They Say Irelands the Best
Ireland is the best place in the world lo live for 2005.according to a life quality ranking that appeared in Britain.s Economist magazine last week.
The ambitious attempt to compare happiness levels around the World is based ol3 the principle that wealth is not the only measure of human satisfaction and well-being.
The index of 111 countries uses data on incomes.health.unemployment.climate， political stability， job security， gender equality as well as what the magazine calls "freedom，family and community life".
Despite the bad weather， troubled health service.traffic congestion(擁擠)， gender inequality， and the high cost of living.Ireland scored an impressive 8.33 points out of l0.
That put it well ahead of second-place Switzerland， which managed 8.07. Zimbabwe. troubled by political insecurity and hunger， is rated the gloomiest(最差的)， picking up only 3.89 points.
"Although rising incomes and increased individual choices are highly valued，" the report said. "some of the factors associated with modernization such as the breakdown(崩潰)in traditional institutions and family values in part take away from a positive impact."
"Ireland wins because it successfully combines the most desirable elements of the new with the preservation of certain warm elements of the old， such as stable family and community life."
The magazine admitted measuring quality of life is not a straightforward thing to do， and that its findings would have their critics.
N0.2 on the list is Switzerland.The other nations in the top 10 are Norway， Luxembourg， Sweden， Australia， Iceland， Italy， Denmark and Spain.
The UK is portioned at N0.29， a much lower position chiefly because of the social and family breakdown recorded in official statistics. The US， which has the second highest per capita GDP(人均國內生產總值)after Luxembourg， took the 13th place in the survey.China was in the lower haft of the league at 60th.
16 For 2，005 years，Ireland has been the best place for humans to live in.
A Right B Wrong C Not mentioned
17 Job security is the least important measure of life quality.
A Right B Wrong C Not mentioned
18 Cost of living in Ireland is pretty high.
A Right B Wrong C Not mentioned
19 Family life in Zimbabwe is not stable.
A Right B Wrong C Not mentioned
20 lreland is positioned at N0.1 because it combines the most desirable elements of the new with some good elements of the old.
A Right B Wrong C Not mentioned
21 To measure life quality is easy. Reinventing the Table
An earth scientist has rejigged(調整) the periodic table (元素周期表)to make chemistry simpler to teach to students.
_____(1)____ But Bruce Railsback from the University of Georgia says he is the first to create a table that breaks with tradition and shows the ions of each element rather than just the elements themselves.
“I got tired of breaking my arms trying to explain the periodic table to earth students，” he says， criss-crossing(交叉) his hands in the air and pointing to different bits of a traditional table.___(2)_____ But he has added contour lines to charge density， helping to explain which ions(離子) react with which.
Geochemists just want an intuitive sense of whats going on with the elements，“ saysAlbert Galy from the University of Cambridge ____(3)____
___(4)___ He explains that sulphur(硫磺)， for example， shows up in three differentspots __one for sulphide(硫化物)， which is found in minerals， one for sulphite(亞硫酸鹽)， and one for sulphate， which is found in sea salt， for instance.
He has also included symbols to show which ions are nutrients， and which are common in soil or water.___ (5)___
練習：
A There have been many attempts to redesign the periodic table since Dmitri Mendeleevit up in 1871.
B Railsback has still ordered the elements ac， cording to the number of protons they have.
C “I imagine this would be good for undergraduates .
D Railsback has listed some elements more than once.
E And the size of elements symbol reflects how much of it is found in the Earths crust.
F The traditional periodic table was well drawn.
A Right B Wrong C Not mentioned
22 The United States of America is among the top 10 countries.
A Right B Wrong C Not mentioned