閱讀材料,回答32-36
Environmental issues raise a host of difficult ethical questions, including the ancient one of the nature of intrinsic value. Whereas many philosophers in the past have agreed that human experiences have intrinsic value and the utilitarian at least have always accepted that the pleasures and pains of nonhuman animals are of some intrinsic significance,this does not show why it is so bad if dodos become extinct or a rain forest is cut down. Are these things to be regretted only because of the loss to humans or other sentient creatures? Or is there more to it than that? Some philosophers are now prepared to defend the view that trees,rivers,species (considered apart from the individual animals of which they consist),and perhaps ecological systems as a whole have a value independent of the instrumental value they may have for humans or other sentient creatures.
Our concern for the environment also raises the question of our obligations to future generations. How much do we owe to the future? From a social contract view of ethics or for the ethical egoist,the answer would seem to be nothing. For we can benefit them, but they are unable to reciprocate. Most other ethical theories,however,do give weight to the interests of coming generations. Utilitarian,for one,would not think that the fact that members of future generations do not exist yet is any reason for giving less consideration to their interests than we give to our own,provided only that we are certain that they will exist and will have interests that will be affected by what we do. In the case of,say,the storage of radioactive wastes, it seems clear that what we do will indeed affect the interests of generations to come.
The question becomes much more complex however,when we consider that we can affect the size of future generations by the population policies we choose and the extent to which we encourage large or small families. Most environmentalists believe that the world is already dangerously overcrowded. This may well be so, but the notion of overpopulation conceals a philosophical issue that is ingeniously explored by Derek Parfit in Reasons and Persons (1984).What is optimum population? Is it that population size at which the average level of welfare will be as high as possible? Or is it the size at which the total amount of welfare — the average multiplied by the number of people — is as great as possible? Both answers lead to counterintuitive outcomes, and the question remains one of the most baffling mysteries in applied ethics.
32. The first paragraph is mainly about ______________.
A. the intrinsic value of human experiences
B. the intrinsic value of the experiences of nonhuman animals
C. the intrinsic value of ecological system as a whole
D. an ancient ethical question about the nature of intrinsic value
33. We owe nothing to the future generations_______________.
A. in the author’s opinion
B. from a social contrast view of ethics
C. for a utilitarian
D. for most environmentalists
34. Population policy we take should be considered ________________.
A. positive
B. negative
C. complex
D. reasonable
35. According to this passage, optimum population ________________.
A. refers to the population size at which the average level of welfare will be as high as possible
B. refers to the population size at which the total amount of welfare will be as great as possible
C.is a difficult philosophical issue which remains to be resolved in the future
D.is a difficult philosophical issue which Derek Parfit has successfully settled in Reasons and Persons
36. The proper title for this passage should be _______________.
A. A Mystery in Applied Ethics
B. Our Obligations to Future Generations
C. Environmental Ethics
D. Environmental issues
閱讀材料,回答37-40
Imagine you went to a restaurant with a date; had a burger, paid with a credit card, and left. The next time you go there, the waiter or waitress, armed with your profile data, greets you with, “Hey Joe, how are you? Mary is over there in the seat you sat in last time. Would you like to join her for dinner again?” Then you find out that your burger has been cooked and your drink is on the table. Forget the fact that you are with another date and are on a diet that doesn’t include burgers. Sound a little bizarre? To some, this is restaurant equivalent of the Internet. The Net’s ability to profile you through your visits to and interactions at websites provides marketers with an enormous amount of data on you — some of which you may not want them to have.
Are you aware that almost every time you access a website you get a “cookie”? Unfortunately, it’s not the Mrs. Reid’s type. A cookie on the Internet is a computer code sent by the site to your computer — usually without your knowledge. During the entire period of time that you are at the site, the cookie is collecting information about your interaction, including where you visit, how long you stay there, how frequently you return to certain pages, and even your electronic address. Fill out a survey to collect free information or samples, and marketers know even more about you — like your name, address, and any other information you provide. While this may sound scary enough, cookies aren’t even the latest in technology. A new system called I-librarian Alexa — named for the legendary third century B.C. library in Alexandria, Egypt — does even more. While cookies track what you are doing at one site, Alexa collects data on all your Web activity, such as which sites you visit next, how long you stay there, whether you click on ads, etc. All this information is available to marketers, who use it to market more effectively to you. Not only do you not get paid for providing the information, you probably don’t even know that you are giving it.
37. In the restaurant story, the author may most probably think the waiter or waitress was _____________.
A. considerate
B. polite
C. irritating
D. unsmart
38. The author makes up the restaurant story in order to ______________.
A. show the good service offered in some Web restaurants
B. criticize some restaurants for too considerate service
C. show the Internet’s ability to collect data on you
D. prove the incredible power of the Internet
39. What can be learned about “cookie” from the second paragraph?
A. It was first created by Mrs. Reid.
B. It collects information on you without your knowing it.
C. It’s some information sent to your computer about yourself.
D. It’s the latest in technology.
40. What can be learned about “Alexa” from the second paragraph?
A. Alexa is named after an ancient hero in Egypt.
B. Alexa is installed in libraries.
C. Alexa can collect all the necessary data on you.
D. Alexa can provide more data for marketers than a cookie.