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  3. With 2005 fast becoming "the year of the natural disaster", it is time to re

With 2005 fast becoming "the year of the natural disaster", it is time to re

游客2024-01-01  22
问题     With 2005 fast becoming "the year of the natural disaster", it is time to reflect on how engineering, science and technology can play their fullest part in protecting the planet.
    Long before the Asian tsunami struck, the science community predicted the particular region of Indonesia to be hit by the next big earthquake; and the engineering and technology community had developed early warning systems costing only ＄ 30 million. But no government in the region heeded the warnings and no early warning systems were in place. We ignored technology of the advance warnings at our peril of 100,000 victims of the tsunami.
    Governments are not alone in ignoring the views of their scientific community; the public too has its doubts. Part of the reason for this lack of confidence must be down to the failure to engage them in a meaningful way about their concerns. Trust is a two-way street. Instead of claiming that everything would be rosy in the scientific garden "if only the public understood", we must work hard to explore concerns, discover fears and delve deep into the depths of public perceptions. We are getting there. There is a growing realization that effective public engagement is of far greater value than banging the "public understanding" drum.
    There are still doubters, of course, and sadly their cause is helped whenever they come across opinions presented as fact. All of us must guard against this debilitating practice. In time, effective public engagement should help deliver improved trust as well as better policy, which -- in turn -- might make it more difficult for scientists’ warnings to be ignored.
    Today’s technology community is a triumph of international collaboration where engineers and scientists combine to develop solutions to our biggest problems. Of course, technology cannot stop natural disasters but it can mitigate their impact. We are able to identify the birds affected by avian flu. We can chart their migration patterns around the world. We have the means to pursue vaccines. And we have the communication channels to keep people informed.
    Extolling the virtues of technology is not to pretend technology is perfect in every regard. Far from it. The profligate and unsustainable use of technology in energy and transport has contributed to climate change. But that doesn’t mean technology has failed us. We must never lose sight of the fact that technology itself will deliver the solutions to the very problems it can create. If we do, technology will remain sidelined and undervalued, and this major social failure will progressively disadvantage us all.
    Our vision is of a society embracing technology as a weapon of both progress and defense. Since the beginning of civilization, we have relied on it and enjoyed its benefits -- and most new technologies have had hugely beneficial effects for most people. But now, in an age when the death toll from natural disasters is increasing year on year, with more people living in danger zones, it is ever more urgent that we rely on science and technology to warn us of the dangers to come and provide the solutions we need.  [br] Which of the following does the author view as the key points of Paragraph 6? Ⅰ. Imperfect as it is, technology has not failed us. Ⅱ. The wasteful use of technology in transport is an example to change climate. Ⅲ. Problems created by technology can only be solved by technology itself.
选项 A、Ⅰ and Ⅱ
B、Ⅱ and Ⅲ
C、Ⅰ and Ⅲ
D、Ⅰ, Ⅱ and Ⅲ
答案 C
解析 是非题型第六段讲的是：赞美科技并不是要佯装它在每一个方面都是完美的。将科技肆意和不顾后果地利用在能源和交通运输上导致了气候变迁。但这并不意味着科技辜负了我们。我们永远不能忽略这样一个事实：科技本身会为它所带来的问题带来解决办法。如果我们忽略了，科技就会身处局外或被低估；这种主要的社会问题会逐渐令我们越来越失利。因此作者在本段主要是要表达：科技并不完美，但它不会令我们失望，因为科技带来的问题只有科技本身才能解决；因此C为答案。
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