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
外语
It is clear that human history will end; the only mystery is when. It is also clear that if the timing is left to nature (or, if
It is clear that human history will end; the only mystery is when. It is also clear that if the timing is left to nature (or, if
admin
2012-10-11
39
问题
It is clear that human history will end; the only mystery is when. It is also clear that if the timing is left to nature (or, if you prefer, to God) and humans hang on until the bloody end, the race’s final exit will be ignoble (不光彩的). If future generations escape the saurian (蜥蜴类) agony of extinction by a wandering chunk of rock or ice, the sun’s unavoidable growth to gianthood will still burn their last successors to ashes:only cinders and gases and dust will remain.
Far future generations might prolong the process by posting colonies beyond the earth’s orbit, but these would be sad outposts at the end of the solar system’s long day, clutching memories of a lost planet and of billions of sacrificed souls. The difficulties—fantastic difficulties—of interstellar (星际的) travel might be overcome, but the mightiest of starships could do no more than defer the end of the world. An ignoble existence hopping from planet to planet—clinging to each clod until it, in its turn, was vaporized or frozen—might still be bearable were it not for the knowledge of its final uselessness. In the end, there is only death by gravity or entropy, the fiery quantum (量子) pit or the heatless grey soup.
The great violinist Jascha Heifetz was great not least because he quit the concert stage at his peak, before the show became stale or the audience drifted away. To exit gracefully is sublime (美妙的), as Heifetz understood. And only one species is capable of choosing a similarly graceful exit; all others march on like robots. To call time on the human race by choice, not necessity, would be the final victory of the human spirit over animal nature, an absolute emancipation from the command of DNA. Precisely because no other known life-form could do or even conceive such a thing, humanity must.
Science has revealed only one place in the universe that is hospitable to intelligent life, and humans are the only intelligence that, as far as is known, has ever enjoyed the opportunity to occupy it. If people left the stage after a reasonable run, in the fullness of time intelligence could evolve again (dolphin-people? Chimp-people? orchid (兰花) people?). And then, in due course, when this new species deciphered (译解) human books or reached the marker that might be left for them on the windless moon, they would know that man ended his dominion so that theirs might begin. Imagine, then, how they will regard us. It is, far and away, the greatest act of goodness ever contemplated, the ennoblement of a whole species; an act, almost, of angels.
The writer cites Jascha Heifetz’s example mainly because _____.
选项
A、he is a skillful violinist
B、he quits the concert stage at his peak
C、he ends every show gracefully
D、he is adorned by his audience
答案
B
解析
Heifetz的例子用于指出第3段第3、4句的观点:人类应该选择自愿地退场,这样才体面。例子中最有助于说明这个观点的就是他在鼎盛时期退出舞台,因此B为本题答案。
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/zXb7777K
0
大学英语六级
相关试题推荐
Peoplehavewonderedforalongtimehowtheirpersonalitiesandbehaviorsareformed.Itisnoteasytoexplainwhyoneperson
A、Providemoreoutdoorclothingandapparatus.B、Turntheirattentiontofemalecustomers.C、Maketheshoppingareaascomfortab
Growingup,Iearnedmybestmarksforplayingwellwithothers.Formyhusband,Ilivedinthreedifferentcountriesinfiveye
Inthehistoryofartspatronage(资助,赞助),entrepreneurs-turned-connoisseurs(艺术品鉴赏家,行家)areayoungdevelopment.Theworld’sgreat
Judgingfromrecentsurveys,mostexpertsinsleepbehavioragreethatthereisvirtuallyanepidemicofsleepinessinthenatio
A、Thespeakerswillwatchthegametogether.B、Thewomanfeelsluckytohavegotaticket.C、Themanplayscenteronthebasketb
ThedaywhenhefirstarrivedinChicago________distinctlyinhismemory.
Natureissuretotakeits_________onhumanforourmisconductstoit.
Ifeverybodypayshisincometax,ourinland______willbeincreasedenormously.
Oneoftheattractivefeaturesofthecoursewastheway______(实践工作与这门课的理论部分相结合).
随机试题
宋明理学
ThedirectorAwascriticalBatCthewayweDweredoingthework.
咳声清脆者,多属
男性,60岁,以往有劳力型心绞痛,长期服用硝酸甘油,病情尚稳定,近1个月来胸痛再次发作,位于胸骨下段,且多发生在午睡时或晚间入睡后,服硝酸甘油无效,起床站立后可缓解。以往有胆石症史,但从无发作。一周来患者胸痛,发作在清晨5时,且疼痛时间较长,心电图示
下列关于肺癌的描述不正确的是()
张某因涉嫌贪污罪被人民检察院立案侦查,后被取保候审。张某在取保候审期间严重违反有关规定,人民检察院认为需要变更为逮捕措施。请结合案例,回答下列问题:在取保候审期间,张某应当遵守的规定有()。
控制的基本要求包括()。
防腐蚀涂层采用喷涂法是使用最为广泛的涂装工艺,它的优点是()。
根据《水利水电工程标准施工招标资格预审文件》,资格预审公告应当明确载明的申请人资格要求有()。
基因是控制生物性状的遗传物质的基本结构单位和功能单位。()
最新回复
(
0
)