首页
外语
计算机
考研
公务员
职业资格
财经
工程
司法
医学
专升本
自考
实用职业技能
登录
考研
I was studying physics in college 20 years ago this month, when two chemists at the University of Utah promised that they could
I was studying physics in college 20 years ago this month, when two chemists at the University of Utah promised that they could
admin
2016-10-15
78
问题
I was studying physics in college 20 years ago this month, when two chemists at the University of Utah promised that they could unleash the energy of the sun in a test tube at room temperature, and meet the entire world’s energy needs forever with some cooked up water and a couple of electrodes.
The exhilaration at the genesis of the new science of "cold fusion" faded fairly quickly. Scores of scientists around the world tried and failed to replicate the Utah scientists’ wondrous results. Irksome physicists pointed out that the process the chemists described violated several laws of nature.
To me, however, those heady few months bring to mind something more than the hubristic enthusiasm of some overheated men in lab coats. The experience provides a lasting lesson about our faith in technology as the solution to our challenges, and the cover it provides to avoid hard choices on things like, say, conserving energy. It’s a warning about the pitfalls of our unshakeable belief in the limitless promise of our endeavors, regardless of reality’s constraints. It is a lesson about the dangers of our love affair with progress.
Contemplating the economic rubble from our most recent paroxysm of enthusiasm, I wonder whether we should do something about our blind passions. I’ve heard the supporting arguments, of course, about how optimism seeds the American Dream, nurturing the entrepreneurial zeal that supports the nation’s prosperity. And it’s true that the Internet bubble bequeathed us the Internet as we know it. I’m told optimism also helps patients recover from coronary bypass surgery.
Still, I can’t help thinking that repackaging the future as a basketful of promise is a con. Recent research from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development has found that the son of a poor American father has more than a 40 percent chance of being poor himself—higher odds than in, say, Britain, Norway or Denmark. The income of the typical American household was lower in 2007 than it was in 1999. This aspect of the American Dream seems like a dream only.
I am confident that we shall keep on dreaming, however, regardless of the damage this periodically inflicts. On the anniversary of the "discovery" in Utah 20 years ago, a Navy chemist breathlessly announced to a meeting of the American Chemical Society in Salt Lake City that her lab had nailed it, finally, finding "significant" evidence of cold fusion. Now they call the phenomenon a "low-energy nuclear reaction", presumably to overcome the stigma.
The author argues that______.
选项
A、the constrains in reality can never be neglected
B、technology is the sole solution to our problems
C、hard choices on challenges in life are inevitable
D、dangers are latent in any kind of human progress
答案
D
解析
根据第三段中的“The experience provides a lasting lesson about…energy.It’s a warningabout the pitfalls of…constraints.It is a lesson about the dangers of our love affair with progress”,D应为答案。
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/SmoZ777K
0
考研英语一
相关试题推荐
Apartfromanewfootballstadiumandsomesmartuniversitybuildings,mostofMiddlesbroughlooksasthoughitcametoadeadh
Humanity’sgreatestaccomplishmentofthepastfivedecades,declaredBillGatesthisweek,isthereductioninthenumberofde
AttheMuseumofSexinNewYorkCity,artificial-intelligenceresearcherDavidLevyprojectedamockimageonascreenofasmi
Duringuncertaintimes,peopletendtolookbackandwonderhowitgottothis.Theyfeelmorekeenlytheirmissedopportunities
Summerwas,forawhile,achild’stime,conferringaninviolaterighttolaziness.Itwasaformofeducationthathadnothing
Summerwas,forawhile,achild’stime,conferringaninviolaterighttolaziness.Itwasaformofeducationthathadnothing
Theclean-energybusinessisturningintothenextbiginvestmentboom,inwhichrisksarelightlyignored.Untilrecently,reca
Prewritingreferstostrategiesyoucanusetogenerateideasbeforestartingthefirstdraftofapaper.Prewritingtechniques
Prewritingreferstostrategiesyoucanusetogenerateideasbeforestartingthefirstdraftofapaper.Prewritingtechniques
Severalyearsintoacampaigntogetkidstoeatbetterandexercisemore,childobesityrateshaveappearedtostabilize,andm
随机试题
最早论述黄疸病证的是最早认识到黄疸有传染性的是
关于CT扫描层厚的叙述,错误的是
在某刑事公诉案件中.如果审判长与案件有利害关系.那么下列哪些人员有权申请审判长回避?()
账户是根据()开设的、具有一定格式和结构,用于分类反映会计要素增减变动情况及其结果的载体。
全面结算会员期货公司向非结算会员收取的保证金,不得高于期货交易所向全面结算会员期货公司收取的保证金标准。()
违反《中华人民共和国证券法》的有关规定,将投资者的账户提供给他人使用的,对直接负责的主管人员和其他直接责任人员()。
小红装病逃学一天,大明答应为她保密。事后,知道事情真相的老师对大明说,我和你一样,都认为违背承诺是一件不好的事;但是,人和人交往,事实上默认一个承诺,这就是说真话,任何谎言都违背这一承诺。因此,如果小红确实装病逃学,那么,你即使已经承诺为她保密,也应该对我
设随机变量X的概率密度为f(x)=若k满足概率等式P{X≥k}=.则k的取值范围是_______.
It’sbreakfasttimeattheelegantHotelinBangkok,andeverytableisfull.MostofthepatronsareforeignersvisitingThaila
Personalcomputers______(对于一般人来说不再是遥不可及的);theyarereadily-availablethesedays.
最新回复
(
0
)