Learning lessons from the past

文章内容（节选）

完整文章请进入机考练习查看。

题目与答案

1. 27 When the writer describes the impact of monumental ruins today, he emphasizes
   • the income they generate from tourism
   • the area of land they occupy
   • their archaeological value
   • their romantic appeal

   答案：their romantic appeal

   原文定位：The monumental ruins left behind by those past societies hold a fascination for all of us. We marvel at them when as children we first learn of them through pictures. When we grow up, many of us plan vacations in order to experience them at first hand. We feel drawn to their often spectacular and haunting beauty, and also to the mysteries that they pose

2. 28 Recent findings concerning vanished civilizations have
   • overturned long-held beliefs
   • caused controversy amongst scientists
   • come from a variety of disciplines
   • identified one main cause of environmental damage

   答案：come from a variety of disciplines

   原文定位：This suspicion of unintended ecological suicide (ecocide) has been confirmed by discoveries made in recent decades by archaeologists, climatologists, historians, paleontologists, and palynologists (pollen scientists)

3. 29 What does the writer say about ways in which former societies collapsed?
   • The pace of decline was usually similar
   • The likelihood of collapse would have been foreseeable
   • Deterioration invariably led to total collapse
   • Individual citizens could sometimes influence the course of events

   答案：The pace of decline was usually similar

   原文定位：Those past collapses tended to follow somewhat similar courses constituting variations on a theme

4. 30 It is widely believed that environmental problems represent the main danger faced by the modern world.
   • YES
   • NO
   • NOT GIVEN

   答案：YES

   原文定位：Today many people feel that environmental problems overshadow all the other threats to global civilisation

   同义替换：「widely believed」↔「many people feel」，「modern world」↔「global civilisation」

5. 31 The accumulation of poisonous substances is a relatively modern problem.
   • YES
   • NO
   • NOT GIVEN

   答案：YES

   原文定位：These environmental problems include the same eight that undermined past societies, plus four new ones: human-caused climate change, build up of toxic chemicals in the environment, energy shortages, and full human utilisation of the Earth’s photosynthetic capacity

   同义替换：「poisonous substances」↔「toxic chemicals」，「accumulation」↔「build up」

6. 32 There is general agreement that the threats posed by environmental problems are very serious.
   • YES
   • NO
   • NOT GIVEN

   答案：NO

   原文定位：But the seriousness of these current environmental problems is vigorously debated

   同义替换：「general agreement」↔「vigorously debated」，「the threats posed by environmental problems」↔「the seriousness of these current environmental problems」

7. 33 Some past societies resembled present-day societies more closely than others.
   • YES
   • NO
   • NOT GIVEN

   答案：NOT GIVEN

8. 34 We should be careful when drawing comparisons between past and present.
   • YES
   • NO
   • NOT GIVEN

   答案：YES

   原文定位：But there are also differences between the modern world and its problems, and those past societies and their problems. We shouldn't be so naive as to think that study of the past will yield simple solutions, directly transferable to our societies today. We differ from past societies in some respects that put us at lower risk than them; some of those respects often mentioned include our powerful technology (i.e. its beneficial effects), globalisation, modern medicine, and greater knowledge of past societies and of distant modern societies. We also differ from past societies in some respects that put us at greater risk than them: again, our potent technology (i.e., its unintended destructive effects), globalisation (such that now a problem in one part of the world affects all the rest), the dependence of millions of us on modern medicine for our survival, and our much larger human population. Perhaps we can still learn from the past, but only if we think carefully about its lessons

9. Evidence of the greatness of some former civilisations
   • is not necessarily valid.
   • provides grounds for an optimistic outlook.
   • exists in the form of physical structures.
   • is potentially both positive and negative.
   • will not provide direct solutions for present problems.
   • is greater now than in the past.

   答案：exists in the form of physical structures.

   原文定位：The monumental ruins left behind by those past societies hold a fascination for all of us. We marvel at them when as children we first learn of them through pictures. When we grow up, many of us plan vacations in order to experience them at first hand. We feel drawn to their often spectacular and haunting beauty, and also to the mysteries that they pose. The scales of the ruins testify to the former wealth and power of their builders

   同义替换：「physical structures」↔「monumental ruins」，「Evidence of the greatness」↔「testify to the former wealth and power」

10. The parallel between an individual’s life and the life of a society
    • is not necessarily valid.
    • provides grounds for an optimistic outlook.
    • exists in the form of physical structures.
    • is potentially both positive and negative.
    • will not provide direct solutions for present problems.
    • is greater now than in the past.

    答案：is not necessarily valid.

    原文定位：Writers find it tempting to draw analogies between the course of human societies and the course of individual human lives - to talk of a society’s birth, growth, peak, old age and eventual death. But that metaphor proves erroneous for many past societies

    同义替换：「parallel」↔「draw analogies」，「not necessarily valid」↔「proves erroneous」

11. The number of environmental problems that societies face
    • is not necessarily valid.
    • provides grounds for an optimistic outlook.
    • exists in the form of physical structures.
    • is potentially both positive and negative.
    • will not provide direct solutions for present problems.
    • is greater now than in the past.

    答案：is not necessarily valid.

    原文定位：These environmental problems include the same eight that undermined past societies, plus four new ones

12. The power of technology
    • is not necessarily valid.
    • provides grounds for an optimistic outlook.
    • exists in the form of physical structures.
    • is potentially both positive and negative.
    • will not provide direct solutions for present problems.
    • is greater now than in the past.

    答案：is potentially both positive and negative.

    原文定位：We differ from past societies in some respects that put us at lower risk than them; some of those respects often mentioned include our powerful technology (i.e. its beneficial effects), globalisation, modern medicine, and greater knowledge of past societies and of distant modern societies. We also differ from past societies in some respects that put us at greater risk than them: again, our potent technology (i.e., its unintended destructive effects)

    同义替换：「positive」↔「beneficial effects」，「negative」↔「unintended destructive effects」

13. A consideration of historical events and trends
    • is not necessarily valid.
    • provides grounds for an optimistic outlook.
    • exists in the form of physical structures.
    • is potentially both positive and negative.
    • will not provide direct solutions for present problems.
    • is greater now than in the past.

    答案：will not provide direct solutions for present problems.

    原文定位：We shouldn't be so naive as to think that study of the past will yield simple solutions, directly transferable to our societies today

    同义替换：「consideration of historical events and trends」↔「study of the past」

14. 40 What is the main argument of reading passage?
    • There are differences as well as similarities between past and present societies
    • More should be done to preserve the physical remains of earlier civilisations
    • Some historical accounts of great civilisations are inaccurate
    • Modern societies are dependent on each other for their continuing survival

    答案：There are differences as well as similarities between past and present societies

    原文定位：But there are also differences between the modern world and its problems, and those past societies and their problems. We shouldn't be so naive as to think that study of the past will yield simple solutions, directly transferable to our societies today. We differ from past societies in some respects that put us at lower risk than them

    同义替换：「present societies」↔「modern world」