单选题 One year ago we stared aghast at images of the Southeast Asian tsunami. Video cameras taken on vacation to record the everyday pleasures of the beach were suddenly turned to quivering utility as they documented the panic and mayhem of a natural disaster. Who can forget the disbelief in the recorded voices? This can't be happening to us. Human beings are never prepared for natural disasters. There is a kind of optimism built into our species that seems to prefer to live in the comfortable present rather than confront the possibility of destruction, It may happen, we seem to believe, but not now, and not to us. Mount Vesuvius has been erupting since historical records began. The eruption of A. D. 79 both destroyed Pompeii and preserved it for posterity. Pliny the Younger starkly recorded the details in prose that can still be read as a scientific ac-count. Yet houses are still being erected today at vulnerable sites around Vesuvius, in the face of the geological inevitability of further eruptions.
Disasters are described as "acts of God". Whenever a natural catastrophe occurs, old questions resurface. How can we reconcile tragedy with the idea of a beneficent God? And with that question, the notion of punishment is never far behind. If classical religions were wont to attribute disasters to the wrath of the gods, even in this scientific age the old explanations still have their attractions. And who might not sneakily still wish to believe that a saint could intercede on our behalf?
But there is another kind of disaster. Many scientists think that the Gulf Coast hurricanes may be a symptom of climate change. Carbon emissions have been accelerating more rapidly within a generation or two: this is not the result of some creeping plate indifferent to the fate of humans; this is our responsibility. However, there is still the same, almost willful blindness to the dangers of climate change; after all, the sun still rises, the crops still ripen--why worry? Geology tells us that there have been "green-house worlds" in the distant past. These have been times when seas flooded over continents. Even modest sea-level rises would spell the end of densely populated areas of the world like Bangladesh. In such a case, invoking the God to look after us for the best is just pie in the sky. These are not "acts of God" but acts of man. We should be ashamed of the consequences of our own willing blindness.

单选题 Human beings are never prepared for natural disasters because ______ .
A. they believe that all preparation is useless for disasters
B. they believe that disasters will never happen to them
C. they believe that gods are helpful when disasters happen
D. none of these

单选题 The expression of "houses are still being erected...around Vesuvius" is used to show ______ .
A. human beings want to remember Pliny the Younger in this way
B. human beings are optimistic to deal with the possible further eruptions
C. human beings believe further eruptions won't happen to themselves
D. human beings are well prepared for the possible further eruptions

单选题 What's the "another kind of disaster" (Line 1, Para. 3)?
A. The disaster caused by some creeping plate.
B. The disaster caused by the wrath of the gods.
C. The disaster caused by the over population.
D. The disaster caused by our willing blindness.

单选题 The statement "greenhouse worlds" (Line 7, Para. 3) most probably means ______ .
A. the world with greenhouse effect
B. the world with rich natural resource
C. the world without water
D. the world without plants

单选题 To which of the following statements would the author most likely agree?
A. The natural disaster may happen but not now and not to us.
B. The natural disaster is a punishment we deserve from gods.
C. It is our responsibility to protect our world and ourselves.
D. It's miserable to live in such a world with plenty of disasters.