高级英语上册(1)

1、整理课件Unit Three: Ships in the Desertby Al Gore整理课件Background Information about Unit III Albert Arnold Gore The Aral Sea Great Lakes Amazon and Amazon rain forest Thomas Jefferson Pollution整理课件 Pre-reading questionsHow do you understand the title “Ships in the Desert”? Do you think the title is well c

2、hosen?What type of writing is the text? And what is it mainly about?What do you know about the author of it? Where is this piece taken from? 整理课件I. Teaching Objectives Get to know some knowledge about ecology and environment Grasp the main idea and the theme of this essay Learn to use some terms and

3、 expressions connected with ecological environment Appreciate the writing skills of comparison and contrast整理课件II. Teaching Tasks1. Pre-reading questions2. Background knowledge3. Macro-structure of the text4. Detailed Study of the text5. Follow-up discussion6. Exercises and Homework整理课件About the aut

4、hor Albert Arnold Gore Jr. 整理课件Albert Arnold Gore Jr. (born March 31, 1948) is an American politician who served as the 45th Vice President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He ran for President in 2000 following Bill Clintons two four-year terms, but was defeated by the Republican candidate G

5、eorge W. Bush in a bitterly contested election that included multiple recounts and a Supreme Court decision that effectively decided the election in favor of Gores rival. While Gore received the most popular votes, the states Bush won gave him a majority in the U.S. Electoral College and Bush was el

6、ected President. The election remains one of the most divisive and controversial topics in recent American Politics.整理课件 Gore currently serves as President of the American televison channel Current and Chairman of Generation Investment Management, sits on the board of directors of Apple Computer, an

7、d serves as an unofficial advisor to Googles senior management. Although speculation about a possible presidential run in 2008 still continues, he has publicly claimed that he does not plan to return to politics.整理课件About his bookEarth in the Balance: Ecology and the Human Spirit This book consists

8、of three parts: Part I Balance at risk Part II The search for balancePart III Striking the balanceOur text is selected from Section one “Ships in the desert”, Part I.整理课件The Aral Sea整理课件整理课件 The Aral sea is located in Central Asia in the lowlands of Turan. Administratively the water body is divided

9、between the Republics of Kasachstan in the north and Karakalpakistan in the south. The latter is an autonomous republic within the republic of Usbekistan. The two rivers Amu-Darja and Syr-Darja are heavily used for irrigation by these republics. Especially in the last 35 years irrigation has been gr

10、eatly intensified. Since this period the desiccation of the Aral sea has been dramatic, with the result that the former fourth-largest lake of the world is now the worlds eighth largest lake. One of the large irrigation areas is the Amu-Darja delta in the south of the Aral sea. The irrigated area ex

11、tends over approximately 28000 sq km, and is mainly used for the cash crops cotton and rice. 整理课件Great Lakes整理课件Look at them from the space整理课件The Great Lakes are a group of five large lakes on or near the United states-Canadian border , they are the largest group of fresh water lakes on the earth ,

12、and the Great Lakes-St. lawrence system is the largest fresh-water system in the world. They are sometimes refered to as inland seas.整理课件 The Great Lakes - Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie and Ontario - and their connecting channels form the largest fresh surface water system on earth. If you stood o

13、n the moon, you could see the lakes and recognize the familiar wolf head shape of Lake Superior, or the mitten bounded by lakes Michigan, Huron and Erie. These Freshwater Seas hold an estimated 6 quadrillion gallons of water, about one-fifth of the worlds fresh surface water supply and nine-tenths o

14、f the U.S. supply. Spread evenly across the contiguous 48 states, the lakes water would be about 9.5 feet deep. 整理课件 This system greatly affects our way of life, as well as all aspects of the natural environment, from weather and climate, to wildlife and habitat. Yet for all their size and power, th

15、e Great Lakes are fragile. In the past, this fragile nature wasnt recognized, and the lakes were mistreated for economic gain, placing the ecosystem under tremendous stress from our activities. Today, we understand that our health and our childrens inheritance depend on our collective efforts to wis

16、ely manage our complex ecosystem 整理课件Where is Amazon rain forest?整理课件Amazon rain forest The Brazilian Amazon contains about a third of the Earths remaining tropical forest and a very high portion of its biological diversity. One hectare (2.47 acres) of Amazonian moist forest contains more plant spec

17、ies than all of Europe. Biologically rich environmentMore than a million colorful plant, animal and insect species inhabit the Amazon Rain Forest. Amazonian rain forests could reach a point of no return in as little as 10 to 5 years from now if deforestation continues at the present rate, according

18、to projections by a Penn State professor. 整理课件Amazon rain forest整理课件整理课件 Why the Amazon rain forest is specialThe Amazon rain forest is immense (its larger than Europe). The 6280 kilometer (3900 mile) long Amazon River is fed by a thousand rivers - some over 1600 kilometers (1000 miles) long. Broadl

19、y defined, the Amazon Rain forest extends into nine South American countries. Nearly two-thirds lies in Brazil. Peru is the runner-up.整理课件 Amazon rain forestis vital to life aroundthe worldThe Amazon Rain Forest produces 20% of the earths oxygen (and is the source of 20% of our planets fresh water).

20、 A large number of medicines we take for granted come from Amazon plants. And, because so many of the plant species have not yet been analyzed, we should see new drug discoveries整理课件 Will the Amazon rain forestsurvive?About 14% of the worlds land was once rain forest. Today it is down to 6%. Green p

21、eace, an environmental organization, warns that if deforestation continues at the present clip, the Amazon Rain Forest will be history in 80 years. Some scientists predict an even earlier demise.整理课件 Amazon Rain Forest -getting there and around The Amazons two major gateway airports are in Manaus (B

22、razil) and Iquitos (Peru). Once you are in the Amazon, your road trips will be severely limited because the jungle is thick and dissected by numerous snaking rivers. Watercraft and occasionally small airplanes are the most effective means of transportation整理课件Thomas Jefferson(1743-1826)整理课件 Thomas J

23、efferson wished to be remembered for three achievements in his public life. He had served as governor of Virginia, as U.S. minister to France, as secretary of state under George Washington, as vice-president in the administration of John Adams, and as president of the United States from 1801 to 1809

24、. On his tombstone, however, which he designed and for which he wrote the inscription, there is no mention of these offices. Rather, it reads that Thomas Jefferson was author of the Declaration of American Independence, of the Statute of Virginia for religious freedom, and Father of the University o

25、f Virginia and, as he requested, not a word more. Historians might want to add other accomplishments-for example, his distinction as an architect, naturalist, and linguist-but in the main they would concur with his own assessment.Structure of the text Part I (par.1-7) The author lists the images of

26、environmental destruction, namely the drying up of the Aral, global warming, ozone depletion, the loss of living species, deforestation. Part II (par.8-21) He analyses the global threats posed by the environmental destruction and the common causethe change in the relationship between human civilizat

27、ion and the earths natural balance. Part III(par.22-26) By comparing the ecological unbalance to the nuclear arms race, he puts forward that the solution lies in reinventing and healing the relationship between civilization and the earth.Detailed study of the text: questions for discussion 1.Where w

28、as the author? 2. How could the fishing ship be anchored in the sand? 3.What was the Aral like ten years ago? 4.What was it like now in the authors eyes? And why? 5.What kind of writing technique is used in this par? Do you think it is effective? Why? 6. How did the author feel toward the changes of

29、 the Aral? 7. Sum up the main idea of this par. 1.Why could the author travel around the world? 2. What did he mean by “the sun glaring at midnight through a hole in the sky”? Where comes the hole? 3.What was the “tunnel through time” the scientist was digging? 4. What is implied in “a badly burned

30、face that was cracked and peeling”? 5.How do you understand “Here is where the U.S Congress passed the Clean Air Act”? 6. what do you know about the Clean Air Act? 8. Sum up the main idea of this par. What was the change in the earths atmosphere? When did the dramatic change start? Why? What causes

31、global warming? Where was the author? What do you know about Antarctica? Why are the engines of the ski plane kept running?What were scientists doing in the Antarctic region? Why did they do like that? 1. Where was the author? 2. What do you know about the Arctic Ocean? 3. What were scientists doing

32、 in the Arctic region? 4. What did many scientists believe? Why? 5.What do you know about sonar tracks? 6.How are hummocks or pressure ridges formed? 7.Why would the thinning of the polar ice cap be disastrous to the world? 8. Sum up the main idea of the par. 1. Paraphrase the first sentence. 2. Wha

33、t did the first team of scientists report? 3. What did the second team report? Why was it still a controversial claim? 4. What have scientists established? 5. Sum up the main idea of this par.par.6 1.Why, in Brazil, are thick clouds of smoke regularly blackening the sky above Amazon rain forest? 2.W

34、hy was Amazon threatened? 3. Explain “acre by acre, the rain forest is being burned to create fast pasture for fast-food beef” 4. What figure of speech is used in “which means we are silencing thousands of songs we have never even heard”. Explain it in plain language. 5. How will the destruction of

35、the Amazon rain forest affect the earths ecological balance? 6. Sum up the main idea of this par. 1. What does the ghostly image refer to? What does it signal? 2.How is “noctilucent cloud” formed? 3. When and where can you see this kind of cloud? 4. Where does methane gas come from? 5.Sum up the mai

36、n idea of the par.par.8 1. According to the author, how do people feel at the zoo? 2.What should we feel toward the ghosts in the sky? 3.How can methane intensify the threat of global warming? 4. Explain the last two sentences. 5. Sum up the main idea of this par. 1. What are the signals of the dama

37、ge from our assault on the environment? 2.Why does the author say “our response to these signals is puzzling”? 3.Explain the last sentence. 4. Sum up the main idea of this par.par.10 &par.11 1.What do these two paragraphs function in the discourse? 2. Why does the author mention a system coming from

38、 the military? 3. What are the three categories of conflict? How are they classified? 1. What kind of writing technique is used in this par? 2.Do you think it is effective? Why? 3.Please exemplify the categories of environmental crisis classified by the author. 4.What do you know about acid rain? 5.

39、 Explain the last sentence. 1.What kind of environmental problem is considered basically strategic? Why? 2.What do you know about chlorine and chlorofluorocarbons? 3.Sum up the main idea of this par. 1.Why is global warming considered a strategic threat? 2.What causes global warming? 3. How can glob

40、al warming greatly affect the pattern of human societies? 4.Sum up the main idea of this par. 1. How has the entire relationship between humankind and the earth been transformed in modern times? And why? 2. Please exemplify the impact of human civilization on the environment. 3. Have people paid eno

41、ugh attention to these changes according to the author? How do you know it? 4. Explain the last sentence of this par. 5. Sum up the main idea of this par. 1.What is the dominant cause of change in the global environment? 2. Explain the second sentence of this par. 3.What did the author suggest peopl

42、e should acknowledge? 4.Have people been well aware of the fragility of the earths natural systems? 5.Sum up the main idea of this par. 1.What are the two key factors that define the physical reality of our relationship to the earth? 2. What dramatic changes have occurred in these two key factors?Pa

43、r.18&19 1. What is the main idea of par.18? 2. How did the author develop the main idea? 3.What is the main idea of par.19? 4.What kind of writing technique is used in par.19? Do you think it is effective? 1. What is the main idea of this par.? 2. How is the main idea developed? 3.Explain the last s

44、entence. 1.What is our challenge according to the author? 2.What do these examples of environmental destruction imply? 3.What is the common cause of environmental crisis? 4. Sum up the main idea of this par. 1. What are the two aspects to the challenge of recognizing the common cause of environmental crisis? 2.How do you understand