英语中级听力课程Lesson18.docx

英语中级听力课程Lesson18.docx

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英语中级听力课程Lesson18

英语中级听力课程Lesson-18

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beinevitable—soonerorlater.Hugeareaswouldbeevacuated.Andtheycouldremaincontaminatedwithradioactivityforyears.Ifithappenedinyourarea,youwouldn'tgetapennyincompensation.Noinsurancecompanycoversnuclearrisks.Thereareaccidents.Ifthenuclearindustrydidn'tkeepthemquiet,therewouldbeapublicoutcry.Radioactivitycausescancerandmayaffectfuturegenerations.Next,nuclearwaste.Thereisnotechnologyforabsolutelysafedisposal.Someofthiswastewillremainactiveforthousandsofyears.Isthatwhatyouwanttoleavetoyourchildren?

Andtheirchildren'schildren?

Areactoronlylastsabout25years.Bytheyear2000we'llhave'retired'26reactorsintheUK.

  Next,terrorism.Terroristscouldholdthenationtoransomiftheycapturedareactor.IntheUSAtheSavannahRiverplant,andProfessorBurnhamknowsthisverywell,lost（yes,'lost'）enoughplutoniumbetween1955and1978tomake18（18!

）atombombs.Whereisit?

Who'sgotit?

Iconsiderthatnuclearenergyisexpensive,dangerous,andevil,andmostofall,absolutelyunnecessary.ButDr.Woodstockwillbesayingmoreaboutthat.

Host:

ThankyouJennifer.NowI'mverypleasedtowelcomeDr.CatherineWoodstock.Sheistheauthorofseveralbooksonalternativetechnology.

CatherineWoodstock:

Hello.I'dliketobeginbyagreeingwithJennifer.Wecandevelopalternativesourcesofpower,andunlesswetrywe'llneversucceed.Insteadofburningfossilfuelsweshouldbeconcentratingonmoreeconomicusesofelectricity,becauseelectricitycanbeproducedfromanysourceofenergy.Ifwedidn'twastesomuchenergy,ourresourceswouldlastlonger.Youcansavemoreenergybyconservationthanyoucanproduceforthesamemoney.Unlesswedoresearchonsolarenergy,windpower,wavepower,tidalpower,hydroelectricschemesetc,ourfossilfuelswillrunout,andwe'llallfreezeorstarvetodeath.Othercountriesarespendingmuchmorethanusonresearch,anddon'tforgetthatenergyfromthesun,thewavesandthewindlastsforever.Wereallywon'tsurviveunlesswestartworkingoncleaner,safersourcesofenergy.

Host:

Thankyouverymuch,Dr.Woodstock.Ourfinalspeaker,beforeweopenthediscussiontothestudioaudience,isCharlesWicks,MP,theMinisterforEnergy.

CharlesWicks:

I'vebeenlisteningtotheotherspeakerswithgreatinterest.Bytheway,Idon'tagreewithsomeoftheestimatesofworldenergyreserves.Moreoilandgasisbeingdiscoveredallthetime.Ifwelistenedtothepessimists（andtherearealotofthemabout）noneofuswouldsleepatnight.Intheshortterm,wemustcontinuetorelyonthefossilfuels—oil,coalandgas.Butwemustalsolooktothefuture.Ourpolicymustbeflexible.Unlesswethoughtnewresearchwasnecessary,wewouldn'tbespendingmoneyonit.Afterall,theGovernmentwouldn'thaveaDepartmentofEnergyunlesstheythoughtitwasimportant.Thebigquestioniswheretospendthemoney—onconservationofpresentresourcesoronresearchintonewformsofpower.ButI'mfairlyoptimistic.Iwouldn'tbeinthisjobunlessIwereanoptimist!

MalCarrington:

Goodmorning.Welcometo"TheyearstoCome".I'mMalCarrington,andeveryweekatthistimeChannel5bringsyouinformationonlifeinthefuturefromanexpertinthefield.

  Today'sexpertisDrReginaldHealyfromMIT,thefamousMassachusettsInstituteofTechnology.Goodmorning,DrHealy.WelcometoTheyearstocome.

DrHealy:

Thankyou.

MalCarrington:

Well,whatareyourpredictionsabouttheworld?

Whatisitgoingtobelikeintheyear2000?

DrHealy:

Hum,ifpresenttrendscontinue,I'mafraidtheworldin2000willbemorecrowdedandmorepollutedthantheworldweliveinnow.

MalCarrington:

Yes,however,foodproductionisconstantlyincreasing.Don'tyouthinkwewillbeabletocopewiththeincreaseinworldpopulation?

DrHealy:

Idon'tthinkso.Eventhoughproductionisconstantlyincreasing,thepeopleoftheworldwillbepoorerthantheyaretoday.Forhundredsofmillionsofthedesperatelypoor,thesupplyoffoodandothernecessitiesoflifewillnotbeanybetter.Andformanytheywillbeworse,unlessthenationsoftheworlddosomethingtochangethecurrenttrends.

MalCarrington:

WhatisyourestimateofworldpopulationinAD2000.

DrHealy:

Well,already,worldpopulationisabout5,000million.Ifpresenttrendscontinue,thatiswiththenumberofbirthsbyfarexceedingthenumberofdeathsin2000theworldpopulationcouldapproach6,500millionpeople.

MalCarrington:

Howmanypeopleareborneveryday?

DrHealy:

About250everyminute,butonly100peopledie.Thismeansthereisanincreaseof216,000peopleperday,andninetypercentofthisincreaseisinthepoorestcountries.

MalCarrington:

That'sworrying!

Andwhataboutenergy?

Willtherebeenoughoiltosatisfyourneedsintheyear2000?

DrHealy:

Duringthe1990s,worldoilproductionwillreachthemaximumandthepriceofoilwillbegintoincrease.Attheendofthecentury,theavailablesupplieswillnotbesufficientforourneeds.Soatleastpartoftheseneedswillhavetobemetbyalternativesourcesofenergy.

MalCarrington:

Yes,waterisbecomingaproblemtoo.

DrHealy:

Yes,unfortunately.Watershortagewillbecomemoresevereinthefuture,andduetotheincreaseofbirthstherewillbeenoughwateronlyforhalfofthepopulation.

MalCarrington:

Whichofthepresenttrendsdoyouthinkwillcontinueoverthenextdecade?

DrHealy:

Well,significantlossoftheworld'sforestswillcontinueoverthenexttenyearsasthedemandforwoodforfuelandmanufacturersincreases.Alsoatmosphericconcentrationofcarbondioxideandotherchemicalsisexpectedtoincreaseatratesthatcouldaltertheworld'sclimateduetothe'greenhouseeffect'.

MalCarrington:

The'greenhouseeffect'?

Couldyouexplainwhatthe'greenhouseeffect'is?

DrHealy:

Sure.Well,theamountofcarbondioxideintheairisprogressivelyincreasingandittrapsmoreoftheheatofthesunintheloweratmosphere.Thishasawarmingeffectwhichcouldchangetheclimateandevenmeltthepolaricecaps,whichwouldcausedisastrousflooding.

MalCarrington:

Isee.Isthistheonlyeffectofcarbondioxide?

DrHealy:

No,itisn't.Carbondioxideandotherchemicalswhichderivefromtheuseoffossilfuelswillalsoincreasethequantityofacidrainwhichisalreadydamagingorevendestroyingplants,treesandotherpartsofourenvironment.Also,therewillbeadramaticincreaseinthenumberofspeciesbecomingextinct.Hundredsofthousandsofspecieswillbelostbecauseofthelossoftheirhabitat.

MalCarrington:

That'sappalling!

Whataboutnuclearplants?

Aren'ttheyaconstantmenacetolifeonourplanet?

DrHealy:

Definitely.Andapartfromthemoreobviousdangerofaccidents,liketheoneatChemobyl,there'stheproblemofthedisposalofnuclearwaste,thatisthewastewhichisproducedbynuclearpowerstations.

MalCarrington:

Oh,yes.Iknowthatsomeofthematerialskeeptheirradioactivityforhundredsorthousandsofyears.

DrHealy:

Yeah,forexample,strontium90needsstoringfor500years,beingkeptcoolallthetime.Plutonium-239mayneedstoringforuptohalfamillionyears!

MalCarrington:

So,whatisgoingtohappentotheEarthinthenextfewyears?

Willwebeabletoreversethistrendtowardsdestruction?

Whatisyourprediction?

DrHealy:

Well,Idon'twanttobepessimistic,butI'mafraidthatifthistrenddoesn'tchangewithinfiveortenyearswewon'tbeabletodoverymuchtosavetheearth.

MalCarrington:

Well,that'sawarningthatweallneedtotakeseriously.Andwiththatwarning,weendpartoneofthisweek'sTheyearstocome.We'llbebacksoonafterthebreak.

MalCarrington:

Hereweareagainwith"TheyearstoCome".NowI'dliketotellyouaboutandtoshowyouthepicturesofanexcitingnewprojectwhichistheresultofthecooperationofscientists,engineersandtechniciansfromvirtuallyallovertheworld.

  Towardstheendofthe90s,abrightnewcelestialbodywillappearinthenightskylikeanimmenseshiningstar,fullyvisiblefrom38degreesnorthorsouthoftheequator.Itwillbeaspacestation,Freedom.TheideaforFreedomoriginatedintheUSA,butelevenothernationshaveagreedtocontributeafewofthestation'smanyparts.

  Thespacestationisnotgoingtobelaunchedintoorbitinonepiece—thethousandsofpartswhichmakeupFreedomaregoingtobeassembleddirectlyinspace.TwentytripsbytheshuttleandtworocketswillbeneededtodeliverFreedom,piecebypiece,intoaloworbitaroundtheEarth.Then,250milesabovetheEarth,constructioncrewsaregoingtobolttogetherthespacestation'smanycomponents.Thefirstbatchofpartsisgoingtobelaunchedin1995.Bytheendof1996,thefirstcrewofeightisgoingtoenterthelivingmoduletobeginwhatNASAhopeswillbeacontinuoushumanpresenceinspace.Thestationhasbeendesignedtoremainoccupiedandoperationalforuptothirtyyears—awholegenerationoflivinginspace.Consideringthatthefirstman-madeobjectreachedorbitjustthirtyyearsago,thatwillbequiteanaccomplishment.Thedesignofaspacestationmustcombinetheexcitementofspacewiththenecessityforsafetyandcomfort.Freedomwillbethebestsolutiontodateandwillalsobethemostcomplexcomputerizedhouseeverbuilt—eitheronEarthorinspace.Therewillbeaccommodationforeightpeopleandeachcrewmemberwillhavehisorherownroom,ashower,atoilet,exerciseequipment,awashingmachine,apantry,andasickbay.Addatele