Feeling blue about world? “Cheer up.” Says science writer Matt Ridley．”The world has never been a better place to live in, and it will keep on getting better both for humans and for nature．”
Ridley calls himself a rational optimist—rational, because he’s carefully weighed the evidence; optimistic, because that evidence shows human progress to be both unavoidable and good．And this is what he’s set out to prove from a unique point of view in his most recent book．The Rational Optimist．He views mankind as grand enterprise that on the whole, has done little but progress for 100,000 years．He backs his finding with hard facts gathered through years of research．
Here’s how he explains his views．
1) Shopping fuels invention
It is reported that there are more than ten billion different products for sale in London alone．Even allowing for the many people who still live in poverty, our own generation has access to more nutritious food, more convenient transport, bigger houses, better ears, and of course, more pounds and dollars than any who lived before us．This will continue as long as we use these things to make other things. The more we specialize and exchange, the better off we’ll be．
2）Brilliant advances
One reason we are richer, healthier, taller, cleverer, longer-lived and freer than ever before is that the four most basic human needs -food, clothing, fuel and shelter- have grown a lot cheaper．Take one example．In 1800 a candle providing one hour’s light cost six hours’ work．In the 1880s the same light from an oil lamp took 15 minutes’ work to pay for．In 1950 it was eight seconds．Today it’s half second．
3）Let’s not kill ourselves for climate change
Mitigating（减轻）climate change could prove just as damaging to human welfare as climate change itself．A child that dies from indoor smoke in a village, where the use of fossil-fuel（化石燃料）electricity is forbidden by well - meaning members of green political movements trying to save the world, is just as great a tragedy as a child that dies in a flood caused by climate change．If climate change proves to be mild, but cutting carbon causes real pain, we may well find that we have stopped a nose - bleed by putting a tourniquet（止血带）around our necks．
小题1:What is the theme of Ridley’s most recent book?
A．Weakness of human nature．
B．Concern about climate change．
C．Importance of practical thinking．
D．Optimism about human progress．小题2:How does Ridley look at shopping?
A．It encourages the creation of things．
B．It results in shortage of goods．
C．It demands more fossil fuels．
D．It causes a poverty problem．小题3:The candle and lamp example is used to show that ．
A．oil lamps give off more light than candles
B．shortening working time brings about a happier life．
C．advanced technology helps to produce better candles．
D．increased production rate leads to lower cost of goods．
小题1:D
小题2:A
小题3:D
题目分析：本文讲述了Matt Ridley对于我们这个世界的积极的向上的看法，认为我们这个世界有很多好的方面也提出了一些自己的观点。
小题1:D 细节题。根据第二段2,3,4行Ridley calls himself a rational optimist—rational, because he’s carefully weighed the evidence; optimistic, because that evidence shows human progress to be both unavoidable and good．And this is what he’s set out to prove from a unique point of view in his most recent book．说明D正确。
小题2:A 推理题。根据This will continue as long as we use these things to make other things. The more we specialize and exchange, the better off we’ll be．说明他认为我们生产的使用的越多，我们就会越好，说明他是鼓励生产的。故A正确。
小题3:D 推理题。根据One reason we are richer, healthier, taller, cleverer, longer-lived and freer than ever before is that the four most basic human needs -food, clothing, fuel and shelter- have grown a lot cheaper．说明下面所举的例子正是为了说明这个道理，故D项正确。
点评：本文要求考生在阅读理解整体语篇的基础上，把握文章的真正内涵。①要吃透文章的字面意思，从字里行间捕捉有用的提示和线索，这是推理的前提和基础;②要对文字的表面信息进行挖掘加工，由表入里，由浅入深，从具体到抽象，从非凡到一般，通过分析、综合、判定等，进行深层处理，符合逻辑地推理。不能就是论事，断章取义，以偏概全。③要忠实于原文，以文章提供的事实和线索为依据。立足已知，推断未知。立足现在，猜测未来。不能主观臆想，凭空想象，随意揣测，更不能以自己的观点代替作者的观点;④要把握句、段之间的逻辑关系，了解语篇的结构。要体会文章的基调，揣摸作者的态度，摸准逻辑发展的方向，悟出作者的弦外之音。