新视野大学英语3听力原文unit7

M:Nowwehavesatellitesandhigh-poweredmicroscopes,it'seasytothinkweknoweverythingabouttheworld;butwestilldon'tunderstandElNino.W:Right.ScientistsallovertheworldareevenuncertainaboutthecauseofthewarmPacificcurrentthatbringsstormsordrought-themysteriousElNino.Q:Whichofthefollowingistrueaccordingtotheconversation?M:Everyoneistalkingaboutenvironmentalproblems:acidrain,thegreenhouseeffect,holesintheozonelayer.Weshouldthinkpositively.Whatcanwedotoimprovethings?W:Iagree.Wecoulddoalotmoretoharnessthesun'senergyforheatingandlightinginourhomes.InJapan43,000solarroofswereinstalledin2002.Q:Howdothemanandthewomanviewtheenvironment?W:WelivedinBeijingsomeyearsago.Itwasalwaysdifficulttokeepthehousecleanwiththewindfromthenorthblowingsandfromthedesertatus.M:That'swhytheChinesegovernmenthasbeenencouragingpeopletoplanttreesalongtheedgesoftheGobiDesert.Nowthosetreesactaswindbarriers.Q:Whatdidthegovernmentencouragepeopletodo?"M:ManyoldrefrigeratorsandcarsareenvironmentalhazardsbecausetheycontainCFCsthatdestroytheozonelayer.W:Yes,butgovernmentorganizationsarehelpingpeopletosafelydisposeofoldrefrigeratorsor,inthecaseofcars,toupgradetheirairconditioning.Q:Whataregovernmentdepartmentshelpingpeopletodo?"M:Hey,that'sanaerosolsprayyou'reusingonyourhair!Buildabomborsetfiretotheapartmenttokillusquicklyinsteadofmakingholesintheozone,sowedieofcancer.W:Coolit,man.Thisspraydoesn'tcontainCFCs.Andyou'dbetterreadalittlemore.In2003theholeintheozonelayershrankby20percent,sothere'snoreasontopanic.Q:Whatdoesthemanmean?"Weshouldhaveproperrespectfornature!Martha:Doyouthinkmostpeopleinyourculturerespectnature?Ed:Ithinkso.Umm...morenowthanbefore.Martha:Whatdoyouthinkisthemostseriousenvironmentalproblemintheworldtoday?Ed:Today...Ithinkdamagetotheozonelayerisabigproblem;andanotherproblemispollutioninbigcitiesandthingslikethat.Martha:Howdoyoulearnaboutenvironmentalproblems?Ed:Umm...throughschool.Alotofclubspromoteenvironmentalsafety,andsomeTVprograms,too.Theytalkaboutenvironmentalsafetyandstufflikethat.Martha:Doyouthinkstudentsshouldlearnmoreabouttheenvironmentatschool?Ed:Ithinkso.So,astheygrowolder,theycanbemoreawareofalltheproblemsthataregoingon.Andalsotopreventmoreproblemsfromoccurring.Martha:Ifyoucouldcreateanewlawtohelptheenvironment,whatwoulditbe?Ed:Anewlawfortheenvironment?Umm...I'dprobablysaythatwhenpeoplethrowawaytheircigarettebutts,theyhavetothrowthemintothegarbagebin,notjustthrowthemeverywherebecauseit'sjustlitteringandIhatethat.Sotheyshouldbefinediftheythrowthemonthefloororontheground.Martha:That'sagoodidea.Whatdoyoupersonallydotohelpprotecttheenvironment?Ed:I'msoagainstlittering.Ineverlitter.IfIseesomebodylitter,Igetreallyangry.SoIalwaysthrowmytrashintothegarbagebin.**TheSmallerHoleintheOzoneLayerAccordingtoareportbyAustralianresearchers,theholeintheozonelayeroverAntarcticawillprobablystartclosingwithinfiveyears.Theysayitmaybecompletelyclosedwithinfiftyyears.TheozonelayerprotectstheEarthfromdangerousradiationfromthesun.TheholeintheozonelayerwasdiscoveredoverAntarcticaalmostthirtyyearsago.Atthetime,itwasthreetimesthesizeofAustralia.Thereportfoundthatozone-destroyinggasesintheupperatmospherewereatorneartheirhighestlevelsintheyear2000.Butsincethen,therehasbeencontinuousprogressmadetowardtherecoveryoftheozonelayer.Satelliteinformationshowedthatlevelsofozone-destroyinggasesintheatmosphereareslowlydecreasing.Atitslargestthisyear,theozoneholecoveredmorethan15millionsquarekilometers.Thatisdownfromayearlyaverageof23millionsquarekilometersoverthelastsixyears.Chlorofluorocarbons,orCFCs,areresponsiblefordestroyingpartoftheozonelayeroverAntarctica.CFCshavebeenwidelyusedsincethe1930sincoolingdevicessuchasrefrigeratorsandairconditioners.CFCsremainintheatmosphereforyears.Governmentscientistssaythelevelofchlorineintheatmosphereisdecreasingbecauseofrestrictionsontheuseofchlorofluorocarbons.ThechemicalswererestrictedunderaninternationalagreementcalledtheMontrealProtocolin1987.UndertheProtocol,developingcountriespromisedtocuttheiruseofchlorofluorocarbonsinhalfbytheyear2(X)5.Theyalsoagreedtoaneighty-fivepercentcutbytheyear2007."AMildElNinoTheElNinoweatherconditionhasreturned.However,officialsattheUnitedStatesNationalWeatherServicesayElNinoisweakerthanusualthisyear.ElNinoisachangeintheatmosphereoverthePacificOcean.Ithappenseveryfourtofiveyears.Normally,watertemperaturesinthewesternPacificOceanincreaseneartheendoftheyear.ThiscausesmorerainfallinIndonesia,Australiaandothernearbyplaces.Atthesametime,coldoceanwatercauseslessrainfallintheeasternPacificOcean,nearSouthAmerica.TheoppositehappensduringElNino.PacificOceantemperaturesincreasenearSouthAmerica,causingunusuallyhighamountsofrainfallthere.Incontrast,ElNinocausesdryweatherinIndonesiaandAustralia.AstrongElNinocanseverelyaffecttheweatherallovertheworld.ThelastpowerfulElNinowasin1997and1998.Itcausedmajorfloodsinmanyplaces.ElNinoalsoledtoextremelydryweatherinsomeotherareas.Reportssaytheweathercausedthedeathsofabout24,000people.SoexpertssayhavingaweakerElNinothisyearisgoodnews.MeteorologistssayrainfallhasbeenhigherthanusualinSouthAmerica.TheexpertssaytheeffectsofElNinowillbegintoshowinNovemberintheUnitedStates.Thenorthernstatesmayhaveawarmerwinter.But,scientistssayElNinowillnotbestrongenoughtopreventthisyear'spowerfulstormsintheAtlanticOcean.nTheEnvironmentandtheDevelopmentLi:Hi,ProfessorWang,I'mLiLin,acorrespondentfromtheUniversityNewspaper.Thestaffandstudentsherearegettingmoreandmoreinterestedintherelationshipbetweentheenvironmentanddevelopment.Whatdoyouthinkisthemostseriousenvironmentalproblematpresent?Whatmeasuresshouldweadopttoimprovetheenvironmentanddeveloptheeconomyatthesametime?Wang:Therearemanyenvironmentalproblems:airpollution,waterpollution,desertification,over-fishing,destructionofnaturalhabitats,acidrain,over-consumptionofwildanimalsandplants,etc.Butlyingatthecenterofallthoseproblems,asIseeit,isthecontradictionbetweeneconomicgrowthandtheenvironment.SincetheUnitedNationsEarthSummitin1992,moreandmorepeopleandgovernmentshaveadoptedanewidea;thatis,""sustainabledevelopment"".Thismeanstoday'seconomicgrowthshouldnotwipeouttheresourcesandoptionsforfuturegenerations.Planninganddevelopmentshouldensurenotonlyeconomicgrowth,butalsosocialadvancementandenvironmentalhealth.Inotherwords,someeconomicbehaviormustberestrictedorcontrolled.Instillingprinciplesofsustainabledevelopmentintogovernmentplanning,resourcemanagementandeconomicpolicyisthemostimportantstepChinacouldtaketosolveitsenvironmentalproblems.Chinahasalreadytakensomeremarkablestepstoreducedamagetotheenvironment.Forinstance,followingthehugefloodsof1998,thegovernmentbannedloggingintheupperreachesoftheYangtzeRiver,inordertoprotectforestsandreducetheriskoffloods.Still,thebasiccontradictionbetweenenvironmentanddevelopmentpersists.Muchworkistobedonebeforewecanachievetheaimofabalancebetweeneconomicgrowthandtheenvironment."ThickCloudofPollutionCoveringSouthernAsiaAUnitedNationsstudysaysathickcloudofpollutioncoveringsouthernAsiathreatensthelivesofmillionsofpeople.Scientistssaythepollutioncouldincreaselungdiseaseandcauseearlydeaths.Thecloudisalsodamagingagricultureandaffectingrainfalllevels.IthasaffectedmanycountriesinsouthernAsia.Thepollutioncloudisthreekilometershigh.Scientistssayitcanmovehalfwayaroundtheworldinaweek.Thecloudistheresultofforestfires,theburningofagriculturalwaste,andhugeincreasesintheburningoffuelsbyvehicles,industriesandpowerstations.Pollutionfrommillionsofbadcookingstoveshasmadetheproblemworse.Manypoorpeopleburnfuelslikewoodandanimalwasteinsuchstoves.Scientistssaythecloudofpollutionappearstocoolthelandandoceansbyblockingsunlight.TheysayitreducestheamountofsunlightreachingtheEarth'ssurfacebyasmuchasfifteenpercent.Atthesametime,heatinsidethecloudwarmsthelowerpartsoftheatmosphere.ScientistssaythiscombinationcouldbechangingwinterrainfalllevelsinAsia.TheysayrainfallhasincreasedovertheeasterncoastofAsia.ButithasdroppedsharplyoverpartsofnorthwesternAsia.ThereportsaysthecloudcouldreducerainfallovernorthwesternPakistan,AfghanistanandwesternChinabyuptofortypercent.Harmfulchemicalsfromthecloudaremixingwithrainfall.Thisacidraindamagescropsandtreesandthreatenspublichealth.ScientistsareconcernedthatthepollutionwillintensifyduringthenextthirtyyearsasthepopulationofAsiaincreasestoanestimated5,000millionpeople.1*Mountainregionsfaceanumberofdangers.Mountainpeoplearoundtheworldareingreatdangerofthenegativeeffectsoftheworseningenvironment,accordingtoaUNreport.Asglobalwarminganddeforestationaccelerateandtechnologymakeswilderplacesmoreaccessible,environmentalandsocialpressuresontheworld'sremotestregionsincrease.TheUNhasfoundthatmanymountainousregions-inhabitedbyoneoutoffiveoftheworld'speople-arebarelyrecognizablewhentheyarecomparedtowhattheywerelike60yearsago.Thisismostlybecauseforestswerecuttomakewayforcattlegrazingandagriculture.TheauthorsoftheUNstudyexpect98percentofitsmountainareastoexperiencesevereclimatechangeby2055.Biologicallossesareexpectedtobeheavy.ThemountainsofEurope,partsofCaliforniaandthenorth-westAndesinSouthAmericaareamongthemostthreatenedmountainareasintheworldandshouldbegivenpriorityinconservation.TheUNisanxioustoraiseawarenessoftheproblemsfacingmountainareasbecausetheyareinhabitedbysomeofthemostvulnerablepeople.Thesepeoplecouldlosetheircultureandtheirlivelihoodwitheventhesmallestshiftsinclimate.Atthesametime,manymountainregionsarelosingpeople.ThousandsofvillagesinEuropearedesertedmostoftheyear.InotherareaslikeNepal,peoplearedriftingtothecitiesinsearchofwork."DiggingaHoleAfellowstoppedataruralgasstationand,afterfillinghistank,heboughtasoftdrink.Hestoodbyhiscartodrinkhiscolaandwatchedtwomenworkingalongtheroadside.Oneworkerwoulddigaholetwoorthreefeetdeepandthenmoveon.Theotherworkercamealongbehindandfilledinthehole.Whileonewasdigginganewhole,theotherwasabout25feetbehind,fillingintheoldhole.""Holdit,holdit,""thefellowsaidtothemen.""Canyoutellmewhat'sgoingonherewiththisdigging?""""Well,weworkforthecountygovernment,""oneofthemensaid.""Butoneofyouisdiggingaholeandtheotherisfillingitup.You'renotaccomplishinganything.Aren'tyouwastingthecounty'smoney?""""Youdon'tunderstand,mister,""oneofthemensaid,leaningonhisshovelandwipinghisbrow.""Normally,there'sthreeofus,me,JoeandMike.Idigthehole,Joestic