.一北京市朝阳区2015中考一模D “The world has never been a better place to live in” says science writer Matt Ridley, “and it will keep on getting better.” Read on to see how Ridley makes his case. Right or wrong? You decide.Compared with 50 years ago, when I was just four years old, people now make nearly three times as much money, eat one third more food and expect to live one third longer. In fact, its hard to find any areas of the world thats worse off now than it was then, even though the world population has more than doubled over that period.One reason we are richer, healthier, taller, cleverer, longer-lived and freer than ever before is that the four most basic human needsfood, clothing, fuel and shelterhave grown much cheaper. Take one example: In 1800, a candle providing one hours light cost six hours work. In the 1880s, the same light from a lamp took 15 minutes work to pay for. In 1950, it was eight seconds. Today, its half a second. In these terms, we are 43,200 times better off than in1800.In the United States, rivers, lakes, seas and air are getting cleaner all the time. A car today produces less pollution traveling at full speed than a parked car did from leaks (泄漏) in 1970.Although the world population is growing, the rate (率) of increase has been falling for 50 years. Across the world, national birth rates are lower now than in 1960, and in the less developed world, the birth rate has almost halved. According to a research report from the United Nations, population will start falling once it reaches 9.2 billion in 2075. After all, there are already seven billion people on earth, and they are eating better and better.In 1970s, there were 550 billion barrels (桶) of oil reserves (储存) in the world, and in the 20 years that followed the world used up 600 billion. So by 1990, reserves should have been overused by 50 billion barrels. Instead, it is reported there are 900 billion today. They will last for many years and people will find something in place of oil long before they run out.The more we develop, the more we can develop. The more we invent, the more inventions become possible. For 200 years, pessimists (people who believe that terrible things will happen in future) have had all the headlineseven though optimists have far more often been right. There are some reasons for pessimists. No charity (慈善机构) ever raised money by saying things are getting better. No journalist ever got the front page writing a story about how terrible things wont happen. Dont be a pessimistdare to be an optimist! 52. Today, providing one hours light costs _.A. 6 hours workB. 15 minutes workC. 8 seconds workD. 0.5 seconds work53. Which of the following is true, according to the passage?A. Things we used to need were much cheaper than they are today.B. The pollution today is much more serious than it was long ago.C. Population problem has nearly made the world stop developing.D. Its not necessary to be worried about oil reserves in the world.54. What does the word “optimists” in the last paragraph mean?A. People who are brave enough to face anything terrible.B. People who can always tell good things from bad ones.C. People who have hopeful and happy feelings about life.D. People who dont easily believe what theyre told about.55. Which of the following can be the best title for the passage?A. Never Give UpB. Cheer UpC. Dont Be SadD. Think Out （D）52. D 53. D 54. C 55. B 二 2015年顺义区初三第一次模拟练习DLanguages keeps evolving（进化、发展）, and English is no exception. It is a language that embraces(欣然接受)new words that may be cool today but gone tomorrow.There are, however, some words and phrases that have stood the test of time. OK, which has become the international standard for expressing agreement, is a good example. But why is this rather odd(奇怪的)expression so popular and so useful when we could use any number of other words to say the same thing?Writing in The Times, Allen Metcalf, author of OK: The Improbable Story of Americas Greatest Word, writes: “What OK provided that the others did not was neutrality(中性), a way to express agreement without having to offer an opinion.”For example, if someone asks you “Shall we go for a walk after lunch?” you can simply respond “OK”. There you go no extra opinions. Just straight, plain old OK.So just where did this rather curious expression come from? The origins of OK have been widely disputed (辩论，争论). Some people have guessed that OK was the name of a person or a product.Speakers of many different languages have had their say on this question, keen to claim the term as their own.Writing an article for Londons Metro newspaper, Metcalf states: O and K are present in every language of the world, as expressions that can be abbreviated(缩写) OK.” For example: French “O qu-oui”, “yes indeed”; German “