Advanced English Reading and Comprehension

202 practice makes perfect Advanced English Reading and Comprehension

Predicting content

Considering the title of the chapter, predict which of the following topics will be mentioned

in the reading text.

□The major problems facing the world

□An important book that discusses the problems facing the world

□The reasons for the problems

□What governments are doing to solve the problems

□The importance of technology in solving the problems

Reading text

1 In 1954, Canadian artist Alex Colville inished what is probably his most famous painting,

Horse and Train. Set against a stark, surrealistic background, the painting depicts a horse gallop-

ing down the middle of the railroad tracks toward an oncoming train. Colville’s painting is subject

to many interpretations, but whether the horse and the train symbolize instinct versus rational-

ity, nature versus man, or ecology versus technology, the artist warns that unless something

intervenes to alter the course, tragedy is imminent.

2 In 1972, the appearance of the book he Limits to Growth unleashed a controversy concern-

ing the future of the planet. Commissioned by the Club of Rome^1 and conducted by researchers/

authors Donella Meadows, Jørgen Randers, Dennis Meadows, and William W. Behrens III, the

project applied systems dynamics and computer modeling to simulate 12 scenarios based on the

interactions of population, food production, industrial production, pollution, and consumption

of nonrenewable natural resources. Using the World3 computer model developed at Massachu-

setts Institute of Technology, the authors projected the implications of the data input and con-

cluded that if human society continued on the path of exponential growth and unrestrained

consumption and resource exploitation, the planet’s physical carrying capacity would be exceeded

by the middle of the twenty-irst century. he only way humanity could avoid inevitable collapse

was to reduce its ecological footprint^2 through far-reaching technological, cultural, and institu-

tional changes. Although their predictions appeared dire, they believed that disaster was avoid-

able. hey warned, however, that unless people and policy makers tackled the underlying causes

of the problem—and the sooner the better—the less likely they would be to turn things around.

3 he Limits to Growth’s explicit message provoked strong reactions. Economists, politicians,

and industrialists were outraged at the suggestion that people should have to impose constraints

on their pursuit of growth, growth, and more growth. Since the Industrial Revolution, growth has

been driving the global socioeconomic system, and to this day, growth is still equated with prog-

ress, proit, improvement, prosperity, and success. To question growth, let alone challenge the

corporate world’s quest for unlimited proit, was next to heresy. hose who didn’t deny he Limits

to Growth’s indings tried to debunk the team’s methodology or disseminate scare stories based

on misinterpretations and misrepresentations of the book’s conclusions. One example is the false

claim that the authors predicted global collapse by the end of the twentieth century.

4 On the other side of the political-economic fence, those who had neither power nor proits

to lose regarded he Limits to Growth as groundbreaking and courageous. Environmentalists,

(^1) Founded in 1968, the Club of Rome is an informal think tank comprised of 100 international business people,
statesmen, thinkers, and scientists who share a commitment to the future of humanity and the planet. 2
In this context, ecological footprint is the total area of productive land that humanity requires to provide
resources and absorb wastes divided by the geographical area available. he ideal ecological footprint is 1.