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The United Nations declared last Friday that Somalia’s famine is over. But the official declarationmeans little to the millions of Somalis who are still hungry and waiting for their crops to grow.Ken Menkhaus, professor of political science at Davidson College, said it was profoundly disappointing to be discussing another Somali famine, after he worked in the country during the 1991 - 1992 one. Each famine, he said, has distinct characteristics, and this one unfold in slow motion over the past couple of years. That’s at least partly because the Somali diaspora sent money home that delayed the worst effects.Menkhaus was among four experts on Somalia and famine who spoke at the Radcliffe Gym Monday evening and gathered for the event, “Sound the Hom: Famine in the Hom of Africa.” Paul Farmer, Kolokotrones University Professor of Global Health and Social Medicine, drew on his experience treating malnourished people in Haiti，where he has worked for decade，and said the human and social context of home, and aid to families should be part of wearing the child, he said. Similarly, broader agricultural interventions and fair trade policies are needed to boost local agricultural economies.Though famine is often thought of as a natural disaster, Monday’s speakers said that is a false impression. Though Somalia suffered through a severe drought, with today’s instant communications, transport systems can move massive amounts of food. Given today’s global food markets, famine is too often a failure of local government and international response.“In today’s 21st-century world, just about everything about famine is man-made. We’re no longer in a world of man against nature. ” said Robert Paarlberg, adjunct professor of public policy at the Harvard Kennedy School.Ethiopia, which was also affected by the recent drought, fared much better this time because of reforms implemented after the 2001 one. Likewise, Paarlberg said, northern and central Somalia, regions that fall outside of the influence of the Al-Shabaab militia, also fared better. There were several man-made features of this famine, which affected more than 10 million people and killed between 50, 000 and 100, 000, half of them children under age 5.The largest man-made feature was the role of the Al-Shabaab militia that rules the region and that kept food aid from reaching those in need. But the international community isn’t blameless. As early as November 2010, an international famine early warning system was predicting the failure of rains in the region, but the international community didn’t respond fully until an official famine was declared in July 2011. On top of that, U. S. anti-terrorism laws cut off food aid because Al-Shabaab, listed as a terrorist group, was taking some of it.Though the United Nations has declared the famine over, that was based on statistical measures, such as the number of people dying each day and the number of children who are malnourished. Though the official famine may be over, both U. N. officials and Monday’s speakers said the crisis continues for the people of Somalia. Almost a third of the population remains dependent on humanitarian assistance, crops growing from recent rains will take months to reach maturity, and herds of cows, goats, and other animals were greatly reduced during the crisis.Michael Delaney, director of humanitarian response for Oxfam America, warned that the world will have another chance to get its response right, because the warning signs are pointing to an impending famine in Africa’s Sahel, the arid, continent-spanning transition zone just below the Sahara Desert.1.The current Somali famine is different from the 1991 -1992 one in that（）.2.In treating the malnourished patients, attention should be paid to the following EXCEPT（）3.What is implied by “We’re no longer in a world of man against nature”？4.Regarding the current famine in Somalia, who’s to blame most?5.What problem still remains from the current Somali famine?

The United Nations Population Fund has picked October 31 as the day the world will be home to 7billion people.For better and worse, it’s a milestone.And there will be more milestones ahead. Fourteen years from now, there are expected to be 8billion people on the planet. Most of the growth will occur in the world’s poorer countries.Proportionally, Europe’s population will decline, while Africa’s will increase. At around the same time,India will overtake China as the most populous nation on Earth.The growing global population is just one side of the coin. A recent report from the World HealthOrganization signaled the seriousness of the human population explosion: more than 3 billion people —about half the world’s population — are malnourished. Never before have so many, or such a largeproportion, of the world’s people been malnourished.And in a growing number of countries there is a seemingly unstoppable march toward sub-replacement fertility, whereby each new generation is less populous than the previous one, andpopulation aging.As a result of declining fertility and increasing longevity, the populations of more and morecountries are aging rapidly. Between 2005 and 2050, a rise in the population aged 60 years or over willbe visible, whereas the number of children (persons under age 15) will decline slightly.Population aging represents, in one sense, a success story for mankind, but it also poses profound challenges to public institutions that must adapt to a changing age structure.The latest national census in China shows the number of elderly people in the country has jumped tomore than 13. 3 percent of the population, an increase of nearly 3 percentage points on the percentagefrom the previous census in 2000. A quarter of the country’s population will be over 65 by 2050,according to the National Population and Family Planning Commission.The growing number of elderly is a challenge that the government needs to tackle ； we can’t rely onthe ever-increasing population to support them or maintain the nation’s economic growth. Bettersolutions are needed, such as raising retirement ages to reflect the greater longevity and workingcapability of today’s older adults and making adjustments so pension programs are more accessible.It was heartening to hear the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security spokespersonannounced in Beijing on Tuesday that the government will take retirement policy seriously andproactively.Shanghai began testing a flexible retirement system last October. Eligible employees in the privatesector are allowed to postpone retirement until the age of 65 for men and 60 for women. Publicservants, however, will continue to retire under the present system age 60 for men and 55 for women.1.According to the passage, India will_____ in 14 years.2.What problem will result from the global population explosion?3.Population on aging represents the following EXCEPT（）.4.Today’s older adults enjoy（）.5.What is the author’s attitude toward the spokesperson’s announcement?

The world’s greatest snow-capped peaks, which run in a chain from the Himalayas to Tian Shan（1 ） the border of China and Kyrgyzstan, have lost no ice （2 ） the last decade, new research shows.The discovery has stunned scientists, who （3 ） that around 50bn tons of meltwater（4 ） each year and not being replaced by new snowfall.The study is the first to survey all the world’s icecaps and glaciers and was made （5 ） by the use of satellite data. Overall, the contribution of melting ice outside the two largest caps 一 Greenland and Antarctica — is much （6 ） than previously estimated，with the lack of ice loss in the Himalayas and the other high peaks of Asia （7 ） most of the discrepancy.Bristol University glaciologist Prof Jonathan Bamber, who was not part of the research team, said, “The very unexpected result was the negligible mass loss from high mountain Asia, which is not（8 ） different from zero.”The melting of Himalayan glaciers caused （9 ） in 2009 when a report from the UN’s intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change mistakenly stated that they would disappear by 2035, instead of 2350. （10 ），the scientist who led the new work is clear that while greater uncertainty has been discovered in Asia’s highest mountains, the melting of ice caps and glaciers around the world （11 ） a serious concern.“Our results and those of everyone else show we are losing a huge amount of water into the oceans every year,” said Prof John Wahr of the University of Colorado. “People should be just as worried about the melting of the world’s ice as they were before.”His team’s study, published in the journal Nature, concludes that between 443-629bn tons of meltwater overall are added to the world’s oceans each year. This is （12 ） sea level by about 1. 5mm a year, the team reports, （13 ） the 2mm a year caused by expansion of the warming ocean.The scientists are careful to point out that lower-altitude glaciers in the Asian mountain ranges—sometimes dubbed the “third pole” — are （14 ）melting. Satellite images and reports confirm this. But over the study period from 2003-10 enough ice was added to the peaks to（15 ）.

Retirees looking to stretch their pensions might consider spending their golden years in Ecuador, Panama or Mexico, ______cost of living is low and the weather is warm, according to a new index.

Scientists on Tuesday pushed the hands of the infamous “Doomsday Clock” forward one minute from last year, signaling their______pessimism about the efforts of world leaders to handle global threats.

Experiments suggest that season of birth dramatically affects the speed the body clock ticks.

（）2. 6 million people starting diets on New Year’s Day, research suggests that by the end of the week 92 percent of dieters gave up，shunning exercise and gorging on comfort food.

In the age of Google, our minds are adapting（） we are experts at knowing where to find information even though we don’t recall what it is.

Brides are increasingly shunning summer weddings and getting married during winter ______ to cut costs amid the economic gloom, figures suggest.

New research suggests gossip could actually lower______and help people overcome the frustration of seeing someone doing something wrong and getting away with it.

Business and government managers often promote “clean desk” polities to avoid disorganized offices and messy desks，______boosting work efficiency and productivity.

Iran’s morality police are（）on the sale of Barbie dolls to protect the public from what they see as pernicious western culture eroding Islamic values.

Couples blessed with strength and aggression（） looks are better off having boys, as these characteristics are of more use to males.

Being born in the summer could give you a sunny disposition for life. And a winter birthday might cast a permanent shadow______your happiness, scientists believe.

Going through a tricky divorce would be enough to put anyone off marriage for life. But a new study shows that men are much more likely to______a stressful and complicated break-up than women.

Nearly a third of parents say they feel（） into their homes but cannot afford to move to a bigger property, a report reveals today.

We’ve seen a(n) ( ) trend of consumers saying they will spend more, from holiday shopping to 2012 travel plans, and spending plans for Feb. 14 are no exception.

A Survey has found that three quarters of men quite enjoy their food shopping experience and are happy to______their way around the aisles searching out products.

When there is a heavy rain in the north of China, cities and towns are often flooded. But heavyrains in southern cities seldom pose severe problems. When there is a heavy snow in the south of China，cities and towns often run into chaos. But heavy snows in the north seldom pose severe problems. What should city planners do to deal with this and what do you think of the different ways of dealing with it.

(1) The economic growth that many nations in Asia and increasingly Africa have experienced over the past couple of decades has transformed hundreds of millions of lives — almost entire for the better. (2) But there is byproduct to that growth, one that’s visible — or sometimes less than visible — in the smoggy，smelly skies above cities like Beijing，New Delhi and Jakarta. (3) Because of new cars and power plants，air pollution is bad and getting worse in much of the world，and it is taking a major toll to global health.(4) How big? According to a new analyze published in the Lancet，more than 3. 2 million people suffered premature deaths from air pollution in 2010，the largest number on record. That’s up from 800, 000 in 2000. (5) And it’s a regional problem: 65% of those deaths occurred in Asia, wherever the air is choked by diesel soot from cars and trucks，as well as the smog from power plants and the dust from endless urban construction. In East Asia，1. 2 million people died, as well as another 712, 000 in South Asia, including India. (6) For the first time ever, air pollution is on the world’s top-10 list of killers，and it’s moving down the ranks faster than any other factor.So how can air pollution be so damaging? (7) It is the very finest soot — so small that it lodges deep within the lungs and from there enter the bloodstream — that contributes to most of the public- health toll of air pollution including mortality. (8) Diesel soot，what is also a carcinogen，is a major problem because it is concentrated in cities along transportation corridors impacting densely populated areas. (9) It is thought contribute to half the premature deaths from air pollution in urban centers. For example，1 in 6 people in the U. S. live near a diesel-pollution hot spot like a rail yard, port terminal or freeway.We also know that air pollution may be linked to other nonlethal conditions, including autism. Fortunately in the U. S. and other developed nations, urban air is for the most part cleaner than it was 30 or 40 years ago, thanks to regulations and new technologies like the catalytic converters that reduce automobile emissions. Governments are also pushing to make air cleaner — see the White House’s move last week to further tighten soot standards. (10) It is perfect，but we’ve had much more success dealing with air pollution than climate change.(11) Will developing nations like China and India eventually catch up? Hopefully — though the problem may get worse before long it gets better. The good news is that it doesn’t take a major technological leap to improve urban air. (12) Switching from diesel fuel to unleaded helps，as do newer and cleaner cars that are more likely to spew pollutants. Power plants 一 even ones that bum fossil fuels like coal 一 can be fitted with pollution-control equipment that，at a price, will greatly reduce smog and other contaminants.(13) But the best solutions may involve urban design. In the Guardian，John Vidal notes that Delhi now has 200 cars per 1,000 people，far more than much rich Asian cities like Hong Kong and Singapore. (14) Developing cities will almost certainly see an increase in car ownership as residents become wealthier — and that does have to mean lethal air pollution. (Even ultra-green European cities often have rates of car ownership at or above the level Delhi has now.) (15) Higher incomes should also lead to tougher environmental regulations，which is exactly what happened in the West. We can only hope it happens after the death toll from bad air gets even higher.

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