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1、一．北京市朝阳区2015中考一模D“Theworldhasneverbeenabetterplacetolivein”sayssciencewriterMattRidley,“anditwillkeepongettingbetter.”ReadontoseehowRidleymakeshiscase.Rightorwrong?Youdecide.Comparedwith50yearsago,whenIwasjustfouryearsold,peoplenowmakenearlythreetimesasmuchmoney,eatonethirdmorefoodan
2、dexpecttoliveonethirdlonger.Infact,it’shardtofindanyareasoftheworldthat’sworseoffnowthanitwasthen,eventhoughtheworldpopulationhasmorethandoubledoverthatperiod.Onereasonwearericher,healthier,taller,cleverer,longer-livedandfreerthaneverbeforeisthatthefourmostbasichumanneeds—food,clothi
3、ng,fuelandshelter—havegrownmuchcheaper.Takeoneexample:In1800,acandleprovidingonehour’slightcostsixhours’work.Inthe1880s,thesamelightfromalamptook15minutes’worktopayfor.In1950,itwaseightseconds.Today,it’shalfasecond.Intheseterms,weare43,200timesbetteroffthanin1800.IntheUnitedStates,ri
4、vers,lakes,seasandairaregettingcleanerallthetime.Acartodayproduceslesspollutiontravelingatfullspeedthanaparkedcardidfromleaks(泄漏)in1970.Althoughtheworldpopulationisgrowing,therate(率)ofincreasehasbeenfallingfor50years.Acrosstheworld,nationalbirthratesarelowernowthanin1960,andintheless
5、developedworld,thebirthratehasalmosthalved.AccordingtoaresearchreportfromtheUnitedNations,populationwillstartfallingonceitreaches9.2billionin2075.Afterall,therearealreadysevenbillionpeopleonearth,andtheyareeatingbetterandbetter.In1970s,therewere550billionbarrels(桶)ofoilreserves(储存)in
6、theworld,andinthe20yearsthatfollowedtheworldusedup600billion.Soby1990,reservesshouldhavebeenoverusedby50billionbarrels.Instead,itisreportedthereare900billiontoday.Theywilllastformanyyearsandpeoplewillfindsomethinginplaceofoillongbeforetheyrunout.Themorewedevelop,themorewecandevelop.T
7、hemoreweinvent,themoreinventionsbecomepossible.For200years,pessimists(peoplewhobelievethatterriblethingswillhappeninfuture)havehadalltheheadlines—eventhoughoptimistshavefarmoreoftenbeenright.Therearesomereasonsforpessimists.Nocharity(慈善机构)everraisedmoneybysayingthingsaregettingbetter
8、.Nojournalis
