高级英语第一册lesson3shipsinthedesert课文.docx

高级英语第一册lesson3shipsinthedesert课文.docx

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高级英语第一册lesson3shipsinthedesert课文

高级英语第一册lesson3shipsinthedesert课文

ShipsintheDesert

ALGore

Iwasstandinginthesunonthehotsteeldeckofafishing

shipcapableofprocessingafifty-toncatchonagoodday.Butitwasn'ta

goodday.Wewereanchoredinwhatusedtobethemostproductive

fishingsiteinallofcentralAsia,butasIlookedoutoverthebow,the

prospectsofagoodcatchlookedbleak.Wherethereshouldhavebeen

gentleblue-greenwaveslappingagainstthesideoftheship,therewas

nothingbuthotdrysand–asfarasIcouldseeinalldirections.Theother

shipsofthefleetwerealsoatrestinthesand,scatteredinthedunes

thatstretchedallthewaytothehorizon.TenyearsagotheAralwasthe

fourth-largestinlandseaintheworld,comparabletothelargestofNorth

America'sGreatLakes.Nowitisdisappearingbecausethewaterthatused

tofeedithasbeendivertedinanill-consideredirrigationschemetogrow

cottonIntheusert.Thenewshorelinewasalmostfortykilometersacross

thesandfromwherethefishingfleetwasnowpermanentlydocked.

Meanwhile,inthenearbytownofMuynakthepeoplewerestillcanningfish

–broughtnotfromtheAralSeabutshippedbyrailthroughSiberiafrom

thePacificOcean,morethanathousandmilesaway.

Mysearchfortheunderlyingcausesoftheenvironmentalcrisis

hasledmetotravelaroundtheworldtoexamineandstudymanyofthese

imagesofdestruction.Attheverybottomoftheearth,highinthe

Trans-AntarcticMountains,withthesunglaringatmidnightthroughahole

inthesky,Istoodintheunbelievablecoldnessandtalkedwithascientist

inthelatetallof1988aboutthetunnelhewasdiggingthroughtime.

Slippinghisparkabacktorevealabadlyburnedfacethatwascrackedand

peeling,hepointedtotheannuallayersoficeinacoresampledugfromthe

glacieronwhichwewerestanding.Hemovedhisfingerbackintimetothe

iceoftwodecadesago."Here'swheretheU.SCongresspassedtheClean

AirAct,”hesaid.Atthebottomoftheworld,twocontinentsawayfrom

Washington,D.C.,evenasmallreductioninonecountry'semissionshad

changedtheamountofpollutionfoundintheremotestendleastaccessible

placeonearth.

Butthemostsignificantchangethusfarintheearth's

atmosphereistheonethatbeganwiththeindustrialrevolutionearlyinthe

lastcenturyandhaspickedupspeedeversince.Industrymeantcoal,and

lateroil,andwebegantoburnlotsofit–bringingrisinglevelsofcarbon

dioxide（CO2）,withitsabilitytotrapmoreheatintheatmosphereand

slowlywarmtheearth.FewerthanahundredyardsfromtheSouthPole,

upwindfromtheicerunwaywheretheskiplanelandsandkeepsitsengines

runningtopreventthemetalpartsfromfreeze-lockingtogether,

scientistsmonitortheairseveraltimeseverydaytochartthecourseof

thatinexorablechange.Duringmyvisit,Iwatchedonescientistdrawthe

resultsofthatday'smeasurements,pushingtheendofasteeplinestill

higheronthegraph.Hetoldmehoweasyitis–thereattheendofthe

earth–toseethatthisenormouschangeintheglobalatmosphereisstill

pickingupspeed.

TwoandahalfyearslaterIsleptunderthemidnightsunatthe

otherendofourplanet,inasmalltentpitchedonatwelve-toot-thickslab

oficefloatinginthefrigidArcticOcean.Afteraheartybreakfast,my

companionsandItraveledbysnowmobilesafewmilesfarthernorthtoa

rendezvouspointwheretheicewasthinner–onlythreeandahalffeet

thick–andanuclearsubmarinehoveredinthewaterbelow.Afterit

crashedthroughtheice,tookonitsnewpassengers,andresubmerged,I

talkedwithscientistswhoweretryingtomeasuremoreaccuratelythe

thicknessofthepolaricecap,whichmanybelieveisthinningasare-suitof

globalwarming.Ihadjustnegotiatedanagreementbetweenicescientists

andtheU.S.Navytosecurethereleaseofpreviouslytopsecretdata

fromsubmarinesonartracks,datathatcouldhelpthemlearnwhatis

happeningtothenorthpolarcap.Now,Iwantedtoseethepoleit-self,and

someeighthoursafterwemetthesubmarine,wewerecrashingthrough

thatice,surfacing,andthenIwasstandinginaneerilybeautifulsnowcape,

windsweptandsparklingwhite,withthehorizondefinedbylittle

hummocks,or"pressureridges"oficethatarepushedupliketiny

mountainrangeswhenseparatesheetscollide.Butheretoo,CD,levelsare

risingjustasrapidly,andultimatelytemperaturewillrisewiththem

indeed,globalwarmingisexpectedtopushtemperaturesupmuchmore

rapidlyinthepolarregionsthanintherestoftheworld.Asthepolarair

warms,theiceherewillthin;andsincethepolarcapplayssuchacrucial

roleintheworld'sweathersystem,theconsequencesofathinningcap

couldbedisastrous.

Consideringsuchscenariosisnotapurelyspeculativeexercise.

SixmonthsafterIreturnedfromtheNorthPole,ateamofscientists

reporteddramaticchangesinthepatternoficedistributionintheArctic,

andasecondteamreportedastillcontroversialclaim（whichavarietyof

datanowsuggest）that,overall,thenorthpolarcaphasthinnedby2per

centinjustthelastdecade.Moreover,scientistsestablishedseveral

yearsagothatinmanylandareasnorthoftheArcticCircle,thespring

snowmeltnowcomesearliereveryyear,anddeepinthetundrabelow,the

temperatureeoftheearthissteadilyrising.

Asithappens,someofthemostdisturbingimagesof

environmentaldestructioncanbefoundexactlyhalfwaybetweenthe

–

NorthandSouthpoles–preciselyattheequatorinBrazil–wherebillowing

cloudsofsmokeregularlyblackentheskyabovetheimmensebutnow

threatenedAmazonrainforest.Acrebyacre,therainforestisbeing

burnedtocreatefastpastureforfast-foodbeef;asIlearnedwhenI

wentthereinearly1989,thefiresaresetearlierandearlierinthedry

seasonnow,withmorethanoneTennessee'sworthofrainforestbeing

slashedandburnedeachyear.Accordingtoourguide,thebiologistTom

Lovejoy,therearemoredifferentspeciesofbirdsineachsquaremileof

theAmazonthanexistinallofNorthAmerica–whichmeansweare

silencingthousandsofsongswehaveneverevenheard.

Butonedoesn'thavetotravelaroundtheworldtowitness

humankind'sassaultontheearth.Imagesthatsignalthedistressofour

globalenvironmentarenowcommonlyseenalmostanywhere.Onsome

nights,inhighnorthernlatitudes,theskyitselfoffersanotherghostly

imagethatsignalsthelossofecologicalbalancenowinprogress.Ifthesky

isclearaftersunset--andifyouarewatchingfromaplacewherepollution

hasn'tblottedoutthenightskyaltogether--youcansometimesseea

strangekindofcloudhighinthesky.This"noctilucentcloud"occasionally

appearswhentheearthisfirstcloakedintheeveningdarkness;

shimmeringaboveuswithatranslucentwhiteness,thesecloudsseemquite

unnatural.Andtheyshould:

noctilucentcloudshavebeguntoappearmore

oftenbecauseofahugebuildupofmethanegasintheatmosphere.（Also

callednaturalgas,methaneisreleasedfromlandfills,fromcoalminesand

ricepaddies,frombillionsoftermitesthatswarmthroughthefreshlycut

forestland,fromtheburningofbiomassandfromavarietyofotherhuman

activities.）Eventhoughnoctilucentcloudsweresometimesseeninthe

past.,allthisextramethanecarriesmorewatervaporintotheupper

atmosphere,whereitcondensesatmuchhigheraltitudestoformmore

cloudsthatthesun'sraysstillstrikelongaftersunsethasbroughtthe

beginningofnighttothesurfacefarbeneaththem.

Whatshouldwefeeltowardtheseghostsinthesky?

Simple

wonderorthemixofemotionswefeelatthezoo?

Perhapsweshouldfeel

aweforourownpower:

justasmen"teartusksfromelephants

suchquantityastothreatenthebeastwithextinction,weareripping

matterfromitsplaceintheearthinsuchvolumeastoupsetthebalance

betweendaylightanddarkness.Intheprocess,weareonceagainaddingto

thethreatofglobalwarming,becausemethanehasbeenoneofthe

fastest-growinggreen-housegases,andisthirdonlytocarbondioxideand

watervaporintotalvolume,changingthechemistryoftheupper

atmosphere.But,withoutevenconsideringthatthreat,shouldn'titstartle

usthatwehavenowputthesecloudsintheeveningskywhichglistenwitha

spectrallight?

Orhaveoureyesadjustedsocompletelytothebright

lightsofcivilizationthatwecan'tseethesecloudsforwhattheyare

physicalmanifestationoftheviolentcollisionbetweenhumancivilization

andtheearth?

Eventhoughitissometimeshardtoseetheirmeaning,wehaveby

’headsin

–a

nowallwitnessedsurprisingexperiencesthatsignalthedamagefromour

assaultontheenvironment--whetherit'sthenewfrequencyofdayswhen

thetemperatureexceeds100degrees,thenewspeedwithwhichthe-un

burnsourskin,orthenewconstancyofpublicdebateoverwhattodowith

growingmountainsofwaste.Butourresponsetothesesignalsispuzzling.

Whyhaven'twelaunchedamassiveefforttosaveourenvironment?

To

comeatthequestionanotherway'Whydosomeimagesstartleusinto

immediateactionandfocusourattentionorwaystorespondeffecti