2010

英語二（2010年——2015年"Sustainability"has eapopularwordthesedays,buttoTedNing,theconceptwillalwayshavealmeaning.Havingenduredapainfulperiodofunsustainabilityinhisownlifemadeitcleartohimthatsustainability-orientedvaluesmustbeexpressedthrougheverydayactionandchoice.Ningrecallsspendingaconfusingyearinthelate1990ssellinginsurance.He'dbeenthrough boomandburstand,desperateforajob,signedonwithaBoulderagency.Itdidn'tgowell."Itwasareallybadmovebecausethat'snotmypassion,"saysNing,whosedilemmaaboutthejobtranslated,predictably,intoalackofsales."Iwasmiserable.IhadsomuchanxietythatIwouldwakeupinthemiddleofthenightandstareattheceiling.Ihadnomoneyandneededthejob.Everyonesaid,"Justwait,you'llturnthecorner,giveitsometime.''Whowouldhavethoughtthat,globally,theITindustryproducesaboutthesamevolumesofgreenhousegasesastheworld‘sairlinesdo—roughly2percentofallCO?emissions?Manyeverydaytaskstakeasurprisingtollontheenvironment.Asearchcanleakbetween0.2and7.0gramsofCO?,dependingonhowmanyattemptsareneededtogettherganswer.Todeliverresultstoitsusersquickly,then,hastomaintainvastdatacentersaroundtheworld,packedwithpowerfulcomputers.WhileproducinglargetiesofCO?,thesecomputersemitagreatdealofheat,sothecentersneedtobewellair-conditioned,whichusesevenmoreenergy.However,andotherbigtechprovidersmonitortheirefficiencycloselyandmakeimprovements.Monitoringisthefirststepontheroadtoreduction,butthereismuchtobedone,andnotjustbybigcompanies.2012Whenpeopleindevelocountriesworryaboutmigration,theyareusuallyconcernedattheprospectoftheirbestandbrightestdeparturetoSiliconValleyortohospitalsanduniversitiesinthedevelopedworld.ThesearethekindofworkersthatcountrieslikeBritain,CanadaandAustraliatrytoattractbyusingimmigrationrulesthatprivilegecollegegraduates.Lotsofstudieshavefoundthatwell-educatedpeoplefromdevelocountriesareparticularlylikelytoemigrate.Abigsurveyofnhouseholdscarriedoutin2004foundthatnearly40%ofemigrantshadmorethanahigh-schooleducation,comparedwitharound3.3%ofallnsovertheageof25.This―braindrain‖haslongbotheredmakersinpoorcountries.Theyfearthatithurtstheireconomies,deprivingthemofmuch-neededskilledworkerswhocouldhavetaughtattheiruniversities,workedintheirhospitalsandcomeupwithclevernewproductsfortheirfactoriestomake.Icanpickadatefromthepast53yearsandknowinstantlywhereIwas,whathappenedinthenewsandeventhedayoftheweek.I'vebeenabletodothissinceIwasfour.Ineverfeeloverwhelmedwiththeamountofinformationmybrainabsorbs.Mymindseemstobeabletocopeandtheinformationisstoredawayneatly.WhenIthinkofasadmemory,Idowhateverybodydoes–trytoputittooneside.Idon'tthinkit'sharderformejustbecausemymemoryisclearer.Powerfulmemorydoesn'tmakemyemotionsanymoreacuteorvivid.IcanrecallthedaymygrandfatherdiedandthesadnessIfeltwhenwewenttothehospitalthedaybefore.IalsorememberthatthemusicalHairopenedonBroadwayonthesameday–theybothjustpopintomymindinthesameway.Mostpeoplewoulddefineoptimismasbeingendlesslyhappy,withaglassthat‘sperpetuallyhalffull.Butthat‘sexactlythekindoffalsecheerfulnessthatpositivepsychologistswouldn‘tmend.Heltyoptimismmeansbeingintouchwithreality,‖saysTalBen-Shahar,aHarvardprofessor.AccordingtoBen-Shahar,realisticoptimistsarethosewhomakethebestthingsthathappen,butnotthosewhobelieveeverythinghappensfortheBen-Shaharusesthreeoptimisticexercises.Whenhefeelsdown—say,aftergivingabadlecture—hegrantshimselfpermissiontobehuman.HeremindshimselfthatnoteverylecturecanbeaNobelwinner,somewillbelesseffectivethanothers.Nextisreconstruction.Heyzestheweaklecture,learninglessonsforthefutureaboutwhatworksandwhatdoesn‘t.Finally,thereis,whichinvolvesacknowledgingthatinthegrandschemeoflife,onelecturereallydoesn‘tmatter.2015Thinkaboutdrivingaroutethat‘sveryfamiliar.Itcouldbeyourcomminutestowork,atripintotownorthewayhome.Whicheveritis,youknoweverytwiststepturnlikethebackofyourhand.Onthesestepsoftripsit‘seasytoloseconcentrationisthatyouperceivethatthetriphastakenlesstimethanitactuallyhas.Thisisthewell-travelledroadeffect.PeopletendtounderestimatethetimeittakestotravelTheeffectiscausedbythewayweallocateourattention.Whenwetraveldownawell-knownroute,becausewedon‘thavetoconcentratemuch,timeseemstoflowmorequickly.Andafterward,whenwecometothinkbackonit,wecan‘trememberthejourneywellbecausewedidn‘tpaymuchattentiontoit.Soweassumeitwasshorter.

最近，―承受力‖ 放量的2%？許多研究表明，發(fā)展中國家受過良好教育的人尤其可能。2004年對家庭的一項大規(guī)模表明，將近40%移居國外的人受過高中以上教育，而與之形成對比的是：25歲以上受過高中以上教育的人約為3.3%。這種―人才流失‖現(xiàn)象長期困擾著貧困國家的記得祖父那天的情景以及前一天我們?nèi)メt(yī)院時我有多么難過。我也記得音樂劇次根本算不上什么。 年、、年、、年、年、年年年2010年、、 題解（選自《考研英語拆分與組合法》第四章，以英語一2013年46題為例46)Yetwhenonelooksatthephotographsofthegardencreatedbythehomeless,//it onethat,foralltheirdiversityofstyles,//thesegardensspeakofvariousotherfundamental③//beyondthatofdecorationandcreativeexpression.(39④④beyond介詞短語作狀語。doestheideastrikeyou?（這個主意你覺得怎么樣?）diversity是―多樣、多樣性‖的意思，請參考2004年61）urge當(dāng)名詞用，是―、沖動、需求‖的意思；當(dāng)動詞用，是―敦促、鼓勵‖等意思decoration是―裝潢、裝飾、裝飾品‖①Yetwhenonelooksatthephotographsofthegardencreatedbythehomeless是when引導(dǎo)的時間狀語從句。主語one表示泛指―一個人、我們、大家‖。thegardens直譯為―花園‖就可以了。whenonelooksatthephotographsofthegarden可以直接為―當(dāng)我們看著花園的照thehomeless是―無家可歸的人、流浪漢‖。createdbythehomeless直接為―由無家可歸的人創(chuàng)造的‖，這個分詞短語作定語，修飾前面的garden。應(yīng)該到garden（花園）前面。所以，這個部分就為：當(dāng)我們看著由無家可歸的人創(chuàng)造的花園的的時候。這個譯②itstrikesonethat,foralltheirdiversityofstyleswhen時間狀語從句所對應(yīng)的主句。strike本義是―打擊‖itstrikesone為―它打擊了我們‖。其it不是代詞，不能為―它‖that…后面的內(nèi)otherfundamentalurges,beyondthatofdecorationandcreativeexpression（這些花園道出了…，了…）‖。這是我們看的體會，所以strikeone最好為―給我們留下了深刻的印foralltheirdiversityofstylesfor介詞短語作讓步狀語。forall…表達的是讓步狀語，.意這里的代詞their指代的是下文的gardens，由于下文會有③thesegardensspeakofvariousotherfundamentalurgesthat部分可以直接為―這些花園道出了各種其他的根本需求‖。這個譯文可以接受，但是―各求以外，―還有很多其他的根本需求‖。這個部分也為：這些花園道出了人類還有很多其④beyondthatofdecorationandcreativeexpression是介詞短語作狀語。beyond是―decoratio思。這個分可以譯為―了裝飾美化和創(chuàng)表達這樣需求。可適當(dāng)調(diào)為。 Peoplehavewonderedforalongtimehowtheiralities，andbehaviorsareformed.Itisnoteasytoexinwhyoneisinligentandanotherisnot，orwhyoneiscooperativeandanotheriscompetitive.Socialscientistsare，ofcourse，extremelyinterestedinthesetypesofquestions.(61)Theywanttoexinwhywepossesscertaincharacteristicsandexhibitcertainbehaviors.Therearenoclearanswersyet，buttwodistinctschoolsofthoughtonthematterhavedeveloped.Asonemightexpect，thetwoapproachesareverydifferentfromeachother.Thecontroversyisoftenconvenientlyreferredtoas‖naturevs.nurture‖.(62)Thosewhosupportthearesideofthebelievethatouralitiesandbehaviorpatternsarelargelydeterminedbybiologicalfactors.(63)Thatourenvironmenthaslittle，ifanything，todowithourabilities，characteristicsandbehavioriscentraltothistheory.Takentoanextreme，thistheorymaintainsthatourbehaviorispredeterminedtosuchagreatdegreethatwearealmostcompleyernedbyourinstincts.Thosewhosupportthe―nurture‖theory，thatis，theyadvocateeducation，areoftencalledbehaviorists.Theyclaimthatourenvironmentismoreimportantthanourbiologicallybasedinstinctsindetermininghowwewillact.Abehaviorist，B.F.Skinner，seeshumansasbeingswhosebehaviorisalmostcompleyshapedbytheirsurroundings.Thebehavioristsmaintainthat，likemachines，humansrespondtoenvironmentalstimuliasthebasisoftheirbehavior.Letusexaminethedifferentexnationsaboutonehumancharacteristic，inligence，offeredbythetwotheories.Supportersofthe―nature‖theoryinsistthatwearebornwithacertaincapacityforlearningthatisbiologicallydetermined.Needlesstosay，theydon‘tbelievethatfactorsintheenvironmenthavemuchinfluenceonwhatisbasicallyapredeterminedcharacteristic.Ontheotherhand，behavioristsarguethatourinligencelevelsaretheproductofourexperiences.(64)Behavioristssuggestthatthechildwhoisraisedinanenvironmentwheretherearemanystimuliwhichdevelophisorhercapacityforappropriateresponseswillexperiencegreaterin lectualdevelopment.Thesocialandpoliticalimplicationsofthesetwotheoriesareprofound.IntheUnitedStates，blacksoftenscorebelowwhitesonstandardizedin ligencetests.Thisleadssome―nature‖proponentstoconcludethatblacksarebiologicallyinferiortowhites.(65)Behaviorists，incontrast，saythatdifferencesinscoresareduetothefactthatblacksareoftendeprivedofmanyoftheeducationalandotherenvironmentaladvantagesthatwhitesenjoy.MostpeoplethinkneitherofthesetheoriescanyetfullyexinhumanThefactisthattheenergycrisis，whichhassuddenlybeenofficiallyannounced，hasbeenwithusforalongtimenow，andwillbewithusforanevenlongertime.WhetherAraboilflowslyornotitiscleartoeveryonethatworldindustrycannotbeallowedtodependonsofragileabase.(71)Thesupplyofoilcanbeshutoffunexpectedlyatanytime，andinanycase，theoilwillallrundryinthirtyyearsorsoatthepresentrateofNewsourcesofenergymustbefound，andthiswilltaketime，butitisnotlikelytoresultinanysituationthatwilleverrestorethatsenseofcheapandplentifulenergywehavehadinthetimespast.Foranindefiniteperiodfromhereon，mankindisgoingtoadvancecautiously，andconsideritselfluckythatitcanadvanceatall.Tomakethesituationworse，thereisasyetnosignthatanyslowingoftheworld‘spopulationisinsight.Althoughthebirthratehasdroppedinsomenations，includingtheUnitedStates，thepopulationoftheworldseemssuretopasssixbillionandperhapsevensevenbillionasthetwenty-firstcenturyopens.Thefoodsupplywillnotincreasenearlyenoughtomatchthis，whichmeansthatweareheadingintoacrisisinthematterofproducingandmarketingfood.Takingallthisintoaccount，whatmightwereasonablyestimatesupermarketstobelikeintheyear2001?Tobeginwith，theworldfoodsupplyisgoingto esteadilytighteroverthenextthirtyyears—evenhereintheUnitedStates.By2001，thepopulationoftheUnitedStateswillbeatleasttwohundredfiftymillionandpossiblytwohundredseventymillion，andthenationwillfinditdifficulttoexpandfoodproductiontofilltheadditionalmouths.(74)ThiswillbeparticularlytruesinceenergypinchwillmakeitdifficulttocontinueagricultureinthehighenergyAmericanfashionthatmakesitpossibletocombinefewfarmerswithhighyields.Itseemsalmostcertainthatby2001theUnitedStateswillnolongerbeagreatfoodexportingnationandthat，ifnecessitysexports，itwillbeatthepriceofbelttighteningathome.factasvarietytheretobeincreasinguseofflavouringadditives.(75)Untilsuchtimeasmankindhasthesensetoloweritspopulationtothepointwherethenetcanprovideacomfortablesupportforall，peoplewillhavetoacceptmore―unnaturalfood‖.―Inligence‖atbestisanassumptiveconstruct—themeaningofthewordhasneverbeenclear.(71)Thereismoreagreementonthekindsofbehaviorreferredtobythetermthanthereisonhowtointerpretorclassifythem.Butitisgenerallyagreedthata ofhighinligenceisonewhocangraspideasreadily，makedistinctions，reasonlogically，andmakeuseofverbalandmathematicalsymbolsinsolvingproblems.Aninligencetestisaroughmeasureofachild‘scapacityforlearningthekindsofthingsrequiredinschool.Itdoesnotmeasurecharacter，socialadusenphyscalenduranceanualskillsordesignedforsuchpurposes.(72)Tocriticizeitforsuchfailureisroughlycomparabletocriticizingathermometerfornotmeasuringwindvelocity.Theotherthingwehavetonoticeisthattheassessmentoftheinligenceofanysubjectisessentiallyacomparativeaffair.(73)Nowsincetheassessmentofinligenceisacomparativematterwemustbesurethatthescalewithwhichwearecomparingoursubjectsprovidesa―adorarcomparison.Itisherethatsomeofthedifficultieswhichinterestusbegin.Anytestperformedinvolvesatleastthreefactors:theintentiontodoone‘sbest，theknowledgerequiredforunderstandingwhatyouhavetodo，andtheinlectualabilitytodoit.(74)Thefirsttwomustbeequalforallwhoarebeingcompared，ifanycomparisonintermsofinligenceistobemade.Inschoolpopulationsinourculturetheseassumptionscanbemadefairandreasonable，andthevalueofinligencetestinghasbeenprovedthoroughly.Itsvaluelies，ofcourse，initsprovidingasatisfactorybasisforprediction.Nooneisintheleastinterestedinthemarksalittlechildgetsonhistest;whatweareinterestediniswhetherwecanconcludefromhismarkonthetestthatthechildwilldobetterorworsethanotherchildrenofhisageattaskswhichwethinkrequire―generalinligence‖.(75)Onthewholesuchaconclusioncanbedrawnwithacertaindegreeofconfidence，butonlythechildcanbeassumedtohavehadthesameattitudetowardsthetestastheotherswithwhomheisbeingcompared，andonlyifhewasnotpunishedbylackofrelevantinformationwhichthey(71)Themethodofscientificinvestigationisnothingbuttheexpressionofthenecessarymodeofworkingofthehumanmind;itissimplythemodebywhichallphenomenaarereasonedaboutandgivenpreciseandexactexnation.Thereisnomoredifference，butthereisjustthesamekindofdifference，betweenthementaloperationsofamanofscienceandthoseofan ，asthereisbetweentheoperationsandmethodsofabakerorofabutcherweighingouthisgoodsincommonscales，andtheoperationsofachemistinperformingadifficultandcomplexysisbymeansofhisbalanceandfinelygradedweights.(72)Itisnotthatthescalesintheonecase，andthebalanceintheother，differintheprinciplesoftheirconstructionormannerofworking;butthatthelatterismuchfinerapparatusandofcoursemuchmoreaccurateinitsmeasurementthantheformer.bythehelpoftheseoperations，they，inasortofsense，managetoextractfromNaturecertainnaturallaws，andthatoutofthese，bysomespecialskilloftheirown，theybuilduptheirtheories.(74)Anditisimaginedbymanythattheoperationsofthecommonmindcanbebynomeanscomparedwiththeseprocesses，andthattheyhavetobeacquiredbyasortofspecialtraining.Tohearalltheselargewords，youwouldthinkthatthemindofamanofsciencemustbeconstituteddifferentlyfromthatofhisfellowmen;butifyouwillnotbefrightenedbyterms，youwilldiscoverthatyouarequitewrong，andthatalltheseterribleapparatusarebeingusedbyyourselveseverydayandeveryhourofyourlives.Thereisawell-known inoneofMoliere‘sys，wheretheauthormakestheheroexpressunboundeddelightonbeingtoldthathehadbeentalkingprose（散文）duringthewholeofhislifeInthesameway，Itrustthatyouwilltakecomfort，andbedelightedwithyourselves，onthediscoverythatyouhavebeenactingontheprinciplesofinductiveanddeductivephilosophyduringthesameperiod.(75)Probablythereisnotoneherewhohasnotinthecourseofthedayhadoccasiontosetinmotionacomplextrainofreasoning，oftheverysamekind，thoughdifferingindegree，asthatwhichascientificmangoesthroughintracingthecausesofnaturalAccordingtothenewschoolofscientists,technologyisanoverlookedinexpandingthehorizonsofscientificknowledge.(71)Sciencemovesforward,theysay,notsomuchthroughtheinsightsofgreatmenofgeniusasbecauseofmoreordinarythingslikeimprovedtechniquesandtools.(72)―Inshort‖,aleaderofthenewschoolcontends,―thescientificrevolution,aswecallit,waslargelytheimprovementandinventionanduseofaseriesofinstrumentsthatexpandedthereachofscienceininnumerabledirections.‖(73)Overtheyears,toolsandtechnologythemselvesasasourceoffundamentalinnovationhavelargelybeenignoredbyhistoriansandphilosophersofscience.ThemodernschoolthathailstechnologyarguesthatsuchmastersasGalileo,Newton,Maxwell,Einstein,andinventorssuchasEdisonattachedgreatimportanceto,andderivedgreatbenefitfrom,craftinformationandtechnologicaldevicesofdifferentkindsthatwereusableinscientificexperiments.Thecenterpieceoftheargumentofatechnology-yes,genius-noadvocatewasanysisofGalileo'sroleatthestartofthescientificrevolution.ThewisdomofthedaywasderivedfromPtolemy,anastronomerofthesecondcentury,whoseelaboratesystemoftheskyputEarthatthecenterofallheavenlymotions.(74)Galileo'sgreatestglorywasthatin1609hewasthefirst toturnthenewlyinventedescopeontheheavenstoprovethatthenetsrevolvearoundthesunratherthanaroundtheEarth.Buttherealheroofthestory,accordingtothenewschoolofscientists,wasthelongevolutionintheimprovementofmachineryformakingeyeglasses.Federalisnecessarilyinvolvedinthetechnologyvs.geniusdispute.(75)Whethertheernmentshouldincreasethefinancingofpurescienceattheexpenseoftechnologyorviceversaoftendependsontheissueofwhichisseenasthedriving.Thestandardizededucationalorpsychologicalteststhatarewidelyusedtoaidinselecting,classifying,assigning,orpromotingstudents,employees,andmilitary nelhavebeenthetargetofrecentattacksinbooks,magazines,thedailypress,andevenincongress.(71)Thetargetiswrong,forinattackingthetests,criticsdivertattentionfromthefaultthatlieswithill-informed petentusers.Theteststhemselvesaremerelytools,withcharacteristicsthatcanbemeasuredwithreasonableprecisionunderspecifiedconditions.Whethertheresultswillbevaluable,meaningless,orevenmisleadingdependspartlyuponthetoolitselfbutlargelyupontheAllinformedpredictionsoffutureperformancearebaseduponsomeknowledgeofpastperformance:schoolgradesresearchproductive,salesrecords,orwhateverisappropriate.(72)Howwellthepredictionswillbevalidatedbylaterperformancedependsupontheamount,reliability,andappropriatenessoftheinformationusedandontheskillandwisdomwithwhichitisinterpreted.AnyonewhokeepscarefulscoreknowsthattheinformationavailableisalwayspleteandthatthepredictionsarealwayssubjecttoStandardizedtestsshouldbeconsideredinthiscontext.Theyprovideaquick,objectivemethodofgettingsomekidsofinformationaboutwhata learned,theskillshehasdeveloped,orthekindsof heis.Theinformationsoobtainedhas,qualitatively,thesameadvantagesand ingsasotherkindsofinformation.(73)Whethertousetests,otherkindsofinformation,orbothinaparticularsituationdepends,therefore,upontheevidencefromexperienceconcerningcomparativevalidityanduponsuchfactorsascostandavailability.Ingeneral,thetestsworkmosteffectivelywhenthequalitiestobemeasuredcanbemostpreciselydefinedandleasteffectivelywhenwhatistobemeasuredorpredictedcannotbewelldefined.Properlyused,theyprovidearapidmeansofgettingcomparableinformationaboutmanypeople.Sometimestheyidentifystudentswhosehighpotentialhasnotbeenpreviouslyrecognized,buttherearemanythingstheydonotdo.(75)Forexample,theydonotcompensateforgrosssocialinequality,andthusdonotlhowableanunderprivilegedyoungstermighthavebeenhadhegrownupundermorefavorablecircumstances.Thedifferencesinrelativegrowthofvariousareasofscientificresearchhaveseveral(71)Someofthesecausesarecompleyreasonableresultsofsocialneeds.Othersarereasonableconsequencesofparticularadvancesinsciencebeingtosomeextentself-accelerating.Some,however,arelessreasonableprocessesofdifferentgrowthinwhichpreconceptionsoftheformscientifictheoryoughttotake,by sinauthority,acttoalterthegrowthpatternofdifferentareas.Thisisanewproblemprobablynotyetunavoidable;butitisafrighteningtrend.(72)ThistrendbeganduringtheSecondWorldWar,whenseveralernmentscametotheconclusionthatthespecificdemandsthataernmentwantstomakeofitsscientificestablishmentcannotgenerallybeforeseenindetail.Itcanbepredicted,however,thatfromtimetotimequestionswillarisewhichwillrequirespecificscientificanswers.Itisthereforegenerallyvaluabletotreatthescientificestablishmentasaresourceormachinetobekeptinfunctionalorder.(73)Thisseemsmostlyeffectivelydonebysupportingacertainamountofresearchnotrelatedtoimmediategoalsbutofpossibleconsequenceinthefuture.Thiskindofsupport,likeallernmentsupport,requiresdecisionsabouttheappropriaterecipientsoffunds.Decisionsbasedonutilityasopposedtolackofutilityarestraightforward.Butadecisionamongprojectsnoneofwhichhasimmediateutilityismoredifficult.Thegoalofthesupportingagenciesisthepraisableoneofsupporting―good‖asopposedto―bad‖science,butavaliddeterminationisdifficulttomake.Generally,theideaofgoodsciencetendsto confusedwiththecapacityofthefieldinquestiontogenerateaneleganttheory.(74)However,theworldissomadethatelegantsystemsareinprincipleunabletodealwithsomeoftheworld'smorefascinatinganddelightfulaspects.(75)Newformsofthoughtaswellasnewsubjectsforthoughtmustariseinthefutureastheyhaveinthepast,givingrisetonewstandardsofelegance.Doanimalshaverights?Thisishowthequestionisusuallyput.Itsoundslikeauseful,ground-clearingwaytostart.(71)Actually,itisn't,becauseitassumesthatthereisanagreedaccountofhumanrights,whichissomethingtheworlddoesnothave.Ononeviewofrights,tobesure,itnecessarilyfollowsthatanimalshavenone.(72)Somephilosophersarguethatrightsexistonlywithinasocialcontract,aspartofanexchangeofdutiesandentitlements.Therefore,animalscannothaverights.Theideaofpunishingatigerthatkillssomebodyisabsurd;forexactlythesamereason,soistheideathattigershaverights.However,thisisonlyoneaccount,andbynomeansanuncontestedone.Itdeniesrightsnotonlytoanimalsbutalsotosomepeople—forinstance,toinfants,thementallyincapableandfuturegenerations.Inaddition,itisunclearwhatacontractcanhaveforpeoplewhoneverconsentedtoit:howdoyoureplytosomebodywhosays―Idon'tlikethiscontract‖?Thepointisthis:withoutagreementontherightsofpeople,arguingabouttherightsofanimalsisfruitless.(73)Itleadsthediscussiontoextremesattheoutset:itinvitesyoutothinkthatanimalsshouldbetreatedeitherwiththeconsiderationhumansextendtootherhumans,orwithnoconsiderationatall.Thisisafalsechoice.Bettertostartwithanother,morefundamental,question:isthewaywetreatanimalsamoralissueatall?Manydenyit.(74)Arguingfromtheviewthathumansaredifferentfromanimalsineveryrelevantrespect,extremistsofthiskindthinkthatanimalslieoutsidetheareaofmoralchoice.Anyregardforthesufferingofanimalsisseenasamistake—asentimentaldiscementoffeelingthatshouldproperlybedirectedtootherhumans.Thisview,whichholdsthattorturingamonkeyismorallyequivalenttochopwood,mayseembravelylogca‖.Infactitissimplyshallow:theconfusedcenterisrighttorejectit.Themostelementaryformofmoralreasoning—theethicalequivalentoflearningtocrawl—istoweighothers'interestsagainstone'sown.Thisinturnrequiressympathyandimagination:withoutwhichthereisnocapacityformoralthought.Toseeananimalinpainisenough,formost,toengagesympathy.(75)Whenthathappens,itisnotamistake:itismankind'sinstinctformoralreasoninginaction,aninstinctthatshouldbeencouragedratherthanlaughedat.Theywere,byfar,thelargestandmostdistantobjectsthatscientistshadeverdetected:astripofenormouscosmiccloudssome15billionlight-yearsfromearth.(71)Butevenmoreimportant,itwasthefarthestthatscientistshadbeenabletolookintothepast,forwhattheywereseeingwerethepatternsandstructuresthatexisted15billionyearsago.Thatwasjustaboutthemomentthattheuniversewasborn.Whattheresearchersfoundwasatoncebothamazingandexpected;theUSNationalAeronauticsandSpaceAdministration'sCosmicBackgroundExplorersalite—Cobe—haddiscoveredlandmarkevidencethattheuniversedidinfactbeginwiththeprimevalexplosionthathas eknownastheBigBang(thetheorythattheuniverseoriginatedinanexplosionfromasinglemassofenergy.)(72)TheexistenceofthegiantcloudswasvirtuallyrequiredfortheBigBang,firstputforwardinthe1920s,tomaintainitsreignasthedominantexnationofthecosmos.Accordingtothetheory,theuniverseburstintobeingasasubmicroscopic,unimaginabledenseknotofpureenergythatflewoutwardinalldirections,emittingradiationasitwent,condensingintoparticlesandthenintoatomsofgas.Overbillionsofyears,thegaswascompressedbygravityintogalaxies,stars,ntsandeventully,evenhumans.Cobeisdesignedtoseejustthebiggeststructures,butastronomerswouldliketoseemuchsmallerhotspotsaswell,theseedsoflocalobjectslikeclustersandsuperclustersofgalaxies.Theyshouldn'thavelongtowait.(73)Astrophysicistsworkingwithground-baseddetectorsattheSouthPoleandballoon-borneinstrumentsareclosinginonsuchstructures,andmayreporttheirfindingssoon.(74)Ifthesmallhotspotslookasexpected,thatwillbeatriumphforyetanotherscientificidea,arefinementoftheBigBangcalledtheinflationaryuniversetheory.Inflationsaysthatveryearlyon,theuniverseexpandedinsizebymorethanatrilliontrilliontrilliontrillionfoldinmuchlessthanasecond,propelledbyasortofantigravity.(75)Oddthoughitsounds,cosmicinflationisascientificallyusibleconsequenceofsomerespectedideasinelementary-particlephysics,andmanyastrophysicistshavebeenconvincedforthebetterpartofadecadethatitistrue.Whiletherearealmostasmanydefinitionsofhistoryastherearehistorians,modernpracticemostcloselyconformstoonethatseeshistoryastheattempttorecreateandexinthesignificanteventsofthepast.Caughtinthewebofitsowntimeandce,eachgenerationofhistoriansdeterminesanewwhatissignificantforitinthepast.Inthissearchtheevidencefoundisalways pleteandscattered;itisalsofrequentlypartialorpartisan.Theironyofthehistorian'scraftisthatitspractitioners