大学英语初级听力文本Unit1819.docx

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