1、话题四：自然与环境7. A Horrible Earthquake 可怕的地震 ( Unit 4 Earthquakes, Book 1 )Dirty water rose in wells and canals before the earthquake. But no one judged that an earthquake was coming. Suddenly, everything shook. It seemed as if the world was at an end. Millions of brick houses and a number of dams were d
2、estroyed. Railway tracks became useless bars. Pipes in mines burst and let out smelly steam. Huge cracks trapped cyclists everywhere.The next day, this event was the headline or main title of all newspapers. With the reporters giving an outline of the disaster, the whole nation was shocked by the da
3、mage and the victims extreme suffering. People were moved when they read that the survivors comforted each other by saying “Congratulations! You survived!”. So they not only expressed their sympathy sincerely, but also organized together to help the victims right away. The injured were rescued and t
4、he dead were buried. The frightened survivors were dug out from under the ruins and were offered shelter, fresh water and electricity. Thanks to peoples help, the loss was minimized.地震前，水井和运河里的污水都涨涌起来。但是却没人判断出地震即将来临。霎那间，一切都在摇晃，似乎整个世界就要结束。数以百万的砖房和许多水坝遭到破坏；铁路轨道都变成无用的铁条；煤矿管道纷纷爆裂，发出有臭味的蒸汽；到处都有骑车的人被巨大的裂缝
5、陷住。第二天，所有报纸都纷纷以大字标题或主要标题报道了这一事件。记者们描述了灾难的大概情况，全国都被地震的破坏和灾民们极度的苦难所震惊。当人们读到幸存者以“恭喜啊，你还活着。”来互相安慰时，都被感动了。人们不仅衷心地表达了他们的同情，而且还立刻组织起来帮助灾民。伤员被救助了，死者被埋葬了，吓坏的幸存者被从废墟中挖出来了，栖身处、净水和电力也很快得到提供。多亏了人们的帮助，灾区的损失被减到了最小。8. Wildlife Protection 保护野生动植物 ( Unit 4 Wildlife protection, Book 2 )Dinosaurs died out because of an
6、 unexpected incident. But wildlife today disappears or is in danger just because humans do harm to it. For example, tigers are hunted for fur to make carpets so that they can only live in secure reserves; grassland is destroyed without mercy so that dust storms come into being affecting distant citi
7、es.Last year, scientists saw some monkeys rubbing themselves with a certain kind of insects to protect themselves from fierce mosquitoes biting. According to the result of the inspection, they found that the insect contains a powerful drug, so local farmers were employed to catch the insects. The en
8、ding was that the insects disappeared from the whole zone. When told that it was a loss to humans, the farmers burst into laughter and responded, “Our real loss is our decreasing income.”We should appreciate the natural balance and pay more attention to the importance of wildlife protection. Not unt
9、il we succeed in letting wildlife live in peace, can we smile in relief. 恐龙因一次意外事件而灭绝，但是今天的野生动植物却是因为人类的伤害而消失或处在危险中。例如，老虎被猎杀以获取做地毯的皮毛，以致它们只能生活在安全的保护区里；草地被毫不怜悯地破坏，以致沙尘暴开始影响遥远的城市。去年，科学家观察到猴子在身上擦某种昆虫来保护自己不受凶猛的蚊子的叮咬。根据检查的结果，他们发现这种昆虫含有一种具有强大效力的药物，于是，当地的农民都被雇来抓虫子。结果是，这种昆虫从这整个地区都消失了。当被告知说这是整个人类的损失时，农民们都突然大笑
10、着回应道：“我们减少的收入才是我们真正的损失呢！”我们应该意识到自然平衡的重要，更加注意野生动植物的保护。直到我们成功让野生动植物安详平静地生活，我们自己才能如释重负地笑开颜。 9. Refresh Our Environment 恢复环境生机 ( Unit 4 Global warming, Book 6 )As the director stated on behalf of his researching group, the data of this graph makes a clear presentation of the future environmental tendenc
11、y. On one hand, the quantity of fuel keeps on decreasing by 9% per year while the growth of a wide range of pollution has been a global trend. On the other hand, the mildly but steadily going up of the average temperature is resulting in catastrophes like widespread floods. Without disagreement, the
12、y subscribe to the view that it is humans existence and their randomly consuming energy that result in this phenomenon. Many people have a commitment that developing nuclear power or energy from outer space will stop bad consequences coming about. However, scientists and educators are opposed to thi
13、s view even if our needs may be met on the whole. They tend to advocate refreshing our circumstances by saving energy and recycling waste. It is suggested that we use energy-saving appliances such as electrical motors, microwaves and so on and not be casual about little things like recycling a can.
14、So please glance around and see what you can do. So long as everybody makes contribution, we will not have to put up with this problem anymore. 正如那位主任代表他的研究小组所说明的那样，这张图表的数据清楚地描述了未来环境的趋势：一方面，燃料的数量以每年9%的速度持续减少，同时，大范围污染的增长已经成为一种全球趋势；另一反面，平均气温轻微却稳定地升高正在造成像广泛的洪涝那样的灾难。无不同意地，他们一致赞成是人类的存在和任意的消耗能源才造成了这一现象。许多
15、人都信奉开发核能和外太空能源会防止糟糕的后果发生的理论，然而，即使这样可以基本上满足我们的需要，科学家和教育家们仍然反对这一观点。他们更倾向于拥护用节省能源和回收废料的方法恢复环境生机，并建议我们要使用节省能源的器具，如电力发动机、微波炉等，还建议我们不要对如回收罐子这种小事漫不经心。因此，看看你身边是否有你能做的事，只要每个人都作出贡献，我们就不必再忍受这个问题的困扰了。10. A Volcano Eruption 火山爆发 ( Unit 5 The power of nature, Book 6 )As the best candidate, I was appointed to coll
16、ect and evaluate information for a database about diverse natural disasters, such as hurricanes, typhoons or thunderstorms. Sometimes I did this by giving out questionnaires to those who went through them. But sometimes I had to go through actual disasters myself. The Musaki Volcano was one of them.
17、At that time, I lived in a bungalow alongside the volcano with a novelist, who came for the appreciation of its eruption. One day, when I was drawing diagrams on the balcony and he was bathing inside, the volcano erupted unexpectedly. The ash and lava fountains shooting highly in the sky varied from
18、 50 to 100 meters in height. It was absolutely fantastic! I even noticed a rainbow appear in the fog caused by a heat wave. But, glancing through our surroundings, I foresaw the potential danger and found no guarantee of our safety. The uncomfortable gas almost made us unconscious. Sweats of anxiety
19、 began to drop. Managing to stop panicking and trembling, we quickly put on our protective suits, helmets and boots and eventually made our way to a safe place. How lucky we were even though my precious equipment and documents were all burnt to the ground!作为最好的候选人，我被委派为一个数据库收集和评估各种自然灾害的信息，例如飓风、台风或雷暴
20、等。有时我通过向经历过这些灾害的人分发调查问卷来收集信息，有时却得亲自经历实际的灾害。Musaki火山就是其中之一。那时，我和一名来欣赏火山爆发的小说家同住在火山边上的一座平房里。有一天，当我正在阳台上画图表而他在屋里洗澡时，火山突然爆发了，喷射到天空中的火山灰和岩浆喷泉从50米到100米不等，这一情景绝对地奇异，我甚至还注意到一条彩虹出现在热浪造成的雾里。然而，我向四周看了一下，马上预见到了潜在的危险，也发现了我们的安全毫无保障。令人不舒服的气体几乎使我们失去知觉，忧虑的汗水开始流淌下来。我们努力使自己不要惊慌和颤抖，迅速穿上保护套装、头盔和靴子，最后成功前往安全的地方。尽管我珍贵的设备和文
21、件都烧得精光，但是我们真的非常幸运。11. Mark and a Seal 马克和海豹 ( Unit 3 Under the sea, Book 7 )Mark rented an accommodation with his pension near the shore. He paid annual visits there to enjoy the vivid beauty in the depths of the pure sea.Once, with his underwater telescope and flashlight, Mark dived along the bound
22、ary between the steep reef and the area of seaweed conservation. Suddenly, an awesome Antarctic seal with sharp teeth appeared opposite him. Every cell in his body was scared to death. But soon, he was aware that he wasnt the target of an attack. With a neat wound in its lip caused by a shark, this
23、grey seal was washed upside down by the tides time after time. But it tried to jog Mark as if to urge him to help it. So Mark abandoned fleeing away. With its teamwork, Mark used a net to drag the seal to the shallow water. Without pausing he helped it out after a simple operation and settled it in
24、a narrow cave by the seaside. Every time he brought it tasty fish, it would yell and suck his hands happily. Witnesses said their anecdotes reflected a magic dimension of the relationship between humans and animals. 马克用他的退休金在海岸边租了一间住所，每年都去那儿欣赏纯净的大海深处那生动的美丽。有一次，马克带着他的水下望远镜和手电筒，潜到陡峭的暗礁和海草保护区间的分界线。突然，一只长着尖利牙齿、使人畏惧的南极海豹出现在他对面。马克吓坏了，但是很快，他就意识到，他不是攻击的目标。这只灰色海豹的唇上有道鲨鱼咬出的整齐伤口，还时不时地被潮水冲得头上脚下。尽管如此，它却总是努力轻轻碰撞马克，似乎在催促他帮助它。于是马克放弃了逃跑。在这只海豹的合作下，马克用一张网把它拖到浅水区，并毫不停歇给它动了一个简单的手术，帮助它解决了问题，然后将它安置在海边一个狭窄的洞里。每次当马克给它带来鲜美可口的鱼时，它就会高兴地大声叫唤，还吮吸他的手。目击者都说他们的轶事映射出人与动物关系中奇妙的一个方面。
