全新版大学英语综合教程第二册 Unit8
时间：2018-12-29 作者：英语课 分类：全新版大学英语综合教程
UNIT 8
Protecting Our Environment
Part I Pre-Reading Task
Listen to the recording 1 two or three times and then think over the following questions:
1. What kind of paradise is described in the song?
2. Why do people have to pay to see the trees?
3. What would happen if farmers continued to use DDT?
4. What is the theme of the song?
The following words in the recording may be new to you:
pink
a. 粉红色的
boutique
n. 时装店
hot spot
n. (sl.) nightclub 夜总会
insect
n. 昆虫
Part II
Text A
Protecting nature certainly has benefits, but it has costs as well. How are we to balance the two when deciding how far we should go in caring for the environment?
SAVING NATURE, BUT ONLY FOR MAN
Charles Krauthammer
Environmental sensitivity is now as required an attitude in polite society as is, belief in democracy or aversion to nylon. But now that everyone has claims to love Mother Earth, how are we to choose among the dozens of conflicting proposals, restrictions 3, projects, regulations and laws advanced in the name of the environment? Clearly not everything with an environmental claim is worth doing. How to choose?
There is a simple way. First, distinguish between environmental luxuries and environmental necessities. Luxuries are those things it would be nice to have if costless. Necessities are those things we must have regardless. Then apply a rule. Call it the fundamental principle of sensible environmentalism: Combating ecological 4 change that directly threatens the health and safety of people is an environmental necessity. All else is luxury.
For example: preserving the atmosphere, by both protecting the ozone 5 layer and halting the greenhouse effect, is an environmental necessity. In April scientists reported that ozone damage is far worse than previously 6 thought. Ozone reduction not only causes skin cancer and eye cataracts 8, it also destroys plankton 9, the beginning of the food chain on top of which we humans sit.
The reality of the greenhouse effect is more speculative 10, though its possible consequences are far deadlier: melting ice caps, flooded coastlines, disturbed climate, dried up plains and, ultimately, empty breadbaskets. The American Midwest feeds the world. Are we prepared to see Iowa acquire Albuquerque's climate? And Siberia acquire Iowa's?
Ozone reduction and the greenhouse effect are human disasters. They happen to occur in the environment. But they are urgent because they directly threaten man. A sensible environmentalism, the only kind of environmentalism that will win universal public support, begins by unashamedly declaring that nature is here to serve man. A sensible environmentalism is entirely 11 man-centered: it calls for man to preserve nature, but on the grounds of self-preservation.
A sensible environmentalism does not sentimentalize the earth. It does not ask people to sacrifice in the name of other creatures. After all, it is hard enough to ask people to sacrifice in the name of other humans. (Think of the public resistance to foreign aid and welfare.) Ask hardworking voters to sacrifice in the name of the snail 13 darter, and, if they are feeling polite, they will give you a shrug 14.
Of course, this man-centeredness runs against the grain of a contemporary environmentalism that worships the earth to the point of excess. One scientific theory — Gaia theory — actually claims that Earth is a living organism. This kind of environmentalism likes to consider itself spiritual. It is nothing more than sentimental 12. It takes, for example, a highly selective view of the kindliness 15 of nature. My nature worship stops with the May storms that killed more than 125,000 Bengalis and left 10 million homeless.
A non-sentimental environmentalism is one founded on Protagoras' principle that "Man is the measure of all things." Such a principle helps us to fight our way through the jungle of environmental argument. Take the current debate raging over oil drilling in a corner of the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge. Environmentalists, fighting against a bill working its way through Congress to permit such exploration, argue that we should be conserving 16 energy instead of drilling for it. This is a false either/or proposition. The country does need a substantial energy tax to reduce consumption. But it needs more production too. Government estimates indicate a nearly fifty-fifty chance that under the ANWR lies one of the five largest oil fields ever discovered in America.
We have just come through a war fought in part over oil: Energy dependence 17 costs Americans not just dollars but lives. It is a ridiculous sentimentalism that would deny ourselves oil that is peacefully attainable 19 because it risks disrupting the breeding grounds of Arctic reindeer 20.
I like the reindeer as much as the next man. And I would be rather sorry if their mating patterns are disturbed. But you can't have everything. And if the choice is between the welfare of reindeer and reducing oil dependence that gets people killed in wars, I choose man over reindeer every time.
Similarly the spotted 21 owl 22. I am no enemy of the owl. If it could be preserved at no or little cost, I would agree: the variety of nature is a good, a high aesthetic 23 good. But it is no more than that. And sometimes aesthetic goods have to be sacrificed to the more fundamental ones. If the cost of preserving the spotted owl is the loss of livelihood 24 for 30,000 logging families, I choose family over owl.
The important distinction is between those environmental goods that are fundamental and those that are merely aesthetic. Nature is our charge. It is not our master. It is to be respected and even cultivated. But it is man's world. And when man has to choose between his well-being 25 and that of nature, nature will have to accommodate.
Man should accommodate only when his fate and that of nature are bound up together. The most urgent accommodation must be made when the very integrity of man's environment — e.g., atmospheric 26 ozone — is threatened. When the threat to man is of a lesser 27 order (say, the pollutants 29 from coal- and oil-fired generators 31 that cause death from disease but not fatal damage to the ecosystem 32), a more moderate accommodation that balances economic against health concerns is in order. But in either case the principle is the same: protect the environment — because it is man's environment.
The sentimental environmentalists will call this saving nature with a totally wrong frame of mind. Exactly. A sensible — a humanistic — environmentalism does it not for nature's sake but for our own.
(966 words)
New Words and Expressions
environmental
a. （自然）环境的
environment n.
sensitivity
n. 敏感（性）
belief
n. 信念，信仰；相信
democracy
n. 民主（制度）
conflicting
a. being in disagreement, collision, or opposition 33 不一致的，冲突的，矛盾的
conflict vi.
proposal
n. sth. proposed 提议，建议
restriction 2
n. sth. that restricts, such as a law or rule 限制；限制性规定
regulation
n. an official rule or order 规章；规定
in the name of
for the reason of; using the excuse of 以…为由，以…为借口，以…的名义
distinguish
v. recognize the difference (between) 区别，辨别
regardless
ad. in spite of everything; anyway 不顾一切地；无论如何
fundamental
a. of the basis or foundation of sth. 基本的，根本的
environmentalism
n. 环境保护论；环境论
combat
v. fight or struggle (against) （与…）斗争，战斗
ecological
a. of ecology 生态的；生态学的
atmosphere
n. 大气；气氛
ozone▲
n. 臭氧
layer
n. a single thickness of a material covering a surface 层
reduction
n. making or becoming less or smaller 减少
cancer
n. 癌，恶性肿瘤
cataract 7
n. 白内障
plankton
n. 浮游生物
reality
n. 现实；真实
speculative
a. 猜测性的，推测的
consequence
n. the result or effect of an action or condition 后果，结果
deadly
a. causing or able to cause fatal injury or serious damage 致命的，毁灭性的
melt
v. (cause a solid to) become liquid （使）融化，（使）熔化
urgent
a. calling for immediate 34 attention 紧急的；急迫的
universal
a. 全世界的；普遍的，全体的
unashamedly
ad. without showing guilt 35 or embarrassment 36 坦然地，满不在乎地
man-centered
a. 以人为中心的，只考虑人类的利益的
call for
require, demand 要求
on the grounds of/on…grounds
for reasons of 因为；以…为理由
self-preservation
n. 自我保护
sentimentalize
vt. treat or consider in a sentimental way 感情用事地对待（或看待）
creature
n. a living being, especially an animal 生物（尤指动物）
resistance
n. opposition 反对，反抗
voter
n. 投票者，（法定）选举人
vote
v. express one's choice in favour of (a person or political party) at an election 投票选举
snail darter
n. 蜗牛鱼（一种濒临绝种的很小的淡水鱼）
run/go against the grain (of sth. or to do sth.)
be contrary to one's inclination 37, desire, or feeling 与（…）格格不入；违反意愿（做某事）
contemporary
a. current; modern 当代的，现代的
worship
n., vt. 崇拜；崇敬
to the point of
to a degree that can be described as 达到…的程度
excess
n. more than the reasonable degree or amount 过节，无节制
organism
n. 生物体，有机体
spiritual
a. of the spirit as opposed to matter 精神的；非物质的
nothing more than
just the same as; only 无异于；只不过，仅仅
sentimental
a. 感情用事的；多愁善感的
selective
a. of or characterized by selection 选择的；有选择性的
Bengali
n., a. 孟加拉人（的）；孟加拉语（的）；孟加拉的
jungle
n. 杂乱无章的事物；（热带）丛林
current
a. occurring in or existing at the present time 当前的，现在的
debate
n. 辩论；争论
rage
vi. continue with great force; be intense 激烈地进行
wildlife
n. wild animals and vegetation, especially animals living in a natural state （总称）野生动物（尤指野生动物）
refuge▲
n. a place providing protection or shelter 庇护所；避难处
work one's way
manage to reach or go through; make efforts to attain 18 one's goal 设法抵达（或获得通过）；努力达到目标
congress
n. 国会；立法机关；代表大会
exploration
n. the act or an instance of exploring 勘查，探测；探索
conserve▲
vt. protect from loss or harm; preserve 保护；保存
either/or
a. 只能两者择其一的
proposition▲
n. 提议；命题
consumption
n. the act of consuming; the amount consumed 消费（量）
come through
experience, survive or overcome (a difficulty, etc.) 经历；从（…中）活下来（或挺过来）
in part
to some extent; partly 在某种程度上；部分地
dependence
n. the state of being dependent 依靠，依赖
ridiculous
a. absurd 可笑的，荒谬的
sentimentalism
n. 感情用事；多愁善感，感伤主义
deny
vt. refuse to grant or allow 不给；不准
attainable
a. that can be reached or achieved 可达到的；可得到的
attain
vt. 达到；取得
disrupt▲
vt. throw into confusion or disorder 38 使陷于混乱；干扰
breeding ground
动物繁殖的地方
breed (bred)
v. bear, produce (young) （使）繁殖；产（后代）
reindeer
n. （单复同）驯鹿
Arctic
a., n. 北级（的），北极圈（的）
mate
v. （使）交配
similarly
ad. in a similar way 同样地，相同地
owl▲
n. 猫头鹰
aesthetic▲
a. 美学的；美感的；美的
livelihood
n. a means of living 生计
logging
n. 伐木业
log
v. cut down, trim, and haul (timber) 砍伐；伐（木）
distinction
n. difference 区别，差别
charge
n. a person or thing committed to the care of another 被照管的人（或事物）
well-being
n. the state of being healthy, happy, or prosperous 幸福；福祉
accommodate▲
vi. adapt 适应新的情况；迁就
vt. 容纳，向…提供住处；协调
accommodation n.
fate
n. 命运，结局
bind 39 (bound)
vt. tie or fasten; tie together 捆，绑；将…绑在一起
e.g. (abbr.)
for example 例如
atmospheric
a. of, relating to, or existing in the atmosphere 大气的
threat
n. 威胁
lesser
a. smaller in amount, value, or importance 较小的，更少的，次要的
pollutant 28
n. something that pollutes 污染物
generator 30
n. 发电机
fatal
a. causing death; bringing ruin 致命的；毁灭性的
ecosystem
n. 生态系统
moderate
a. not extreme; within sensible limits 适中的；适度的
concern
n. 有利害关系的事，关心的事，担扰
frame
n. state, condition; basic structure around which sth. is built 状态；框架，构架
frame of mind
mental attitude or outlook 心绪；心境
humanistic
a. of humanism or humanists 人本主义的，人文主义的
Proper Names
Charles Krauthammer
杰尔斯·克劳特哈默
Midwest
美国中西部
Lowa
（美国）爱荷华州
Albuquerque
阿尔伯克基（美国新墨西哥州城市）
Siberia
西伯利亚（俄罗斯一地区）
Gaia
（希神）盖亚（大地女神）
Protagoras
普罗泰戈拉 （c.481 — c.411 B.C.，古希腊哲学家）
Alaska
（美国）阿拉斯加州
Language sense Enhancement
1. Read aloud paragraphs 1-5 and learn them by heart.
2. Read aloud the following poem:
The Beauty of Nature
James Teh
One cool evening, I put aside all duty,
To sit alone, watching the sun set,
And as I do, I think of scenes filled with beauty,
Scenes I wish to never forget.
I think of the beach, with the sand and the sea,
The waves roaring up, then gently lapping the beach,
The cries of the seagulls, so happy, so free,
It only men realized the lesson it can teach.
I think of a lake, the crystal clear water,
So pure, so smooth, and cool on my skin,
The air, so clean, no toxic 40 slaughter 41,
There's a key, a lesson held within.
I think of a waterfall, water freely flowing,
The gentle gush 42, gurgling in my ears,
The wind on my face, calmly blowing,
So many have not learnt in so many years.
The sunset, the beach, the lake, the waterfall,
They're things of nature, not man-made at all,
Characteristics unbeatable by man have they all,
They're peace and beauty, both of which it seems men want to fall.
3. Read the following quotations 43. Learn them by heart if you can. You might need to look up new words in a dictionary.
Complete adaptation to environment means death. The essential point in all response is the desire to control environment.
—— John Dewey
We won't have a society if we destroy the environment.
—— Margaret Mead 44
We make the world we live in and shape our own environment.
—— Orison Swett Marden
When man is happy, he is in harmony with himself and his environment.
—— Oscar Wilde
4.Read the following joke for fun:
Man: how many environmentalists does it take to change a light bulb?
Woman: Ten. One to install the new bulb and nine to figure out what to do with the discarded bulb for the next 10,000 years.
- How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
- I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。
- The park is open to the public without restriction.这个公园对公众开放，没有任何限制。
- The 30 mph speed restriction applies in all built-up areas.每小时限速30英里适用于所有建筑物聚集区。
- I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
- a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制
- The region has been declared an ecological disaster zone.这个地区已经宣布为生态灾难区。
- Each animal has its ecological niche.每种动物都有自己的生态位.
- The ozone layer is a protective layer around the planet Earth.臭氧层是地球的保护层。
- The capacity of ozone can adjust according of requirement.臭氧的产量可根据需要或调节。
- The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
- Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。
- He is an elderly gentleman who had had a cataract operation.他是一位曾经动过白内障手术的老人。
- The way is blocked by the tall cataract.高悬的大瀑布挡住了去路。
- The rotor cataracts water over the top of the machines. 回转轮将水从机器顶上注入。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
- Cataracts of rain flooded the streets. 倾盆大雨弄得街道淹水。 来自辞典例句
- Plankton is at the bottom of the marine food chain.浮游生物处于海洋食物链的最底层。
- The plankton in the sea feeds many kinds of animals. 海的浮游生物成为很多种动物的食物。
- Much of our information is speculative.我们的许多信息是带推测性的。
- The report is highly speculative and should be ignored.那个报道推测的成分很大，不应理会。
- The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
- His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。
- She's a sentimental woman who believes marriage comes by destiny.她是多愁善感的人，她相信姻缘命中注定。
- We were deeply touched by the sentimental movie.我们深深被那感伤的电影所感动。
- Snail is a small plant-eating creature with a soft body.蜗牛是一种软体草食动物。
- Time moved at a snail's pace before the holidays.放假前的时间过得很慢。
- With a shrug,he went out of the room.他耸一下肩，走出了房间。
- I admire the way she is able to shrug off unfair criticism.我很佩服她能对错误的批评意见不予理会。
- Martha looked up into a strange face and dark eyes alight with kindliness and concern. 马撒慢慢抬起头，映入眼帘的是张陌生的脸，脸上有一双充满慈爱和关注的眼睛。 来自辞典例句
- I think the chief thing that struck me about Burton was his kindliness. 我想，我对伯顿印象最深之处主要还是这个人的和善。 来自辞典例句
- Contour planning with or without terracing is effective in conserving both soil and moisture. 顺等高线栽植，无论做或不做梯田对于保持水土都能有效。 来自辞典例句
- Economic savings, consistent with a conserving society and the public philosophy. 经济节约，符合创建节约型社会的公共理念。 来自互联网
- Doctors keep trying to break her dependence of the drug.医生们尽力使她戒除毒瘾。
- He was freed from financial dependence on his parents.他在经济上摆脱了对父母的依赖。
- I used the scientific method to attain this end. 我用科学的方法来达到这一目的。
- His painstaking to attain his goal in life is praiseworthy. 他为实现人生目标所下的苦功是值得称赞的。
- They set the limits of performance attainable. 它们确定着可达到的运行限度。
- If objectives are to be meaningful to people, they must be clear, attainable, actionable, and verifiable. 如果目标对人们是具有意义的，则目标必须是清晰的，能达到的，可以行动的，以及可供检验的。
- The herd of reindeer was being trailed by a pack of wolves.那群驯鹿被一只狼群寻踪追赶上来。
- The life of the Reindeer men was a frontier life.驯鹿时代人的生活是一种边区生活。
- The milkman selected the spotted cows,from among a herd of two hundred.牛奶商从一群200头牛中选出有斑点的牛。
- Sam's shop stocks short spotted socks.山姆的商店屯积了有斑点的短袜。
- Her new glasses make her look like an owl.她的新眼镜让她看上去像只猫头鹰。
- I'm a night owl and seldom go to bed until after midnight.我睡得很晚，经常半夜后才睡觉。
- My aesthetic standards are quite different from his.我的审美标准与他的大不相同。
- The professor advanced a new aesthetic theory.那位教授提出了新的美学理论。
- Appropriate arrangements will be made for their work and livelihood.他们的工作和生活会得到妥善安排。
- My father gained a bare livelihood of family by his own hands.父亲靠自己的双手勉强维持家计。
- He always has the well-being of the masses at heart.他总是把群众的疾苦挂在心上。
- My concern for their well-being was misunderstood as interference.我关心他们的幸福，却被误解为多管闲事。
- Sea surface temperatures and atmospheric circulation are strongly coupled.海洋表面温度与大气环流是密切相关的。
- Clouds return radiant energy to the surface primarily via the atmospheric window.云主要通过大气窗区向地表辐射能量。
- Kept some of the lesser players out.不让那些次要的球员参加联赛。
- She has also been affected,but to a lesser degree.她也受到波及，但程度较轻。
- Coal itself is a heavy pollutant.煤本身就是一种严重的污染物。
- Carbon dioxide may not be a typical air pollutant.二氧化碳可能不是一种典型的污染物。
- Pollutants are constantly being released into the atmosphere. 污染物质正在不断地被排放到大气中去。
- The 1987 Amendments limit 301(g) discharges to a few well-studied nonconventional pollutants. 1987年的修正案把第301条（g）的普通排放限制施加在一些认真研究过的几种非常规污染物上。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
- All the while the giant generator poured out its power.巨大的发电机一刻不停地发出电力。
- This is an alternating current generator.这是一台交流发电机。
- The factory's emergency generators were used during the power cut. 工厂应急发电机在停电期间用上了。
- Power can be fed from wind generators into the electricity grid system. 电力可以从风力发电机流入输电网。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- This destroyed the ecosystem of the island.这样破坏了岛上的生态系统。
- We all have an interest in maintaining the integrity of the ecosystem.维持生态系统的完整是我们共同的利益。
- The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
- The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。
- His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
- We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。
- She tried to cover up her guilt by lying.她企图用谎言掩饰自己的罪行。
- Don't lay a guilt trip on your child about schoolwork.别因为功课责备孩子而使他觉得很内疚。
- She could have died away with embarrassment.她窘迫得要死。
- Coughing at a concert can be a real embarrassment.在音乐会上咳嗽真会使人难堪。
- She greeted us with a slight inclination of the head.她微微点头向我们致意。
- I did not feel the slightest inclination to hurry.我没有丝毫着急的意思。
- When returning back,he discovered the room to be in disorder.回家后，他发现屋子里乱七八糟。
- It contained a vast number of letters in great disorder.里面七零八落地装着许多信件。
- I will let the waiter bind up the parcel for you.我让服务生帮你把包裹包起来。
- He wants a shirt that does not bind him.他要一件不使他觉得过紧的衬衫。
- The factory had accidentally released a quantity of toxic waste into the sea.这家工厂意外泄漏大量有毒废物到海中。
- There is a risk that toxic chemicals might be blasted into the atmosphere.爆炸后有毒化学物质可能会进入大气层。
- I couldn't stand to watch them slaughter the cattle.我不忍看他们宰牛。
- Wholesale slaughter was carried out in the name of progress.大规模的屠杀在维护进步的名义下进行。
- There was a gush of blood from the wound.血从伤口流出。
- There was a gush of blood as the arrow was pulled out from the arm.当从手臂上拔出箭来时，一股鲜血涌了出来。
- The insurance company requires three quotations for repairs to the car. 保险公司要修理这辆汽车的三家修理厂的报价单。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- These quotations cannot readily be traced to their sources. 这些引语很难查出出自何处。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》