英语阅读提升BBC新闻.docx

英语阅读提升BBC新闻.docx

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英语阅读提升BBC新闻

Lesson1Capitalcities首都城市

ThinkoftheUKandyou’llprobablythinkofLondon.PictureFranceandyou’llnodoubtconjureupimagesofParisanditsiconicEiffelTower.Tomany,capitalcitiesdefineacountry.They’reoftentheseatofpower,theeconomicandpoliticalhubandsometimesthehometoroyalty-alongwithmillionsofcitydwellers.Foraplacewithsomuchinfluence,it’simportanttogetitslocationright.

Sometimeswehavetolookintohistorytofindthereasonswhyacapitalcityendedupwhereitdid.ThesiteofwhatisnowLondonwasbytheriver:

easytosettle,easyfortradingandeasytodefend.However,it’snotlocatedinthecountry’scentreandthere’softencriticismfromfar-flungcornersofthenationthattheyareforgottenbythedecisionmakersinthecapital.Othercountrieshavetakenadifferentapproachbyestablishingtheircapitalsinthegeographicalcentresotheycanexertcontrolandprojectunity,likeMadridinSpainforexample.

Occasionally,therehavebeenreasonstorelocateacapital.StPetersburg,foundedbyPetertheGreatin1703,wasRussia’scapitalfrom1712-1918,beforethegovernmentchangedittoMoscow.ThiswaspartlybecauseMoscowwasmorecentral,andthegovernmentdecideditwaslesslikelytobeinvadedbyanothercountry. 

AndnowinIndonesiathereareplanstomoveitscapital,Jakarta.Itsnewlocationisyettobedecided,butthereasonforthemoveisthatthismegacityissinkingatoneofthefastestratesintheworld.It’sbeenbuiltonveryswampylandandisn’thelpedbylotsofgroundwaterbeingextractedtousefordrinkingwaterandwashing.Thecityisovercrowdedtooandroadsareoftengridlocked.

Ofcourse,ifyoucan’tmoveyourcapitalcity,whynotconstructabrandnewone?

Brazilmoveditscapitalfromcoastal,crowdedRiodeJaneirotoinlandBrasiliain1961-theideabeingtobuildabrandnewcapital"tobringprogresstotheinteriorofBrazil",asarchitectOscarNiemeyerdescribedit.Andmorerecently,NayPyiTawwasbuiltin2005asMyanmar’snewcapital.ThisremotecityisfourtimesthesizeofLondonandhashugeroads,golfcoursesandazoo–butfewpeople.

【词汇表】

iconic标志性的，非常出名的

seatofpower政府所在地

hub中心

citydwellers城市居民

influence影响力

site地点，位置

settle定居

trading贸易

defend保护，防卫

far-flung遥远的

geographical地理上的

relocate迁移，搬迁

central中心的

megacity（人口超过1000万的）大城市

swampy（地面）湿软的

groundwater地下水

gridlocked交通拥堵不堪的

construct修建

remote遥远的

【测验与练习】

阅读课文并回答问题。

1.WhereisthecapitalofSpainlocated?

2.Whatissinkingatoneofthefastestratesintheworld?

3.HowcrowdedisMyanmar’snewcapitalcity?

4.Trueorfalse?

Russia’soldcapitalcity,StPetersburg,wasrenamedMoscowin1918.

5.Whichwordusedinthearticlemeans‘situatednotnearacoastorsea’?

【答案】

1.WhereisthecapitalofSpainlocated?

Itislocatedinthegeographicalcentreofthecountry.

2. Whatissinkingattheoneofthefastestratesintheworld?

ThecapitalcityofIndonesia,Jakarta.

3.HowcrowdedisMyanmar’snewcapitalcity?

Notverycrowded.Ithashugeroads,golfcoursesandazoo–butfewpeople.

4.Trueorfalse?

Russia’soldcapitalcity,StPetersburg,wasrenamedMoscowin1918.

False.StPetersburgwasRussia’scapitalfrom1712-1918,beforethegovernmentmovedittoMoscow.

5. Whichwordusedinthearticlemeans‘situatednotnearacoastorsea’?

Inland."Brazilmoveditscapitalfromcoastal,crowdedRiodeJaneirotoinlandBrasiliain1961."

Lesson2Reducingourcarbonfootprint减少“天空”碳足迹

Formanypeople,flyingisagreatwaytomovequicklyandeasilyfromplacetoplace.Therearenowfourbillionpassengersflyingeveryyear.Theaviationindustryhasexpandedmassivelyinrecentyears,withthegrowthofbudgetairlinesopeningupnewdestinationswhichwecannowreachforpeanuts!

Butthisworldwideappetitefortravelcomesataprice-it’sincreasingcarbonemissions,whichisharmingtheplanetwewanttoexplore.

Accordingtoanewstudy,airtravelisoneofthethingsthataccountsforeightpercentofcarbonemissions–muchhigherthanwasfirstthought.TheUStopstherankingsfollowedbyChina,GermanyandIndia.DrArunimaMalikfromtheUniversityofSydney,who'stheleadauthorofthestudy,toldtheBBCthatit’sricherpeoplewhoaremoreresponsiblebyspendingmoreonhigh-carbonactivities.Hesays"Ifyouhavevisitorsfromhigh-incomecountriesthentheytypicallyspendheavilyonairtravel,onshoppingandhospitalitywheretheygoto.” 

TheWorldTravelandTourismCouncilclaimsthingsarechanging.Aspokesmansaid"We'veseenagrowingnumberofhotels,airportsandtouroperatorsthathaveallbecomecarbonneutralsothereisamomentum（tochange）."Becomingcarbonneutralinvolvescarbonoffsetting,wheretouristspayextramoneyinordertocontributetoenvironmentalprojectsthatreducetheamountofCO2intheatmosphere–althoughsomesayit'sjustanexcusetocontinuepolluting.Airlinepassengerscandothisbypayinganadditionalchargewhentheybuytheirticketfromparticipatingairlines.

Thingsarechangingandfromnextyear,airlineswillberequiredtooffsetanyincreaseinemissionsbeyondtheir2020levelsbyreducingemissionselsewhere.Andthereareotherwaystoreduceyourcarbonfootprintwhenyoutaketotheskies–youcansitinthecheapseats;studieshaveshownbyflyinginbusinessorfirstclass“youremissionsareatleastthreetimesmorethanifyoudecidedtotravelineconomy.”Youcanalsotravelfromyourlocalairportandpacklight–reducingtheweightoftheaircraft.Butsomepeoplemightsaythisdoesn’ttacklethebiggerproblem–andthebestactionistotakeagroundedapproachandnottoflyatall.

【词汇表】

passenger乘客，旅客

aviationindustry航空工业

budgetairline廉价航空

peanuts微不足道的一点钱

ataprice以很高的代价…

carbonemissions碳排放

airtravel航空旅行

high-carbon碳含量高的，高碳的

visitor访客，游客

hospitality酒店餐饮

touroperator旅行社

carbonneutral碳平衡的

carbonoffsetting碳补偿（以达到“碳平衡”）

tourist游客，旅游者

taketotheskies“冲上云霄”，空中飞行

flyinbusiness乘商务舱出行

flyinfirstclass乘头等舱出行

travelineconomy坐经济舱出行

packlight轻装上阵，少带行李

grounded（飞机）停飞的

【测验与练习】

阅读课文并回答问题。

1.Thegrowthofwhichformoftravelhashelpedmoreofusflytonewdestinations?

2.Accordingtoresearch,whospendsmoreheavilyonairtravel?

3.Whatcouldreducetheweightofanaircraft?

4.Trueorfalse?

Participatingairlinesincludeachargeforcarbonoffsettingintheirticketprice.

5.Whichwordusedinthearticlemeans‘progressthatisincreasinginspeedorstrength’?

【答案】

阅读课文并回答问题。

1.Thegrowthofwhichformoftravelhashelpedmoreofusflytonewdestinations?

Thegrowthofbudgetairlineshasopenedupnewdestinationswhichwecannowreachforpeanuts!

2.Accordingtoresearch,whospendsmoreheavilyonairtravel?

DrArunimaMalikfromtheUniversityofSydney,it’sricherpeoplewhoaremostresponsiblebyspendingmoreonhigh-carbonactivities.Hesays"Ifyouhavevisitorsfromhigh-incomecountriesthentheytypicallyspendheavilyonairtravel,onshoppingandhospitalitywheretheygoto.”

3.Whatcouldreducetheweightofanaircraft?

Packinglight–puttinglessinyoursuitcase–wouldhelpreducetheweightoftheaircraft.

4.Trueorfalse?

Participatingairlinesincludeachargeforcarbonoffsettingintheirticketprice.

False.Airlinepassengerscancarbonoffsetbypayinganadditionalchargewhentheybuytheirticketfromparticipatingairlines.

5.Whichwordusedinthearticlemeans‘progressthatisincreasinginspeedorstrength’?

Momentum.Aspokesmansaid"We'veseenagrowingnumberofhotels,airportsandtouroperatorsthathaveallbecomecarbonneutralsothereisamomentum（tochange）."

Lesson3Isyourlunchcostingtheearth?

你的午餐“污染地球”吗？

Alunchbreak–it’sanimportantandoftennecessarypartofourworkingorschoolday.It’sachancetostopyourtummyrumbling,grababitetoeatandmaybechatwithsomefriends.Andnowwe’respoiltwithanarrayofplacestobuyourlunchfrom,allofferingtemptingdishesandhumblesandwichestoeatonthego.

Butourappetiteforbuyingourlunchtimefareisnotjustcostingusmoney,theremightbeacostintermsofdamagingourplanettoo.Justgrabbingasandwich,crispsandmaybeacakeandcoffeecanproduceatleastfouritemsofwaste.Cartons,cups,wrappersandplasticcutleryareallpartofourdisposablefeastinadditiontothefoodwastewecreate.Someexpertssaythrowingawayfood,whichproducesmethaneasitrots,isabiggercauseofclimatechangethanplastics.

Butregardlessofwhatcausesthemostdamage,thesolution,accordingtoanenvironmentalcampaigngroupcalledHubbub,istoeatpackedlunches.TessaTricksfromthegroupsays"Peoplearesayingthattheyarebuyingfoodtotakeoutbecauselifehasgotbusier."Andshesayspeoplethinktheyarebeingmoreefficient;butshearguesthatit’susuallyhealthierandcheapertomakeyourownlunch.Itmeansyoucaneatthethingsyoureallywantandmakethequantitythatyouactuallyneed.

Ofcourse,preparingyourlunchisanotherthingtofitintoyourmorningscrambleofgettingreadyforwork,soifyouhaven'tgottimeandyouaregoingtobuylunch,analternativeHubbubsuggestsistotakeyourowncontainertoashopandaskthemtoputyourfoodinit.Theideaofusingreusablecoffeecupsforhotdrinksandrefillingwaterbottleshasalreadyprovedsuccessful,sothiscouldbeanotherstepintherightdirection.AtrialinEastAnglia（intheUK）showedthatofferinga10%pricereductiondidpersuadesomecustomerstocomepreparedwiththeirownlunchbox.

Theproblemwitheatingonthemoveisthatyoumi