大学英语听力教程第三册听力原文(第二版_张民伦主编).pdf

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1、大学英语听力教程第三册（第二版）听力原文UNIT1 Is the Earth Being Squeezed DryParti Getting readyB The Amazon forests are disappearing because of increased burningand tree removal.In September,satellite pictures showed more than20000 fires burning in the Amazon.Experts say most of these fireswere set by farmers.The farm

2、ers were attempting to clear land togrow crops.The World Wildlife Fund says another serious problemis that too many trees in the Amazon rain forest are being cut down.The World Wildlife Fund says the fires show the need for urgentinternational action to protect the worlds rain forests.The groupwarns

3、 that without such action some forests could be lost forever.2.Environmental issues swell to the full in Berlin this week,for the UN spongsoredconference on global warming and climate change is the first such meeting since the Riosummit three years ago.With scientists and governments now generally r

4、eady to acceptthat the earth climate is being affected by emissions of CO2 and other greenhouse gases,over a hundred countries are sending delegations.But how much progress has beenmade implementing the greenhouse gas reduction target agreed on at Rio?Simon Daryreports.Part2 The earth at riskI:Brian

5、 Cowles is the producer of a new series ofdocumentaries called The Earth at Risk which can be seen on Channel 4 later thismonth.Each program deals with a different continent,doesnt it,Brian?B:Thats right.We went to America,both North and South and then we wentover to Africa and South-East Asia.I:And

6、 what did you find in each of these continents?B:Starting with Africa,our film shows the impact of the population on theenvironment.Generally speaking,this has caused the Sahara Desert to expand.Its a bitof a vicious circle we find.People cut down trees for firewood and their domesticanimals eat all

7、 the available plants and so consequently they have to move south asthe Sahara Desert expands further south.I mean,soon the whole of Mali will become adesert.And in East Africa:here the grasslands are supporting too many animals and theresult is,of course,theres no grass nothing for the animals to e

8、at.I:I see.And the next film deals with North America?B:Thats right.In the USA,as you know,intensive agriculture requires a plentifulsupply of rain for these crops to grow,I mean if there isnt enough rain the crops dontgrow.And growing crops stabilize soil,without them the top soil just blows away.T

9、hisis also true for any region that is intensely farmed most of Europe,for example.I:And what did you find in South America?B:In South America(as in Central Africa and Southern Asia)tropical forests arebeing cut down at an alarming rate.This is done so that people can support themselvesby growing fo

10、od or to create ranches where cattle can be raised to be exported to Europeor America as tinned meat.The problem is that the soil is so poor that only a couple ofharvests are possible before this very thin soil becomes exhausted.And it cant be fedwith fertilizers like agricultural land in Europe.For

11、 example,in Brazil in 1982 an area of jungle the size of Britain and France combinedwas destroyed to make way for an iron ore mine.Huge numbers of trees are being cutdown for exports as hardwood to Japan,Europe,USA to make things like luxuryfurniture.These forests cant be replaced the forest soil is

12、 thin and unproductive andin just a few years,a jungle has become a waste land.Tropical forests contain rare plants(which we can use for medicines,for example)and animals one animal or plantspecies becomes extinct every half hour.These forest trees also have worldwide effects.You know,they convert c

13、arbon dioxide into oxygen.The consequence of destroyingforests is not only that the climate of that region changes(because there is less rainfall)but this change affects the whole world.I mean,over half the worlds rain forest hasbeen cut down this century.Part3 section A I-InterviewerB-Brian CowlesI

14、:So,Brian,would you agree that what we generally think of as natural disastersare in fact man-made?B:Yes,by and large.I mean,obviously not hurricanes or earthquakes,but takeflooding,for example.Practically every year,the whole of Bangladesh is flooded andthis is getting worse.You know,the cause is t

15、hat forests have been cut down up in Nepaland India,I mean higher up-river in the Himalayas.Trees would hold rainfall in theirroots,but if theyve been cut down all the rain that falls in the monsoon season flowssraight into the river Ganges and floods the whole country.The reason for flooding inSuda

16、n is the same the forests higher up the Blue Nile in Ethiopia have been destroyedtoo.I:Well,this all sounds terribly depressing.Um.What is to be done?I mean,can anything be done,in fact?B:Yes,of course it can.First,the national governments have to beforward-looking and consider the results of their

17、policies in ten or twenty years,not justthink as far ahead as the next election.Somehow,all the countries in the world have towork together on an international basis.Secondly,the population has to be controlled insome way:there are too many people trying to live off too little land.Thirdly,we dontne

18、ed tropical hardwood to make our furniture its a luxury people in the West must dowithout.Softwoods are just as good,less expensive and can be produced onenvironment-friendly tree farms,where trees are replaced at the same rate that they arecut down.I:And,presumably,education is important as well.Pe

19、ople must be educated torealize the consequences of their actions?B:Yes,of course.I:Well,thank you,Brian.sectionB I-Interviewer B-Brian CowlesI:So,Brian,would you agree that what we generally think of as.er.as er.natural disasters are in fact man-made?B:Yes,by and large.er.I mean,obviously not hurri

20、canes or earthquakes,buttake flooding,for example.I mean,practically every year,the whole of Bangladesh isflooded and this is getting worse.You know,the cause is that forests have been cut downup in Nepal and India.I mean.higher up-river in the Himalayas.Trees.er.wouldhold rainfall in their roots,bu

21、t if theyve been cut down all the rain that falls in themonsoon season flows straight into the river Ganges and floods the whole country.Thereason for flooding in Sudan is the same the forests higher up the Blue Nile inEthiopia have been destroyed too.Part4The world is warming up.We know this becaus

22、e average temperatures are thehighest since scientists started measuring them 600 years ago.The increase is about0.2 every year.This may seem very slight,but we know that slight changes intemperature can have a big effect on other things.Most scientists now believe this globalwarming is due to human

23、 activity.Jeff Jenkins is head of Britains Climate Prediction Center.He explains howglobal warming can happen.Sunlight strikes the earth and warms it up.At the same time heat leaves theearth,but part of that is trapped by carbon dioxide and other gases in the earthsatmosphere.That has been happening

24、 ever since the earth was formed.But the fear isthat increasing amounts of carbon dioxide produced by industrial processes and transportand so on will lead to a greater warming of the earths surface.So thats the golbalwarming that people are concerned about.People are most concerned about the use of

25、 fossil fuels.Fossil fuels are oil,coal,wood and so on.When these bum,they produce the gas carbon dioxide.Manyscientists agree that an increase in the amount of carbon dioxide and some of the gases inthe atmosphere will increase the amount of warming.Computers are being used topredict what this may

26、mean.They showed that there could be great changes in rainfalland the rise in the sea level as ice caps in the north and south poles melt.This could havea serious effect on agriculture according to Prof.Martin Perry of University College inLondon.He says it could become more difficult to grow food i

27、n the tropics at lowerlatitudes nearer to the equator.The most clear pattern emerging is the possibility of reduced potentialproduction in lower latitude regions,and most generally speaking,increased potential inhigher latitude regions.Lower latitude regions are already warm,to put it extremelysimpl

28、y,and plants there are quite near their limits of heat and drought stress.An increasein temperature or reduction in moisture would place limits on crop growth.Woman:Global warming could reduce food production in lower latitude regions.Lower latitude regions are already warm.Global warming could put

29、more stress on plansand place limits on crop growth.Food production is only one area that could be affected.There could alsobe health and social problems.Prof.Antony MacMichael of the London School ofHygiene and Tropical Medicine believes that some rural areas are already suffering.Andthe insects an

30、d bacteria could spread disease more easily.Already a number of rural populations around the world are suffering fromthe decline of agricultural systems.Climate change would add to this.And we wouldexpect that it would accelerate the flood of environmental refugees around the world.But it includes n

31、ot just the food production systems,but the patterns of distribution ofinsects and infective agents around the world.It includes likely effects on patterns ofhear-related food poisoning,water contamination and diarrhea diseases,lots of thingslike this that would respond sensitively to changes in cli

32、mate.Woman:Global warming could affect the distribution of insects.Global warmingcould change patterns of heat-related food poisoning.Many countries now agree that something must be done to reduce the danger ofglobal warming.But a worldwide agreement on lowering the production of carbondioxide has b

33、een difficult to reach.This is because many economies depend on fossilfuels like oil.Scientists believe its now the politicians in every region of the world whoneed to take action.Part5 Environment has taken rather a back seat politically since the Earth summitin Rio de Janeiro nearly 5 years ago.Bu

34、t the problems that meeting highlighted had notgone away.One environmental think tank the International Food Policy ResearchInstitute has been looking at the future of water and its report reflects growingconcern at the huge leap in usage over the past few years.In some parts of the world,water cons

35、umption has increased five fold.And theinstitute,known by its initials IFPRI,says shortages could soon become the trigger forconflict and a major barrier to feeding the worlds growing population.Heres RichardBlack of our Science Unit.Its often been said that water rather than oil will be the cause o

36、f warfare in thenext century.According to the IFPRI report,the time when that happens might not be faraway.The number of people aifected by water shortage will increase ten fold over thenext 30 years,it says,which could well lead to large scale conflicts.The main reason why water is becoming a scarc

37、e resource is agriculture,whichnow accounts for 70%of water consumption worldwide,90%in some developingcountries.Countless farmers have switched from growing indigenous crops for the homemarket to high yield export varieties,which inevitably need far more water.But theIFPRI report says that in some

38、regions water shortage is now the single biggestimpediment to feeding the population.Water scarcity also leads to water pollution.In theIndian State of West Bengal,for example,over extraction of water from bore holes hasled to arsenic poisoning which is estimated to have affected two million people

39、so far.But the IFPRI report calls for better water management worldwide including financialincentives to encourage conservation.Unit 2Unit2PartlA:Hello,Im calling on behalf of the World Wildlife Fund.B:The what?A:The World Wildlife Fund.If youve got a few minutes Id like to tell youwhat that means.B

40、:Oh,all right.A:We work to conserve natural areas that containendangered wildlife.The seas,for example,havebecome polluted by the industrialized world;whales arebeing hunted to extinction;turtles are rolled off theireggs when they come ashore to breed or areslaughtered for their meat and oil.B:Oh.A:

41、Crocodiles are killed to make handbags andshoes;walruses are hunted for their ivory.B:I see.A:Seals are bludgeoned to death to provide furcoats and the threat of extinction hangs over severalspecies of whale,dolphin and porpoise.B:Really.A:We are now campaigning to provide sea sanctuaries for some o

42、f these endangeredspecies.B:Very interesting.A:Aided by our campaign,protected nesting sites for turtles have already been setup.As you can see,this is very valuable work and I wonder therefore if youd like tomake a donation?Part2 John James Audubon was an American artist in the early 1800s,whoillus

43、trated birds in their natural habitats.The Society named after him was founded inthe late 1800s by conservationists concerned with the decline of birds,which were beingkilled so their feathers could be used in the manufacture of womens hats.Sponsored by the National Audubon Society,more than 40 000

44、volunteers willbe outside counting birds from today until January 3rd.Volunteers from all 50 states ofthe United States,every Canadian province,parts of Central and South America,Bermuda,the West Indies and Pacific islands have begun to count and record everyindividual bird and bird species observed

45、 during the two and one half week period of thecount.Jeffrey LeBaron is the National Audubon Societys Christmas Bird Counteditor.He says the count is the longest-running bird census in ornithology.This year,according to Mr.LeBaron,more than 1 600 separate bird countshave been scheduled.Some would ha

46、ve as few as 10 people taking part,others withhundreds.The logistics of the Christmas bird count,he adds,are simple.Each individual count is in a circle.Its a 15 mile diameter circle,um,aroundthe exact center point.And its always the exactly same area thats done every year,usually,even on the same w

47、eekend during the count period.And what the ideal would be,which is virtually impossible,is this census:every single individual bird within thatcircle on the count day.Mr.LeBaron says experienced bird counters can get a good idea of the totalbird populations within the count circle based on the numb

48、er of birds they actually see.The editor points out,however,that the counts are not only for experienced birdwatchers.Anybody that is interested or concerned can become involved.Beginners willgo out in a party with experienced individuals who know both the area and the birds inthe area,in the field

49、where more eyes and ears are better.And then anybody can pointout a bird,and someone in the field will always be able to identify the bird.Part3A Alan Tu R Rick Troud D Deborah Duffield P PeterJonesJ-Jean Michel CousteauAlan Tu is an announcer for Colorado Public Radio;Peter Jones is a reporter forC

50、olorado Public Radio.The other speakers are identified in the report.A:A planned aquatic park in Denver is raising the ire of animal rights activists whoobject to a proposal to include a captive dolphin display.Although officials forColorados Ocean Journeys say they have yet to make a final decision