题文
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 candlesB．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． 题型：未知难度：其他题型
答案
小题1:D
小题2:A
小题3:D
解析
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。
考点
据考高分专家说，试题“Feeling blue about w.....”主要考查你对 [人生感悟类阅读 ]考点的理解。人生感悟类阅读
人生感悟类阅读的概念：
生活感悟类的文章就是指能给人心灵以启迪，使人从中受到教育的文章。这类文章的体裁可以是记叙文，如生活中一些感人故事或情感故事，有点类似心灵鸡汤一样的短文。
生活感悟类阅读解题指导：
一、文章特点：
生活感悟类的文章就是指能给人心灵以启迪，使人从中受到教育的文章。这类文章的体裁可以是记叙文，如生活中一些感人故事或情感故事，有点类似心灵鸡汤一样的短文。有时故事的结尾会有一句“点睛之笔”，点出全文的中心思想，就像《伊索寓言》里的寓言一样。还可能是夹叙夹议的哲理散文或生活随笔。散文随笔通常会阐述一种朴素易懂，耳熟能详的人生道理或宝贵品质。文章的结构和议论文类似，一般是总分总或总分结构。每段首句或尾句为主题句（论点），其它句子围绕主题展开论述（论据），论证方法多种多样，或举例，或引用名言，或正反对照等。
二、解题技巧：
针对生活感悟类文章的特点，做这类文章的完形填空时，要特别注意以下几点：
1、重点理解全文的首句。如果是记叙文，找出when，where，who，what等基本要素。如果是散文随笔，充分理解文章的中心句—全文的主题。
2、阅读全文的结尾段或结尾句，有助于理解文章所阐述或蕴含的哲理、感悟或忠告等。
3、调动自己的背景知识和情感。这类文章不会讲大道理也不会涉及到一些很专业的知识技术领域，而是谈一些小事和简单的道理，所以如果读者能和作者产生感情上的共鸣，读者会更好地把握作者的意图态度，从而提高做题的准确度。因此，考生在平时要做一个有心人，即用心去感悟生活中发生的小事，思考人生的一些基本道理，多阅读一些短小精悍的美文，多写写自己的心情故事和对生活学习的感悟。只有平时多用心，做题时才能调动自己的背景知识和情感。
