四、議論文

本刊試題研究中心

Task 1

A worrying rise in social media posts， suggesting that people leave their Halloweenpumpkins in the woods to feed wildlife after October 31， has made wildlife experts con?cerned. Thousands of pumpkins are discarded in woods across Britain. While well?meaningpumpkin carvers might think they are doing the local animals a kindness， leaving your left?over jack?o?lantern in the woodland is actually doing more harm than good.

“A myth seems to have built up that leaving pumpkins in woods helps wildlife， but be?hind it are many hidden issues，” said Paul Bunton， engagement and communication officerat the Woodland Trust， according to The Telegraph.

One of the main issues is that the leftover of the Halloween pumpkins are often eatenby already struggling hedgehogs （刺猬）. In early November， hedgehogs are looking to gainas much weight as possible to survive their winter hibernation. However， eating pumpkin isharmful to their little stomachs， leading to diarrhea and dehydration. This means they maystruggle to put on weight， and in some cases can even be fatal.

Moreover， leftover Halloween pumpkins can contain candles and plastic decorationswhich can also be fatal to wildlife if mistakenly eaten. The rotting leftover can also attractless popular wildlife， such as rats， to an area. According to the Woodland Trust， the addi?tional nutrients in the pumpkins can negatively affect the soil balance as well.“ Pumpkinflesh can have a really harmful effect on woodland soils， plants， and fungi （真菌），” Buntonpointed out.

So what should you do with your beautifully carved pumpkin creation after October31？ Most experts recommend composting （堆肥） it yourself at home if you can， or asking ifa local farm will accept it as a donation. You could even try some scientific experiments toproduce more energy from the throwaway wasted.

1. What does the underlined word“ discarded” mean in paragraph 1？

A. Processed. B. Recycled. C. Deserted. D. Preserved.

2. Why do hedgehogs try to eat so many pumpkins in early November？

A. To enjoy the sweet food. B. To fill their stomachs.

C. To prepare for the winter. D. To improve their health.

3. What is paragraph 4 mainly about？

A. The additional nutrients in the leftover pumpkins.

B. The damage of candles and plastic to the pumpkins.

C. The attraction of the rotting leftovers to some wildlife.

D. Further explanation for the effect of leftover pumpkins.

4. What are you advised to do with the leftover pumpkins after Halloween？

A. Stop leaving your pumpkins in the woods.

B. Keep your beautiful pumpkin creations at home.

C. Feed the hedgehogs with the leftover pumpkins.

D. Bury the leftover pumpkins deep under the ground.

Task 2

It's unlikely that you come home from a trip and stand on top of your bed still wearingyour street shoes. For some travelers， putting their suitcase on their bed is just disgusting（令人反感的）. The wheels of our luggage paced the same soiled path as our shoes， rollingthrough airport bathrooms， sidewalks and public transportation.

While it might sound terrible to put a worldly bag on your bed， is it actually harmful toyour health？ According to Phyllis Kozarsky， an expert travel health consultant， most publichealth professionals don't consider luggage a major transmitter （傳播者） of disease.

“We have not identified outbreaks related to dirty luggage，” Kozarsky says. Travelersmay benefit from cleaning their luggage if they suspect that their hotel rooms are overrunwith bedbugs.“ Then they certainly would benefit by cleaning it after they returned home，”Kozarsky says.

Even if your luggage touching your bed won't hurt you， you might still be disgusted.After all， travel is an experience full of bacteria.“ You have people...carrying all types ofdifferent bacteria. Some of them are sick， and you now have them populating these publictravel places，” says Colleen Costello， CEO of Vital Vio， a company that makes antibacterialLED lights.“ Your fellow travelers have to touch all the same things you have to touch， fromthe TSA checkpoint to the airplane， the train ticketing machine to the handrail in your traincar.”

For peace of mind， Costello recommends giving your bag quick disinfection or storingit on a luggage shelf. Of course， you could go beyond disinfecting your luggage wheels andclean thoroughly the rest of your travel experience—the airplane tray table， hotel room doorand remote control.

But Kozarsky doesn't guarantee that lifestyle.“ It's hard to keep up with every door?handle and every railing，” Kozarsky says.“ You can become a little neurotic （神經質的）that way.

1. What's the function of paragraph 1？

A. To predict a conclusion. B. To present an argument.

C. To introduce a topic. D. To describe a phenomenon.

2. What does Kozarsky convey by explaining the luggage?cleaning case？

A. Luggage touching your bed won't hurt you.

B. Luggage spreads disease through your bed.

C. It's a must to clean your luggage after traveling.

D. Travelers should be careful of on?way dangers.

3. How does Costello support her opinion？

A. By giving examples. B. By stating facts.

C. By making comparisons. D. By listing figures.

4. What does Kozarsky think of Costello's suggestion？

A. It has gone too far.

B. It's absolutely worthless.

C. It sounds somewhat reasonable.

D. It's worth taking into consideration.

Task 3

Technology seems to discourage slow reading. Reading on screens tires eyes easily， soonline writing is more skimmable than print. The neuroscientist Mary Walt argued this“new norm” of skimming is producing“ an invisible， dramatic transformation” in how read?ers process words. And brains now favor rapid absorption of information， rather than skillsdeveloped by deeper reading， like critical analysis.

We shouldn't overplay this danger. All readers skim. Skimming is the skill we acquireas we learn to read more skillfully. And fears about declining attention spans have provedto be false alarms.“ Some critics worry about attention spans and see very short stories assigns of cultural decline，” the American author Selvin wrote.“ But nobody ever said poemswere evidence of short attention spans.”

Yet the Internet has certainly changed the way we read. First， it means there's more toread， because more people than ever are writing. And digital writing means rapid releaseand response. Once published， online articles start forming a comment string underneath.Such mode of writing and reading can be interactive and fun， but is probably lacking in pro?found reflection.

Perhaps we should slow down. Reading is constantly promoted as a source of personal?achievement. But this advocacy emphasizes “enthusiastic” or “eager” reading—neithersuggest slow absorption. To a slow reader， a piece of writing can only be fully understood byimmersing oneself in his slow comprehension of words. The slow reader is like a swimmerwho stops counting the number of pool laps he's done and just enjoys how his body feelsand moves in water.

The human need for this kind of deep reading is too determined for any new tech?nology to destroy. We often assume technological change can't be stopped， so older mediaare kicked out by newer， more virtual forms. In practice， older technologies can coexistwith new ones. The Kindle hasnt killed off printed books any more than cars killed off bi?cycles. We still want to enjoy slowly?formed ideas and carefully?chosen words. Even in afast?moving age， there is time for slow reading.

1. What is the author's attitude towards Selvins opinion？

A. Favorable. B. Critical. C. Doubtful. D. Objective.

2. Which statement would the author probably agree with？

A. Advocacy of passionate reading helps promote slow reading.

B. Digital writing and reading tends to ignore careful reflection.

C. We should be aware of the impact skimming has on the brain.

D. The number of Internet readers declines due to technology.

3. Why is“ swimmer” mentioned in paragraph 4？

A. To demonstrate how to immerse oneself in thought.

B. To stress swimming differs from reading.

C. To show slow reading is better than fast reading.

D. To illustrate what slow reading is like.

4. Which can be the best title for the text？

A. Slow reading is here to stay B. Technology prevents slow reading

C. Reflections on deep reading D. The wonder of deep reading

Task 4

Ralph Emerson once said that the purpose of life is not to be happy， but to be useful，to be loving， to make some difference in the world. While we appreciate such words of wis?dom， we rarely try to follow them in our lives.

Most people prefer to live a good life themselves， ignoring their responsibilities for theworld. This narrow perception of a good life may provide short?term benefits， but is sure tolead to long?term harm and suffering. A good life based on comfort and luxury may even?tually lead to more pain because we spoil our health and even our characters， principles，ideals， and relationships.

What then， is the secret of a good life？ A good life is a process， not a state of being： adirection， not a destination. We have to earn a good life by first serving others without anyexpectation in return because their happiness is the very source of our own happiness.More importantly， we must know ourselves inside out. Only when we examine ourselvesdeeply can we discover our abilities and recognize our limitations， and then work accord?ingly to create a better world.

The first requirement for a good life is having a loving heart. When we do certain rightthings merely as a duty， we find our job so tiresome that we'll soon burn out. However，when we do that same job out of love， we not only enjoy what we do， but also do it with aneffortless feeling.

However， love alone is insufficient to lead a good life. Love sometimes blinds us to thereality. Consequently， our good intentions may not lead to good results. To achieve desiredoutcome， those who want to do good to others also need to equip themselves with accurateworld knowledge. False knowledge is more dangerous than ignorance. If love is the engineof a car， knowledge is the steering wheel （方向盤）. If the engine lacks power， the car can'tmove; if the driver loses control of the steering wheel， a road accident probably occurs.Only with love in heart and right knowledge in mind can we lead a good life.

With love and knowledge， we go all out to create a better world by doing good toothers. When we see the impact of our good work on the world， we give meaning to our lifeand earn lasting joy and happiness.

1. What effect does the narrow perception of a good life have on us？

A. It makes us simple?minded.

B. It makes us short?sighted.

C. It leads us onto a busy road.

D. It keeps us from comfort and luxury.

2. According to the author， how can one gain true happiness？

A. Through maintaining good health.

B. By going through pain and suffering.

C. By recognizing one's abilities and limitations.

D. Through offering help much needed by others.

3. According to paragraph 4， doing certain right things with a loving heart makes one______.

A. less selfish B. less annoyed

C. more motivated D. more responsible

4. According to paragraph 5， life can be made truly good when_________.

A. inspired by love and guided by knowledge

B. directed by love and pushed by knowledge

C. purified by love and enriched by knowledge

D. promoted by love and defined by knowledge