"The world has never been a better place to live in," says science writer Matt Ridley, "and it will keep on getting better." Ridley's critics have accused him of his views on climate change and the free market. Yet Ridley, 54, sticks to his guns. "It is not mad to believe in a happy future for people and the planet," he says. Ridley, who's been a foreign correspondent, a zoologist, an economist, and a financier, brings a broad view to his sunny outlook. "People say I'm crazy to claim the world will go on getting better, yet I can't stop myself," he says. Read on to see how Ridley makes his case. Compared with 50 years ago, when I was just four years old, the average human now earns nearly three times as much money, eats one third more calories, and can expect to live one third longer. In fact, it's hard to find any region of the world that's worse off now than it was then, even though the global population has more than doubled over that period. City citizens take up less space, use less energy, and have less impact on natural ecosystems than country livers. The world's cities now contain over half its people, but they occupy less than 3 percent of its land area. Urban growth may worry environmentalists, but living in the country is not the best way to care for the earth. The best thing we can do for the planet is build more skyscrapers. The rich get richer, but the poor do even better. Between 1980 and 2000, the poor doubled their consumption. Nigerians are twice as rich and live nine more years. The percentage of the world's people living in poverty has dropped by over half. The United Nations estimates that poverty was reduced more in the past 50 years than in the previous 500. Which of the following would be the best title for the text? A) Go ahead! B) Calm Down! C) Cheer Up! D) Take Care!
C
(Question)
Britain's private schools are one of its most successful exports.The children of the well-off flock to them,whether from China,Nigeria or Russia :the number of foreign pupils rose by 1.4%in the last year alone. Yet foreign students,whether educated in British private schools or elsewhere,are decreasingly likely to go to English universities.According to the Higher Education Funding Council for England,307,200 overseas students began their studies in the country in 2012-13,down from 312,000 two years earlier and the first drop in 29 years.Student numbers from the rest of the European Union(EU)fell--probably a result of the increase in annual tuition fees in England from PS6,000($10,000)a year to PS9,000.But arrivals from India and Pakistan declined most sharply. In contrast to the visa system for private schools,which is extremely loose(the Home Office counts private schools as favoured sponsors),student visas have been tightened.Foreign students used to be allowed to work for up to two years after graduating.They now have only four months to find a job paying up to PS20,600 if they want to stay in Britain. This change was intended to deal with fake colleges offering two-year work visas.But it seems to have put off serious students too.Nick Hillman of the Higher Education Policy Institute says the government has sent unclear messages about the sort of immigration it wants to restrict.Australia and America,which have more relaxed entry criteria for students,are becoming more favoured destinations. Britain's student-visa system bas become more onerous overall.As a result,Britain is losing out to other countries in the contest for talent.Its unwelcoming attitude will harm its long-term development.And the drift of foreign students from leading British private schools to American colleges may have another, somewhat happier,consequence:America might become rather better at cricket . What can we infer from the text? A) Foreign students are going off English universities. B) American universities are of higher quality than English ones. C) Britain's student-visa system will help its long-term development. D) Britain's new student-visa system is popular with foreign students.
(Answer)
A
Ques: The illegal ivory trade has been a major problem in Africa for decades. Poachers and hunters have killed off hundreds of thousands of elephants to obtain this precious material. Now, affected areas are taking action. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) announced on Wednesday that key states where poaching takes place have promised to stop the ivory trade and protect Africa's elephants. In the 1980s, as many as 1 million elephants across Africa were killed for their ivory tusks. This continued until 1989, when the Convention on International Trade in Species (CITES) voted to ban all trade in ivory. With trade , demand for ivory fell. Elephant populations slowly began to increase. However, this progress was short-lived. According to the IUCN, 2011 saw the highest levels of poaching and illegal ivory trading in at least 16 years. Around 25,000 elephants were killed in Africa that year. Preliminary data from the IUCN shows even higher levels of illegal trade may have been reached in 2013. "With about 22,000 elephants illegally killed in 2012, we continue to face a critical situation," said John E. Scanlon, CITES Secretary-General. "Current elephant poaching in Africa remains far too high, and could soon lead to local extinctions if the present killing rate continues." At the African Elephant Summit, key African states where elephants make their home agreed to develop a "zero-tolerance attitude" towards poaching. The deal calls for maximum sentences for poachers and hunters, and increased cooperation between affected states. Officials are determined to classifying wildlife trading as a serious crime -- and to making sure that the people who commit it are punished. All participants at the conference agreed to sign the deal. With these states coming together, there may yet be hope for elephants. (293 words) All of the following measures will be taken to protect elephants EXCEPT _ . A) to identify wildlife trading a serious crime B) to punish those who buy or sell wildlife belongings C) to sentence all wildlife poachers and hunters to death D) to work together to fight against wildlife hunting
Ans: C
Aimlessness has hardly been typical of the postwar Japan whose productivity and social harmony are the envy of the United States and Europe. But increasingly the Japanese are seeing a decline of the traditional work-moral values. Ten years ago young people were hardworking and saw their jobs as their primary reason for being, but now Japan has largely fulfilled its economic needs, and young people don't know where they should go next. The coming of age of the postwar baby boom and an entry of women into the male-dominated job market have limited the opportunities of teenagers who are already questioning the heavy personal sacrifices involved in climbing Japans rigid social ladder to good schools and jobs. In a recent survey, it was found that only 24.5 percent of Japanese students were fully satisfied with school life, compared with 67.2 percent of students in the United States. In addition, far more Japanese workers expressed dissatisfaction with their jobs than their counterparts did in the ten other countries surveyed. While often praised by foreigners for its emphasis on the basics, Japanese education tends to stress test taking and mechanical learning over creativity and self-expression." Those things that do not show up in the test scores, personality, ability, courage or humanity are completely ignored," says Toshiki Kaifu, chairman of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's education committee." Frustration against this kind of thing leads kids to drop out and run wild." Last year Japan experienced 2,125 incidents of school violence, including 929 assaults on teachers. Amid the outcry, many conservative leaders are seeking a return to the prewar emphasis on moral education. Last year Mitsuo Setoyama, who was then education minister, raised eyebrows when he argued that liberal reforms introduced by the American occupation authorities after World WarII had weakened the "Japanese morality of respect for parents." But that may have more to do with Japanese life-styles." In Japan," says educator Yoko Muro,... According to the author, what may chiefly be responsible for the moral decline of Japanese society? A) Women's participation in social activities is limited. B) More workers are dissatisfied with their jobs. C) Excessive emphasis has been placed on the basics. D) The life-style has been influenced by Western values.
D