听力入门第三册 unit4.docx

听力入门第三册 unit4.docx

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听力入门第三册unit4

Unit4WorldNews:

EarthandEnvironment

PartIWarmingup

1.WhatisthepreciseheightofMountEverestaccordingtoNationalGeographicSociety'slatestmeasuring?

29,035feet,sevenfeettallerthanwasthoughtwhenitwaslastmeasuredinthe1950s

2.Whatisthelikelyimpactofclimatechangeaccordingtothenewresearch?

Damagetocropsin10w-lyingcoastalregionscouldbeworsethanpreviouslythought.

3.WhatisthetitleoftheconferenceinnorthernBrazil?

ThethirdUnitedNationsConferenceonDesertification

4.Whatdoesanewstudysayaboutreptiles?

Reptilespeciesareingreatertroublethanamphibianspecies

5.WhatdidthegovernorsfromColumbiacallfor?

Anewapproachinthefightagainsttheillegaldrugstrade

6.WhatarecrewsdoingoffthecoastofMexico,about50milessouthofSanDiego?

Theyareworkingtocleanupahugeoilspill.

7.Whatistheseriousthreatforplants?

Oneineveryeightspeciesofplantsisthreatenedwithextinction.

8.HowseriouswerethewildfiresinFlorida?

Theylastedfornearlyaweekand65thousandhectaresinthesouthernpartofthestatewereconsumed.

9.Whatisnowavailable?

Anewlocaldirectoryfortheenvironmentally-aware,calledthe"BoulderCountyGreenPages"

10.WhatdoesaU.S.SpaceAgencystudyrecentlyfind?

Greenlandismeltingaroundtheedges,morethan50cubickilometersperyear.

Tapescript:

1.TheNationalGeographicSocietyjustfinishedmeasuringMountEverestanditissevenfeettallerthanwasthoughtwhenitwaslastmeasuredinthe1950s.Inthiscase,aglobalpositioningsatelliteputthepreciseheightoftheworld'stallestmountainat29,035feet.

2.Newresearchonthelikelyimpactofclimatechangesuggeststhatdamagetocropsinlow-lyingcoastalregionscouldbeworsethanpreviouslythought.Adraftreportbyleadingclimatologistspredictshugeproblemsasaresultofafallingcropyieldintropicalandsubtropicalzones,andmorefloodsanddroughtintemperateandhumidregions.

3.Morethan2,000delegatesfromaroundtheworldhavegatheredinnorthernBrazilforthethirdUnitedNationsConferenceonDesertification.Accordingtoexpertsalmostonethirdoftheworld'sdrylandiseitherdesertorrunstheriskofbecomingso.Morethan200millionpeoplearedirectlyaffected.

4.Thedisappearanceanddeformityofamphibianssuchasfrogsandsalamandersfromrainforestsandmountainlakesworldwidehasattractedwide-spreadscientificattentionoverthelastdecade.Nowanewstudysaysreptilespeciesincludingturtles,snakes,andalligatorsareinevengreatertrouble.Twiceasmanyreptilesasamphibians,orsome100species,arecurrentlylistedasendangeredbytheWorldConservationUnion.Thestudysayshabitatlossanddegradation,pollution,disease,climatechange,andover-collectionforfood,petsanddrugsarethemajorthreattoreptiles.

5.FourregionalgovernorsfromColumbia,onavisittoWashington,havesharplycriticizedanAmerican-backedaerialoffensivetoeradicatethousandsofhectaresofillegalcokeandpoppyplantations.Atanewsconferencethegovernorscalledforadifferentapproachinthefightagainsttheillegaldrugstrade,sayingthattheherbicidescurrentlybeingusedwereharmfultopublichealthandtheenvironment.

6.CrewsareworkingtocleanupahugeoilspilloffthecoastofMexico,about50milessouthofSanDiego.TheCoastGuardsaysabout110thousandgallonsspiltThursdayduringafueltransferbetweenatankerandanon-shorefacility.

7.Muchattentionhasbeendevotedtothethreatenedanimalspecies.Butwhataboutplantswhicharethefundamentalbasesoflife?

Oneineveryeightspeciesofplantsisthreatenedwithextinction.Sinceallfoodchainsbegininthesphereofplant'life,thisisbadnewsfortheanimalstoo,includinghumanswhodependonplantsnotonlyforfoodbutalsoformedicines,buildingmaterials,andothervitalpurposes.

8.WildfiresintheFloridaEvergladeshavebeencontainedafternearlyaweekofblazesthatconsumed65thousandhectaresinthesouthernpartofthestate.ThefireshadspreadtoalargelyunpopulatedareaoutsideEvergladesNationalPark,avastsaw-grassprairieteamingwithwildlifeandvegetation.AdroughtinfluencedbytheElNihoweatherpatternistoblame.

9.Anewlocaldirectoryfortheenvironmentally-awareisnowavailable,calledthe"BoulderCountyGreenPages."TheRotaryClubsinBoulderCountygottogetherwithlocalrecyclingandenvironmentalspecialiststoputtogetherthisfirst-everdirectory.Itincludesquickreferencetogreenproductsandservicesforrecycling,xeriscaping,energyconservation,andmore.The$5costhelpsraisefundsforthesponsoringgroups.

10.AU.S.SpaceAgencystudyfindsthatGreenlandismeltingaroundtheedges.Thelosstotheworld'ssecondlargesticesheet--morethan50cubickilometersperyear--isenoughtoraiseglobalsealevelby0.13millimeters.NASAscientistBillKrabillsaysthedataindicatesaprocessofchangethatdocsnotimmediatelythreatencoastalregions.

PartIINewsreports

A.

Summary:

Thisnewsreportisaboutthesevereshortageofwaterinsomedevelopingnations.Itwillleadtocatastrophicconsequencesunlessglobalsolutionsarefoundsoon.

Answerstothequestions:

1.150

2.Monday

3.Onebillionpeoplecouldsufferfromascarcityofwater.

4.MiddleEast,partsofAfrica,westernAsia,northeasternChina,westernandsouthernIndia,largepartsofPakistanandMexico,partsofthePacificcoastoftheUnitedStatesandSouthAmerica

5.Totreatwaterasapreciousresource

6.5liters

7.50liters

8.500liters

Tapescript

TheUNwaterexpertsarewarningthataseverewatershortagewillhavewhattheycallcatastrophicconsequencesinsomedevelopingnationsunlessglobalsolutionsarefoundsoon.OnehundredandfiftyexpertsaroundtheworldwilldiscussthewatersituationataconferencebeginningMondayinGeneva.

AtopofficialfromtheWorldMeteorol6gicalOrganizationArthurAskewsaysthatbytheyear2025,almost1billionpeoplecouldbelivinginareassufferingfromascarcityofwater.Hesaysthenumbercoulddoublebythemiddleofthenextcentury.Mr.AskewsaysoneareawithseriouswaterproblemsistheMiddleEast.Buthesaysofficialsintheareaarealreadyworkingonwaystodealwiththesituation.

ExpertssaywatershortageproblemsalsocoulddevelopinpartsofAfricaandwesternAsiaaswellasnortheasternChina,westernandsouthernIndia,largepartsofPakistanandMexico,andpartsofthePacificcoastoftheUnitedStatesandSouthAmerica.Mr.Askewsaysthere'samoralobligationtotreatwaterasapreciousresourceandaneedtorealizethatlargeamountsofwaterareusedoftenwastefullyinfoodproductionandmanufacturing,

"Allcommoditieshaveusedwaterintheirproductionandyoumustbeawarethereforethatifyou'reimportingfoodfromonecountrytoanotheryouareinfactimportingpartofthewaterresourcesofthatcountry.'

Mr.Askewalsosayswatershortagesleadtoaconflictbetweenruralandurbandemands.

"Inmanyregionsoftheworld,thewatercrisisisnotcomingbecauseofhumanconsumptiondirectlyforpotablewater,fordrinking,orforsanitarypurposes,it'scomingforagriculture.Andingeneralabout80percentofthewater,whichisconsumed,i.e.,isextractedfromtheriversorfromundergroundresourcesandisnotreturned,isforagriculture.Andthere'sconsiderablepressurenowontheagriculturalsectorsto

seeiftheycannotusethatwatermoreefficiently."

Mr.Askewsaysit'sestimatedthatapersonneedsabout5litersofwateradaytosurvive,andapersonlivescomfortablywithabout50litersaday.Buthesayspeopleinmanycountriesareusing500litersofwatereachday.Hesayswaysmustbefoundtoreducesuchoverusebeforeit'stoolate.

Questions:

1.HowmanyexpertswillattendtheconferenceinGeneva?

2.Whenwilltheconferencebegin?

3.Whatwouldthesituationbelikeintheyear2025accordingtoArthurAskew?

4.Inwhichareascouldwatershortageproblemsmostprobablydevelop?

5.WhatisthemoralobligationputforwardbyArthurAskew?

6.Howmuchwaterdoesapersonneedadaytosurvive?

7.Howmuchwaterdoesapersonneedadaytolivecomfortably?

8.Howmuchwaterarepeopleinmanycountriesnowusingeachday?

B.

AnannualstudybytheWorld-watchInstituteinWashingtonsayswiththeboomintheinformationeconomy,Americanshavelostsightofthedeterioratinghealthoftheplanet~Thefastgrowinginformationeconomyisaffectingeveryaspectoflife,fromcommunication,commerceandwork,toeducationandentertainment.TheWorld-watchInstitutegivestheearthanannualphysicalexam.Accordingtothisyear'sresult,almostallthosevitalsignsofthehealthoftheearth,includingthenumberofspecies,thestabilityofclimate,thehealthofcoralreefs,showdeterioration.Otherwarningsignsarerisingtemperatures,fallingwatertables,meltingglaciers,shrinkingforestsandcollapsingfisheries.Themajorenvironmentalchallengesinthe21stcenturywillbetostabilizebothclimateandworldpopulationgrowth.

Tapescript.

AnannualstudybytheWorld-watchInstitutehereinWashingtonsayswiththeboomintheinformationeconomy,Americanshavelostsightofthedeterioratinghealthoftheplanet.

StateoftheWorld2000saysthefastgrowinginformationeconomyisaffectingeveryaspectoflife,fromcommunication,commerceandwork,toeducationandentertainment.

LeadauthorandWorld-watchPresidentLesterBrownsayswhileAmericansgenerallyfeelasenseofoptimismabouttheeconomy,theplanet'shealthissuffering.Hesaysitisamistake"toconfusethevibran