Unit 8
Audiovisual supplement
Cultural information
Watch the video and answer the following questions.
1. Where is the place in the video?
The earth. But not the same earth where we are
living now. In the video, there are rubbish and dust
everywhere. And the city may have been abandoned,
because there is nobody on the street but a robot.
2. Is it possible that our planet will be like this in the
future? Why?
It’s quite possible. Human beings have caused too
many troubles to the Earth: air and water pollution,
energy crisis, global warming, etc.
Audiovisual supplement
Cultural information
Audiovisual supplement
Singing:
Cultural information
Close your eyes and see it listen, Barnaby. Listen,
Barnaby! Put on your Sunday clothes. There’s lots
of world out there. Get out the brilliantine and
dime cigars. We’re gonna find adventure in the
evening air. Girls in white in a perfumed night
where the lights are bright as the stars. Put on
your Sunday clothes. We’re gonna ride through
town in one of those new horsedrawn open cars.
We’ll see the shows at Delmonico’s. And we’ll
close the town in a whirl. And we won’t come
home until we’ve kissed a girl ...
Audiovisual supplement
Cultural information
Global warming
Global warming is the increase in the
average temperature of Earth’s near-surface
air and oceans since the mid-20th century
and its projected continuation. Most of the
observed temperature increase since the
middle of the 20th century was caused by
increasing concentrations of greenhouse
gases, which results from human activity
such as fossil fuel burning and deforestation.
Audiovisual supplement
Cultural information
An increase in global temperature will cause sea
levels to rise and will change the amount and pattern of
precipitation, probably including expansion of subtropical
deserts. Warming is expected to be the strongest in the
Arctic and would be associated with continuing retreat of
glaciers, permafrost and sea ice. Other likely effects
include changes in the frequency and intensity of extreme
weather events, species extinctions, and changes in
agricultural yields.
Text analysis
Structural analysis
1. From which perspectives does the text address the
issue of global warming?
The text addresses the issue from three
perspectives — the general public concern, its causes
and consequences, and practical actions to tackle the
problem.
Text analysis
Structural analysis
2. What’s the author’s purpose of writing?
To raise people’s consciousness of the potential
dangers of global warming, and to suggest some actions
to combat it.
Text analysis
Structural analysis
1. Divide the text into parts by completing the table.
Paragraphs
1-2
Main idea
The author tells the reason why people
are now increasingly concerned about
global warming.
3-7
The author traces the causes of global
warming and discusses the consequences
of it.
8-11
The author puts forward some
suggestions on what is to be done.
Main idea
Structural analysis
2. Figure out the sub-ideas in the second part.
1) the causes of the rising concentration of greenhouse
gases in the atmosphere (Paragraphs 3 and 4)
2) the effect of such concentration on climate change
(Paragraphs 5 and 6)
3) the potential threat of global warming to human
health and survival (Paragraph 7)
Detailed reading
Focus on Global Warming
John Weier
1
Twenty-five years ago if you made a trip to the local
library and perused the periodical section for articles on
global warming, you’d probably have come up with only a
few abstracts from hardcore science journals or maybe a
blurb in some esoteric geopolitical magazine.
As an
Internet search on global warming now attests, the
subject has become as rooted in our public consciousness
as Madonna or microwave cooking.
Detailed reading
2
Perhaps all this attention is deserved.
With the
possible exception of another world war, giant asteroid,
or an incurable plague, global warming may be the single
largest threat to our planet. For decades human factories
and cars have spewed billions of tons of greenhouse gases
into the atmosphere, and the climate has begun to show
some signs of warming.
Many see this as a harbinger of
what is to come. If we don’t curb our greenhouse gas
emissions, then low-lying nations could be awash in
seawater, rain and drought patterns across the world
could change, hurricanes could become more frequent,
and
El Ninos could become more intense.
Detailed reading
Our Warming Planet
3 What has worried many people now is that over the
past 250 years humans have been artificially raising the
concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
Our factories, power plants, and cars burn coal and
gasoline and spit out a seemingly endless stream of
carbon dioxide. We produce millions of pounds of
methane by allowing our trash to decompose in landfills
and by breeding large herds of methane-belching cattle.
Nitrogen-based fertilizers, which we use on nearly all
our crops, release unnatural amounts of nitrogen oxide
into the atmosphere.
Detailed reading
4
Once these carbon-based greenhouse gases get into
the atmosphere, they stay there for decades or longer.
According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change (IPCC) since the industrial revolution, carbon
dioxide levels have increased 31 percent and methane
levels have increased 151 percent. Paleoclimate readings
taken from fossil records show that these gases, two of
the most abundant greenhouse gases, are at their highest
levels in the past 420,000 years. Many scientists fear that
the increased concentrations of greenhouse gases have
prevented additional thermal radiation from leaving the
Earth.
In essence, these gases are trapping excess heat
in the Earth’s atmosphere in much the same way that a
windshield traps solar energy that enters a car.
Detailed reading
5
Much of the available climate data appear to back
these fears. Temperature data gathered from many
different sources all across the globe show that the
surface temperature of the Earth, which includes the
lower atmosphere and the surface of the ocean, has risen
dramatically
over
several
decades.
Worldwide
measurements of sea level show a rise of 0.1 to 0.2
meters over the last century. That’s an increase of
roughly 1℃ every 4,000 years. Readings gathered from
glaciers reveal a steady recession of the world’s
continental glaciers. Taken together, all of these data
suggest that over the last century the planet has
experienced the largest increase in surface temperature
in 1,000 years.
Detailed reading
6
Not surprisingly, many scientists speculate that such
changes in the climate will probably result in hotter days
and fewer cool days. According to the IPCC, land surface
areas will increase in temperature over the summer
months much more than the ocean. The mid-latitude to
high-latitude regions in the Northern Hemisphere —
areas such as the Continental United States, Canada, and
Siberia — will likely warm the most. These regions could
exceed mean global warming by as much as 40 percent.
Detailed reading
7
As far as human health is concerned, those hit hardest
will probably be residents of poorer countries that do not
have the funds to fend against changes in climate. A slight
increase in heat and rain in equatorial regions would likely
spark an increase in vector-borne diseases such as malaria.
More intense rains and hurricanes could cause more severe
flooding and more deaths in coastal regions and along
riverbeds. Even a moderate rise in sea level could
threaten the coastlines of low-lying islands such as the
Maldives. All across the globe, hotter summers could lead
to more cases of heatstroke and deaths among those who
are vulnerable, such as older people with heart problems.
Detailed reading
The warmer temperatures may also lead to higher levels
of near-surface ozone from cars and factories, which
would likely cause more perilous air quality days and
hospital admissions for those with respiratory problems.
Taking Actions
8
Fortunately, we can take actions to slow down
global warming. Global warming results primarily from
human activities that release heat-trapping gases and
particles into the air. The most important causes include
the burning of fossil fuels such as coal, gas, and oil, and
deforestation. To reduce the emission of heat-trapping
gases like carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxides,
Detailed reading
we can curb our consumption of fossil fuels, use
technologies that reduce the amount of emissions
wherever possible, and protect the forests in the world.
9
We can also do things to mitigate the impacts of
global warming and adapt to those most likely to occur,
e.g., through careful planning and other strategies that
reduce our vulnerability to global warming.
10
But we can’t stop there. We are also advocating
policies that will combat global warming over the long
term, things like clean cars that run on alternative fuels,
environmentally
responsible
renewable
energy
technologies, and stopping the clear-cutting of valuable
forests.
Detailed reading
11
Clearly, global warming is a huge problem. It will
take everyone — governments, industry, communities
and individuals working together to make a real
difference. Fortunately you can be part of them.
Detailed reading
Why have people shown increasing concern about global
warming?
The answer lies in the second paragraph: it is a
harbinger of what is to come — the threat to lowlying nations, change of rain and drought patterns,
frequent hurricanes and intense El Ninos.
Detailed reading
How does the rising concentration of greenhouse gases
cause the change in climate?
The rising concentration of greenhouse gases, which
is primarily caused by high levels of carbon dioxide
and methane in the atmosphere, is trapping excess
heat (from the sun) and preventing it from leaving
the Earth, hence creating global warming.
Detailed reading
Complete the following table with possible health
damages caused by climate changes.
Climate Changes
Health Damages
an increase in vector
slight increase in heat
diseases such as malaria
and rain
moderate rise in sea
level
more intense rain and
hurricanes
hotter summers and
warmer temperatures
across the globe
threat to the coastlines of
low-lying islands
severe flooding and more
deaths
more cases of heat stroke
and deaths; more hospital
admissions for those with
respiratory problems
Detailed reading
What are the immediate actions that we should take?
We should take such immediate actions as a) cutting
our consumption of fossil fuels, b) using technologies
to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases, and c)
protecting our forests.
Detailed reading
1. What does “adapt to those most likely to occur” mean?
It means “do things to get ourselves prepared for the
situations that are most likely to occur.”
2. What are the long-term policies that should be worked
out?
We should encourage people to use environmentally
clean fuels and technologies, and stop the clear-cutting
of forests.
Detailed reading
peruse vt.
to read through something, especially in order to find the
part you are interested in
e.g. He opened a newspaper and began to peruse the
personal ads.
Derivation:
perusal n.
e.g. a brief perusal
He sent a copy of the report to the governors for
their perusal.
Detailed reading
periodical n.
a publication that appears at fixed intervals, esp. one
of a serious kind
e.g. She has written for several legal periodicals.
Derivation:
period n.
periodic a. occurring or appearing at (esp. regular)
intervals 定期的，周期的
periodically ad.
Detailed reading
come up with
to think of an idea, plan, reply, etc.
e.g. No one has come up with a convincing explanation
of why dinosaurs died out.
The scientists are beating their brains trying to
come up with a solution to the problem.
Detailed reading
attest vt. / vi.
to demonstrate, to declare to be true
e.g. The luxurious furnishings attested to the family’s
wealth.
The perfection of their design is attested by the
fact that they have survived for thousands of years.
Collocation:
attest (to) sth.
Derivation:
attestation n.
Detailed reading
consciousness n.
1) the condition of being awake and understanding what is
happening
e.g. When will the patient regain his consciousness?
The blow caused him to lose consciousness.
2) all the ideas, thoughts, feelings, etc. of a person or
people
e.g. Love for freedom runs deep in the national
consciousness.
This experience helped to change her social
consciousness.
Detailed reading
Collocation:
consciousness of sth. / that … awareness of sth. / that …
e.g. Her consciousness that she’s different makes her feel
uneasy.
regain / recover consciousness 恢复意识，恢复知觉
lose consciousness 失去意识，失去知觉
Antonym:
unconsciousness
Detailed reading
Comparison:
subconscious a. 潜意识的
conscience
n. 良心
conscientious a. （指人或行为）认真的，尽责的
Detailed reading
Exercise: Fill in each blank with a proper word from
the box.
conscious
subconscious
conscience
conscientious
1. Our ______________
subconscious mind registers things which our
conscious mind is not aware of.
___________
2. My brother is a _______________
conscientious student.
3. My conscience
____________ would really trouble me if I wore a fur
coat.
Detailed reading
deserve vt.
to be worthy of
e.g. I’m glad she got the first prize at the English
Speech Contest — she thoroughly deserved it.
I said some cruel things to him, but he deserved it
for the way he treated me.
Derivation:
deserving a.
e.g. The money is only given to the most deserving
cases — to the people who need it most.
His efforts are certainly deserving of praise.
Detailed reading
threat n.
a strong possibility that something very bad will happen
e.g. With so many new offices being built in the city, a
lot of archaeological remains are under threat.
Drunken drivers pose a serious threat to other
road users.
Collocation:
be under threat of sth.
e.g. She left the country under threat of arrest if she
returned.
Derivation:
threaten v.
threatening a.
Detailed reading
with the exception of
except, not including
e.g. I think every student, with the exception of Helen,
will pass the exam.
With the exception of gold, the surfaces of metals
are never observed but only their oxides.
Collocation:
without exception
have no exception
exception to sth.
make an exception
Detailed reading
spew vt.
to pour out, esp. quickly and violently
e.g. One engine of the plane caught fire and spewed
black smoke.
He spewed forth what he had recently learned
about the true facts.
Collocation:
spew sth. up to vomit
Detailed reading
harbinger n.
something that indicates or foreshadows what is to come
e.g. The crowing of the rooster is a harbinger of dawn.
Frost is a harbinger of winter.
Collocation:
harbinger of sb. / sth.
Detailed reading
curb vt.
to stop something that is harmful
e.g. This government has made pioneering strides
towards curbing air pollution.
The only way to curb the spread of the disease is
by immunizing the entire population.
Detailed reading
emission n.
the act of sending forth; discharge
e.g. The Green Party have called for a substantial
reduction in the emission of greenhouse gases by
the UK.
Derivation:
emit v.
e.g. The alarm emits infra-red rays which are used to
detect any intruder.
The machine emits a high-pitched sound when you
press the button.
Detailed reading
Discussion
What kind of periodical do you usually peruse? Why do
you like that periodical? What thoughts do you come up
with after reading that periodical? Share your favorite
periodical with your group members and try to use the
following words and expressions when discussing.
peruse
come up with
attest
deserve
threat
spew
emission
periodical
consciousness
with the exception of
harbinger
curb
Detailed reading
As an Internet search on global warming now attests,
the subject has become as rooted in our public
consciousness as Madonna or microwave cooking.
Paraphrase:
An Internet search on global warming proves that
the subject has got fixed in people’s mind, just like
Madonna or microwave cooking.
Translation:
而今因特网上搜索的结果足以证明，全球气候变暖这个
话题就像麦当娜和微波炉烹饪一样深入人心。
Detailed reading
With the possible exception of another world war, a
giant asteroid, or an incurable plague, global warming
may be the single largest threat to our planet.
Translation:
除了可能再一次发生的世界大战，一颗巨大的行星撞击
地球或是一场无法医治的瘟疫侵袭之外，全球变暖差不
多是我们星球面临的最大威胁。
Detailed reading
Many see this as a harbinger of what is to come.
Translation:
很多人都将此视为一种不祥的征兆。
Detailed reading
El Nino
Explanation:
El Nino is an irregularly occurring and complex series
of climatic changes affecting the equatorial Pacific
region and beyond every few years, characterized by
the appearance of unusually warm, nutrient-poor
water off northern Peru and Ecuador, typically in
late December.
Detailed reading
concentration n.
1) the relative amount of a particular substance contained
within a solution or mixture or in a particular volume of
space
e.g. The pesticide has reached a dangerous concentration
in the lake water.
2) (power) of concentrating (on sth.)
e.g. I find that yoga improves my powers of concentration.
Collocation:
concentration on / of sth.
Detailed reading
decompose v.
1) (cause to) decay
e.g. The meat began to decompose after some time in
the sun.
2) to separate into components or basic elements
e.g. Microbes decompose organic waste into a mixture of
methane and carbon dioxide.
Derivation: decomposition n.
Synonym:
decay, rot, break down
Antonym:
compose
Detailed reading
breed
vi. (of animals) produce young
e.g. The blackbird, like most birds, breeds in the spring.
vt. 1) to keep animals for the purpose of producing
young animals in a controlled way
e.g. His main income comes from breeding cattle.
2) to cause something to happen, usually something bad
e.g. Unemployment breeds social unrest.
Detailed reading
Collocation:
born and bred: born, brought up and educated (in
a specified place or manner)
e.g. He was born and bred a gentleman.
Derivation:
breed n.
breeder n.
breeding n.
Detailed reading
release vt.
let a substance spread into atmosphere, esp. as part of a
chemical reaction
e.g. Oil was released into the sea.
An explosion is caused by the very rapid release of
a large amount of energy.
Collocation:
release something into something
Derivation:
release n.
Detailed reading
abundant a.
more than enough
e.g. There is abundant evidence of continuing racial
prejudice in society.
Yunnan has abundant hydropower resources.
Derivation:
abundantly ad.
abundance n.
e.g. There was an abundance of wine at the wedding.
Detailed reading
excess a.
extra or additional (to the usual or permitted amount)
e.g. A company which makes high profits must pay
excess profits duty to the government.
Collocation:
excess fare 补票费
excess baggage / luggage 超重的行李
Comparison:
excessive a.
greater than what is normal or necessary; extreme 过
分的，过度的
e.g. Excessive exercise can sometimes cause health
problems.
Detailed reading
Derivation:
excess n.
exceed v.
e.g. The success of our campaign has exceeded our
wildest expectations.
excessively ad.
Detailed reading
recession n.
1) (of water, glacier, etc.) the process of moving back from
an area that it was covering
e.g. The rainfall is likely to delay the recession of the
floodwater.
2) temporary decline in economic activity or prosperity
e.g. The economy is in recession and will remain so for at
least another year.
During severe recession, companies are often forced
to make massive job cuts in order to survive.
在严重的经济萧条期，公司通常会被迫大规模裁员以
维持运转。
Derivation: recessionary a.
Detailed reading
In essence, these gases are trapping excess heat in the
Earth’s atmosphere in much the same way that a
windshield traps solar energy that enters a car.
Paraphrase:
In essence, excess heat is kept in the Earth’s
atmosphere by these gases; this phenomenon is just
like solar energy is kept within a car by a windshield.
Translation:
本质上，这些温室气体留住了地球大气层中过量的热量，
正如汽车的挡风玻璃将进入汽车内部的太阳能阻留在车
内一样。
Detailed reading
Much of the available climate data appear to back
these fears.
Paraphrase:
There is plenty of climate data which could support
these fears.
Translation:
大量现有的对气体的研究资料可以证实我们的担忧不是
多余的。
Detailed reading
speculate vi.
to make guesses
e.g. We don’t know why the prehistoric stone circles
were built. We can only speculate.
That spokesperson declined to speculate on the
cause of the air crash.
那位发言人拒绝猜测此次飞机坠毁的原因。
Derivation:
speculation n.
e.g. The papers are full of speculation about who is
likely to be the next prime minister.
Detailed reading
fend vi.
to defend oneself from a blow, attack, or attacker
e.g. The minister managed to fend off some awkward
questions from reporters.
He tried to fend off the attacker with a stick.
So long as the local people work hard and take
effective steps, they will fend against poverty.
只要当地人民埋头苦干并采取有效措施，就一定能
战胜贫困。
Collocation:
fend sth. / sb. off 抵御或抵挡
fend for oneself 照顾自己；独立生活
e.g. You are 22 now. It is time you left home and learnt
to fend for yourself.
Detailed reading
moderate a.
1) average in amount, intensity, quality, etc.; not extreme
e.g. a moderate performance
不好不坏的演出
Imposing sanctions is a moderate action when you
consider that the alternative is military
intervention.
2) of or having (usu. political) opinions that are not
extreme
e.g. The party leader is an extreme left-winger, but
her deputy is more moderate in her views.
Detailed reading
3) keeping or kept within limits that are not excessive
e.g. He is a moderate drinker.
Derivation:
moderately ad.
moderation n.
e.g. Grape wine can be good for you if taken in
moderation.
Detailed reading
vulnerable a.
to be weak and easily affected by illness
e.g. Elderly people, living alone, are especially
vulnerable.
It was no place to raise a child with lungs so
vulnerable to infection.
Collocation:
vulnerable to sth. / sb.
Derivation: vulnerability n.
vulnerably ad.
Antonym: invulnerable
Detailed reading
perilous a.
dangerous or risky
e.g. The first leg of the perilous journey was over.
But to neglect the town was equally perilous.
Derivation:
perilously ad.
peril n.
Detailed reading
Not surprisingly, many scientists speculate that such
changes in climate will probably result in hotter days
and fewer cool days.
Translation:
毫不奇怪，科学家们推测这种气候变化很可能导致天气
更加炎热而凉爽的日子变得越来越少。
Detailed reading
As far as human health is concerned, those hit hardest
will probably be residents of poorer countries that do
not have funds to fend against changes in climate.
Translation:
就人类的健康而言，受影响最严重的恐怕是那些没有足
够资金防御气候变化的贫穷国家的居民。
Detailed reading
take action to do sth.
to begin to act
e.g. We must take action to deal with the problem
before it spreads to other areas.
Detailed reading
consumption n.
the amount of electricity, gas, etc. that sb. or sth. uses
e.g. As a nation, our consumption of junk food is
horrifying.
We need to cut down on our fuel consumption by
having fewer cars on the road.
Derivation:
consume v.
consumer n.
Detailed reading
mitigate vt.
to make an unpleasant situation or its effect less serious
and less difficult to bear
e.g. We need to do everything we can to mitigate the
distress caused by the disaster.
Their extreme poverty is mitigated slightly by the
fact that Rosa has a part-time job.
Derivation:
mitigating a.
e.g. the mitigating effect of pain-killing drugs
镇痛药物的缓解作用
mitigation n.
Detailed reading
adapt to
change in order to deal with a new situation
e.g. The immigrants gradually adapted to the tough
living conditions.
Detailed reading
advocate vt. support
e.g. Most of the Chinese people advocate the policy of
reform and opening-up.
He advocated the creation of a permanent United
Nations.
Synonym:
support, back, promote
Antonym:
discourage
Detailed reading
combat vt. / vi.
fight (against)
e.g. The schools were fighting endlessly to combat
truancy.
The president emphasized the importance of
combating international terrorism.
Derivation:
combatant n.
combative a.
Collocation:
combat against / with sb. / sth.: fight or struggle
against sb. / sth.
Detailed reading
alternative
a. other, different from the usual
e.g. The alternative country to study abroad is Britain
which has rich education resources.
Electricity companies were criticized for failing to
develop alternative energy sources.
n. choice of two or more possibilities
e.g. As you move along Plan A of your career, maintain
a Plan B as well — an alternative course to rely.
Detailed reading
Derivation:
alternatively ad.
Synonym:
replacement, substitute
Detailed reading
Discussion
Facing the severe ecological crisis, we have to take action
to protect our earth. What specific actions can we take?
Discuss with your partner. The following words and phrases
may be useful for you.
over-consumption
adapt to
advocate
mitigate the overpressure on the earth
combat with wasting and abusing
alternative: walking, riding a bicycle, or taking a bus
instead of driving one’s own car
Detailed reading
Fortunately, we can take actions to slow global
warming.
Translation:
所幸的是，我们可以采取行动减缓全球变暖的进程。
Detailed reading
We can also do things to mitigate the impacts of global
warming and adapt to those most likely to occur.
Translation:
我们还可以采取措施减轻全球变暖带来的负面影响，并
适应可能发生的各种变化。
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated skills
Oral activities
Phrase practice
Word derivation
Synonym / Antonym
Prefix
Writing
Listening
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated skills
Oral activities
Writing
Listening
with the exception of: except, apart from 除……之外，
不包括……在内
e.g. All his novels are set in Italy with the exception of
his last.
他的小说除了最后一部，全是以意大利为背景。
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated skills
Oral activities
Writing
Listening
wherever possible: whenever it is possible 只要可能
e.g. Use computer wherever possible.
只要可能，就利用电脑。
Young people need to be, wherever possible,
rehabilitated rather than punished.
年轻人需要尽可能地挽救而不是惩罚。
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated skills
Oral activities
Writing
Listening
in essence: essentially, basically 本质上，根本上
e.g. In essence, your situation is the same with mine.
从本质上讲，你我的情况是一样的。
Though different in form, the two slogans are in
essence the same.
两个口号形式上虽有不同，实质上却是一致的。
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated skills
Oral activities
Writing
Listening
over the long term: over a long period 从长远看
e.g. Over the long term we will make a profit.
从长远来看我们是会有盈利的。
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated skills
Oral activities
Writing
Listening
Fill in the blanks with the appropriate forms of the
given words.
perusal
1. Her natural good sense was improved by the _________
(peruse) of the best books.
2. Efforts to reach the injured men have been ____________
intensified
(intense) because of a sudden deterioration of weather
conditions.
3. I knew he deserved to be punished but making him stay in
every night for a year is a little ___________
(excess).
excessive
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated skills
Oral activities
Writing
Listening
4. Theories of the origin of life are partly _____________
speculative
(speculate), since there is so little direct evidence
available.
5. This is a book that contains an abundance
____________
(abundant) of valuable information.
6. The cost of the flights, accommodation and car rental is
two thousand dollars __________
(include).
inclusive
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated skills
Oral activities
Writing
Listening
7. When an iron object is heated in a fire, it glows red and
(emission) radiation.
_______
emits
8. We hardly ever go into London. Whatever we need we
can buy ________
(local).
locally
Vocabulary
Grammar
1. peruse
perusal
Translation
v.
n.
Integrated skills
Oral activities
Writing
Listening
熟读，精读
熟读，精读；仔细研究
e.g. 他每天都要读各种报纸。
He perused the newspapers every day.
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
2. intense
intensify
intensive
intensification
a.
v.
n.
n.
Integrated skills
Oral activities
Writing
Listening
强烈的，剧烈的，热烈的
增强，强化；加剧
强烈的；密集的
增强，加强，强化
e.g. 我的工作非常紧张，以至于我没有时间休息。
My work is so intense that I even have no time
to take a rest.
我的初次失败更坚定了我成功的信念。
My first failure only intensified my desire to
succeed.
我们有十天的强化训练。
We have ten days of intensive training.
Vocabulary
Grammar
3. excess
excessive
Translation
a.
a.
Integrated skills
Oral activities
Writing
Listening
过量的，额外的
过多的，过分的
e.g. 这个胖男孩节制饮食以减轻过量的体重。
The fat boy went on a diet to get rid of his
excess weight.
Vocabulary
Grammar
4. speculate
speculation
speculative
speculator
Translation
Integrated skills
v.
n.
a.
n.
Oral activities
Writing
Listening
推测，好奇
沉思，推测；投机
推测的，推理的；投机的
投机者，投机商人
e.g. 我猜想的全错了。
My speculations proved totally wrong.
他是一个冷酷的投机者。
He is a ruthless speculator.
Vocabulary
Grammar
5. abundant
abundance
abundantly
Translation
a.
n.
ad.
Integrated skills
Oral activities
Writing
Listening
丰富的，充裕的
丰富，充裕
大量地，丰富地
e.g. 今年的农产品很丰富。
The agricultural commodities are abundant this
year.
这个国家拥有丰富的资源。
This country has an abundance of valuable
resources.
Vocabulary
Grammar
6. include
including
inclusive
Translation
v.
prep.
a.
Integrated skills
Oral activities
Writing
Listening
包括，包含
包含，包括
包含……在内的，包罗广泛的
e.g. 账单中包含服务费。
The bill includes service.
他们有很多宠物，狗就有三只。
They have many pets, including three dogs.
Vocabulary
Grammar
7. emission
emit
Translation
n.
v.
Integrated skills
Oral activities
Writing
Listening
散发；发射
发出，放射；吐露
e.g. 干酪散发出强烈的气味。
The cheese is emitting a strong smell.
Vocabulary
Grammar
8. local
locally
Translation
a.
ad.
Integrated skills
Oral activities
Writing
Listening
地方性的；当地的，局部的
在本地，在当地
e.g. 当地大多数的居民靠打渔为生。
Most of the local population depend on fishing
for their income.
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated skills
Oral activities
Writing
Listening
Give a synonym or an antonym of the word underlined
in each sentence in the sense it is used.
1. Global warming results primarily from human activities
that release heat-trapping gases and particles into the
air.
Synonym: mainly, basically, firstly
2. Fortunately, we can take actions to slow down global
warming.
Antonym: unfortunately, unluckily
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated skills
Oral activities
Writing
Listening
3. The most important causes include the burning of fossil
fuels such as coal, gas, and oil, and deforestation.
Antonym: exclude
4. Twenty-five years ago if you made a trip to the library
and perused the periodical section for articles on global
warming, you’d probably have come up with only a few
abstracts from hardcore science journals or maybe a
blurb in some esoteric geopolitical magazine.
Synonym: part, division
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated skills
Oral activities
Writing
Listening
5. That’s an increase of roughly 1℃ every 4,000 years.
Antonym: decrease, lowering
6. Much of the available climate data appear to back
these fears.
Antonym: unavailable
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated skills
Oral activities
Writing
Listening
7. All across the globe, hotter summers could lead to more
cases of heat stroke and deaths among those who are
vulnerable, such as older people with heart problems.
Synonym: weak, insecure, unsafe
8. … things like clean cars that run on alternative fuels,
environmentally responsible renewable energy
technologies, and stopping the clear-cutting of valuable
forests.
Antonym: irresponsible
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated skills
Oral activities
Writing
Listening
Write in each space one word that has the same prefix
as underlined in each given word.
1. centigrade
centimeter
___________________
2. kilogram
kilometer
___________________
3. synopsis
synthetic
___________________
4. supervise
superior
___________________
5. submarine
submerge
___________________
6. astronaut
astronomy
___________________
7. microbiology
microwave
___________________
8. overwork
overload
___________________
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated skills
Oral activities
Explanation:
centi-: one hundredth
e.g. centigram, centiliter, centimeter
Writing
Listening
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated skills
Oral activities
Explanation:
kilo-: one thousand
e.g. kilowatt, kilobyte, kilohertz
Writing
Listening
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated skills
Oral activities
Explanation:
syn-: synonymous
e.g. synonym, synonymy, synchronous
Writing
Listening
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated skills
Oral activities
Writing
Listening
Explanation:
super-: extremely, more or better than normal
e.g. superhuman, supercomputer, superconductor,
superego
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated skills
Explanation:
sub-: below; less than; under
e.g. sub-zero, subway, subset
Oral activities
Writing
Listening
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated skills
Oral activities
Writing
Listening
Explanation:
astro-: connected with the stars or outer space
e.g. astrophysics, astrology, astronomer
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated skills
Oral activities
Writing
Listening
Explanation:
micro-: small; on a small scale
e.g. microchip, micro-organism, microbe, microcosm
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated skills
Oral activities
Writing
Listening
Explanation:
over-: more than usual; too much
e.g. overconfident, overanxious, over-optimistic
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated skills
Oral activities
Writing
Listening
The present perfect tense vs.
the simple past tense
Connectives (because, as, since,
seeing that, for, because of)
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated skills
Oral activities
Writing
Listening
The simple past refers to the definite past. The
present perfect refers to “the past with present
relevance.” The action or state denoted by the present
perfect tense, though referring to some indefinite
happening in the past, has some connection with the
present. Hence, if an action or state happened in the past
and has no connection with the present, it will have to be
expressed by the simple past.
Compare: His father has been a teacher all his life. (His
father is still alive.)
His father was a teacher all his life. (His father
is now dead.)
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated skills
Oral activities
Writing
Listening
Practice
Complete the following sentences using the appropriate
verb forms.
1. He has
invented (invent) hundreds of things. He is
___________
one of the most productive inventors of our
generation.
2. A: Is your father at home?
B: No, I’m afraid he ________
has gone (go) out.
A: When exactly ________
did he go (he, go) out?
B: About ten minutes ago.
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated skills
Oral activities
Writing
Listening
3. Since Mr. Hassan _______
became (become) president, both
taxes and unemployment _____________
have increased (increase).
got (get) the news about Sue I
4. The minute I ___
telephoned my parents.
5. I’ll contact you the minute I _____________
have got / get (get) my
exam results.
6. It won’t be the first time she _________
has voted (vote) against
the government in her long career.
7. Our English teacher _________
corrected (correct) all the
exercise books last Friday evening.
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated skills
Oral activities
Writing
Listening
Because is generally used when the reason is the
most important part of the sentence.
As and since are used when the reason is already well
known, or is less important than the rest of the sentence.
Since is a little more formal than as. As and since clauses
often begin the sentence. Clauses of cause-result are
introduced by because or as.
Seeing that means the same as since. It is used only
in informal speech.
For suggests that the reason is given as an
afterthought. For clauses never come at the beginning of
the sentence.
The phrase because of is a prepositional phrase, and
should be followed by a noun or a noun phrase.
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated skills
Oral activities
Writing
Listening
Practice
Fill in the blanks with because, as, since, seeing that,
for or because of.
1. I’m very sorry but I can’t come to work today
because / as I’ve caught a very bad cold.
___________
2. _____________________
As / Since / Seeing that there is considerable
evidence that violence on television may be a
contributory factor in the increase of hooliganism, the
Independent Television Authority has withdrawn its
serial on famous crimes.
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated skills
Oral activities
Writing
Listening
3. Just _______
because I’m lending you my dress for tonight
doesn’t mean you can borrow it whenever you want
to.
4. In the past insurance companies were often criticized
by the public ___
for delaying payment on claims.
5. The train was delayed __________
because of bad weather.
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated skills
Oral activities
Writing
Listening
Translate the following sentences into English.
1. 经过几个月的讨价还价，这两家公司最后达成了一个解
决方案，这个方案实质上就是我们最初的建议。(come
up with)
After months of negotiation, the two companies
finally came up with a solution, which was in
essence our original proposal.
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated skills
Oral activities
Writing
Listening
Practice：
该公司将推出防止墙壁渗水的新技术。
The company will come up with a new technique for
waterproofing walls.
还没有人能对恐龙的灭绝作出一个令人信服的解释。
No one has come up with a convincing explanation
of why dinosaurs die out.
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated skills
Oral activities
Writing
Listening
2. 这个非洲部落的人民对月亮的崇拜，就和我们的祖先对
太阳的崇拜差不多。(in the same way that)
The people of that African tribe worship the moon in
much the same way that our ancestors worshipped
the sun.
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated skills
Oral activities
Writing
Listening
3. 四千多年前古埃及金字塔是如何建成的至今还是个谜。
有些人猜测它们是外星人建造的。(speculate)
It is still a puzzle as to how the ancient Egyptian
pyramids were built over 4,000 years ago. Some
people speculate that they were built by
supernatural beings.
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated skills
Oral activities
Writing
Listening
Practice：
我不愿意猜测她辞职的原因。
I wouldn’t like to speculate on the reasons for her
resignation.
我们只能推测下一步会发生什么情况。
We can only speculate about what will happen next.
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated skills
Oral activities
Writing
Listening
4. 非法使用劣质建筑材料最终导致了宾馆的倒塌。(result
in)
The illegal use of inferior building materials
eventually resulted in the collapse of the hotel.
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated skills
Oral activities
Writing
Listening
Practice：
这种药使用过量会损害肝脏。
Excessive dosage of this drug can result in injury to
the liver.
实行这种政策, 只能是搬起石头砸自己的脚。
Following such a policy can only result in sowing the
wind and reaping the whirlwind.
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated skills
Oral activities
Writing
Listening
5. 当前，许多国家正纷纷采取行动，缓解金融危机对经济
的冲击。(take action)
At present, many countries are taking action to
mitigate the impact of the financial crisis on their
economy.
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated skills
Oral activities
Writing
Listening
Practice：
政府会采取措施促进旅游业的进一步发展。
The government will take action to facilitate further
development of the tourist industry.
每当你充满信心采取行动时，你永远无法预见会有什么样
的结果。
Each time you choose to trust yourself and take
action, you can never quite be certain how the
situation will turn out.
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated skills
Oral activities
Writing
Listening
6. 这对夫妇由于多年的不断的争吵而最终离了婚，这种争
吵其实都是因为缺乏理解引起的。(result from)
The couple finally divorced after years incessant
quarrels, which had resulted from a lack of
understanding.
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated skills
Oral activities
Writing
Listening
7. 两国政府同意建立一条军事热线，以降低因情报失误而
发生战争的风险。(reduce)
The governments of the 2 countries agreed to set up
a military hotline to reduce the risk of war due to
incorrect information.
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated skills
Oral activities
Writing
Listening
8. 有些中国学生在美国的大学里不大成功，因为他们没能
适应那里的新环境。(adapt to)
Some Chinese students were not very successful in
American universities because they failed to adapt
to the new environment there.
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated skills
Dictation
Cloze
Oral activities
Writing
Listening
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated skills
Oral activities
Writing
Listening
Dictation
You will hear a passage read three times. At the first
reading, you should listen carefully for its general
idea. At the second reading, you are required to write
down the exact words you have just heard (with
proper punctuation). At the third reading, you should
check what you have written down.
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated skills
Oral activities
Writing
Listening
It could be the title of a 21st-century horror movie:
/ “Death by Global Warming.” / Instead, it is a real-life
warning / from an American university ecologist / who
believes / global warming / may account for / millions
of human deaths from disease. / Right now / the
evidence of / significant global climate change / is
minimal, / but there are already / noticeable increases
/ in human diseases worldwide. / Most of the increase
in disease / is due to numerous environmental factors,
/ including infectious disease, / pollution by chemicals /
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated skills
Oral activities
Writing
Listening
and biological wastes, / and shortage of food. / Global
warming will only / make matters worse. /
Global climate change / will result in a loss of
available food. / Although there may be some benefits /
in crop production from warmer climates, / these
beneficial effects / will not be so great. / Crop losses
from plant disease and weeds / will increase in a
warmer climate. /
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated skills
Oral activities
Writing
Listening
Global warming is the mother and father of
environmental problems today. The degree of agreement
among international scientists is remarkable: a 1.5℃
(1) ______
to 4.5℃ warming by 2050, (2) ____
with a possible rise in sea
levels over the same period of 1.5 to 1.65 metres. Some
scientists go much further in their predictions. Some, (3)
___
by contrast, believe there are still far too many factors
involved (like not knowing whether cloud cover slows
down or speeds (4) ___
up the process of global warming, or
just how (5) _____
much carbon dioxide the oceans can absorb
to make any definitive interpretation of the data.
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated skills
Oral activities
Writing
Listening
It should be noted that it is the scientists who are
driving the global warming agenda, (6)
not the
___
environmental pressure groups. It was the Changing the
Atmosphere Conference in Toronto in June 1988 which
alerted the media (7) __
to the importance of the Greenhouse
Effect by describing it (8) __
as “an unintended,
whose
uncontrolled, globally pervasive experiment (9) ______
ultimate consequences could be second only (10) __
to global
nuclear war.”
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated skills
Oral activities
Writing
Listening
Here you need to give a negative meaning.
It should be noted that it is the scientists who are
driving the global warming agenda, (6)
not the
___
environmental pressure groups. It was the Changing the
Atmosphere Conference in Toronto in June 1988 which
alerted the media (7) __
to the importance of the Greenhouse
Effect by describing it (8) __
as “an unintended,
whose
uncontrolled, globally pervasive experiment (9) ______
ultimate consequences could be second only (10) __
to global
nuclear war.”
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated skills
Oral activities
Writing
Listening
Here you need a word collocating with “describe”.
It should be noted that it is the scientists who are
driving the global warming agenda, (6)
not the
___
environmental pressure groups. It was the Changing the
Atmosphere Conference in Toronto in June 1988 which
alerted the media (7) __
to the importance of the Greenhouse
Effect by describing it (8) __
as “an unintended,
whose
uncontrolled, globally pervasive experiment (9) ______
ultimate consequences could be second only (10) __
to global
nuclear war.”
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated skills
Oral activities
Writing
Listening
Here you need a word used for adding information about a
person or thing just mentioned.
It should be noted that it is the scientists who are
driving the global warming agenda, (6)
not the
___
environmental pressure groups. It was the Changing the
Atmosphere Conference in Toronto in June 1988 which
alerted the media (7) __
to the importance of the Greenhouse
Effect by describing it (8) __
as “an unintended,
whose
uncontrolled, globally pervasive experiment (9) ______
ultimate consequences could be second only (10) __
to global
nuclear war.”
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated skills
Oral activities
Giving a talk
Having a discussion
Writing
Listening
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated skills
Oral activities
Writing
Listening
In the text the author describes the causes and
consequences of global warming and calls on us to take
action to reduce its impact on our environment. Now do
some research on the causes and consequences of
environmental pollution in certain areas in China and
give some suggestions as to how to solve this problem.
For reference
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated skills
Oral activities
Writing
Listening
1. You may want to use the following words or expressions
in your talk:
serious, poisonous, artificial substances, ecological,
release, emit, wasted products, rubbish, industrial
production, consumption of goods, dense smoke,
exhausted fumes, noise, agriculture, forest destruction,
the use of chemical substance, sewage, cut down,
destroy, bring it under control, effective measures,
environmental protection
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated skills
Oral activities
Writing
Listening
2. You may want to list some causes of environmental
pollution as follows:
— Chemical wastes from factories and sewage in cities.
— Farmland is also overworked and has lost its fertility.
— Trees are being cut down, which causes forest
destruction.
— A variety of animals are being hunted. The balance of
nature is being destroyed.
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated skills
Oral activities
Writing
Listening
3. You may want to list some consequences of
environmental pollution as follows:
— We have no fresh air to breathe, clean water to drink,
various vegetables to eat and fertile soil to plant.
— If our ecological environment is heavily polluted or
ruined, we could not even survive on this planet.
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated skills
Oral activities
Writing
Listening
4. You may want to list some suggestions of environmental
protection as follows:
— Laws concerning environmental protection such as
prohibiting the gas and wastewater exhausting should
be made.
— People should be forbidden to throw away rubbish
whenever and wherever they like.
— Rare animals must be well preserved and more trees
should be planted.
— New models of vehicles that can reduce the
consumption of energy should be put into use.
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated skills
Oral activities
Writing
Listening
Regarding environmental pollution, we seem to be in
a dilemma. In the past three decades, our economy has
enjoyed unprecedented rapid development — but at the
sacrifice of the environment. Many places are now
seriously polluted. Some people argue that it is a
necessary evil, because it seems to be impossible to
develop the economy without polluting the environment.
Now organize yourselves into groups of five or six and
debate this issue.
For reference
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated skills
Oral activities
Writing
Listening
Viewpoints for reference:
• I think it is possible to develop the economy without
polluting the environment. First, laws and proper
policies should be made to ensure environmental
protection. Second, new and renewable sources of
energy and new technology for energy use should be
developed and put into use. Third, people should be
encouraged and guided to practice garbage sorting,
and children should be taught the awareness of
environmental protection when they are young.
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated skills
Oral activities
Writing
Listening
• I think it is impossible to develop the economy without
polluting the environment. First, economic growth may
promote urbanization and industrialization, which
could damage cultivated land, grassland or forest land.
Second, expanding production scale may involve the
development of factories, which will increase the
possibilities of discharging sewage and exhaust gas.
Third, some people, in order to seek instant benefits
in economic advance, intensify the development and
urbanization of natural resources, which may cause
the ecological unbalance.
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated skills
Oral activities
Writing
Listening
Paragraph development — the use of quotes
Discussion: Quotation is an effective strategy used for
argumentation and other purposes. In arguing, a good
quotation in your favor lends you force; one against your
viewpoint can also, if you deal it a powerful and accurate
blow, help your writing gain momentum. In other writing
situations, well-chosen quotes can help you make an
emphatic point.
Powerful as there are, quotes couldn’t prove
everything. Therefore, you should keep it in mind that
don’t overuse or abuse the quotation strategy. Employing
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated skills
Oral activities
Writing
Listening
too many quotes can halt the smooth flow of your
paragraph. Make sure that your quotes fit well into your
writing, instead of implicitly or even blatantly
contradicting the main message that you intend to convey.
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated skills
Oral activities
Writing
Listening
Exercises: Read and consider the following topic sentences
and then think of or search for famous quotable sayings on
the Internet or from other sources. Develop each
paragraph using one or two quotes for each topic.
1. It is hard to overestimate the importance of friendship.
Ideas for reference:
Friends are an indispensable part of human’s life.
Friends are the very persons that we get comforts and
encouragements.
Friends are our best fans whatever we do if it is good for
us.
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated skills
Oral activities
Writing
Listening
Sample:
As the saying goes “Whoever is delighted in solitude is
either a wild beast or a god”, friends are an
indispensable part of human’s life. “A person without
friends is just like a spring without flowers, a dish
without seasoning, and it is absolutely meaningless”, as
an ancient writer put it. Needless to say, friends play a
significant role in our life. To begin with, friends are the
very persons that we get comforts and encouragements
we need to go on when our own store of willpower has
become depleted. No one is bound to be strong and
happy all the time, for life has its own up and down.
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated skills
Oral activities
Writing
Listening
And whenever we need them, friends will be with us, if
not always, at least most of the time. Moreover, friends
are our best fans whatever we do if it is good for us. When
we put on a play, they will be our audiences; when give a
speech, they will be our listeners; when we write a book,
they will be our readers. In a word, friends are the very
persons that we feel flattered and relaxed no matter what
stage we stand on. All in all, we have to say that it is hard
to overestimate the importance of friendship and having
friends is beneficial. They give us comforts and
encouragements; strengths and confidences. Actually,
“Truly great friends,” said a writer, “are hard to find,
difficult to leave, and impossible to forget.” Therefore,
we should cherish our friendship.
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated skills
Oral activities
Writing
Listening
2. Setting oneself high goals in life is important.
Ideas for reference:
Aim plays a significant role in our life.
Setting high goals makes us clearer of life.
Setting high goals helps us use our time more efficiently.
Setting high goals turns us more confident.
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated skills
Oral activities
Writing
Listening
Sample:
As the saying goes “Living without an aim is like sailing
without a compass”, aim plays a significant role in our
life, especially when we want to make some
achievements. For our college students, it is needless to
say that setting high goals in life is important. To begin
with, setting high goals makes us clearer of life. We
aren’t bound to succeed if we have no goal. Only when
we have some idea of our life, will we work harder for it.
Furthermore, setting high goals helps us use our time
more efficiently. Having an aim in mind, we will take
different actions at different periods of our college life,
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated skills
Oral activities
Writing
Listening
thus making us approach our dream closer and closer.
Last but not the least, setting high goals turns us more
confident. Just as “Rome isn’t built in a day”, our
success cannot be achieved overnight. Bearing some
goals in mind, we are easier to make progress everyday,
thus bringing in more confidence for us. All in all, we
have to say that setting high goals is extremely
necessary. It gives light to our future and makes us full
of energy! If we want to make a difference in life,
setting high goals please, for a clear goal determines
our destiny!
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated skills
Oral activities
Writing
Listening
A. You will listen to an award-winning speech on trees in
which a girl explains why she loves trees. What ideas
would you expect to hear in such a speech? The
following words may give you some hints. Try to guess
their meanings while listening.
• commodity (noun)
product
• nursery (noun)
greenhouse, a place where
plants are cultivated
• damp (adjective)
slightly wet
• soil (noun)
ground, dirt
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated skills
Oral activities
Writing
Listening
• disturb (verb)
bother, upset
• munch (verb)
eat and chew noisily
• evergreen (noun)
a plant that does not lose
its leaves and stay green
throughout the year
• exterminate (verb)
destroy, kill off
• lumber (noun)
wood from trees
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated skills
Oral activities
Writing
Listening
B. Listen to the speech again. Complete the following
list which tells us why the girl likes trees.
are very important to the
• She loves trees because they ______________________
environment
___________.
• She loves trees because they ______________________
have many different
shades of green
______________.
• She loves trees because they ______________________
always smell so fresh and
clean
_____.
• She loves trees because they _______________.
are fun to climb
• She loves trees because they ______________________
display beautiful colors in
autumn
_______.
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated skills
Oral activities
Writing
Listening
• She loves trees because they ________________.
make life possible
• She loves trees because they _____________________
make her feel peaceful
and inspire her to make
_____________________
the best of herself
________________.
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated skills
Oral activities
Writing
Listening
C. Answer the following questions.
1. What does the girl do when painting pictures of trees?
She uses many different colors of paint
__________________________________.
2. Which aspect of trees is the girl referring to when she
says “it’s a glass of cool water on a hot day”?
The smell
_________.
3. Why does the girl like to climb her grandfather’s apple
tree?
She likes to think and relax, or read a book in the
__________________________________________
tree while eating apples
_____________________.
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated skills
Oral activities
Writing
Listening
4. According to the girl, how do trees make life possible?
They produce oxygen so we can breathe
___________________________________.
5. How does the beauty of trees make the girl feel
according to her closing statement?
The girl believes that trees help her become a
__________________________________________
better person
_____________.
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated skills
Oral activities
Writing
Listening
D. What other problems can you think of with our
environment (acid rain, deforestation, water
pollution)? What are the possible solutions to
these problems?
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated skills
Oral activities
Writing
Listening
I love trees because they are an important commodity
to the environment. They make life possible on this planet,
along with other plants.
I love trees because they have many different shades
of green, so many that it’s almost impossible to count.
When I paint a picture of a tree I use many shades of
green and many more shades of brown. My favorite thing
about trees is that they always seem to have a glow
around them.
I love trees because they always smell so fresh and
clean. I like to go to the nursery because I love the smell
of trees, it’s so refreshing. It’s a glass of cool water on a
hot day, or a damp cloth on a hot forehead.
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated skills
Oral activities
Writing
Listening
I love to plant trees. I love to dig through the soil to
make a hole in which the tree will rest. I love to place the
tree in the ground, making sure not to disturb the roots,
which will be the tree’s support. I love to water the trees.
I love to pour the water on the trees knowing that it will
grow.
One of my favorite things about trees is that they are
fun to climb. I started climbing trees when I was very
little. My dad taught me how to climb, along with some
useful tips. I especially like to climb my grandpa’s apple
tree. I love to wind through the branches, and climb to a
board that has been placed there. Once up, I like to think
and relax, or bring a book up with me. It is fun to let my
imagination run away with me while munching apples.
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated skills
Oral activities
Writing
Listening
I love trees in the autumn when they display their
beautiful colors. In the autumn time, splashes of red,
yellow, orange, and green decorate the mountainside. The
maples go red, the oaks and aspens go yellow while the
evergreens maintain their beautiful shade of green.
Trees make life possible because they use the carbon
dioxide and release oxygen, so that we can breathe. If we
exterminate trees, the effects could be fatal. There may
be global warming, lack of oxygen, and we would
definitely not have any lumber or paper.
Trees are very important to the environment. The
beauty of trees makes me feel peaceful, and inspires me
to make the best of myself.
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated skills
Oral activities
Writing
Listening
I love trees because they are an important commodity
to the environment. They make life possible on this planet,
along with other plants.
I love trees because they have many different shades
of green, so many that it’s almost impossible to count.
When I paint a picture of a tree I use many shades of
green and many more shades of brown. My favorite thing
about trees is that they always seem to have a glow
around them.
I love trees because they always smell so fresh and
clean. I like to go to the nursery because I love the smell
of trees, it’s so refreshing. It’s a glass of cool water on a
hot day, or a damp cloth on a hot forehead.
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated skills
Oral activities
Writing
Listening
I love to plant trees. I love to dig through the soil to
make a hole in which the tree will rest. I love to place the
tree in the ground, making sure not to disturb the roots,
which will be the tree’s support. I love to water the trees.
I love to pour the water on the trees knowing that it will
grow.
One of my favorite things about trees is that they are
fun to climb. I started climbing trees when I was very
little. My dad taught me how to climb, along with some
useful tips. I especially like to climb my grandpa’s apple
tree. I love to wind through the branches, and climb to a
board that has been placed there. Once up, I like to think
and relax, or bring a book up with me. It is fun to let my
imagination run away with me while munching apples.
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated skills
Oral activities
Writing
Listening
I love trees in the autumn when they display their
beautiful colors. In the autumn time, splashes of red,
yellow, orange, and green decorate the mountainside. The
maples go red, the oak and aspen go yellow while the
evergreens maintain their beautiful shade of green.
Trees make life possible because they use the carbon
dioxide and release oxygen, so that we can breathe. If we
exterminate trees, the effects could be fatal. There may
be global warming, lack of oxygen, and we would
definitely not have any lumber or paper.
Trees are very important to the environment. The
beauty of trees makes me feel peaceful, and inspires me
to make the best of myself.
Text II
Memorable quotes
Lead-in questions
Text
Questions for discussion
Text II
Memorable quotes
1. What, in your opinion, contributes to global warming?
2. What can we do to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions?
Text II
Memorable quotes
The Villain in the Atmosphere
Isaac Asimov
1 The villain in the atmosphere is carbon dioxide.
2 It does not seem to be a villain. It is not very poisonous
and it is present in the atmosphere in so small a quantity
that it does us no harm. For every 1,000,000 cubic feet of
air there are only 340 cubic feet of carbon dioxide — only
0.034 percent.
Text II
Memorable quotes
3 What’s more, that small quantity of carbon dioxide in
the air is essential to life. Plants absorb dioxide and
convert it into their own tissues, which serve as the basic
food supply for all of animal life (including human beings,
of course). In the process, they liberate oxygen, which is
also necessary for all animal life.
4
But here is what this apparently harmless and
certainly essential gas is doing to us:
5
The sea level is rising very slowly from year to year.
The high tides tend to be progressively higher, even in
quiet weather, and storms batter at breakwaters more and
more effectively, erode the beaches more savagely, batter
houses farther inland.
Text II
Memorable quotes
6
In all likelihood, the sea level will continue to rise
and do so at a greater rate in the course of the next
hundred years. This means that the line separating
ocean from land will retreat inland everywhere. It will
do so only slightly where high land abuts the ocean. In
those places, however, where there are low-lying
coastal areas (where a large fraction of humanity lives)
the water will advance steadily and inexorably and
people will have to retreat inland.
Text II
Memorable quotes
7
Virtually all of
Long Island will become part of the
shallow offshore sea bottom, leaving only a line of small
islands running east to west, marking off what had been
the island’s highest points. Eventually the sea will reach a
maximum of two hundred feet above the present water
level, and will be splashing against the windows along the
twentieth floors of
Manhattan’s skyscrapers. Naturally
the Manhattan streets will be deep under water, as will
the
New Jersey shoreline and all of Delaware. Florida,
too, will be gone, as will much of the British lows, the
northwestern European coast, the crowded
Nile Valley.
And the low-lying areas of China, India, and the Soviet
Union.
Text II
Memorable quotes
8
It is not only that people will be forced to retreat by
the millions and that many cities will be drowned, but
much of the most productive farming areas of the world
will be lost. Although the change will not be overnight,
and though people will have time to leave and carry with
them such of their belongings as they can, there will not
be room in the continental interiors for all of them. As
the food supply plummets with the ruin of farming areas,
starvation will be rampant and the structure of society
may collapse under the unbearable pressures.
9
And all because of carbon dioxide. But how does that
come about? What is the connection?
Text II
Memorable quotes
10
It begins with sunlight, to which the various gases
of the atmosphere (including carbon dioxide) are
transparent. Sunlight, striking the top of the atmosphere,
travels right through miles of it to reach the Earth’s
surface, where it is absorbed. In this way the Earth is
warmed.
11
The Earth’s surface doesn’t get too hot, because at
night the Earth’s heat radiates into space in the form of
infrared radiation. As the Earth gains heat by day and
loses it by night, it maintains an overall temperature to
which earthly life is well-adapted.
Text II
Memorable quotes
12
However, the atmosphere is not quite as transparent
to infrared radiation as it is to visible light. Carbon dioxide
in particular tends to be opaque to that radiation. Less
heat is lost at night, for that reason, than would be lost if
carbon dioxide were not present in the atmosphere.
Without the small quantity of that gas present, the Earth
would be distinctly cooler on the whole, perhaps a bit
uncomfortably cool.
13
This is called the “greenhouse effect” of carbon
dioxide. It is so called because the glass of greenhouses
lets sunshine in but prevents the loss of heat. For that
reason it is warm inside a greenhouse on sunny days even
when the temperature is low.
Text II
Memorable quotes
14
We can be thankful that carbon dioxide is keeping
us comfortably warm, but the concentration of carbon
dioxide in the atmosphere is going up steadily and that
is where the villainy comes in. In 1958, when the carbon
dioxide of the atmosphere first began to be measured
carefully, it made up only 0.0316 percent of the
atmosphere. Each year since, the concentration has
crept upward and it now stands at 0.0340 percent. It is
estimated that by 2020 the concentration will be about
0.0660 percent, or nearly twice what it is now.
Text II
Memorable quotes
15
This means that in the coming decades, Earth’s
average temperature will go up slightly. Winters will grow
a bit milder on the average and summers a bit hotter.
That may not seem frightening. Milder winters don’t
seem bad, and as for hotter summers, we can just run
our air-conditioners a bit more.
16
But consider this: if winters in general grow milder,
less snow will fall during the cold season. If summers in
general grow hotter, more snow will melt during the
warm season. That means that, little by little, the snow
line will move away from the equator and toward the
poles. The glaciers will retreat, the mountain tops will
grow more bare, and the polar ice caps will begin to melt.
Text II
Memorable quotes
17
That might be annoying to skiers and to other
devotees of winter sports, but would it necessarily bother
the rest of us? After all, if the snow line moves north it
might be possible to grow more food in Canada,
Scandinavia, the Soviet Union, and Patagonia.
18
Still, if the cold weather moves poleward, then so
do the storm belts. The desert regions that now exist in
subtropical areas will greatly expand, and fertile land
gained in the north will be lost in the south. More may be
lost than gained.
Text II
Memorable quotes
19
It is the melting of the ice caps, though, that is the
worst change. It is this which demonstrates the villainy
of carbon dioxide.
20
Something like 90 percent of the ice in the world is
to be found in the huge Antarctica ice cap, and another
8 percent is in the Greenland ice cap. In both places the
ice is piled miles high. If these ice caps begin to melt,
the water that forms won’t stay in place. It will drip
down into the ocean and slowly the sea level will rise,
with the results that I have already described.
Text II
Memorable quotes
21
Even worse might be in store, for a rising
temperature would manage to release a little of the
carbon dioxide that is tied up in vast quantities of
limestone that exist in the Earth’s crust. It will also
liberate some of the carbon dioxide dissolved in the
ocean; with still more carbon dioxide, the temperature
of the Earth will creep upward a little more and release
still more carbon dioxide.
22
All this is called the “runaway greenhouse effect,”
and it may eventually make the Earth an uninhabitable
planet.
Text II
Memorable quotes
23
But, as you can see, it is not carbon dioxide in
itself that is the source of the trouble; it is the fact that
the carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere is
steadily rising and seems to be doomed to continue
rising. Why is that?
24
To blame are two factors. First of all, in the last
few centuries, first coal, then oil and natural gas, have
been burned for energy at a rapidly increasing rate. The
carbon contained in these fuels, which has been safely
burned underground for many millions of years, is now
being burned to carbon dioxide and poured into the
atmosphere at a rate of many tons per day.
Text II
Memorable quotes
25
Some of that additional carbon dioxide may be
absorbed by the soil or by the ocean, and some might be
consumed by plant life, but the fact is that a
considerable fraction of it remains in the atmosphere. It
must, for the carbon dioxide content of the atmosphere
is going up year by year.
26
To make matters worse, Earth’s forests have been
disappearing, slowly at first, but in the last couple of
centuries quite rapidly. Right now it is disappearing at
the rate of sixty-four acres per minute.
Text II
Memorable quotes
27 Whatever replaces the forest — grasslands or farms
or scrub — produces plants that do not consume carbon
dioxide at a rate equal to that of forest. Thus not only is
more carbon dioxide being added to the atmosphere
through the burning of fuel but as the forests disappear,
less carbon dioxide is being subtracted from the
atmosphere by plants.
28
But this gives us a new perspective on the matter.
The carbon dioxide is not rising by itself. It is people
who are burning the coal, oil, and gas, because of their
need for energy. It is people who are cutting down the
forests, because of their need for farmland. And the two
are connected, for the burning of coal and oil is
producing acid rain which helps destroy the forests. It is
people, then, who are the villains.
Text II
Memorable quotes
29
What is to be done?
30
First, we must save our forests, and even replant
them. From forests, properly conserved, we get wood,
chemicals, soil retention, ecological health — and a
slowdown of carbon dioxide increase.
31
Second, we must have new sources of fuel. There
are after all fuels that do not involve the production of
carbon dioxide. Nuclear fission is one of them, and if
that is deemed too dangerous for other reasons, there is
the forthcoming
nuclear fusion, which may be safer.
There is also the energy of waves, tides, wind, and the
Earth’s interior heat. Most of all, there is the direct use
of solar energy.
Text II
Memorable quotes
32
All of this will take time, work, and money, to be
sure, but all that time, work, and money will be invested
in order to save our civilization and our planet itself.
33
After all, humanity seems to be willing to spend
more time, work, and money in order to support
competing military machines that can only destroy us all.
Should we begrudge less time, work, and money in order
to save us all?
Text II
Memorable quotes
Isaac Asimov (1920–1992) was a Russian-born American
author and a professor of biochemistry, a highly
successful writer, best known for his works of science
fiction and for his popular science books. For more
information about Asimov, you can refer to Note 1, Unit 2
“The Fun They Had,” Student’s Book 1.
Text II
Memorable quotes
Long Island: an island located in southeastern New York,
U.S.A. It contains four counties, two of which (Queens and
Kings) are boroughs of New York City, and two of which
(Nassau and Suffolk) are suburbs of that city.
Text II
Memorable quotes
Manhattan: Manhattan Island, in New York, is the largest
part of the borough of Manhattan, one of the five
boroughs which form the City of New York.
Text II
Memorable quotes
New Jersey: a state in the mid-Atlantic and northeastern
regions of the United States
Text II
Memorable quotes
Delaware: a state located on the Atlantic coast in the
mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It’s the second
smallest state (after Rhode Island) in the country.
Text II
Memorable quotes
Nile Valley: the Nile is a major north-flowing river in Africa,
generally regarded as the longest river in the world. The Nile
Valley is a canyon running 660 miles long with a floodplain
occupying 4,250 square miles.
Text II
Memorable quotes
Nuclear fission: 核裂变 When a nucleus fissions, it splits
into several smaller fragments. These fragments, or
fission products, are about equal to half the original
mass. Two or three neutrons are also emitted. The sum
of the masses of these fragments is less than the original
mass. This “missing” mass (about 0.1 percent of the
original mass) has been converted into energy according
to Einstein’s equation.
Text II
Memorable quotes
Nuclear fusion: 核聚变 Nuclear energy can also be
released by fusion of two light elements (elements
with low atomic numbers). The power that fuels the
sun and the stars is nuclear fusion. Hydrogen bombs
are also based on it. Compared with nuclear fission,
nuclear fusion gives almost no radioactivity and results
in no environment pollution.
Text II
Memorable quotes
1. Following the author’s analysis, what is the key
factor of the problem?
The author seems to suggest that “the villain,” i.e.
what is behind the immediate causes of global
warming, is humanity itself.
Text II
Memorable quotes
2. What do you think the author really wants to say
when you read between the lines of the last
paragraph of the passage?
What the author really wants to say is that humanity
should spend more time, work, and money to improve
the environment rather than support competing
military machines that can destroy us all.
Text II
Memorable quotes
Read the following quotes and try to tell the different
perspectives from which they deal with environmental
protection.
Guidance: The quotes warn against environmental
pollution from the social and individual perspective. In
the Summit on Climate Change held in Copenhagen in
2009, the Secretary-General said, “The objective of the
Summit on Climate Change … is to mobilize the political
will and vision needed to reach an ambitious agreed
outcome based on science ...” China has promised its
target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Now is the
moment to act for the common cause. The opportunity
and responsibility to avoid catastrophic climate change is
in our hands.
Text II
Memorable quotes
1. The Nation that destroys its soil
destroys itself.
— Franklin D. Roosevelt
If a country destroys the earth, it would destroy itself.
Text II
Memorable quotes
2. Do no disorder to the earth lest you
dishonor the spirit of man.
— Henry Beston
Do not bring disorder to the earth, otherwise you would
bring shame to the name of man.
Text II
Memorable quotes
Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882–1945) was the 32nd
President of the US.
Text II
Memorable quotes
Henry Beston (1888–1968) was an American writer and
naturalist.
Notation (type here)