hce_cmu
109年
英文
第 40 題
📖 題組：
V. Reading Questions 36-50: Choose the BEST answer to each question below according to what is stated and implied in the following passages. Part 1. Veterans of past epidemics have long warned that American society is trapped in a cycle of panic and neglect. After every crisis—anthrax, SARS, flu, Ebola—attention is paid and investments are made. But after short periods of peacetime, memories fade and budgets dwindle. This trend transcends red and blue administrations. When a new normal sets in, the abnormal once again becomes unimaginable. But there is reason to think that COVID-19 might be a disaster that leads to more radical and lasting change. The other major epidemics of recent decades either barely affected the U.S. (SARS, MERS, Ebola), were milder than expected (H1N1 flu in 2009), or were mostly limited to specific groups of people (Zika, HIV). The COVID-19 pandemic, by contrast, is affecting everyone directly, changing the nature of their everyday life. That distinguishes it not only from other diseases, but also from the other systemic challenges of our time. When an administration prevaricates on climate change, the effects won’t be felt for years, and even then will be hard to parse. It’s different when a president says that everyone can get a test, and one day later, everyone cannot. Pandemics are democratizing experiences. People whose privilege and power would normally shield them from a crisis are facing quarantines, testing positive, and losing loved ones. After 9/11, the world focused on counterterrorism. After COVID-19, attention may shift to public health. Expect to see a spike in funding for virology and vaccinology, a surge in students applying to public-health programs, and more domestic production of medical supplies. Expect pandemics to top the agenda at the United Nations General Assembly. Anthony Fauci is now a household name. “Regular people finally get what an epidemiologist does,” says Monica SchochSpana, a medical anthropologist at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. Such changes, in themselves, might protect the world from the next inevitable disease. “The countries that had lived through SARS had a public consciousness about this that allowed them to leap into action,” said Ron Klain, the former Ebola czar. For the U.S., and for the world, it’s abundantly, viscerally clear what a pandemic can do. The lessons that America draws from this experience are hard to predict, especially at a time when online algorithms and partisan broadcasters only serve news that aligns with their audience’s preconceptions. Such dynamics will be pivotal in the coming months, says Ilan Goldenberg, a foreignpolicy expert at the Center for a New American Security. “The transitions after World War II or 9/11 were not about a bunch of new ideas,” he says. “The ideas are out there, but the debates will be more acute over the next few months because of the fluidity of the moment and willingness of the American public to accept big, massive changes.” One could easily conceive of a world in which most of the nation believes that America defeated COVID-19. Despite his many lapses, Trump’s approval rating has surged. Imagine that he succeeds in diverting blame for the crisis to China, casting it as the villain and America as the resilient hero. During the second term of his presidency, the U.S. turns further inward and pulls out of NATO and other international alliances, builds actual and figurative walls, and disinvests in other nations. As Generation C—people who are born into a society profoundly altered by COVID-19—grows up, foreign plagues replace communists and terrorists as the new generational threat. One could also envisage a future in which America learns a different lesson. A communal spirit, ironically born through social distancing, causes people to turn outward, to neighbors both foreign and domestic. The election of November 2020 may become a repudiation of “America first” politics. The nation pivots, as it did after World War II, from isolationism to international cooperation. Buoyed by steady investments and an influx of the brightest minds, the health-care workforce surges. Generation C kids write school essays about growing up to be epidemiologists. Public health becomes the centerpiece of foreign policy. The U.S. leads a new global partnership focused on solving challenges like pandemics and climate change.
V. Reading Questions 36-50: Choose the BEST answer to each question below according to what is stated and implied in the following passages. Part 1. Veterans of past epidemics have long warned that American society is trapped in a cycle of panic and neglect. After every crisis—anthrax, SARS, flu, Ebola—attention is paid and investments are made. But after short periods of peacetime, memories fade and budgets dwindle. This trend transcends red and blue administrations. When a new normal sets in, the abnormal once again becomes unimaginable. But there is reason to think that COVID-19 might be a disaster that leads to more radical and lasting change. The other major epidemics of recent decades either barely affected the U.S. (SARS, MERS, Ebola), were milder than expected (H1N1 flu in 2009), or were mostly limited to specific groups of people (Zika, HIV). The COVID-19 pandemic, by contrast, is affecting everyone directly, changing the nature of their everyday life. That distinguishes it not only from other diseases, but also from the other systemic challenges of our time. When an administration prevaricates on climate change, the effects won’t be felt for years, and even then will be hard to parse. It’s different when a president says that everyone can get a test, and one day later, everyone cannot. Pandemics are democratizing experiences. People whose privilege and power would normally shield them from a crisis are facing quarantines, testing positive, and losing loved ones. After 9/11, the world focused on counterterrorism. After COVID-19, attention may shift to public health. Expect to see a spike in funding for virology and vaccinology, a surge in students applying to public-health programs, and more domestic production of medical supplies. Expect pandemics to top the agenda at the United Nations General Assembly. Anthony Fauci is now a household name. “Regular people finally get what an epidemiologist does,” says Monica SchochSpana, a medical anthropologist at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. Such changes, in themselves, might protect the world from the next inevitable disease. “The countries that had lived through SARS had a public consciousness about this that allowed them to leap into action,” said Ron Klain, the former Ebola czar. For the U.S., and for the world, it’s abundantly, viscerally clear what a pandemic can do. The lessons that America draws from this experience are hard to predict, especially at a time when online algorithms and partisan broadcasters only serve news that aligns with their audience’s preconceptions. Such dynamics will be pivotal in the coming months, says Ilan Goldenberg, a foreignpolicy expert at the Center for a New American Security. “The transitions after World War II or 9/11 were not about a bunch of new ideas,” he says. “The ideas are out there, but the debates will be more acute over the next few months because of the fluidity of the moment and willingness of the American public to accept big, massive changes.” One could easily conceive of a world in which most of the nation believes that America defeated COVID-19. Despite his many lapses, Trump’s approval rating has surged. Imagine that he succeeds in diverting blame for the crisis to China, casting it as the villain and America as the resilient hero. During the second term of his presidency, the U.S. turns further inward and pulls out of NATO and other international alliances, builds actual and figurative walls, and disinvests in other nations. As Generation C—people who are born into a society profoundly altered by COVID-19—grows up, foreign plagues replace communists and terrorists as the new generational threat. One could also envisage a future in which America learns a different lesson. A communal spirit, ironically born through social distancing, causes people to turn outward, to neighbors both foreign and domestic. The election of November 2020 may become a repudiation of “America first” politics. The nation pivots, as it did after World War II, from isolationism to international cooperation. Buoyed by steady investments and an influx of the brightest minds, the health-care workforce surges. Generation C kids write school essays about growing up to be epidemiologists. Public health becomes the centerpiece of foreign policy. The U.S. leads a new global partnership focused on solving challenges like pandemics and climate change.
What is this passage mainly about?
- A Experts have little faith in the prospect of American society to defeat COVID-19.
- B The COVID-19 pandemic brings challenges to people and may bring the nation to a different path.
- C Public health plays a crucial role in defeating the war with COVID-19.
- D Generation C is the most vulnerable age group of COVID-19 pandemic.
- E Investment in virology and vaccinology is the key to defeat COVID-19.
思路引導 VIP
請你觀察文章最後兩段的起首與內容。作者分別構思了兩種截然不同的未來情境，這兩段在論述邏輯上是屬於並列的可能路徑。那麼，綜合整篇文章來看，作者是在討論疫情的「特定技術解決方案」，還是在探討疫情對國家整體「長期走向」的影響呢？
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AI 詳解
AI 專屬家教
恭喜你精準地掌握了文章的核心！這是一道考驗「全文主旨」的題目，能答對代表你具備了優秀的宏觀閱讀視野。
疫情下的轉折與契機
文章開頭便點出過往流行病帶來的「恐慌與忽視」循環，並強調新冠肺炎（COVID-19）與過往疾病（如 SARS 或 Ebola）最大的不同在於其影響的全面性。正確答案 (B) 之所以最合適，是因為它完整概括了文中的雙重面向：一是疫情帶來的現實「挑戰」，二是它如何作為一個轉捩點，可能將國家帶向「不同的道路」。文章後半段花了大量篇幅對比「孤立主義」與「國際合作」這兩種截然不同的未來願景，這正是作者最想傳達的重點。
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