21世纪大学英语教程第一册09

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TextA

Listening

FirstListening

Beforelisteningtothetape,haveaquicklookatthefollowingwords.

greenhouseeffect

温室效应

alter

改变

release

排放

carbondioxide

二氧化碳

tropical

热带的

ecology

生态

global

全球的

pattern

模式

Venus

金星

thermometer

温度计

SecondListening

Listentothetapeagain.Then,choosethebestanswertoeachofthefollowingquestions.

1.Whichofthefollowingtopicsdoesthelisteningpassagemainlydiscuss?

A)Thedangerscausedbychangesintheatmosphere.

B)ProblemsontheplanetVenus.

C)Thedamagedonebydifferenttypesofpollution.

D)Waysofgrowingflowersinthewinter.

2.Whatdoestheterm"greenhouseeffect"referto?

A)A"blanket"ofgreenglassbeingbuiltoversomelow-lyingcities.

B)O1dtreesbeingcutdowninordertobuildhouses.

C)Awarmingoftheearth'stemperatures.

D)AcloudofgreendustontheplanetVenus.

3.Whichofthefollowingismentionedasareasonforthebuildupofcarbondioxideintheatmosphere?

A)Burningoffuelsbycarsandfactories.

B)Alargeincreaseinthenumberoftreesinsomeareas.

C)Alargedecreaseinthenumberoftreesinsomeareas.

D)Pollutionintheearth'sriversandstreams.

4.Whatchangesinglobalweatherpatternsmightthegreenhouseeffectcreate?

A)Anincreaseinraininsomeplaces.

B)Adecreaseinraininsomeplaces.

C)Ashiftinthepatternsofoceantides.

D)BothA)andB).

Pre-readingQuestions

1.Lookingatthetitle,whatdoyouguessthepassageisabout?Makepredictions,andthenreadthefirstparagraphtofindoutwhatthe"greenhouseeffect"is.

2.Inthediscussionofthe"greenhouseeffect",whatdoscientistsdisagreeabout?And,whatpointsdotheyagreeon?Skimparagraphs3and4tolookforyouranswers.

3.Howseriousofathreatdoyouconsiderthe"greenhouseeffect"tobe?Givereasonsforyouranswer.

HothouseEarth

KevinMcKean

Headlineswarnedofrisingtemperaturesandmeltingpolaricecaps.

Scientistsissuedreportsonthesevereclimatechangesthatcouldresultfromthe"greenhouseeffect"—thegradualwarmingoftheatmospherecausedbyanincreaseincarbondioxidelevelsfromtheburningoffossilfuels,sayingthataverageglobaltemperaturescouldstarttorisewithinafewdecadesandreachlevelsninedegreesFahrenheithigherthantoday'stemperaturesbytheendofthenextcentury.This,expertssaid,couldcreatedangerouschangestoglobalweatherpatterns.Forinstance,itcouldchangeannualamountsofrainfall,swellordryuprivers,andraisetheleveloftheseas.

Whileadmittingthatthisforecastwassomewhatuncertain,scientistswarnedagainsttreatingitasacryofwolf.Althoughthereisconsiderabledebateoverhowseverethegreenhouseeffectwillbe,onethingseemscertain:Carbondioxidelevelsareontherise.

Whoorwhatistoblame?Scientistsconcludethatitistheburningofcoal,oil,syntheticfuels,andnaturalgas.Thesefossilenergysourcesreleaseanestimatedfiveandahalfbilliontonsofcarbonintotheatmosphereeachyearascolorless,odorlessCO2gas.

Theincreasedcarbondioxidecouldprofoundlyaffectthewaytheearthisheatedbythesun.Thesun'senergystrikestheearthmainlyintheformofvisiblelight.Astheearthheatsup,itradiatesthisenergybackintospace,butatthemuchlongerwavelengthsofinfraredlight,orheat.Carbondioxideletsthevisiblelightpassthrough,butabsorbsenergyatinfraredwavelengths.Thus,themorecarbondioxidethereisintheatmosphere,themoretheearth'sheatisblockedfromescaping—justasablanketholdsintheheatofasleeper'sbody.Inthelate1800s,aSwedishscientistgavethisphenomenonitsnamewhenhecomparedittothewayglassshutsinairheatedbythesuninagreenhouse.

Somescientiststhinkthegreenhouseeffectalreadyhasbegun:AverageglobaltemperatureshaverisenaboutonedegreeFahrenheitinthepastninetyyears(withadipfromthemid-1940sto1970).Othersarguethattherisecouldbeduetonaturaltemperatureupsanddowns.

Nevertheless,mostscientistsagreethattheaccumulationofcarbondioxidehasreachedthepointwhereanincreaseintemperatureissuretotakeplace.Onestudysaidaverageglobaltemperaturesprobablywouldrisenearlyfourdegreesbythetwenty-firstcentury—atotalwarminggreaterthanthatsincethelasticeage.

Risingtemperatureswouldbejustthebeginning.Theheatingwouldshiftglobalrainfallpatterns,bringingdroughttosomenow-fertileareasandirrigatingsomedeserts.Likewise,mountainglaciersandpolaricecapscouldmeltsubstantially,causingtheseastorisetwofeetbytheendofthecentury.Manylow-lyingcommunitiescouldbeflooded.Worstofall,theeffectmaybeirreversible.

Somehavemaintainedthattheworldfacessuchgreatdangersfrompopulationgrowth,diminishingfoodsupply,andthespreadofnuclearweaponsthatthegreenhousethreatseemsmildbycomparison.Othersarguethatsincetheearthhasenduredalongstringoficeagesinthelasttwomilliontothreemillionyears,anywarmingislikelytobetemporary.Evenso,thosewhotrytominimizetheproblemmustalsoexplainawaytheharshconditionsontheplanetVenus.There,arunawaygreenhouseeffectisthoughttoaccountforsurfacetemperaturesapproaching900degreesFahrenheit;Venus'scloud-shroudedatmosphereisabout97percentcarbondioxide.

AlthoughfewscientiststhinktheearthwillgothewayofVenus,mostagreethatthegreenhouseproblemshouldbetacklednow.Cityplanningshouldberevised;dykesandreservoirsshouldbebuilt;aneyeshouldbekeptopenonthethermometerforthefirstdefinitesignthatthegreenhouseerahasarrived.

(636words)

NewWords

hothouse

n.温室

headline

n.1.anewspaperheading（报刊的）大字标题

2.(pl.)abriefsummaryontelevisionorradioofthemostimportantitemsofnews[复数]新闻提要

*polar

a.oforneartheNorthorSouthpole极地的；近极地的

issue

vt.bringout(esp.sth.printedand/orofficial)forthenoticeofthepublic发布，发行

n.1.thesupplyorreleaseofitemsforuseorsale发给；发行

2.animportanttopicfordiscussionorargument（有争议的）重大问题，议题

severe

a.1.verybad,serious严重的

2.(ofpeopleortheirbehaviour)strictorharsh严格的；严厉的

climate

n.theaverageweatherconditionsataparticularplaceoveraperiodofyears气候

*greenhouse

n.温室，暖房

gradual

a.takingplacebyaseriesofsmallchangesoveralongtime逐渐的，逐步的

carbon

n.碳

dioxide

n.二氧化物

*fossil

a.化石的

n.化石

fuel

n.anymaterialburnedtoproduceheatorpower燃料

v.supplysth.orbesuppliedwithfuel（向…）供燃料；（给…）加油

global

a.1.oforconcerningthewholeearth全球的，世界的

2.of,relatedto,orconcerningalloralmostallpossibleconsiderations总括的，综合的

Fahrenheit

a.华氏（温度计）的

pattern

n.awayinwhichsth.happens,moves,developsorisarranged型式，模式

annual

a.1.calculatedoveraperiodofayear每年的；年度的

2.happeningeveryyear,usu.onceayear一年一次的

rainfall

n.（降）雨量

swell

v.(causeto)becomegreaterinamountorvolume;increase（使）上涨；（使）增长

forecast

n.astatementthatpredictssth.withthehelpofinformation预测，预报

vt.sayinadvancewhatisexpectedtohappen预测，预报

considerable

a.greatinamountorsize;ofnoticeableimportance相当多的，相当大的；相当重要的

synthetic

a.notnaturallyproduced;artificial合成的；人造的

release

vt.1.allow(sth.)tofly,fall,etc.freely排放，放出

2.setfree;allowtogo释放；解放

odo(u)rless

a.havingnosmell无臭的

odo(u)r

n.asmell(pleasantorunpleasant)气味；香气；臭气

profoundly

ad.deeply深深地

*profound

a.1.deep;intense深（度）的；极度的

2.having,showingknowledgeorunderstandingofasubject深奥的；造诣深的

visible

a.1.thatcanbeseen可见的，看得见的

2.noticeabletothemind明显的，显然的

*radiate

vt.sendout(lightorheat)发射（光、热等）

vi.(from)comeoutorspreadinalldirectionsfrom(sth.)辐射，散发

wavelength

n.波长

infrared

a.红外线的；红外区的

absorb

vt.1.takein吸收（水、热、光等）

2.takeupalltheattention,interest,time,etc.,of吸引（注意），使专注

Swedish

a.瑞典（人）的

phenomenon(pi.phenomena)

n.afactoreventinnature(orsociety)asitappearsorisexperiencedbythesenses现象

dip

n.1.下降

2.浸；蘸

argue

v.givereasonsfororagainststh.,esp.withtheaimofpersuadingsb.toshareone'sownopinion论证；认定

nevertheless

ad.inspiteofthat;however然而，不过

accumulation

n.积累，积聚

*drought

n.alongperiodofdryweather,whenthereisnotenoughwater长期干旱，旱灾

fertile

a.1.(ofland)whichproducesorcanproducegoodcrops肥沃的，富饶的

2.producingmanyyoung,fruits,orseeds多产的，丰产的

likewise

ad.1.also;inaddition也，又

2.inthesameway;similarly同样地

glacier

n.冰河，冰川

substantially

ad.1.toaconsiderabledegree;greatly到相当程度；大量地

2.mainly;intheimportantpart基本上

substantial

a.1.largeinamountorvalue;considerable大量的

2.concerningthemostimportantpartormeaning基本的；大体上的

low-lying

a.低洼的

community

n.1.（由同住一地区或一国的人所构成的）社会；社区

2.团体；界

irreversible

a.thatcannotbechangedtotheoriginalstate不可逆转的

maintain

vt.1.expressfirmlyorsticktoone'spoint坚称；断言

2.keepup;retain维持；保持

*diminish

v.(causeto)becomeless（使）缩减；（使）变小；减少

nuclear

a.核子的；原子能的

threat

n.威胁

mild

a.1.notseriousorharsh轻微的，不严重的

2.(ofpeopleortheirbehaviour)gentleandkind温和的；温柔的

comparison

n.比较，对照

temporary

a.lastingforalimitedtimeonly暂时的，临时的

*minimize,-ise

vt.1.reducethetruevalueorimportanceof(sth.)把…作最低估计

2.reduce(sth.)tothesmallestamountordegree使减到最少，使缩至最小

harsh

a.severe;stern严酷的；严厉的

runaway

a.outofcontrol失控的

account

vi.(for)explainthecauseof说明…的原因，解释

n.awrittenorspokenreport;description