【一起听英语】人口大爆炸

 人口数量增长速度过快。给我们的生存环境带来哪些影响？

Alice: Hello, I'm Alice…

Finn: And I'm Finn.…

Alice: And this is 6 Minute English! This week we’re talking about population

growth and the effects it might have on the world. At the moment it’s

estimated that there are about 7 billion people on the planet.

Finn: It’s estimated – experts make an educated guess at the number of people based

on research.

Alice: If projections 1 are correct experts think there could be 9.5 billion people by the

year 2075.

Finn: Projections – the estimated number of people calculated by looking at

population changes over time.

Alice: Experts say there will be a population explosion.

Finn: That means a dramatic and very fast increase.

Alice: So before we find out more – I have a question for you Finn. How many zeros

are there after the 1 in a billion?

a) 12 b) 9 c) 6

Finn: Let’s guess. A thousand million. A million is 6 zeros so a thousand – 9, 9 zeros.

Alice: As usual, I won’t tell you the answer now - but we’ll find out at the end of the

programme. So let’s see how population growth is going to change the way 

6 Minute English © bbclearningenglish.com 2011

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our planet works. The Institute of Mechanical Engineers recently published a

report about how technology could help us manage larger populations. They

say it’s the defining challenge of the century.

Finn: That’s the most important issue in the next 90 years.

Alice: Here’s the BBC’s environment analyst 2 Roger Harrabin:

Insert 2: Roger Harrabin

One author of today’s report described population growth as the defining challenge of

the century - bigger even than climate change. The report says work needs to start now

on technological 3 solutions for a world of nine and a half billion people. Many of the

practical ideas in the report have been welcomed by development groups.

Alice: Roger Harrabin says that population growth is even more important than

climate change. The report says that engineers need to start work now to find

technological solutions to provide enough food, water, energy and homes for

nine and a half billion people.

Finn: Technological solutions – that’s the use of technology to invent or improve

something.

Alice: One of the authors of the report is Tim Fox, Head of Energy, Environment and

Climate Change at the Institute of Mechanical Engineers. He says that

engineers have already created technologies which can deal with the challenge

of providing food, water, energy and homes for everyone in the world in 2075.

But one area he says we can try and improve on is wasting less food:

Insert 2: Dr Tim Fox

6 Minute English © bbclearningenglish.com 2011

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The challenge of providing food, water, energy and homes internationally can be met

through existing technologies that are available today. So something like 50% of food is

wasted in newly developing countries between the field and the market place – now here

in the highly industrialised countries we’ve solved that problem sustainably through the

use of refrigeration and transportation mechanisms 4 that are highly optimised and we

waste all our food between the supermarket and our consumption.

Alice: What did Dr Tim Fox of the Institute of Mechanical Engineers say were the

two technological improvements we could make to stop wasting so much food?

Finn: He said we could improve refrigeration and transportation

Alice: Dr Tim Fox said that something like 50% of food is wasted in newly developed

countries between the field and the market place. This could be improved by

having better refrigeration and transportation from the farm to markets and

shops. What did he say about developed countries?

Finn: In developed countries the system of refrigeration and transportation has been

optimised.

Alice: optimised – that means it has been developed so that it is extremely efficient

and can’t be improved upon. But he says that in highly industrialised countries

– countries that are very developed economically – food is wasted between the

supermarket and people’s consumption.

Finn: That means that people might buy a lot of food at the supermarket but end up

throwing it away – they don’t consume it. Now, before we go let’s find out the

answer to the question I asked you at the beginning of the programme. How

many zeros come after the 1 in a billion? a. 12, b.9, c.6

Finn: I guessed b. 9

Alice: You’re right. And your prize, Finn, is to read out some of the words and

phrases we’ve heard in today’s programme. 

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Finn: What could be better? Here we go:

population

 billion

 it’s estimated

 projection

 explosion

 defining challenge

 technological solutions

 refrigeration

 transportation

optimised

 consumption

Alice: Thanks so much for that Finn. We hope you’ve had fun with us today on "6

Minute English" - and that you’ll join us again next time.

Both: Bye.