up our
literature too, if we want to interpret
modern stress. We must pour out a large stream of
essential
words, unhampered by stops,
or qualifying adjectives, or finite verbs. Instead
of describing sounds
we must make up
words that imitate them; we must use many sizes of
type and different colored
inks on the
same page, and shorten or lengthen words at
will.
Certainly
their
descriptions
of
battles
are
confused.
But
it
is
a
little
upsetting
to
read
in
the
explanatory notes that a certain line
describes a fight between a Turkish and a
Bulgarian officer on
a bridge off which
they both fall into the river
—
and then to find that the
line consists of the noise
of
their
falling
and
the
weights
of
the
officers:
Pluff!
A
hundred
and
eighty-five
kilograms.
This,
though
it fulfills
the
laws
and
requirements
of
Futurist
poetry, can
hardly
be classed
as
Literature. All the same, no thinking
man can refuse to accept their first proposition:
that a great
change in our emotional
life calls for a change of expression.
The whole question
is really this:
have we essentially changed?
59. This passage is mainly________.
[A] a survey of new
approaches to art
[B] a
review of Futurist poetry
[C] about merits of the Futurist
movement
[D] about laws
and requirements of literature
60. When
a novel literary idea appears, people should try
to________.
[A] determine
its purposes
[B] ignore its
flaws
[C] follow the new
fashions
[D] accept the
principles
61. Futurists
claim that we must________.
[A] increase the production of
literature
[B] use poetry
to relieve modern stress
[C] develop new modes of expression
[D] avoid using adjectives
and verbs
62. The author believes that
Futurist poetry is________.
[A] based on reasonable principles
[B] new and acceptable to
ordinary people
[C]
indicative of basic change in human nature
[D] more of a transient
phenomenon than literature
核心词汇
1. attain
获得；得到
2. fashion
时尚
3. find out
弄清楚
4. advocate
倡导者
5. aim at
目的在于
6.
farfetched
牵强附会的
7. unreasonable
不合道理的
8. with
regard to
关于；至于
9. hardly
几乎不
10. class
分类为
11. in brief
简而言之
12. speed up
加速
13. conseuqnetly
因此
14. emotions
感情
15. undergo
经历
16.
corresponding
相应的
17. interpret
解释；翻译
18. pour
out
倒出来；大量使用
19.
a stream of
大量的
20. essential words
基本词汇
21. unhamper
不受阻碍
22. make up
编造
23. imitate
模仿
24. shorten
简短；简写
25. at will
随意的
26.
description
描述
27. upsetting
沮丧
28. fulfil
满足
29. law
规律
30. call for
要求
难句精解
①
When
a
new
movement
in
art
attains
a
certain
fashion,
it
is
advisable
to
find
out
what
its
advocates are aiming at, for, however
farfetched and unreasonable their principles may
seem today
,
it is possible
that in years to come they may be regarded as
normal.
▲
该句是一
个因果关系的并列句，
表示结果的部分是
When a new
movement in art attains a
certain
fashion, it is advisable to find out what its
advocates are aiming
at
，
表示原因的部分是
for
it is possible that
in years
to come they may be regarded as normal
。
而
for
与
it is
possible that in
years to come they may
be regarded as normal
之间是一个插入语，也是由
however+
形容词引
导的状语从句，
意为
“
不管他们
（这群
前卫艺术家们）
的时尚原则在今天看来多么牵强无理
”
。
△句中<
/p>
attain
原意为
“
< br>达到
”
，此处应理解为
“
发展成
”
；
advo
cates
指倡导的人；
however
不
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-
-
-
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-
-
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