完整word版高级英语第三课ShipsintheDesertdocx.docx

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完整word版高级英语第三课ShipsintheDesertdocx

Lesson3ShipsintheDesert

ALGore

1.Iwasstandinginthesunonthehotsteeldeckofafishingshipcapableofprocessinga

fifty-toncatchonagoodday.Butitwasn’tagoodday.Wewereanchoredinwhatusedtobeth

mostproductivefishingsiteinallofcentralAsia,butasIlookedoutoverthebow,theprospectsof

agoodcatchlookedbleak.Wherethereshouldhavebeengentleblue-greenwaveslappingagainst

thesideoftheship,therewasnothingbuthotdrysand——asfarasIcouldseeinalldirect

Theothershipsofthefleetwerealsoatrestinthesand,scatteredinthedunesthatstretchedallthe

waytothehorizon.TenyearsagotheAralwasthefourth-largestinlandseaintheworld,

comparabletothelargestofNorthAmerica’GreatsLakes.Nowitisdisappearingbecausethe

waterthatusedtofeedithasbeendivertedinanill-consideredirrigationschemetogrowcottonin

thedesert.Thenewshorelinewasalmostfortykilometersacrossthesandfromwherethefishing

fleetwasnowpermanentlydocked.Meanwhile,inthenearbytownofMuynakthepeoplewere

stillcanningfish——broughtnotfromtheAralSeabutshippedbyrailthroughSiberiafromthe

PacificOcean,morethanathousandmilesaway.

2.Mysearchfortheunderlyingcausesoftheenvironmentalcrisishasledmetotravelaround

theworldtoexamineandstudymanyoftheseimagesofdestruction.Attheverybottomofthe

earth,highintheTrans-AntarcticMountains,withthesunglaringatmidnightthroughaholeinthe

sky,Istoodintheunbelievablecoldnessandtalkedwithascientistinthelatetallof1988aboutthe

tunnelhewasdiggingthroughtime.Slippinghisparkabacktorevealabadlyburnedfacethatwas

crackedandpeeling,hepointedtotheannuallayersoficeinacoresampledugfromtheglacieron

whichwewerestanding.Hemovedhisfingerbackintimetotheiceoftwodecadesago.

wheretheU.SCongresspassedtheCleanAirAct,”hesaid.Atthebottomoftheworld,two

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continentsawayfromWashington,D.C.,evenasmallreductioninonecountry'semissionshad

changedtheamountofpollutionfoundintheremotestendleastaccessibleplaceonearth.

3.Butthemostsignificantchangethusfarintheearth’satmosphereistheonethatbe

theindustrialrevolutionearlyinthelastcenturyandhaspickedupspeedeversince.Industry

meantcoal,andlateroil,andwebegantoburnlotsofit——bringingrisinglevelsofcarbon

dioxide（CO2）,withitsabilitytotrapmoreheatintheatmosphereandslowlywarmtheearth.

FewerthanahundredyardsfromtheSouthPole,upwindfromtheicerunwaywheretheskiplane

landsandkeepsitsenginesrunningtopreventthemetalpartsfromfreeze-lockingtogether,

scientistsmonitortheairseveraltimeseverydaytochartthecourseofthatinexorablechange.

Duringmyvisit,Iwatchedonescientistdrawtheresultsofthatday’smeasurements,

endofasteeplinestillhigheronthegraph.Hetoldmehoweasyitis——thereatthe

earth——toseethatthisenormouschangeintheglobalatmosphereisstillpickingupspeed.

4.TwoandahalfyearslaterIsleptunderthemidnightsunattheotherendofourplanet,ina

smalltentpitchedonatwelve-toot-thickslaboficefloatinginthefrigidArcticOcean.Aftera

heartybreakfast,mycompanionsandItraveledbysnowmobilesafewmilesfarthernorthtoa

rendezvouspointwheretheicewasthinner——onlythreeandahalffeetthick——and

submarinehoveredinthewaterbelow.Afteritcrashedthroughtheice,tookonitsnewpassengers,

andresubmerged,Italkedwithscientistswhoweretryingtomeasuremoreaccuratelythe

thicknessofthepolaricecap,whichmanybelieveisthinningasaresultofglobalwarming.Ihad

justnegotiatedanagreementbetweenicescientistsandtheU.S.Navytosecurethereleaseof

previouslytopsecretdatafromsubmarinesonartracks,datathatcouldhelpthemlearnwhatis

happeningtothenorthpolarcap.Now,Iwantedtoseethepoleit-self,andsomeeighthoursafter

wemetthesubmarine,wewerecrashingthroughthatice,surfacing,andthenIwasstandinginan

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eerilybeautifulsnowscape,windsweptandsparklingwhite,withthehorizondefinedbylittle

hummocks,or“pressureridges”oficethatarepushedupliketinymountainrangeswhenseparate

sheetscollide.Butheretoo,CO2,levelsarerisingjustasrapidly,andultimatelytemperaturewill

risewiththem——indeed,globalwarmingisexpectedtopushtemperaturesupmuchmorerapidly

inthepolarregionsthanintherestoftheworld.Asthepolarairwarms,theiceherewillthin;and

sincethepolarcapplayssuchacrucialroleintheworld’sweathersystem,theconsequ

thinningcapcouldbedisastrous.

5.Consideringsuchscenariosisnotapurelyspeculativeexercise.SixmonthsafterIreturnedfromtheNorthPole,ateamofscientistsreporteddramaticchangesinthepatternoficedistributionintheArctic,andasecondteamreportedastillcontroversialclaim（whichavarietyofdatanowsuggest）that,overall,thenorthpolarcaphasthinnedby2percentinjustthelastdecade.

Moreover,scientistsestablishedseveralyearsagothatinmanylandareasnorthoftheArcticCircle,

thespringsnowmeltnowcomesearliereveryyear,anddeepinthetundrabelow,thetemperature

oftheearthissteadilyrising.

*

6.Asithappens,someofthemostdisturbingimagesofenvironmentaldestructioncanbe

foundexactlyhalfwaybetweentheNorthandSouthpoles——preciselyatheequatorinBrazil

——wherebillowingcloudsofsmokeregularlyblackentheskyabovetheimmensebutnowthreatenedAmazonrainforest.Acrebyacre,therainforestisbeingburnedtocreatefastpastureforfast-foodbeef;asIlearnedwhenIwentthereinearly1989,thefiresaresetearlierandearlierinthedryseasonnow,withmorethanoneTennessee’worthsofrainforestbeingslashedandburnedeachyear.Accordingtoourguide,thebiologistTomLovejoy,therearemoredifferentspeciesofbirdsineachsquaremileoftheAmazonthanexistinallofNorthAmerica

meanswearesilencingthousandsofsongswehaveneverevenheard.

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*

7.Butonedoesn'thavetotravelaroundtheworldtowitnesshumankind’sassaulton

Imagesthatsignalthedistressofourglobalenvironmentarenowcommonlyseenalmostanywhere.

Onsomenights,inhighnorthernlatitudes,theskyitselfoffersanotherghostlyimagethatsignals

thelossofecologicalbalancenowinprogress.Iftheskyisclearaftersunset——a

watchingfromaplacewherepollutionhasn'tblottedoutthenightskyaltogether——youcan

sometimesseeastrangekindofcloudhighinthesky.This“noctilucentcloud”occasionally

appearswhentheearthisfirstcloakedintheeveningdarkness;shimmeringaboveuswitha

translucentwhiteness,thesecloudsseemquiteunnatural.Andtheyshould:

noctilucentcloudshave

beguntoappearmoreoftenbecauseofahugebuildupofmethanegasintheatmosphere.（Also

callednaturalgas,methaneisreleasedfromlandfills,fromcoalminesandricepaddies,from

billionsoftermitesthatswarmthroughthefreshlycutforestland,fromtheburningofbiomassand

fromavarietyofotherhumanactivities.）Eventhoughnoctilucentcloudsweresometimesseenin

thepast,allthisextramethanecarriesmorewatervaporintotheupperatmosphere,whereit

condensesatmuchhigheraltitudestoformmorecloudsthatthesun’sraysstillstrikelon

sunsethasbroughtthebeginningofnighttothesurfacefarbeneaththem.

8.Whatshouldwefeeltowardtheseghostsinthesky?

Simplewonderorthemixofemotions

wefeelatthezoo?

Perhapsweshouldfeelaweforourownpower:

justasmenteartusksfrom

elephants’headsuchinquantityastothreatenthebeastwithextinction,wearerippingmatter

fromitsplaceintheearthinsuchvolumeastoupsetthebalancebetweendaylightanddarkness.In

theprocess,weareonceagainaddingtothethreatofglobalwarming,becausemethanehasbeen

oneofthefastest-growinggreen-housegases,andisthirdonlytocarbondioxideandwatervapor

intotalvolume,changingthechemistryoftheupperatmosphere.But,withoutevenconsidering

thatthreat,shouldn’ittstartleusthatwehavenowputthesecloudsintheeveningskywhich

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glistenwithaspectrallight?

Orhaveoureyesadjustedsocompletelytothebrightlightsof

civilizationthatwecan’seetthesecloudsforwhattheyare——aphysicalmanifestationofthe

violentcollisionbetweenhumancivilizationandtheearth?

*

9.Eventhoughitissometimeshardtoseetheirmeaning,wehavebynowallwitnessed

surprisingexperiencesthatsignalthedamagefromourassaultontheenvironment——

thenewfrequencyofdayswhenthetemperatureexceeds100degrees,thenewspeedwithwhich

thesunburnsourskin,orthenewconstancyofpublicdebateoverwhattodowithgrowing

mountainsofwaste.Butourresponsetothesesignalsispuzzling.Whyhaven’wetlauncheda

massiveefforttosaveourenvironment?

Tocomeatthequestionanotherway:

Whydosome

imagesstartleusintoimmediateactionandfocusourattentionorwaystorespondeffectively?

And

whydootherimages,thoughsometimesequallydramatic,produceinsteadaKin.ofparalysis,

focusingourattentionnotonwaystorespondbutratheronsomeconvenient,lesspainful

distraction?

10.Still,therearesomanydistressingimagesofe