But the effect of all this on the food situation in this country has been made worse by a simultaneous rise in food prices, due chiefly to the gradual cutting down of government support for food. The shops are overstocked with food not only because there is more food available, but also because people, frightened by high prices, are buying less of it.
Moreover, the rise in domestic prices has come at a time when world prices have begun to fall, with the result that imported food, with the exception of grain, is often cheaper than the home-produced variety. And now grain prices, too, are falling. Consumers are beginning to ask why they should not be enabled to benefit from this trend.
The significance of these developments is not lost on farmers. The older generation have seen it all happen before. Despite the present price and market guarantees, farmers fear they are about to be squeezed between cheap food imports and a shrinking home market. Present production is running at 51 per cent above pre-war levels, and the government has called for an expansion to 60 per cent by 1956; but repeated Ministerial advice is carrying little weight and the expansion programme is not working very well.
26. Why is there "wide-spread uneasiness and confusion about the food situation in Britain?"
(A) The abundant food supply is not expected to last.
(B) Britain is importing less food.
(C) Despite the abundance, food prices keep rising.
(D) Britain will cut back on its production of food.
27. The main reason for the rise in food prices is that _____.
(A) people are buying less food
(B) the government is providing less financial support for agriculture
(C) domestic food production has decreased
(D) imported food is driving prices higher
28. Why didn't the government's expansion programme work very well?
(A) Because the farmers were uncertain about the financial support the government guaranteed.
(B) Because the farmers were uncertain about the benefits of expanding production.
(C) Because the farmers were uncertain about whether foreign markets could be found for their produce.
(D) Because the older generation of farmers were strongly against the programmer.
29. The decrease in world food price was a result of _____.
(A) a sharp fall in the purchasing power of the consumers
(B) a sharp fall in the cost of food production
(C) the overproduction of food in the food-importing countries
(D) the overproduction on the part of the main food-exporting countries
30. What did the future look like for Britain's food production at the time this article was written?
(A) The fall in world food prices would benefit British food producers.
(B) An expansion of food production was at hand.
(C) British food producers would receive more government financial support.
(D) It looks depressing despite government guarantees.
Questions 31 to 35 are based on the following passage:
It is hard to predict how science is going to turn out, and if it is really good science it is impossible to predict. If the things to be found are actually new, they are by definition unknown in advance. You cannot make choices in this matter. You either have science or you don't, and if you have it you are obliged to accept the surprising and disturbing pieces of information, along with the neat and promptly useful bits.
The only solid piece of scientific truth about which I feel totally confident is that we are profoundly ignorant about nature. Indeed, I regard this as the major discovery of the past hundred years of biology. It is, in its way, an illumination piece of news. It would have amazed the brightest minds of the 18th century Enlightenment (启蒙运动) to be told by any of us how little we know and how bewildering seems the way ahead. It is this sudden confrontation with the depth and scope of ignorance that represents the most significant contribution of the 20th century science to the human intellect. In earlier times, we either pretended to understand how things worked or ignored the problem, or simply made up stories to fill the gaps. Now that we have begun exploring in earnest, we are getting glimpses of how huge the questions are, and how far from being answered. Because of this, we are depressed. It is not so bad being ignorant if you are totally ignorant; the hard thing is knowing in some detail the reality of ignorance, the worst spots and here and there the not-so-bad spots, but no true light at the end of the tunnel nor even any tunnels that can yet be trusted.
But we are making a beginning, and there ought to be some satisfaction. There are probably no questions we can think up that can't be answered, sooner or later, including even the matter of consciousness. To be sure, there may well be questions we can't think up, ever, and therefore limits to the reach of human intellect, but that is another matter. Within our limits, we should be able to work our way through to all our answers, if we keep at it long enough, and pay attention.
31. According to the author, really good science _____.
(A) would surprise the brightest minds of the 18th century Enlightenment
(B) will produce results which cannot be foreseen
(C) will help people to make the right choice in advance
(D) will bring about disturbing results
32. It can be inferred from the passage that scientists of the 18th century _____.
(A) thought that they knew a great deal and could solve most problems of science
(B) were afraid of facing up to the realities of scientific research
(C) knew that they were ignorant and wanted to know more about nature
(D) did more harm than good in promoting man's understanding of nature
33. Which of the following statements is NOT true of scientists in earlier times?
(A) They invented false theories to explain things they didn't understand.
(B) They falsely claimed to know all about nature.
(C) They did not believe in results from scientific observation.
(D) They paid little attention to the problems they didn't understand.
34. What is the author's attitude towards science?
(A) He is depressed because of the ignorance of scientists.
(B) He is doubtful because of the enormous difficulties confronting it.
(C) He is confident though he is aware of the enormous difficulties confronting it.
(D) He is delighted because of the illuminating scientific findings.
35. The author believes that ____.
(A) man can find solutions to whatever questions concerning nature he can think up
(B) man can not solve all the problems he can think up because of the limits of human intellect
(C) sooner or later man can think up all the questions concerning nature and answer them
(D) questions concerning consciousness are outside the scope of scientific research
Questions 36 to 40 are based on the following passage:
Greenspace facilities are contributing to an important extent to the quality of the urban environment. Fortunately it is no longer necessary that every lecture or every book about this subject has to start with the proof of this idea. At present, it is generally accepted, although more as a self-evident statement than on the base of a closely-reasoned scientific proof. The recognition of the importance of greenspaces in the urban environment is a first step on the right way, this does not mean, however, that sufficient details are known about the functions of greenspace in towns and about the way in which the inhabitants are using these spaces. As to this rather complex subject I shall, within the scope of this lecture, enter into one aspect only, namely the recreative function of greenspace facilities. |
