阅读理解　　Text 3 　　Now utopia has grown unfashionable, as we have gained a deeper appreciation of the range of threats facing us, from asteroid strike to pandemic flu to climate change. You might even be tempted to assume that humanity has little future to look forward to。　　But such gloominess is misplaced. The fossil record shows that many species have endured for millions of years - so why shouldn't we? Take a broader look at our species' place in the universe, and it becomes clear that we have an excellent chance of surviving for tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of years (see "100,000 AD: Living in the deep future”). Look up Homo sapiens in the IUCN's "Red List" of threatened species, and you will read: "Listed as Least Concern as the species is very widely distributed, adaptable, currently increasing, and there are no major threats resulting in an overall population decline." 　　So what does our deep future hold? A growing number of researchers and organisations are now thinking seriously about that question. For example, the Long Now Foundation, based in San Francisco, has created a forum where thinkers and scientists are invited to project the implications of their ideas over very long timescales. Its flagship project is a mechanical clock, buried deep inside a mountain in Texas, that is designed to still be marking time thousands of years hence。　　Then there are scientists who are giving serious consideration to the idea that we should recognise a new geological era: the Anthropocene. They, too, are pulling the camera right back and asking what humanity's impact will be on the planet - in the context of stratigraphic time。　　Perhaps perversely, it may be easier to think about such lengthy timescales than about the more immediate future. The potential evolution of today's technology, and its social consequences, is dazzlingly complicated, and it's perhaps best left to science-fiction writers and futurologists to explore the many possibilities we can envisage. That's one reason why we have launched Arc, a new publication dedicated to the near future。　　But take a longer view and there is a surprising amount that we can say with considerable assurance. As so often, the past holds the key to the future: we have now identified enough of the long-term patterns shaping the history of the planet, and our species, to make evidence-based forecasts about the situations in which our descendants will find themselves。　　This long perspective makes the pessimistic view of our prospects seem more likely to be a passing fad. To be sure, the future is not all rosy: while our species may flourish, a great many individuals may not. But we are now knowledgeable enough to mitigate many of the risks that threatened the existence of earlier humans, and to improve the lot of those to come. Thinking about our place in deep time is a good way to focus on the challenges that confront us today, and to make a future worth living in。

单选题 Our vision of the future used to be inspired by

【正确答案】 B

【答案解析】【解析】事实细节题。根据出题的顺序性原则，可回文定位到文章第一段。该段落共计两句话。第一句总体交代了过去人们对未来的畅想总体是积极，正面的(were largely positive)。本题的正确答案就隐含在第二句话中。第二个句子实际上紧接着第一句话，交代了积极畅想的原因在于“科学和技术能治愈人类的一切疾病”，由此可确定本题的正确答案为B。选项A、D都错在因果倒置，“ lives of fulfillment”以及“opportunity for all”都是科学、技术带来的结果，并非原因。选项C属于无中生有，本段并没有提及任何与“ potential risks”相关内容，故排除。

单选题 The IUCN“Rod List”suggest that human beings on

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】【解析】题干问的是“濒危物种名单(Red List)”意味着人类怎么样了?我们根据“IUCN”和“Red List”很容易定位到第三段。首段说的是几十年前至今人们对未来所持的态度，第二段出现转折，表明目前人们对于未来的危机意识加重。第三段再次转折，表示第二段中人们所持态度是错误的，即“人类未来不会有太大的生存危机”，并且在此段首句表明观点后，用各种信息去论证和支持这一观点。“Red List”很显然也是用来说明这个观点的，并且指出人类这个物种是widely distributed，adaptable，currently increasing，说的都是人类进化积极的一面。A选项说：濒危物种名单意味着人类是可以持久生存的物种，显然是正确选项。

单选题 Which of the following is true according to Paragraph 5?

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】【解析】段落推断题。由本题的题干可以锁定本题的答案在文章的第五段。该段首句为段落中心句，“与思考眼前的未来相比，对如此之长的时间跨度进行思考似乎更为容易”，反过来思考也就是说，眼前的未来更难思考，符合D选项含义 “我们眼前的未来很难去设想”。A选项“Arc 帮助缩小了未来学研究的范围”，该选项在文中出现在该段的最后一句话“这就是为什么我们可以发行Arc这样一个致力于研究近期未来的全新出版物”，和题目含义有很大出入，故排除。B选项“技术为社会问题提供了解决方法”，段中并未提到。C选项“对科幻小说的兴趣与日俱增”，该段中虽在第二句提到科幻小说家，但并未提及对科幻小说的兴趣，故排除。正确答案为D项“Our immediate future is hard to conceive”。

单选题 To ensure the future of mankind, it is crucial to

单选题 Which of the following would be the best title for the text?

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】【解析】全文的主旨题。考查考生对全文主题的把握。通观全文，我们可发现作者对未来是十分看好的，尤其在文章最后一段最后一句“But we are now knowledgeable enough to reducemany of the risks that threatened the existence of earlier humans, and toimprove the lot of those to come. ”作者直接借助这句话重申主题。由此，本题正确答案应既包含“未来”，也应能体现出作者对未来的态度。确定选项C为正确答案。选项A错在无中生有，全文当中对于未来，并无体现出对于其的不确定;本文讲的是人类对于未来的看法，而不是讲人类的进化史，因此B错误;D选项过于笼统，并未体现出作者的乐观态度，因此不对。