英語四級(jí)真題閱讀理解

Passage1Readingleadershipliterature,you'dsometimesthinkthateveryonehasthepotentialtobeaneffectiveleader.讀領(lǐng)導(dǎo)文學(xué)，你有時(shí)會(huì)認(rèn)為每個(gè)人都有可能成為一個(gè)有效的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)者。Idon'tbelievethattobetrue.Infact,IseewayfewertrulyeffectiveleadersthanIseepeoplestuckinpositionsofleadershipwhoarcsadlyincompetentandseriouslymisguidedabouttheirownabilities.我不相信這是真的。事實(shí)上，我認(rèn)為真正有效的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)者的方式比我看到的人都陷在領(lǐng)導(dǎo)的職位上，遺憾的是他們自己的能力不稱職，嚴(yán)重誤導(dǎo)了他們。Partofthereasonthishappensisalackofhonestself-assessmentbythosewhoaspireto（追求［leadershipinthefirstplace.對(duì)產(chǎn)生這種現(xiàn)象的原因一部分是由那些渴望缺乏誠實(shí)的自我評(píng)估（追求）放在首位的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)We'veallmetthetypeofindividualwhosimplymusttakecharge.Whetherit'sadecision-makingsession,abasketballgame,orafamilyouting,theycan'thelpgrabbingtheleaddogpositionandclingingontoitfordearlife.Theybelievethey'renaturalbornleaders.我們都遇到了個(gè)人的類型，他們必須負(fù)責(zé)。無論是決策會(huì)議，籃球比賽，還是家庭外出，他們都不能不抓住領(lǐng)導(dǎo)的狗的地位，并緊緊抓住它，因?yàn)橛H愛的生命。他們相信他們是天生的領(lǐng)袖。Truthis,they'renothingofthesort.Trueleadersdon'tassumethatit'stheirdivine（神圣的）righttotakechargeeverytimetwoormorepeoplegettogether.Quitetheopposite.Agreatleaderwillassesseachsituationonitsmerits,andwillonlytakechargewhentheirposition,thesituation,and/ortheneedsofthemomentdemandit.事實(shí)是，他們沒有什么樣的。真正的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)者不認(rèn)為這是他們的神圣（神圣的）負(fù)責(zé)每次兩個(gè)或兩個(gè)以上的人在一起吧。恰恰相反。一個(gè)偉大的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)者會(huì)對(duì)每一個(gè)情況進(jìn)行評(píng)估，并在他們的位置、情況和/或需要的情況下，只會(huì)負(fù)責(zé)。Manybusinessexecutivesconfuseleadershipwithaction.TheybelievethatconstantManybusinessexecutivesconfuseleadershipwithaction.Theybelievethatconstantmotionsomehowgeneratesleadershipasabyproduct.Facedwithanysituationthatcan'tbesolvedbythesheerforceofactivity,theygenerateadustcloudofimpatience.Theironeleadershiptoolisvolume:iftheythinkyouaren'tworkingashardastheythinkyoushould,theirdemandsbecomeincreasinglylouderandharsher.許多企業(yè)高管把領(lǐng)導(dǎo)與行動(dòng)混為一談。他們認(rèn)為，不斷運(yùn)動(dòng)以某種程度上產(chǎn)生領(lǐng)導(dǎo)的副產(chǎn)品。面對(duì)任何無法解決的純粹的力量的情況，他們產(chǎn)生了一個(gè)不耐煩的塵埃云。他們的一個(gè)領(lǐng)導(dǎo)的工具是量：如果他們認(rèn)為你不做他們認(rèn)為你應(yīng)該努力，他們的要求越來越高和嚴(yán)厲的。Trueleadersunderstandthevalueofaction,ofcourse,butitisn'ttheironlytool.Infact,itisn'tevertheirprimarytool.Greatleadersseemorethaneveryoneelse:answers,solutions,patterns,problems,opportunities.Theyknowit'svitallyimportanttodo,buttheyalsoknowthatthinking,understanding,reflectionandinterpretationareequallyimportant.真正的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)者明白行動(dòng)的價(jià)值，當(dāng)然，但這不是他們唯一的工具。事實(shí)上，它不是他們的主要工具。偉大領(lǐng)袖們看到的比其他人更多：答案、解決方案、模式、問題、機(jī)會(huì)。他們知道這是非常重要的，但他們也知道，思想，理解，反思和解釋同樣重要Ifyou'retooconcernedwithoutcomestotheextentthatyoumanipulateandintimidateotherstoachievethoseoutcomes,thenyouaren'tleadingatall,you'redictating.Atrueleaderissomeonewhodevelopshisorherteamsothattheycananddohittheirtargetsandachievetheirgoals.如果你太關(guān)注結(jié)果的程度，你的操縱和恐嚇?biāo)藖磉_(dá)到這些目標(biāo)，那么你不是領(lǐng)導(dǎo)時(shí)，你決定。一個(gè)真正的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)者是一個(gè)發(fā)展他或她的團(tuán)隊(duì)的人，這樣他們就可以打他們的目標(biāo)，達(dá)到他們的目標(biāo)。Passage2HaveyoueverfeltyourmindfallingintodisorderafterasleeplessnightYoucouldn'tcomeupwithanoriginalthoughtnomatterhowhardyoutried.你有過一個(gè)無眠的夜晚，你是否感到你的精神陷入混亂不管你怎么努力，你都不能想出一個(gè)原創(chuàng)的想法。Youwereprobablyrightifyouthoughtthatwascausedbyalackofsleep.Dr.Horne,asleepresearcherinEngland,studied24collegestudents.Onegroupgottheirnormaleighthoursofsleep.Theothergroupdidn'tgetthesmallestamountofsleep——theystayedawakeallnight.Thenextday,Dr.Hornetestedthestudents.Heaskedthemquestionsthatrequiredcreativeandoriginalthinking.Oneofthequestionswas“Howmanyusescanacardboardboxbeputto”你可能是對(duì)的，如果你認(rèn)為這是由于缺乏睡眠造成的。Horne博士，在英國睡眠研究者研究了24名大學(xué)生。一組八小時(shí)的睡眠正常。另一組人沒有得到最小的睡眠，他們整夜都睡不著覺。次日，測(cè)試的學(xué)生。他要求他們提出的問題，需要?jiǎng)?chuàng)造性和創(chuàng)造性思維。其中的一個(gè)問題是“有多少用紙板箱可以裝TheresultThewide-awakestudentsdidwellonthetest.Thetiredstudentsdidpoorly.結(jié)果考試大的學(xué)生考得很好，累的學(xué)生成績(jī)不好。ResearchhasalreadyshownthattiredpeoplecandoOKontestsofhabitualthinking,likesimpleaddition.ButDr.Hornetestedcreativethinkingonly.研究已經(jīng)表明，疲勞的人可以做測(cè)試的習(xí)慣性思維，如簡(jiǎn)單的加法。但是，測(cè)試創(chuàng)造性思維只有。Aspartofhisstudy,heofferedanamountofmoneyasarewardtothesleepystudentsiftheydidwell.Buteventhisencouragementwasn'tenoughtohelpthestudentsconquertheirtiredness.Theydidpoorly.Dr.Hornebelievesthatthepartofthebrainwherethinkingtakesplacemaygetwornoutduringwakinghours.Sleepmayhelptorepairthebrain.“Withoutanysleep,”heemphasized,“evenifyoupaycloserattention,youcannotdobetter.”作為他的研究的一部分，他提供了一^數(shù)額的錢，作為獎(jiǎng)勵(lì)給困倦的學(xué)生，如果他們做得很好。但即使是這種鼓勵(lì)也不足以幫助學(xué)生克服疲勞。他們做得很差?；舳鞑┦空J(rèn)為發(fā)生在思維的那部分大腦會(huì)磨損在醒著的時(shí)候。睡眠可能有助于修復(fù)大腦。“沒有任何睡眠，”他強(qiáng)調(diào)，“即使你付出更密切的關(guān)注，你也不能做得更好。”

Thisstudygivespeoplesomethingtothinkabout,especiallypeoplelikehospitalworkerswhomuststayawakeallnightandthenmakequickdecisions.這項(xiàng)研究給人們一些思考，特別是像醫(yī)院工作者的工作人員必須保持清醒，并作出快速?zèng)Q定。Passage3Researchershaveestablishedthatwhenpeoplearementallyengaged,biochemicalchangesoccurinthebrainthatallowittoactmoreeffectivelyincognitive（認(rèn)知的）areassuchasattentionandmemory.Thisistrueregardlessofage.研究人員發(fā)現(xiàn)，當(dāng)人們心理活動(dòng)時(shí)，大腦中發(fā)生的生化變化，使它在認(rèn)知活動(dòng)更為有效（認(rèn)知的）等方面的注意和記憶。這是真實(shí)的，不論年齡。Peoplewillbealert（警覺的）andreceptive（接受能力強(qiáng)的）iftheyarefacedwithinformationthatgetsthemtothinkaboutthingstheyareinterestedin.Andsomeonewithahistoryofdoingmoreratherthanlesswillgointooldagemorecognitivelysoundthansomeonewhohasnothadanactivemind.人們將警報(bào)（警覺的）和接受（接受能力強(qiáng)的）如果他們面對(duì)的信息使他們思考自己感興趣的事物。有人用歷史做更多而不是更少的進(jìn)入老年的人比沒有活躍的思維認(rèn)知的聲音。Manyexpertsaresoconvincedofthebenefitsofchallengingthebrainthattheyareputtingthetheorytoworkintheirownlives.“Theideaisnotnecessarilytolearntomemorizeenormousamountsofinformation,”saysJamesFozard,associatedirectoroftheNationalInstituteonAging.“Mostofusdon'tneedthatkindofskill.Suchspecifictrainingisoflessinterestthanbeingabletomaintainmentalalertness.”Fozardandotherssaytheychallengetheirbrainswithdifferentmentalskills,bothbecausetheyenjoythemandbecausetheyaresurethattheirrangeofactivitieswillhelpthewaytheirbrainswork?許多專家都這么認(rèn)為，他們?cè)诮o自己的生活中工作，挑戰(zhàn)他們的大腦的好處?！笆遣皇且欢ㄒ獙W(xué)會(huì)記憶大量的信息，說：”杰姆斯Fozard國立老化研究所的副所長(zhǎng)。我們中的大多數(shù)人都不需要這種技能。這種特別的培訓(xùn)比能夠保持精力充沛，不感興趣?！盕ozard和其他人說他們挑戰(zhàn)他們的大腦不同的心智技能，這是因?yàn)樗麄兿矚g他們，因?yàn)樗麄兿嘈潘麄兊幕顒?dòng)范圍將有助于他們的大腦的工作方式。

GeneCohen,actingdirectorofthesameinstitute,suggeststhatpeopleintheiroldageshouldengageinmentalandphysicalactivitiesindividuallyaswellasingroups.Cohensaysthatwearefrequentlyadvisedtokeepphysicallyactiveasweage,butolderpeopleneedtokeepmentallyactiveaswell.Thosewhodoaremorelikelytomaintaintheirintellectualabilitiesandtobegenerallyhappierandbetteradjusted."Thepointis,youneedtodoboth,"Cohensays,“intellectualactivityactuallyinfluencesbrain-cellhealthandsize.”基因科恩，同一研究所的代理主任，建議在他們的老年人應(yīng)該從事的精神和身體活動(dòng)，以及個(gè)人的團(tuán)體?？贫髡f，我們經(jīng)常被建議保持身體活躍，因?yàn)槲覀兊哪挲g，但老年人需要保持精神上積極的。那些做的是更可能保持自己的智力能力和更幸福和更好的調(diào)整?！薄斑@一點(diǎn)是，你需要做的，”科恩說，“智力活動(dòng)實(shí)際上影響了腦細(xì)胞的健康和大小。”Passage4Englishisoneofthegreatthieves.Itisconstantlyborrowing.ItstartedouttakingwordsfromLatin,Greek,French,andGerman.英語是一個(gè)偉大的小偷。這是不斷借。它開始從拉丁語，希臘語，法語和德語中取詞。ThenEnglishwentontoborrowwordsfrommorethan50differentlanguages.FromItalian,ittookcameo,stanza,andviolin,forexample.FromSpanishandPortuguese,itborrowedthewordsalligator,canyon,andsombrero.FromNativeAmericans,itgotraccoonandwigwam.Perucontributedllamaandquinine.TheCaribbeanislandsgaveEnglishbarbecueandcannibal.FromAfricacamechimpanzeeandzebra,fromIndiacamebandanna,curry,andpunch,andfromAustraliacamekangarooandboomerang.然后，英語就從50多個(gè)不同的語言借用了詞匯。來自意大利，花浮雕，節(jié)，和小提琴，例如。從西班牙和葡萄牙，它借用了鱷魚，峽谷的話，和草帽。從土著美國人，它得到了浣熊和棚屋。秘魯貢獻(xiàn)了駱駝和奎寧。加勒比群島給英語燒烤和食人族。從非洲來的黑猩猩和斑馬線，從印度來的大手帕，咖喱，和沖床，和從澳大利亞來的袋鼠和飛鏢。Sciencecausedanexplosioninwords.SomewordsinsciencecombinepartsofGreekandLatinwords.Theyincludepenicillin,stethoscope,andsupersonic.Otherswereborrowedfromlanguagesspokentoday.RobotcomesfromaCzechword.引起爆炸的話?？茖W(xué)的一些詞結(jié)合起來的希臘和拉丁詞的部分。他們包括青霉素、聽診器、超聲。其他人被借用的語言今天發(fā)言。機(jī)器人來自捷克詞語。TheEnglishlanguagehasbeenstealingwordsformorethan1,500years.ThemostcompletedictionaryoftheEnglishlanguagecontainsawhopping600,000words.英語的語言已經(jīng)超過1500年了。最全的英語詞典包含了600000個(gè)字。Passage5Thereisnodoubtthatacommonlanguageusedthroughouttheworldwoulddomuchtobringcountriesclosertoeachother.Thoughitisbecomingincreasinglyeasytomovefromplacetoplace,ourinabilitytocommunicatewithoneanothergivesrisetonumerousmisunderstandingsandmakesrealcontactbetweenpeopleofdifferingnationalitiesimpossible.Manyattemptshavebeenmadetoovercomethisproblemandtheyhaveallfailed.Thefearofforeigninfluenceanddominationrulesouttheuniversalacceptanceofanyoneoftheexistingmajorlanguages.Awareofthisdifficulty,manylinguistshaveconstructedartificiallanguageswhichcouldhavenopossiblepoliticalovertones.TheyhavearguedthatalanguageofthissortwouldperformmuchthesameserviceasLatindidintheMiddleAges.毫無疑問，世界上使用的一種通用語言，可以使各國彼此接近。雖然它變得越來越容易從地方移動(dòng)到地方，我們無法與人溝通，產(chǎn)生了許多誤解，使不同民族的人之間的真正接觸不可能。許多嘗試已經(jīng)克服了這個(gè)問題，他們都失敗了。外國勢(shì)力和統(tǒng)治的恐懼，排除了普遍接受的任何一個(gè)現(xiàn)有的主要語言。意識(shí)到這一困難，許多語言學(xué)家人工語言，不可能有可能的政治色彩。他們認(rèn)為，這種語言的一種語言，將履行與拉丁在中世紀(jì)的相同的服務(wù)。Althoughlinguistssucceededinmakingtheirartificiallanguagesextremelysimplesothattheywouldbeeasytolearn,theireffortsseemeddoomedfromthestart.Thereasonforthisisthatthereisnorealincentivetolearnanartificiallanguage.Thereisnothingtoguaranteethateverybodyiswillingtomaketheeffort;thereisnoassurancethatthelearnerwillhaveanyadequatereturnforhistoil.Whenpeopletodayundertaketolearnaforeignlanguage,theyarenotinterestedonlyinspeakingit.Masteryofalanguagemakesavailabletothelearneragreatdealofworthwhileliteratureandmanycurrentpublications.Thisisthebiggeststumbling-blockofallfortheartificially-constructedtongue.Havingnoliteratureofitsown,allitcanofferisalimitedoftranslations,whicharevaluelessinthemselves.Norcanitacquireanyliterature;foritwouldhavetobeusedforagreatmanygenerationsbeforethiscouldbecomepossible.Moreover,constantuseoveralongperiodwouldbringintobeingmany'national'dialectsandthelanguagewouldthusdefeatitsownpurpose.雖然語言學(xué)家們成功地使他們的人工語言非常簡(jiǎn)單，所以他們很容易學(xué)，他們的努力似乎從一開始就注定了。之所以這樣，是沒有真正的動(dòng)機(jī)去學(xué)習(xí)一種人工語言。沒有任何東西能保證每個(gè)人都愿意付出努力，學(xué)習(xí)者將有足夠的回報(bào)為自己的辛勤工作是沒有保證的。當(dāng)人們今天進(jìn)行外語學(xué)習(xí)時(shí)，他們不感興趣。掌握一種語言，使學(xué)習(xí)者獲得大量的有價(jià)值的文獻(xiàn)和許多當(dāng)前的出版物。這是所有人為構(gòu)造的舌頭的最大障礙。沒有自己的文學(xué)作品，它可以是一個(gè)有限的翻譯，這是沒有價(jià)值的自己。它也不可能獲得任何文學(xué)作品，因?yàn)樵谶@一可能成為可能的前幾代人將要使用它。此外，長(zhǎng)期的使用會(huì)帶來許多“國家”的方言和語言，從而擊敗它自己的目的。Anotherseriousobjectionisthefactthatalanguageisshapedbyuseandnotbydesign.Itisalivingthingwhichisforevergrowingandchanging.Ittakeshundredsofyearsbeforeitcanacquirerichnessanddepth.Inanartificiallanguage,however,themeaningsofwordsarerigidlydefined.Inflexibilitymakesforanabsenceofsubtlety,sothatnoreallyfinemeaningcanbeconveyed.Thoughthisqualitymightbeadmirableforscientificpublications,itgreatlyimpedestheformationofanysignificantliterature.Latinwasidealinthisrespect,foritwasa'dead'languagewithaliterature;anartificialoneis'dead'fromthestart.Thismakesitlikelythatexistinglanguagebarrierswillremainwithusforaverylongtime.另—嚴(yán)重的反對(duì)意見是一種語言是由使用而不是設(shè)計(jì)。它是一種生活的東西，它永遠(yuǎn)在成長(zhǎng)和改變。它需要數(shù)百年才能獲得豐富和深度。然而，在人工語言中，詞的含義是嚴(yán)格定義的。缺乏靈活性，使微妙的缺失，所以沒有很好的傳達(dá)意思。雖然這種質(zhì)量可能是令人欽佩的科學(xué)出版物，它大大阻礙了任何重要的文獻(xiàn)的形成。拉丁語在這方面是理想的，因?yàn)檫@是—種“死”的語言，—種文學(xué)作品，—種是從—開始就“死”的。這使得它可能存在的語言障礙將留在我們很長(zhǎng)—段時(shí)間。Passage6Ifyouwanttostayyoung,sitdownandhaveagoodthink.ThisistheresearchfindingofateamofJapanesedoctors,whosaythatmostofourbrainsarenotgettingenoughexercise---andasaresult,weareagingunnecessarilysoon.如果你想保持年輕，坐下來好好想想。這是一組日本醫(yī)生的研究結(jié)果，他說，大部分大腦都沒有得到足夠的鍛煉，因此我們很快就不必要了。ProfessorTaijuMatsuzawawantedtofindoutwhyotherwisehealthyfarmersinnorthernJapanappearedtobelosingtheirabilitytothinkandreasonatarelativelyearlyage,andhowtheprocessofagingcouldbesloweddown.教授想找出為什么日本北部的健康農(nóng)民失去了他們認(rèn)為在相對(duì)年輕的年齡和能力的原因，如何減緩衰老過程的方法。WithateamofcolleaguesatTokyoNationalUniversity,hesetaboutmeasuringbrainvolumesofathousandpeopleofdifferentagesandvaryingoccupations.他在東京國立大學(xué)的一組同事中，對(duì)一千名不同年齡和不同職業(yè)的人進(jìn)行了大腦體積的測(cè)量。Computertechnologyenabledtheresearcherstoobtainprecisemeasurementsofthevolumeofthefrontandsidesectionsofthebrain,whichrelatetointellect（智能）andemotion,anddeterminethehumancharacter.（Therearsectionofthebrain,whichcontrolsfunctionslikeeatingandbreathing,doesnotcontractwithage,andonecancontinuelivingwithoutintellectualoremotionalfaculties.）計(jì)算機(jī)技術(shù)幫助研究人員獲得了大腦前部和側(cè)面部分的容量的精確測(cè)量，其中涉及到智力（智能）和情感，決定著人的性格。（大腦的后部，它控制著進(jìn)食和呼吸等功能，不與年齡增長(zhǎng)，人們可以繼續(xù)生活在沒有智力或情緒的能力。）Contractionoffrontandsideparts---ascellsdieoff---wasobservedinsomesubjectsintheirthirties,butitwasstillnotevidentinsomesixty-andseventy-year-olds.前部和側(cè)部的收縮隨著細(xì)胞的死亡在三十多歲時(shí)就能觀察到一些人，但仍沒有明顯一些六十、七十歲。Matsuzawaconcludedfromhisteststhatthereisasimpleremedytothecontractionnormallyassociatedwithage---usingthehead.Matsuzawa從他的測(cè)試有一個(gè)簡(jiǎn)單的補(bǔ)救辦法通常與年齡相關(guān)的收縮-一用頭。Thefindingsshowingeneraltermsthatcontractionofthebrainbeginssoonerinpeopleinthecountrythaninthetowns.Thoseleastatrisk,saysMatsuzawa,arelawyers,followedbyuniversityprofessorsanddoctors.Whilecollarworkersdoingroutineworkingovernmentofficesare,however,arelikelytohaveshrinkingbrainsasthefarmworker,busdriverandshopassistant.研究結(jié)果表明，在全國的人比在城鎮(zhèn)的大腦開始收縮的一般條款。那些最危險(xiǎn)，松澤說，是律師，其次是大學(xué)教授和醫(yī)生。然而，盡管在政府部門做日常工作的白領(lǐng)很可能會(huì)像農(nóng)場(chǎng)工人、公共汽車司機(jī)和商店店員一樣有大腦萎縮的大腦。Matsuzawa'sfindingsshowthatthinkingcanpreventthebrainfromshrinking.Bloodmustcirculateproperlyintheheadtosupplythefreshoxygenthebraincellsneed.“Thebestwaytomaintaingoodbloodcirculationisthroughusingthebrain,”hesays,“Thinkhardandengageinconversation.Don'trelyonpocketcalculators."的調(diào)查顯示思考可以防止大腦萎縮。血液必須在頭部循環(huán)，以供應(yīng)新鮮的氧氣，腦細(xì)胞需要。他說：“保持良好的血液循環(huán)的最好方法是用大腦，”他說，“想一想，并進(jìn)行交談。不要依賴于袖珍計(jì)算器?！盤assage7Acrosstherichworld,well-educatedpeopleincreasinglyworklongerthantheless-skilled.Some65%ofAmericanmenaged62-74withaprofessionaldegreeareintheworkforce,comparedwith32%ofmenwithonlyahigh-schoolcertificate.Thisgapispartofadeepeningdividebetweenthewell-educatedwell-offandtheunskilledpoor.Rapidtechnologicaladvancehasraisedtheincomesofthehighlyskilledwhilesqueezingthoseoftheunskilled.Theconsequences,forindividualsandsociety,areprofound.在富裕的世界，受過良好教育的人們的工作時(shí)間比不那么熟練的人要長(zhǎng)。約65%的美國男性老年62-74擁有專業(yè)學(xué)位的在職場(chǎng)中，與只有高中文憑的人相比，32%。這一差距是一個(gè)不斷加深的鴻溝之間的良好的教育小康和不熟練的窮人?？焖俚募夹g(shù)進(jìn)步提高了高技術(shù)水平的收入，同時(shí)也提高了非技術(shù)性的。對(duì)個(gè)人和社會(huì)的影響是深遠(yuǎn)的。Theworldisfacinganastonishingriseinthenumberofoldpeople.Andtheywilllivelongerthaneverbefore.Overthenext20yearstheglobalpopulationofthoseaged65ormorewillalmostdouble,from600milliontobillion.Theexperienceofthe20thcentury,whengreaterIongevity（長(zhǎng)壽）translatedintomoreyearsinretirementratherthanmoreyearsatwork,haspersuadedmanyobserversthatthisshiftwillleadtoslowereconomicgrowth,whiletheswellingranksofpensionerswillcreategovernmentbudgetproblems.世界正面臨著一^驚人的增長(zhǎng)，在老百姓的數(shù)量。他們將比以往任何時(shí)候都活得更長(zhǎng)。在未來20年中，65歲以上的人口將幾乎翻一倍，從6億歲到11億歲。第二十世紀(jì)的經(jīng)驗(yàn)，當(dāng)更長(zhǎng)壽（長(zhǎng)壽）轉(zhuǎn)化為退休后的生活而不是工作中的更多時(shí)間，很多觀察家認(rèn)為這一轉(zhuǎn)變將導(dǎo)致經(jīng)濟(jì)增長(zhǎng)放緩，而激增的養(yǎng)老金將建立政府預(yù)算問題。Butthenotionofasharpdivisionbetweentheworkingyoungandtheidleoldmissesanewtrend,thegrowinggapbetweentheskilledandtheunskilled.Employmentratesarefallingamongyoungerunskilledpeople,whereasolderskilledfolkareworkinglonger.ThedivideismostextremeinAmerica,wherewell-educatedbaby-boomers（二戰(zhàn)后生育高峰期出生的美國人）areputtingoffretirementwhilemanyless-skilledyoungerpeoplehavedroppedoutoftheworkforce.但在工作的年輕人和空閑的老錯(cuò)過了一個(gè)新的趨勢(shì)，技術(shù)和非技術(shù)之間的差距不斷擴(kuò)大的概念的概念。年輕的非技術(shù)人群中的就業(yè)率正在下降，而老年人則在工作時(shí)間更長(zhǎng)。分歧最明顯的是美國，在那里受過良好教育的嬰兒潮一代（二戰(zhàn)后生育高峰期出生的美國人）正在推遲退休，而許多缺乏技能的年輕人已經(jīng)退出了勞動(dòng)力大軍。Policyispartlyresponsible.ManyEuropeangovernmentshaveabandonedpoliciesthatusedtoencouragepeopletoretireearly.Risinglifeexpectancy（預(yù)期壽命），combinedwiththereplacementofgenerousdefined-benefitpensionplanswithlessgenerousdefined-contributionones,meansthateventhebetter-offmustworklongertohaveacomfortableretirement.Butthechangingnatureofworkalsoplaysabigrole.Payhasrisensharplyforthehighlyeducated,andthosepeoplecontinuetoreaprichrewardsintooldagebecausethesedaystheeducatedelderlyaremoreproductivethantheprecedinggeneration.Technologicalchangemaywellreinforcethatshift:theskillsthatcomplementcomputers,frommanagementknowhowtocreativity,donotnecessarilydeclinewithage.政策部分責(zé)任。許多歐洲國家的政府已經(jīng)放棄了鼓勵(lì)人們提前退休的政策。預(yù)期壽命的上升（預(yù)期壽命），加之慷慨的養(yǎng)老金計(jì)劃和固定繳費(fèi)的更換，就意味著更好的工作時(shí)間必須有一個(gè)舒適的退休生活。但工作的性質(zhì)的變化也發(fā)揮了很大作用。為受過高等教育的人支付的工資已經(jīng)急劇上升，而那些繼續(xù)從老年人中獲得豐厚回報(bào)的人，因?yàn)檫@些天受教育的老年人比前一代人更有生產(chǎn)力。技術(shù)上的變化會(huì)增強(qiáng)這一趨勢(shì)：技能：計(jì)算機(jī)的補(bǔ)充，從管理技術(shù)創(chuàng)新，不一定會(huì)隨著年齡的增長(zhǎng)而下降。Passage8Someoftheworld'smostsignificantproblemsneverhitheadlines.Oneexamplecomesfromagriculture.Foodriotsandhungermakenews.Butthetrendlyingbehindthesemattersisrarelytalkedabout.Thisisthedeclineinthegrowthinyieldsofsomeoftheworld'smajorcrops.AnewstudybytheUniversityofMinnesotaandMcGillUniversityinMontreallooksatwhere,andhowfar,thisdeclineisoccurring.一些世界上最重要的問題從未得到重視。一個(gè)例子來自農(nóng)業(yè)。糧食騷亂和饑餓成為新聞。但在這些問題背后的趨勢(shì)很少被討論。那就是一些世界主要作物產(chǎn)量增長(zhǎng)減緩。明尼蘇達(dá)大學(xué)和蒙特利爾麥克吉爾大學(xué)的一項(xiàng)新研究著眼于這種下降所發(fā)生的地點(diǎn)及程度。Theauthorstakeavastnumberofdatapointsforthefourmostimportantcrops:rice,wheat,cornandsoyabeans大豆）.Theyfindthatonbetween24%and39%ofallharvestedareas,theimprovementinyieldsthattookplacebeforethe1980ssloweddowninthe1990sand2000s作者大量研究了四種最重要的作物的數(shù)據(jù)：水稻、小麥、玉米和大豆（大豆）。他們發(fā)現(xiàn)，在24%-39%的收獲區(qū)域之間，20世紀(jì)80年代的產(chǎn)量增長(zhǎng)快于20世紀(jì)90年代和21世紀(jì)。Therearetwoworryingfeaturesoftheslowdown.Oneisthatithasbeenparticularlysharpintheworld'smostpopulous（人口多的）countries,IndiaandChina.Theirabilitytofeedthemselveshasbeenanimportantsourceofrelativestabilitybothwithinthecountriesandonworldfoodmarkets.Thatself-sufficiencycannotbetakenforgrantedifyieldscontinuetoslowdownorreverse.這種增長(zhǎng)減緩有兩個(gè)令人擔(dān)憂的特點(diǎn)，一個(gè)特點(diǎn)在世界上人口最多的國家—印度和中國—最為明顯，兩國自給自足能力是國內(nèi)和國際糧食市場(chǎng)穩(wěn)定的根源。如果糧食產(chǎn)量增長(zhǎng)減緩或者下降，這種自給自足能力不能理所當(dāng)然。Second,yieldgrowthhasbeenlowerinwheatandricethanincornandsoybeans.Thisisproblematicbecausewheatandricearemoreimportantasfoods,accountingforaroundhalfofallcaloriesconsumed.Cornandsoyabeansaremoreimportantasfeedgrains.Theauthorsnotethat“wehavepreferentiallyfocusedourcropimprovementeffortsonfeedinganimalsandcarsratherthanoncropsthatfeedpeopleandarethebasisoffoodsecurityinmuchoftheworld.”第二，小麥和水稻的產(chǎn)量增長(zhǎng)比玉米和大豆的慢。這是病態(tài)的因?yàn)樾←満陀衩资歉匾氖澄铮妓邢目防锏囊话?。玉米和大豆是更重要的飼料谷物。作者注意到“我們更喜歡把精力放在提升飼養(yǎng)動(dòng)物和發(fā)動(dòng)汽車的作物產(chǎn)量方面，而不是注重提高供人吃的作物產(chǎn)量方面，供人食用的作物是世界糧食產(chǎn)量的基礎(chǔ)。”Thereportqualifiesthemoreoptimisticfindingsofanothernewpaperwhichsuggeststhattheworldwillnothavetodigupalotmorelandforfarminginordertofeed9billionpeoplein2050,astheFoodandAgricultureOrganisationhasargued.這個(gè)報(bào)告為另一篇論文更樂觀的發(fā)現(xiàn)提供了依據(jù)，世界食物和農(nóng)業(yè)組織提出，2050年，人們要開發(fā)更多土地耕種以養(yǎng)活90億人，該論文表明，這是錯(cuò)誤的。Instead,itsays,thankstoslowingpopulationgrowth,landcurrentlyploughedupforcropsmightbeabletorevert回返）toforestorcouldhappen.Thetroubleisthattheforecastassumescontinuedimprovementsinyields,whichmaynotactuallyhappen.相反，由于人口增長(zhǎng)緩慢，當(dāng)下耕種作物的土地可能會(huì)回返為森林或者荒地。這是可能發(fā)生的。問題是，人們所預(yù)料的產(chǎn)量增長(zhǎng)可能不會(huì)發(fā)生。Passage9In1939twobrothers,MacandDickMcDonald,startedadrive-inrestaurantinSanBernadino,California.Theycarefullychoseabusycornerfortheirlocation.Theyhadruntheirownbusinessesforyears,firstatheater,thenabarbecue（烤肉）restaurant,andthenanotherdrive-in.Butintheirnewoperation,theyofferedanew,shortenedmenu:Frenchfries,hamburgers,andsodas.Tothissmallselectiontheyaddedonenewconcept:quickservice,nowaitersorwaitresses,andnotips.1939年，兩個(gè)兄弟，麥克和迪克麥當(dāng)勞，在加利福尼亞州的SanBernadino開了一家汽車餐館。他們小心地選擇了一個(gè)繁忙的角落作為店址。多年來，他們經(jīng)營自己的企業(yè)，首先是個(gè)劇場(chǎng)，然后燒烤餐廳，然后是另一家汽車餐館。但在他們的新餐館里，他們提供了一個(gè)新的、簡(jiǎn)化了的菜單：炸薯?xiàng)l，漢堡包，和蘇打水。他們?cè)黾恿艘粋€(gè)新的概念：快速服務(wù)，沒有服務(wù)員，也沒有提示。Theirhamburgerssoldforfifteencents.Cheesewasanotherfourcents.TheirFrenchfriesandhamburgershadaremarkableuniformity,forthebrothershaddevelopedastrictroutineforthepreparationoftheirfood,andtheyinsistedontheircooks'stickingtotheirroutine.Theirnewdrive-inbecameincrediblypopular,particularlyforlunch.Peopledroveupbythehundredsduringthebusynoontime.Theself-servicerestaurantwassopopularthatthebrothershadallowedtencopiesoftheirrestauranttobeopened.TheywerecontentwiththismodestsuccessuntiltheymetRayKroc.他們的漢堡包賣了十五美分。奶酪格外加是四美分。他們的薯?xiàng)l和漢堡包有著驚人的一致性，因?yàn)樾值軅円呀?jīng)制定了一個(gè)嚴(yán)格的日常準(zhǔn)備食物流程，他們讓他們的廚師堅(jiān)持這一流程。他們的新餐館變得非常流行，特別是在午餐。在繁忙的中午，數(shù)百人開車前來。這家自助餐廳很受歡迎，兄弟們又開了十家一樣的餐廳。他們滿足于這小小的成功，直到他們遇到了雷?克羅克內(nèi)容KrocwasasalesmanwhomettheMcDonaldbrothersin1954,whenhewassellingmilkshake-mixingmachines.Hequicklysawtheuniqueappealofthebrothers'fast-foodrestaurantsandboughttherighttofranchise（特許經(jīng)營）othercopiesoftheirrestaurants.Theagreementstruckincludedtherighttoduplicatethemenu,theequipment,eventheirredandwhitebuildingswiththegoldenarches.1954年，克羅克是個(gè)推銷員，他在推銷奶昔及其的時(shí)候遇見了麥當(dāng)勞兄弟。他很快看到兄弟的快餐店的獨(dú)特吸引力和并且買下了餐廳的特許經(jīng)營權(quán)。該協(xié)議的權(quán)利，包括復(fù)制的菜單，設(shè)備，甚至包括帶金色拱門的紅白相間的建筑TodayMcDonald'sisreallyahouseholdname.ItsnamesforitssandwicheshavecometomeanhamburgerinthedecadessincethedayRayKrocwatchedpeoplerushuptoorderfifteen-centhamburgers.In1976,McDonald'shadover$1billionintotalsales.Itsfirsttwenty-twoyearsisoneofthemostincrediblesuccessstoriesinmodernAmericanbusinesshistory.今天麥當(dāng)勞是個(gè)家喻戶曉的名字。自從克羅克先生看著人們匆忙訂購十五美分的漢堡包，幾十年來，麥當(dāng)勞的三明治已經(jīng)成為漢堡的別稱。在1976，麥當(dāng)勞擁有超過10億美元的總銷售額。它的前二十二年是美國現(xiàn)代商業(yè)史上最令人難以置信的成功案例之一。Passage10TheriseoftheInternethasbeenoneofthemosttransformativedevelopmentsinhumanhistory,comparableinimpacttotheinventionoftheprintingpressandthetelegraph.Overtwobillionpeopleworldwidenowhaveaccesstovastlymoreinformationthaneverbefore,andcancommunicatewitheachotherinstantly,oftenusingWeb-connectedmobiledevicestheycarryeverywhere.ButtheInternet'stremendousimpactshasonlyjustbegun.互聯(lián)網(wǎng)的興起，一直是人類歷史上最具變革性的發(fā)展之一，與印刷機(jī)和電報(bào)的發(fā)明影響相當(dāng)?，F(xiàn)在，超過二十億人以往任何時(shí)候都有更多的信息，并可以立即與對(duì)方進(jìn)行溝通，經(jīng)常他們使用隨身攜帶的聯(lián)網(wǎng)的移動(dòng)設(shè)備，但是互聯(lián)網(wǎng)的巨大沖擊才剛剛開始?！癕assadoptionoftheInternetisdrivingoneofthemostexcitingsocial,cultural,andpoliticaltransformationsinhistory,andunlikeearlierperiodsofchange,thistimetheeffectsarefullyglobal,”SchmidtandCohenwriteintheirnewbook.TheNewDigitalAge.PerhapsthemostprofoundchangeswillcomewhenthefivebillionpeopleworldwidewhocurrentlylackInternetaccessgetonline.TheauthorsdoanexcellentjobofexaminingtheimplicationsoftheInternetrevolutionforindividuals,governments,andinstitutionslikethenewsmedia.Butifthebookhasonemajorshortcoming,it'sthatauthorsdon'tspendenoughtimeapplyingacriticaleyetotheroleofInternetbusinessesintheseweepingchanges.Intheirbook,theauthorsprovidethemostauthoritativevolumetodatethatdescribes—andmoreimportantlypredicts—howtheInternetwillshapeourlivesinthecomingdecades.Theypaintapictureofaworldinwhichindividuals,companies,institutions,andgovernmentsmustdealwithtworealities,onephysical,andonevirtual.Atthecoreofthebookistheideathat“technologyisneutral,