Section B: Information Matching
Directions: In this section, you are going to read a passage with ten statements attached to it. Each statement contains information given in one of the paragraphs. Identify the paragraph from which the information is derived. You may choose a paragraph more than once. Each paragraph is marked with a letter. Answer the questions by marking the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2.
Slow Hope
[A] Our world is full of—mostly untold—stories of slow hope, driven by the idea that change is possible. They are ‘slow’ in their unfolding, and they are slow because they come with setbacks.
[B] At the beginning of time—so goes the myth—humans suffered, shivering in the cold and dark until the titan (巨人) Prometheus stole fire from the gods. Just as in the myth, technology—first fire and stone tools, and later farming, the steam engine and industry, fossil fuels, chemicals and nuclear power-has allowed us to alter and control the natural world. The myth also reminds us that these advances have come at a price: as a punishment for Prometheus’ crime, the gods created Pandora, and they gave her a box filled with evils and curses. When Pandora’s box was opened, it unleashed swarms of diseases and disasters upon humankind.
[C] Today we can no longer ignore the ecological curses that we have released in our search for warmth and comfort. In engineering and exploiting and transforming our habitat, we have opened tens of thousands of Pandora’s boxes. In recent decades, environmental threats have expanded beyond regional boundaries to have global reach and, most hauntingly, are multiplying at a dizzying rate. On a regular basis, we are reminded that we are running out of time. Year after year, faster and faster, consumption outpaces the biological capacity of our planet. Stories of accelerated catastrophe multiply. We fear the breakdown of the electric grid, the end of non-renewable resources, the expansion of deserts, the loss of islands, and the pollution of our air and water.
[D] Acceleration is the signature of our time. Populations and economic activity grew slowly for much of human history. For thousands of years and well into early modern times, world economies saw no growth at all, but from around the mid-19th century and again, in particular, since the mid-20th, the real GDP has increased at an enormous speed, and so has human consumption. In the Middle Ages, households in Central Europe might have owned fewer than 30 objects on average; in 1900, this number had increased to 400, and in 2020 to 15,000. The acceleration of human production, consumption and travel has changed the animate and inanimate spheres. It has echoed through natural processes on which humans depend. Species extinction, deforestation, damming of rivers, occurrence of floods, the depletion of ozone, the degradation of ocean systems and many other areas are all experiencing acceleration. If represented graphically, the curve for all these changes looks rather like that well-known hockey stick: with little change over millennia (数千年) and a dramatic upswing over the past decades.
[E] Some of today’s narratives about the future seem to suggest that we too, like Prometheus, will be saved by a new Hercules, a divine engineer, someone who will mastermind, manoeuvre and manipulate our planet. They suggest that geoengineering, cold fusion or faster-than-light spaceships might transcend once and for all the terrestrial constraints of rising temperatures, lack of energy, scarcity of food, lack of space, mountains of waste, polluted water- you name it.
[F] Yet, if we envisage our salvation to come from a deus ex machina (解围之神), from a divine engineer or a tech solutionist who will miraculously conjure up a new source of energy or another cure-all with revolutionary potency, we might be looking in the wrong place. The fact that we now imagine our planet as a whole does not mean that the ‘rescue’ of our planet will come with one big global stroke of genius and technology. It will more likely come by many small acts. Global heating and environmental degradation are not technological problems. They are highly political issues that are informed by powerful interests. Moreover, if history is a guide, then we can assume that any major transformations will once again be followed by a huge set of unintended consequences. So what do we do?
[G] This much is clear: we need to find ways that help us flatten the hockey-stick curves that reflect our ever-faster pace of ecological destruction and social acceleration. If we acknowledge that human manipulation of the Earth has been a destructive force, we can also imagine that human endeavours can help us build a less destructive world in the centuries to come. We might keep making mistakes. But we will also keep learning from our mistakes.
[H] To counter the fears of disaster, we need to identify stories, visions and actions that work quietly towards a more hopeful future. Instead of one big narrative, a story of unexpected rescue by a larger-than-life hero, we need multiple stories: we need stories, not only of what Rob Nixon of Princeton University has called the ‘slow violence’ of environmental degradation (that is, the damage that is often invisible at first and develops slowly and gradually.), but also stories of what I call ‘slow hope’.
[I] We need an acknowledgement of our present ecological plight but also a language of positive change, visions of a better future. In The Principle of Hope (1954—1959), Ernst Bloch, one of the leading philosophers of the future, wrote that ‘the most tragic form of loss… is the loss of the capacity to imagine that things could be different’. We need to identify visions and paths that will help us imagine a different, more just and more ecological world. Hope, for Bloch, has its starting point in fear, in uncertainty, and in crisis: it is a creative force that goes hand in hand with utopian (乌托邦的) ‘wishful images’. It can be found in cultural products of the past—in fairy tales, in fiction, in architecture, in music, in the movies—in products of the human mind that contain ‘the outlines of a better world’. What makes us ‘authentic’ as humans are visions of our’ potential’. In other words: living in hope makes us human.
[J] The power of small, grassroots movements to make changes that spread beyond their place of origin can be seen with the Slow Food movement, which began in Italy in the 1980s. The rise of fast-food restaurants after the Second World War produced a society full of cheap, industrially made foodstuffs. Under the leadership of Carlo Petrini, the Slow Food movement began in Piedmont, a region of Italy with a long history of poverty, violence and resistance to oppression. The movement transformed it into a region hospitable to traditional food cultures—based on native plants and breeds of animals. Today, Slow Food operates in more than 160 countries, poor and rich. It has given rise to thousands of projects around the globe, representing democratic politics, food sovereignty, biodiversity and sustainable agriculture.
[K] The unscrupulous (无所顾忌的) commodification of food and the destruction of foodstuffs will continue to devastate soils, livelihoods and ecologies. Slow Food cannot undo the irresistible developments of the global food economy, but it can upset its theorists, it can “speak differently’, and it can allow people and their local food traditions and environments to flourish. Even in the United States—the fast-food nation—small farms and urban gardens are on the rise. The US Department of Agriculture provides an Urban Agriculture Toolkit and, according to a recent report, American millennials (千禧一代) are changing their diets. In 2017, 6 per cent of US consumers claimed to be strictly vegetarian, up from 1 per cent in 2014. As more people realise that ‘eating is an agricultural act’, as the US poet and environmental activist Wendell Berry put it in 1989, slow hope advances.
36. It seems some people today dream that a cutting-edge new technology might save them from the present ecological disaster.
37. According to one great thinker, it is most unfortunate if we lose the ability to think differently.
38. Urgent attention should be paid to the ecological problems we have created in our pursuit of a comfortable life.
39. Even in the fast-food nation America, the number of vegetarians is on the rise.
40. The deterioration of the ecological system is accelerating because of the dramatic increase of human production and consumption.
41. It is obvious that solutions must be found to curb the fast-worsening environment and social acceleration.
42. Many people believe changing the world is possible, though it may take time and involve setbacks.
43. It might be wrong to expect that our world would be saved at one stroke with some miraculous technology.
44. It is human nature to cherish hopes for a better world.
45. Technology has given us humans the power to change the natural world, but we have paid a price for the change.
Answers & Explanations (答案与解析)
36. E。解析：题干意为“似乎今天有些人梦想着，一项尖端的新技术可能会拯救他们脱离目前的生态灾难”。对应 [E] 段的 “Some of today’s narratives about the future seem to suggest that we too, like Prometheus, will be saved by a new Hercules, a divine engineer... geoengineering, cold fusion or faster-than-light spaceships might transcend once and for all the terrestrial constraints...”（今天关于未来的一些叙事似乎表明，我们也会像普罗米修斯一样，被一个新的赫拉克勒斯、一位神圣的工程师所拯救……地球工程、冷聚变或超光速宇宙飞船可能会一劳永逸地超越……地球的限制）。dream that a cutting-edge new technology might save them 对应 narratives... suggest that we too... will be saved by a new Hercules... geoengineering...。
37. I。解析：题干意为“根据一位伟大思想家的观点，如果我们失去了进行不同思考的能力，那是最大的不幸”。对应 [I] 段的 “In The Principle of Hope (1954—1959), Ernst Bloch, one of the leading philosophers of the future, wrote that ‘the most tragic form of loss… is the loss of the capacity to imagine that things could be different’.”（在《希望的原则》中，未来的主要哲学家之一恩斯特·布洛赫写道，“最悲惨的损失形式……是失去了想象事情可能会有所不同的能力”）。most unfortunate 对应 most tragic form of loss，ability to think differently 对应 capacity to imagine that things could be different。
38. C。解析：题干意为“我们应该对在追求舒适生活时造成的生态问题给予紧急关注”。对应 [C] 段的 “Today we can no longer ignore the ecological curses that we have released in our search for warmth and comfort... On a regular basis, we are reminded that we are running out of time.”（今天，我们再也不能忽视我们在寻求温暖和舒适时释放出的生态诅咒……我们经常被提醒我们已经没有时间了）。urgent attention should be paid 对应 no longer ignore / reminded that we are running out of time，pursuit of a comfortable life 对应 search for warmth and comfort。
39. K。解析：题干意为“即使在快餐国家美国，素食者的数量也在增加”。对应 [K] 段的 “Even in the United States—the fast-food nation—small farms and urban gardens are on the rise... In 2017, 6 per cent of US consumers claimed to be strictly vegetarian, up from 1 per cent in 2014.”（即使在美国这个快餐国家，小农场和城市花园也在增加……在2017年，6%的美国消费者声称是严格的素食主义者，高于2014年的1%）。the number of vegetarians is on the rise 对应 6 per cent... up from 1 per cent。
40. D。解析：题干意为“由于人类生产和消费的急剧增加，生态系统的恶化正在加速”。对应 [D] 段的 “The acceleration of human production, consumption and travel has changed the animate and inanimate spheres. It has echoed through natural processes on which humans depend. Species extinction, deforestation... are all experiencing acceleration.”（人类生产、消费和旅行的加速改变了有生命和无生命的领域。它在人类赖以生存的自然过程中产生了共鸣。物种灭绝、森林砍伐……都在经历加速）。deterioration of the ecological system 对应 Species extinction, deforestation... are all experiencing acceleration，dramatic increase of human production and consumption 对应 acceleration of human production, consumption。
41. G。解析：题干意为“显而易见，必须找到解决方案来遏制快速恶化的环境和社会加速”。对应 [G] 段首句：“This much is clear: we need to find ways that help us flatten the hockey-stick curves that reflect our ever-faster pace of ecological destruction and social acceleration.”（有一点很清楚：我们需要找到方法，帮助我们抚平反映我们越来越快的生态破坏和社会加速步伐的冰球杆曲线）。obvious 对应 clear，solutions must be found to curb 对应 need to find ways that help us flatten。
42. A。解析：题干意为“许多人相信改变世界是可能的，尽管这可能需要时间并包含挫折”。对应 [A] 段：“Our world is full of—mostly untold—stories of slow hope, driven by the idea that change is possible. They are ‘slow’ in their unfolding, and they are slow because they come with setbacks.”（我们的世界充满了——大多是未被讲述的——关于慢希望的故事，这些故事是由改变是可能的这一理念所驱动的。它们在展现过程中是‘慢’的，它们之所以慢是因为伴随着挫折）。changing the world is possible 对应 change is possible，take time and involve setbacks 对应 slow because they come with setbacks。
43. F。解析：题干意为“指望我们的世界能通过某种奇迹般的技术一举得救，可能是错误的”。对应 [F] 段的 “Yet, if we envisage our salvation to come from a deus ex machina... who will miraculously conjure up a new source of energy... we might be looking in the wrong place. The fact that we now imagine our planet as a whole does not mean that the ‘rescue’ of our planet will come with one big global stroke of genius and technology.”（然而，如果我们设想我们的拯救来自……奇迹般地变出新能源……的人，我们可能找错地方了。……这并不意味着对我们星球的‘拯救’会随着天才和技术的一记重击而到来）。wrong to expect 对应 might be looking in the wrong place，at one stroke 对应 one big global stroke。
44. I。解析：题干意为“怀有对更美好世界的希望是人的本性”。对应 [I] 段的 “It can be found in cultural products of the past... that contain ‘the outlines of a better world’. What makes us ‘authentic’ as humans are visions of our’ potential’. In other words: living in hope makes us human.”（它（希望）可以在过去的文化产品中找到……这些产品包含了‘一个更好世界的轮廓’。使我们成为‘真正的’人类的是我们对‘潜能’的愿景。换句话说：生活在希望中使我们成为人）。human nature 对应 living in hope makes us human。
45. B。解析：题干意为“技术赋予了我们人类改变自然世界的力量，但我们为这种改变付出了代价”。对应 [B] 段的 “...technology—first fire and stone tools, and later farming, the steam engine and industry... has allowed us to alter and control the natural world. The myth also reminds us that these advances have come at a price...”（……技术——首先是火和石器，后来是农业、蒸汽机和工业……使我们能够改变和控制自然世界。神话也提醒我们，这些进步是有代价的……）。paid a price 对应 come at a price。
核心搭配与高分句型
【核心搭配与高频短语】
run out of time：没时间了，时间耗尽（we are reminded that we are running out of time）
outpace：超过...的速度，步伐比...快（consumption outpaces the biological capacity）
once and for all：一劳永逸地（might transcend once and for all the terrestrial constraints）
hand in hand with：与...携手，与...密切相关（goes hand in hand with utopian 'wishful images'）
give rise to：引起，导致（has given rise to thousands of projects）
on the rise：在上升，在增加（small farms and urban gardens are on the rise）
【亮点句型解析】
Just as in the myth, technology... 比较句型（B段）：
"Just as in the myth, technology... has allowed us to alter and control the natural world."
（正如神话中一样，技术……让我们得以改变和控制自然世界。）利用神话作类比，引出技术的双刃剑效应，增加了文章的文学性和说服力。
"Just as in the myth, technology... has allowed us to alter and control the natural world."
（正如神话中一样，技术……让我们得以改变和控制自然世界。）利用神话作类比，引出技术的双刃剑效应，增加了文章的文学性和说服力。
What makes us 'authentic'... is... 主语从句（I段）：
"What makes us ‘authentic’ as humans are visions of our’ potential’."
（让我们成为“真正的”人类的是我们对自身“潜能”的愿景。）使用 `what` 引导的主语从句，起到了强调主语的作用，使得结论更加铿锵有力。
"What makes us ‘authentic’ as humans are visions of our’ potential’."
（让我们成为“真正的”人类的是我们对自身“潜能”的愿景。）使用 `what` 引导的主语从句，起到了强调主语的作用，使得结论更加铿锵有力。