英语四级考试长篇阅读答案 卷二

2016

年

6

月英语四 级考试长篇阅读答案

(

卷二

)

Section B

Directions:

In

this

section,

you

are

going

to

read

a

passage

with ten statements attached to it. Each statement contains

information given in one of the paragraphs. Identify the

paragraph

from

which

the

information

is

derived.

You

may

choose

a paragraph more than once. Each paragraph is marked with a

letter. Answer the questions by marking the corresponding

letter on Answer Sheet 2.

Could Food Shortages Bring Down Civilization?

[A] For many years I have studied global agricultural,

population, environmental and economic trends and their

interactions. The combined effects of those trends and the

political tensions they generate point to the breakdown of

governments and societies. Yet I, too, have resisted the idea

that food shortages could bring down not only individual

governments but also our global civilization.

[B]

I

can

no

longer

ignore

that

risk.

Our

continuing

failure

to deal with the environmental declines that are undermining

the world food economy forces me to conclude that such a

collapse is possible.

[C] As demand for food rises faster than supplies are

growing,

the

resulting

food-price

inflation

puts

severe

stress

on the governments of many countries. Unable to buy grain or

grow

their

own,

hungry

people

take

to

the

streets.

Indeed,

even

before the steep climb in grain prices in 2008, the number of

failing states was expanding. If the food situation continues

to

worsen,

entire

nations

will

break

down

at

an

ever

increasing

rate. In the 20th century the main threat to international

security was superpower conflict; today it is failing states.

[D] States fail when national governments can no longer

provide personal security, food security and basic social

services such as education and health care. When governments

lose

their

control

on

power,

law

and

order

begin

to

disintegrate.

After a point, countries can become so dangerous that food

relief

workers

are

no

longer

safe

and

their

programs

are

halted.

Failing states are of international concern because they are

a source of terrorists, drugs, weapons and refugees(

难民

),

threatening political stability everywhere.

[E] The surge in world grain prices in 2007 and 2008

—

and

the

threat

they

pose

to

food

security

——

has

a

different,

more

troubling quality than the increases of the past. During the

second of the 20th century, grain prices rose dramatically

several times. In 1972, for instance, the Soviets. I

recognizing their poor harvest early, quietly cornered the

world wheat market. As a result, wheat prices elsewhere more

than

doubled,

pulling

rice

and

com

prices

up

with

them.

But

this

and other price shocks were event- driven

——

drought in the

Soviet Union, crop-shrinking heat in the . Corn Belt. And the

rises were short-lived: prices typically returned to normal

with the next harvest.

[F]In contrast, recent surge in world grain prices is

trend- driven,

making

it

unlikely

to

reverse

without

a

reversal

in the trends themselves. On the demand side, those trends

include the ongoing addition of more than 70 million people a

year, a growing number of people wanting to move up the food

chain

to

consume

highly

grain-intensive

meat

products,

and

the

massive diversion(

转向

)of . grain to the production of

bio-fuel.

[G]As incomes rise among low-income consumers, the

potential for further grain consumption is huge. But that

potential pales

beside

the never-ending demand

for crop-based

fuels. A fourth of this year's . grain harvest will go to fuel

cars.

[H]What about supply? The three environmental trends

——

the

shortage

of

fresh

water,

the

loss

of

topsoil

and

the

rising

temperatures

——

are

making

it

increasingly

hard

to

expand

the

world's

grain

supply

fast

enough

to

keep

up

with

demand.

Of

all

those

trends,

however,

the

spread

of

water

shortages

poses

the

most

immediate

threat.

The

biggest

challenge

here

is

irrigation,

which consumes 70% the world's fresh water. Millions of

irrigation wells in many countries are now pumping water out

of underground sources faster than rainfall can refill them.

The result

is

falling water

tables(

地下水位

)in

countries

with

half the world's people, including the three big grain

producers

——

China, India and the .

[I]As water tables have fallen and irrigation wells have

gone

dry,

China's

wheat

crop,

the

world's

largest,

has

declined

by 8% since it peaked at 123 million tons in 1997. But water

shortages are even more worrying in India. Millions of