2008考研英语全题型高分强化教程(18)

II. Reading Passages

Part A 阅读理解

Passage One

We now must address two questions:

Firstly，where on Earth is the population problem the worst?

It is my opinion that the world's worst population problem is right here in the United States. This is because of our high per capita resource consumption. It has been estimated that a person added to the population of the United States will have 30 or more times the impact on world resources as will a person added to the population of an underdeveloped nation. Indeed, resource consumption in North America is roughly the same as resource consumption in the entire rest of the world.

Secondly，where should we apply our efforts to have the most beneficial effect in helping to solve the population problem?

The answer is, right here in the U.S..

For many people, the population problem is a problem of "those people" in distant undeveloped countries. In early 1997, many people successfully lobbied Congress to restore family planning assistance in the U.S. foreign aid programs. This was a great victory, but it treats "those people" as though they were the big problem.

Unchecked population growth in the Third World means depletion of water resources. It means famine. It means suffering. It pushes populations to clear rainforests. It pushes populations to go out and graze on land that cannot sustain cattle, and that leads to expansion of deserts worldwide. We all have a stake in the global environment.

It is so easy to blame the problem on others and to identify what other people should do to solve the problem, while we ignore our own responsibilities and avoid doing anything to reduce the population problem in the U.S.. We need to work to stop population growth in the U.S..

There are two sources that contribute approximately equally to population growth in the U.S.: the excess of births over deaths, and immigration. Both of these must be addressed.

Let's compare three aspects of efforts to stop population growth in other countries with efforts to stop population growth in the United States.

1) When we give family planning assistance to other countries, we are dealing with countries over which we have no legal jurisdiction and where we have little or no immediate political responsibility.

When we confront population growth in the United States, we are dealing with a country where we as citizens have full and complete jurisdiction, and where we have political and family responsibilities. It should be much easier to solve our problem than it is to solve other peoples' problems.

2) The negative effects of runaway population growth in an underdeveloped country are generally felt only in that country and in its immediate neighbors.

The negative effects of population growth in the U.S. are felt throughout the entire world, because of our enormous per capita consumption of resources. Indeed, one of the aims of the many free-trade agreements about which we currently hear so much, is to open up the world's resources for consumption by consumers in the U.S..

3) In countries receiving family planning assistance from the U.S. there will always be individuals who will claim that this assistance is a form of "genocide." They will be strengthened in this belief if we in the U.S. fail to take steps to halt our own population growth. As Tim Wirth of the U.S. Department of State has said, the best thing that we in the U.S. can do to help other countries stop their population growth, is to set an example and stop our own population growth.

As you think about addressing the problem of population growth in the U.S., please ponder this challenge:

Can you think of any problem, on any scale, from microscopic to global, whose long-term solution is in any demonstrable way, aided, assisted, or advanced, by having continued population growth at the local level, the state level, the national level, or globally?

So we can see that Pogo was right:

"We've met the enemy, and they're us!"

1．What did the author mainly talk about?

[A] The population problem in the world.

[B] The population condition in the western world.

[C] The population problem in Europe.

[D] The population problem in the U.S.

2. According to the author， which place should solve the population proplem?

[A] The US

[B] Europe

[C] Underdeveloped countries

[D] The Third World

3. What did the Congressman think about the population problem?

[A] He thought that the problem was worst in America.

[B] He thought that the problem caused many other problems in the world.

[C] He thought that the problem cannot be solved easily.

[D] He thought that the problem in the Third World was to be blamed.

4. Why are the negative effects of population growth in the U.S. felt throughout the entire world?

[A] Because people around the world are all concerned about it.

[B] Because per capita consumption of resources in America is enormous.

[C] Because the U.S. is the most powerful country in the world.

[D] Because the U.S .has great influence on other countries.

5. Which is one of the reasons for the Americans to pay attention to their population problem?

[A] Because some people always claim that the American assistance for family planning in other countries is a form of "genocide".

[B] Because there are too many migrants nowadays.

[C] Because once the population is too large, the American government will adopt unfavorable policies to limit migrants' coming to it.

[D] Because America is now facing a lot of problems.

Passage Two

Europe is often one of the first places people think of when racism is discussed. From the institutionalized racism, especially in colonial times, when racial beliefs-even eugenics-were not considered something wrong, to recent times where the effects of neo-Nazism is still felt. Europe is a complex area with many cultures in a relatively small area of land that has seen many conflicts throughout history. (Note that most of these conflicts have had trade and resource access at their core, but national identities have often added fuel to some of these conflicts.)

Racism has also been used to justify exploitation, even using "pseudo-science".

Debates over the origins of racism often suffer from a lack of clarity over the term. Many conflate recent forms of racism with earlier forms of ethnic and national conflict. In most cases ethnic-national conflict seems to owe to conflict over land and strategic resources. In some cases ethnicity and nationalism were harnessed to wars between great religious empires (for example, the Muslim Turks and the Catholic Austro-Hungarians). As Benedict Anderson has suggested in Imagined Communities, ethnic identity and ethno-nationalism became a source of conflict within such empires with the rise of print-capitalism.

In its modern form, racism evolved in tandem with European exploration and conquest of much of the rest of the world, and especially after Christopher Columbus reached the Americas. As new peoples were encountered, fought, and ultimately subdued, theories about "race" began to develop, and these helped many to justify the differences in position and treatment of people whom they categorized as belonging to different races.

Another possible source of racism is the misunderstanding of Charles Darwin's theories of evolution. Some took Darwin's theories to imply that since some "races" were more civilized, there must be a biological basis for the difference. At the same time they appealed to biological theories of moral and intellectual traits to justify racial oppression. There is a great deal of controversy about race and intelligence, in part because the concepts of both race and IQ are themselves controversies.

A short review from the Inter Press Service highlights the rise of neo-Nazism in 2000 in Europe and suggests that "far from being a fringe activity, racism, violence and neo-nationalism have become normal in some communities. The problems need to be tackled much earlier, in schools and with social programs."

Ethnic minorities and different cultures in one country can often be used as a scapegoat for the majority during times of economic crisis. That is one reason why Nazism became so popular.

In France, May 2002, the success of far right politician Le Pen in the run for leadership (though he lost out in the end) sent a huge shockwave throughout Europe, about how easy it was for far right parties to come close to getting power if there is complacency in the democratic processes and if participation is reduced.

In various places throughout Western Europe, in 2002, as Amnesty International highlights, there has been a rise in racist attacks and sentiments against both Arabs and Jews, in light of the increasing hostilities in the Middle East.

In 1997, Human Rights Watch noted that, "The U.K. has one of the highest levels of racially-motivated violence and harassment in Western Europe, and the problem is getting worse." In April 1999, London saw two bombs explode in predominantly ethnic minority areas where a Nazi group has claimed responsibility. The summer of 2001 saw many race-related riots in various parts of northern England.

Greece has one of the worst records in the European Union for racism against ethnic minorities, according to the BBC. Anti-immigrant sentiment has long been high, especially against ethnic Albanians, who form the largest minority. Until the 1990s, the BBC notes, Greece had been an extremely homogenous society. With the fall of communism many immigrants from Eastern Europe came to Greece. Albanians especially have been targeted by a lot of racist sentiment. Some hostage taking by a few Albanians in recent years has not helped the situation.

1. What does the author mainly talk about?

[A] Racism in the world.

[B] Racism in the western world.

[C] Racism in Europe.

[D] Racism in the countries other than the western world.

2. When did the theories about race begin to develop?

[A] After "the New World" was discovered.

[B] After the USA was established.

[C] Before the First World War.

[D] During the colonial times.

3. According to the author what is the second possible source of racism?

[A] The colonial people began to be ultimately subdued.

[B] The misunderstanding of Darwinism.

[C] The development of human beings.

[D] None of the above.

4. One of the reasons that Nazism became very popular is that     .

[A] ethnic minorities have small impact in the whole world

[B] various cultures cannot so-exist harmoniously

[C] ethnic minorities and different cultures are used as a scapegoat for the majority during times of economic crisis

[D] none of the above

5. Which country in the EU has the worst record for racism against ethnic minorities?

[A] The United Kingdom

[B] Greece

[C] Albania

[D] Australia