2005年Text 2
　　Do you remember all those years when scientists argued that smoking would kill us but the doubters insisted that we didn’t know for sure? That the evidence was inconclusive, the science uncertain? That the antismoking lobby was out to destroy our way of life and the government should stay out of the way? Lots of Americans bought that nonsense, and over three decades, some 10 million smokers went to early graves.
　　There are upsetting parallels today, as scientists in one wave after another try to awaken us to the growing threat of global warming. The latest was a panel from the National Academy of Sciences, enlisted by the White House, to tell us that the Earth’s atmosphere is definitely warming and that the problem is largely man-made. The clear message is that we should get moving to protect ourselves. The president of the National Academy, Bruce Albert, added this key point in the preface to the panel’s report "Science never has all the answers. But science does provide us with the best available guide to the future, and it is critical that our nation and the world base important policies on the best judgments that science can provide concerning the future consequences of present actions."
　　Just as on smoking, voices now come from many quarters insisting that the science about global warming is incomplete, that it’s OK to keep pouring fumes into the air until we know for sure. This is a dangerous game: by the time 100 percent of the evidence is in, it may be too late. With the risks obvious and growing, a prudent people would take out an insurance policy now.
　　Fortunately, the White House is starting to pay attention. But it’s obvious that a majority of the president’s advisers still don’t take global warming seriously. Instead of a plan of action, they continue to press for more research -- a classic case of "paralysis by analysis."
　　To serve as responsible stewards of the planet, we must press forward on deeper atmospheric and oceanic research. But research alone is inadequate. If the Administration won’t take the legislative initiative, Congress should help to begin fashioning conservation measures. A bill by Democratic Senator Robert Byrd of West Virginia, which would offer financial incentives for private industry, is a promising start. Many see that the country is getting ready to build lots of new power plants to meet our energy needs. If we are ever going to protect the atmosphere, it is crucial that those new plants be environmentally sound.
　　30. The author associates the issue of global warning with that of smoking because
　　[A] they both suffered from the government’s negligence.
　　[B] a lesson from the latter is applicable to the former.
　　[C] the outcome of the latter aggravates the former.
　　[D] both of them have turned from bad to worse.
　　[答案] B
　　[解题思路]
　　文章第二段开头提到了"There are upsetting parallels today"（这种令人不安的情况又在发生着），同时第三段开头更明确地指出"Just as on smoking, voices now come from many quarters insisting that the science about global warming is incomplete, that it’s OK to keep pouring fumes into the air until we know for sure"（和现在对待吸烟问题上的看法一样，来自很多地方的意见认为，科学关于全球变暖的证据不足，在我们有确切证据之前还是可以继续把废弃排放到空气中）。很显然，作者认为吸烟问题和全球变暖问题具有可比拟性"parallels"，因此后者的教训也有可能适用于前者，正确答案为B。C选项的错误在于两个现象不具有因果关系或先后联系，而A、D选项的表述在文章中都没有提到。
　　[题目译文]
　　作者把全球变暖问题与吸烟问题联系起来是因为
　　[A] 两者都被政府所忽视
　　[B] 后者的教训适用于前者
　　[C] 后者的结构加重了前者
　　[D] 两者都从不好的状况变得更加糟糕

2006年Text 4
　　Many things make people think artists are weird and the weirdest may be this: artists only job is to explore emotions, and yet they choose to focus on the ones that feel bad.
　　This wasn’t always so. The earliest forms of art, like painting and music, are those best suited for expressing joy. But somewhere in the 19th century, more artists began seeing happiness as insipid, phony or, worst of all, boring as we went from Wordsworth’s daffodils to Baudelaire’s flowers of evil.
　　You could argue that art became more skeptical of happiness because modern times have seen such misery. But it’s not as if earlier times didn’t know perpetual war, disaster and the massacre of innocents. The reason, in fact, may be just the opposite: there is too much damn happiness in the world today.
　　After all, what is the one modern form of expression almost completely dedicated to depicting happiness? Advertising. The rise of anti-happy art almost exactly tracks the emergence of mass media, and with it, a commercial culture in which happiness is not just an ideal but an ideology.