It remains to be seen whether the reserves(储备) of raw materials in the year 2000 will be sufficient to supply a world economy which will have grown by five per cent. South-East Asia alone will have an energy consumption(消费) five times greater than that of Western Europe in 1970. Incidentally, if the underdeveloped countries started using up petrol at the same rate as the industrialized areas, then world reserves would already have been exhausted(used up) by 1990.
All this only goes to show just how important it is to set up a plan to conserve and divide up fairly natural resources on a worldwide scale.
This is a matter of life and death because world population is expanding at an incredible (unbelievable) rate. By the middle of the next century population will expand every year by as much as it did in the first 1, 500 years after Christ. In the southern, poor parts of the globe, the figures are enough to make your hair stand on end. Even supposing that steps are taken to stabilize(稳定) world population in the next fifty years, the number of inhabitants per square kilometer will increase by from 4 in the United States, to 140 in South-East Asia. What can we do about it?
In the first hypothesis(假设) we do nothing. By the year 2000, the southern parts of the world would then have a population control within fifteen years, so that population levels off(达到平衡). Even then the population in the southern areas would not stop growing for seventy-five years. And the population would level off at something like twice today’s figure.
Finally, we could wait ten to twenty years before taking action. If we wait ten years the population of the southern areas would stabilize at 3, 000 million. Even today the number of potential workers increases by 350, 000 people per week. By the end of the century this figure will reach 750, 000. In other words, it will be impossible to find work for 40 million people per year — not to speak of food!
What this means in practical terms we can scarcely imagine. But, clearly if we do nothing, nature will solve the problem for us. But at what cost!
1. The best title for this passage would be_______.
A. Raw Materials in the Year 2000 B. Problems of Energy Consumption
C. Worldwide Conservation of Resources D. The Pressure of Population Growth
2. Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the author?
A. A worldwide plan to conserve natural resources should be worked out.
B. The energy consumption of the underdeveloped countries will increase greatly.
C. The world economy will have greatly grown by the year 2000.
D. There will definitely be not enough raw materials in the year 2000.
3. It is clear that the author holds the view that _______.
A. we must take active steps to control the overgrowth of the world population
B. we can do nothing to deal with the overgrowth of the world population
C. we can still wait ten to twenty years before we take actions
D. even if we take steps, we can not level off the world population
4. What does the underlined phrase “make your hair stand on end” probably mean?
A. Make you take action. B. Make you think deeply. C. Make you shocked. D. Make you puzzled.
5. At the end of the passage the author implies that _______.
A. naturally, the population problem would be solved B. nature will punish us in the end if we do nothing
C. we can wait until nature solves the problem for us
D. we can hardly imagine how much we’ll have to pay to solve the world population problem
【答案与解析】本文从世界人口增长速度上分析了它给社会带来的压力，并提醒人们须对此采取措施。
1.D。主旨题。根据文章的第1句：到2000年原材料是否充足，及后面文章的分析可推知此题答案为D。
2.D。细节判断题。文章的第1句虽然提到：到2000年原材料是否充足，但后面文章并没有作出回答。由此可推知此题答案为D。
3.A。观点判断题。根据文章最后两句可知作者的观点：须采取积极的措施，否则就会受到自然的惩罚。从而可推知此题答案为A。
4.C。句子理解题。根据句子意思：在那贫瘠的土地上，人口数量之大使人震惊。从而可知答案为C。
5.B。理解题。文章最后一句的意思：显然，如果我们不采取措施解决这个问题，自然将会为我们解决它，但我们得付出巨大的代价。从而可知此题答案为B。
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