大学英语初级听力文本Unit1819.docx
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大学英语初级听力文本Unit1819
Lesson18
EnergyCrisis(能源危机)
Host(MichaelParkhurst):
Goodevening,andwelcomeagaintothe'MichaelParkhurstTalkabout'.Intonight'sprogramme,we'relookingattheproblemofenergy.Theworld'senergyresourcesarelimited.Nobodyknowsexactlyhowmuchfuelisleft,butpessimisticforecastssaythatthereisonlyenoughcoalfor450years,enoughnaturalgasfor50yearsandthatoilmightrunoutin30years.Obviouslywehavetodosomething,andwehavetodoitsoon!
I'dliketowelcomeourfirstguest,ProfessorMarvinBurnhamoftheNewEnglandInstituteofTechnology.ProfessorBurnham.
Prof.Burnham:
Well,weareinanenergycrisisandwewillhavetodosomethingquickly.Fossilfuels(coal,oilandgas)arerapidlyrunningout.Thetragedyisthatfossilfuelsarefartoovaluabletowasteontheproductionofelectricity.Justthinkofallthethingsyoucanmakefromoil!
Ifwedon'tstartconservingthesethingsnow,itwillbetoolate.Andnuclearpoweristheonlyrealalternative.Wearegettingsomeelectricityfromnuclearpowerstationsalready.Ifweinvestinfurtherresearchnow,we'llbereadytofacethefuture.There'sbeenalotofprotestlatelyagainstnuclearpower—somepeoplewillprotestatanything—butnuclearpowerstationsarenotasdangerousassomepeoplesay.It'sfarmoredangeroustoworkdownacoalmineoronaNorthSeaoil-rig.Safetyregulationsinpowerstationsareverystrict.
Ifwespentmoneyonresearchnow,wecoulddevelopstationswhichcreatetheirownfuelandburntheirownwaste.Inmanypartsoftheworldwheretherearenofossilfuels,nuclearpoweristheonlyalternative.Ifyouacceptthatweneedelectricity,thenwewillneednuclearenergy.Justimaginewhattheworldwouldbelikeifwedidn'thaveelectricity—noheating,nolighting,notransport,noradioorTV.Justthinkaboutthewaysyouuseelectricityeveryday.Surelywedon'twanttogobacktotheStoneAge.That'swhatwillhappenifweturnourbacksonnuclearresearch.
Host:
Thankyou,Professor.OurnextguestisamemberofCANE,theCampaignAgainstNuclearEnergy,JenniferHughes.
JenniferHughes:
Right.ImustdisagreetotallywithProfessorBurnham.Let'slookatthefacts.First,thereisnoperfectmachine.Imean,whydoaeroplanescrash?
Machinesfail.Peoplemakemistakes.Whatwouldhappeniftherewereaseriousnuclearaccident?
Andanaccidentmustbeinevitable—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!
Task1:
TheYearstoCome(I)
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-239mayneedstoring