Question

It is true that world population is growing, but this is not the cause of our current and future global problems. Believing this will cause us to ignore the real problem and risk long-term damage to our planet.

Let me start by explaining why overpopulation is a myth. For one thing, the UN Population Division regularly predicts population growth but provides a low variant  (变量), medium variant, and high variant to factor in various possibilities. In the 2010 revision, their high variant suggests that the world population will be almost 16 billion in 2100, but the low variant predicts it will peak at 8 billion and decrease to just over 6 billion by 2100. In most cases, it is the low variant that has come true in the past, suggesting the same will be true of their future population predictions. In addition to this, the size of families is actually decreasing.

For another, if the Earth is overpopulated, there needs to be insufficient (短缺) food, water, and space for humans to live. However, Indian economist Raj Krishna estimates that India alone is able to increase crop produce to the point of providing the entire world’s food supply. The World Food Programme confirms that there is sufficient food grown to feed the world and there is the same amount of fresh water on the planet now as there was 10,000 years ago. So how is it possible that the number of people in the world is affecting our planet?

Therefore, it is not an increase in population but an increase in consumption that is a severe threat. Materialism and overconsumption are facts of life for everybody in the western world, as possessions reflect a person’s status in society and people strive to obtain happiness through owning the latest fashionable goods. Not only that, but waste is a common occurrence which has a huge effect on our resources. It is a sad truth that 80% of the world’s resources are currently used by just 20% of the world’s population.

Our overconsumption must be addressed now to make our lives more sustainable (可持续的) and avoid continuing the terrible damage to the environment we are causing. The key is education. If we do not work towards this but instead focus on the wrong issue, we may find ourselves living on a planet that can no longer sustain human life.

1.According to the author, what causes our current and future global problems?

A. The increase in population.

B. Shortage of food and water.

C. The fast growth of material needs.

D. Failure to protect the environment.

2.The underlined word “myth” in Paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to _________.

A. fact    B. misunderstanding  C. possibility  D. uncertainty

3.The author stresses that _____.

A. people should save food and water

B. economists are making wrong predictions

C. wrong judgment leads to serious consequences

D. measures should be taken to reduce population

4.What is mainly discussed in the passage?

A. The real cause of global problems.

B. The severe effect of overpopulation.

C. Reasonable use of natural resources.

D. Methods to reduce overconsumption.

Answer

1.C

2.B

3.C

4.A

【解析】

试题分析：该文章主要介绍了当今世界人们必须面对的最大问题是物质需要的大幅度增加，带来大量自然资源的过度消费，给人类的未来带来巨大威胁。

1.C考查判断推理题。根据倒数第二段Therefore, it is not an increase in population but an increase in consumption that is a severe threat.因此，不是人口的增长，而是消费的增长是一种严重的威胁。据此推断是自然资源的消费增长是大问题。故选C。

2.B考查猜测词义题。A. fact事实；B. misunderstanding误解；C. possibility可能性；D.uncertainty不确定性。由文章第二段的关于overpopulation过度人口增长的解释，特别是该段的最后两句In most cases, it is the low variant that has come true in the past, suggesting the same will be true of their future population predictions. In addition to this, the size of families is actually decreasing大多数情况下，这种低变量在过去已经变成事实，表明未来的人口预测也会发生同样的情况。除此之外，家庭的规模实际上在降低。由此可知此处是解释的过去对人口过度增长的误解。故选B。

3.C考查判断推理题。根据文章最后一段的Our overconsumption must be addressed now to make our lives more sustainable (可持续的) and avoid continuing the terrible damage to the environment we are causing为了使我们的生活更有持续性并避免继续我们正在给我们的环境带来的严重损害，必须重视我们的过度消费问题。由此推断以前错误的关于人口过度增长而不是消费的过度增长判断带来了严重的后果。故选C。

4.A考查主旨大意题。通读全文，文章主要讲述了当今世界人类需要面临的大问题就是资源的过度浪费，这是全球问题的根源。故选A。

【名师点睛】

猜词悟义，扫除阅读拦路虎。

猜词是应用英语的重要能力。它不但需要准确无误地理解上下文，而且要有较大的泛读量，掌握或认识较多的课外词汇。我们要学会“顺藤摸瓜”，通过构词，语法，定义，同位，对比，因果，常识，上下文等线索确定词义。

a. 定义法

It will be very hard but also very brittle...that is, it will break easily. 从后面的解释中我们可以了解到brittle 是“脆”的意思。如：5.B考查猜测词义题。A. fact事实；B. misunderstanding误解；C. possibility可能性；D.uncertainty不确定性。由文章第二段的关于overpopulation过度人口增长的解释，特别是该段的最后两句In most cases, it is the low variant that has come true in the past, suggesting the same will be true of their future population predictions. In addition to this, the size of families is actually decreasing大多数情况下，这种低变量在过去已经变成事实，表明未来的人口预测也会发生同样的情况。除此之外，家庭的规模实际上在降低。由此可知此处是解释的过去对人口过度增长的误解。故选B。

b. 同位法

They traveled a long way, at last got to a castle, a large building in old times. 同位语部分a large building in old times 给出了 castle 的确切词义，即“城堡”。

c. 对比法

She is usually prompt for all her class, but today she arrived in the middle of her first class. but一词表转折，因此but 前后的意思正相反。后半句的意思是她今天“第一节上了一半才来”，因此反向推理，可得出她平时一向“准时”的结论。

d. 构词法(前缀、后缀、复合、派生等)

Perhaps, we can see some possibilities for next fifty years. possibility 是 possible 的同根名词， 据此可以断定 possibility 意思是“可能性”。

e. 因果法

The lack of movement caused the muscles to weaken. Sometimes the weakness was permanent. So the player could never play the sport again. 从后面的结果“永远不能再运动”中，可以推测 permanent 的意思为“永远的，永久的”。

考点：社会生活类阅读理解