knowledge of this that helps keep America from despair. Theyre starving out there, because earth's population has continued to go up. The population on earth is 5.5 billion, and outside the United States and Europe, not more than one in five has enough to eat at any given time. All the statistics point to a rapidly declining rate of population increase, but that is coming about chiefly through a high infant mortality, the first and most helpless victims of starvation are babies, after their mothers have gone dry. A strong current of American opinion, as reflected in the newspapers (some of which still produce their daily eight pages of bad news), holds that it is just as well. It serves to reduce the population, doesn,'t it? Others point out that it's more than just starvation. There are those who manage to survive on barely enough to keep the body working, and that proves to be not enough for the brain It is estimated that there are now nearly 2 billion people in the world who are alive but who are permanently brain-damaged by under-nutrition, and the number is growing year by year. It has already occurred to some that it would be"realistic"to wipe them out quietly and rid the earth of an encumbering menace. The American newspapers of 1997 do not report that this is actually being done anywhere, but some travelers bring back horror tales At least the armies are gone---no one can afford to keep those expensive, energy-gobbling monstrosities. Some soldiers in uniform and with rifles are present in almost every still functioning nation, but only the United States and the Soviet Union can maintain a few tanks, planes, and ships ---which they dare not move for fear of biting into limited fuel reserves Energy continues to decline, and machines must be replaced by human muscle and beasts of burden. People are working longer hours and there is less leisure: but then, with electric lighting restricted, television for only three hours a night, movies three evenings a week, new books few and printed in small editions, what is there to do with leisure? Work, sleep and eating are the great trinity of 1997, and only the first two are guaranteed Where will it end? It must end in a return to the days before 1800, to the days before the fossil fuels powered a vast machine industry and technology. It must end in subsistence farming and in a world population reduced by starvation, disease and violence to less than a billion And what can we do to prevent all this now? Now? Almost nothing. If we had started 20 ears ago, that might have been another matter. If we had only started 50 years ago, it would have 9. Decide which of the following best states the main idea of the passage. A. The author makes pessimistic predictions of what would happen if the present rate of fuel consumption in the U.S. should remain uncontrolled B. By depicting the nightmarish life of Americans in 1997 resulting from the exhaustion of fossil fuels, the author draws attention to the gravity of the energy crisis and calls for mmediate action to prevent the possible occurrence of the nightmare 第9页共11页第 9 页 共 11 页 knowledge of this that helps keep America from despair. They're starving out there, because earth's population has continued to go up. The population on earth is 5.5 billion, and outside the United States and Europe, not more than one in five has enough to eat at any given time. All the statistics point to a rapidly declining rate of population increase, but that is coming about chiefly through a high infant mortality; the first and most helpless victims of starvation are babies, after their mothers have gone dry. A strong current of American opinion, as reflected in the newspapers (some of which still produce their daily eight pages of bad news), holds that it is just as well. It serves to reduce the population, doesn't it ? Others point out that it's more than just starvation. There are those who manage to survive on barely enough to keep the body working, and that proves to be not enough for the brain. It is estimated that there are now nearly 2 billion people in the world who are alive but who are permanently brain-damaged by under-nutrition, and the number is growing year by year. It has already occurred to some that it would be "realistic" to wipe them out quietly and rid the earth of an encumbering menace. The American newspapers of 1997 do not report that this is actually being done anywhere, but some travelers bring back horror tales. At least the armies are gone --- no one can afford to keep those expensive, energy-gobbling monstrosities. Some soldiers in uniform and with rifles are present in almost every still functioning nation, but only the United States and the Soviet Union can maintain a few tanks, planes, and ships --- which they dare not move for fear of biting into limited fuel reserves. Energy continues to decline, and machines must be replaced by human muscle and beasts of burden. People are working longer hours and there is less leisure: but then, with electric lighting restricted, television for only three hours a night, movies three evenings a week, new books few and printed in small editions, what is there to do with leisure? Work, sleep and eating are the great trinity of 1997, and only the first two are guaranteed. Where will it end? It must end in a return to the days before 1800, to the days before the fossil fuels powered a vast machine industry and technology. It must end in subsistence farming and in a world population reduced by starvation, disease and violence to less than a billion. And what can we do to prevent all this now? Now? Almost nothing. If we had started 20 years ago, that might have been another matter. If we had only started 50 years ago, it would have been easy. 9. Decide which of the following best states the main idea of the passage. A. The author makes pessimistic predictions of what would happen if the present rate of fuel consumption in the U.S. should remain uncontrolled. B. By depicting the nightmarish life of Americans in 1997 resulting from the exhaustion of fossil fuels, the author draws attention to the gravity of the energy crisis and calls for immediate action to prevent the possible occurrence of the nightmare