A
The Book List
Best boss...chosen by Elizabeth Kolbert
Elizabeth Kolber's new book, Under a While Sky, explores climate engineering and other bids to address humanity's impact on nature. Below, the Pulitzer winning author of The Sixth Extinction recommends several other books.
Encounters with the Archdruid by John McPhee (1971)
McPhee's vivid portrait of David Brower, the California mountaineer considered by many to be the "father" of the modern environmental movement, is a classic. It in the process poses one of the central questions of our time: Can a developed, technological society coexist with nature, or are the two contradictory?
Spillover: Animal Infections and the Next Human Pandemic by David Quammen (2012).
Spillover is a tour de force: It basically predicted Covid-19. For understanding how our behavior towards animals, both domesticated and wild, made the current pandemic—or one like it—inevitable, there's no better guide.
The Alchemy of Us: How Humans and Matter Transformed One Another by Ainissa Ramirez (2020).
Ramirez, a materials scientist, argues that with our technologies we have transformed not just the world around us but also ourselves. It's a fascinating idea, and Ramirez makes it come alive through the stories of inventors, some well-known, others underappreciated.
A Friend of the Earth by T.C. Boyle (2000).
Fiction about ecological disaster tends to be written in a tragic key. Boyle, by contrast, favors the darkly comic. In this novel, set in 2025, an aging environmentalist is caring for a pop star's Noah's Ark-like animal shelter when a real flood arrives.
1. What do these books have in common?
A. They are all collections of short stories.
B. They are all about people and the planet.
C. They all focused on the effects of Covid-19.
D. They all introduce the most influential people.
2. What kind of books is A Friend of the Earth?
A. A science fiction. B. A tragedy.
C. A mystery novel. D. A comedy.
3. Whose book tells about the improper treatment of animals?
A. Elizabeth Kolbert B. John McPhee
C. David Quammen D. Ainissa Ramirez
【答案】1. B 2. D 3. C
【解析】
【分析】本文是应用文。文章介绍了一个书单，介绍了五本书的主要内容等。
【1题详解】
细节理解题。根据第一段的“explores climate engineering and other bids to address humanity's impact on nature(探索气候工程和其他试图解决人类对自然的影响的努力)”,第二段的“technological society coexist with nature(科技术社会与自然共存)”，第三段的“understanding how our behavior towards animals, both domesticated and wild(了解我们对动物的行为，包括驯养的和野生的)”，第四段的“with our technologies we have transformed not just the world around us but also ourselves(通过我们的技术，我们不仅改变了我们周围的世界，也改变了我们自己)”以及第五段的“an aging environmentalist is caring for a pop star's Noah's Ark-like animal shelter when a real flood arrives(当真正的洪水到来时，一位年迈的环保主义者正在照顾一个流行歌星的像诺亚方舟一样的动物避难所)”可知，这些书的共同之处它们都是关于人和这个星球的。故选B。
【2题详解】
推理判断题。根据最后一段的“Fiction about ecological disaster tends to be written in a tragic key. Boyle, by contrast, favors the darkly comic.( 关于生态灾难的小说往往以悲剧为主。相比之下，博伊尔更喜欢黑色喜剧色彩)”可知，A Friend of the Earth是一部喜剧。故选D。
【3题详解】
细节理解题。根据Spillover: Animal Infections and the Next Human Pandemic by David Quammen (2012).部分的“For understanding how our behavior towards animals, both domesticated and wild, made the current pandemic—or one like it—inevitable, there's no better guide.(对于了解我们对驯养和野生动物的行为，如何使得当前的大流行（或像这样的大流行)不可避免，没有更好的指导了。)”可知，David Quammen的书讲述了对动物的不当对待。故选C。
