Lesson 3 Ships in the Desert Al Gore 1Al GoreProfession: Author,Politician, Environmental Activist2Gore and ClintonGores running for Presidency31. Introduction about the authorAl Gore（1948-）：）：ServedintheUnitedStatesArmy(19691971);Profession:Author,Politician,EnvironmentalActivistPoliticalparty:DemocraticMemberoftheU.S.HouseofRepresentativesfromTennessee(19771985);UnitedStatesSenatorfromTennessee(19851993);45thVicePresidentoftheUnitedStates(January20,1993January20,2001)underPresidentBillClinton;Democratic Partys nominee for Presidentandlostthe2000U.S.presidentialelection(againstGeorgeW.BushJr.)despitewinningthepopularvote.4AlGorestwomainbooksonthethreatandsolutiontoglobal warming:Earth in the Balance (in1992) An Inconvenient Truth (2006)难以忽视的真相5The text is taken from Al Gores book Earth in the Balance. Gore demonstrates that the quality of our air and water is urgently at risk. He clearly illustrates how problems that once were regional have now become global. Gore argues for a worldwide mobilization to save us from disaster. 6Goreiscurrentlyanauthorandenvironmentalactivist.andhasreceivedaNobelPeacePrizeforhisworkinclimatechangeactivism.7global warmingGlobalwarmingreferstotheincreaseintheaveragetemperatureoftheEarthsnear-surfaceairandoceansinrecentdecadesanditsprojectedcontinuation.8main reason : greenhouse gases like CO2(carbon dioxide makes up about 70% of the greenhouse gases) ,methane甲烷甲烷, water vapor水蒸汽, nitrous oxide一氧化二氮一氧化二氮, and ozone臭氧. Main causes:excessive carbon dioxide emissions;Plant damageGlobal warming: 9Where is my home?Side effects:10The earths poles (极点极点) face snow melt rising sea levels, and drowned islands咦！这冰怎么就慢慢融化了呢？看来此地不宜久留呀！11water shortages12Questions：What should we do with global warming? Whats your attitude towards environment?And Al Gores?13Textual analysis14capable of processing a fifty-ton catch on a good day: havingtheabilityofcleaningandpreparingformarketingorcanningfifty-tonsoffishonaproductiveday.catch:theamountofsomethingcaught，theamountoffishcaughte.g.Theboatbroughtbackabigcatchoffish.15We were anchored in what used to be the most productive fishing site in all of central Asia, but as I looked out over the bow, the prospects of a good catch looked bleak. anchorn. a piece of heavy metal that is lowered to the bottom of the sea, lake, etc. to prevent a ship or boat moving16v. 1) to lower the anchor on a ship or boat to hold it in one placeWe anchored off the coast of Spain. 我们在西班牙沿海抛锚停泊。2) to fasten something firmly so that it cannot move 把把系住；使稳住；使固定系住；使稳住；使固定The shelves should be securely anchored to the wall.3) anchormana man who is the main news reader on a television or radio news programme 新闻节目主播 17but as I looked out over the bow, the prospects of a good catch looked bleak: ButasIlookedoutoverthebow,Icouldseetherewasnochanceforcatchinganyfish.Thisisobviouslyanunderstatementbecausewithsandallaroundtherewasnochanceofcatchingfish,tosaynothingofcatchingalotoffish.18look out: 1.当心2. 朝外看3. He looked out some detective story books for his friend.他为朋友挑选了几本侦探小说。4. My window looks out into a street.我的窗户面对着一条街。look over:toexaminesomethingquickly,withoutpayingmuchattentiontodetailDo you have a few minutes to look these samples over?19prospect: prospect of doing sth.Eg: I see no prospect of things improving here. be excited/alarmed/concerned etc. at the prospect (of sth)Eg: She wasnt exactly overjoyed at the prospect of looking after her niece.bleak: not hopeful; bare or empty; cold.20bleak:a)Ifasituationisbleak,itisbad,andseemsunlikelytoimprove.e.g.Hisfuturelookedbleak.thebleaknessofthepostwaryearsb)Ifaplaceisbleak,itlookscold,bare,andunattractivee.g.thebleakcoastlinec)Whentheweatherisbleak,itiscold,dull,andunpleasante.g.thebleakwintersd)Ifsomeonelooksorsoundsbleak,theyseemdepressed,hopeless,orunfriendlye.g.hisbleakfeatures21Understatement： theoppositeofhyperboleoroverstatement;representingsth.asmuchlessinmagnitudeorimportancethanitreallyis.Eg:Moneyiskindoftight,butIcanmanage.Ihavetohavethisoperation.Itisntveryserious.Ihavethistinylittletumoronthebrain.Myroomisntverymessybesidesthatthereareabouttwentybooksscatteredaroundtheroomwithtenorsopantsorshirtshangingaroundmybedarea. 22 lapv.(ofwaves)tohitsomethinggently,producingquietsoundsThe waves gently lapped the shore. lap sth up1)toenjoyoracceptsomethingwithoutworryingaboutwhetheritisgood,trueetc.欣然接受 Shes lapping up all the attention shes getting.2)舔食；The cat began to lap up the milk.in the lap of luxury 在优裕的环境中；穷奢极侈在优裕的环境中；穷奢极侈Eg:Shewasntusedtolivinginthelapofluxury.23, scattered in the dunes that stretched all the way to the horizon.scatter vt. / vi1) to throw or drop things in different directions so that they cover an area of groundThey scattered his ashes at sea.2) to move or to make people or animals move very quickly in different directionsThe sound of gunfire made the crowd scatter in all directions.24stretch:1) to spread over a large area or distanceThe refugee camps stretch as far as the eye can see.2) to go as far as or beyond the usual limit of somethingMany families budgets are already stretched to breaking point.We dont normally allow in people under 18, but I suppose we could stretch the rules for you as its your birthday tomorrow.25The Aral Sea26AmericasGreatLakes* the group of five freshwater lakes, central NorthAmerica,betweentheUnitedStatesandCanada,largestbodyoffreshwaterintheworld27Now it is disappearing because the water that used to feed it has been diverted in an ill-considered irrigation scheme to grow cotton in the dessert.Theschemewasanill-conceivedonebecauseitfailedtotakeintoconsiderationtheecologicaleffect.Nowitisbecomingsmallerandsmallerbecausethewaterthatusedtoflowintotheseahasbeenturnedawaytoirrigatethelandcreatedinthedeserttogrowcotton.28dock n& v.1)Ifashipdocks,itarrivesatadockandifsomeonedocksaship,theybringitintoadockEg: Hundreds of people turned up to see the ship dock at Southampton.2)totakeawaypartofsomething,especiallymoneyEg:Theyve docked 15% off my pay for this week.2930Para 2the sun glaring at midnight through a hole in the sky:midnight sun: phenomenon occurring only in the polar regionsa hole in the sky : ozone depletion 臭氧层空洞the sun shining at midnight through the ozone depletion31about the tunnel he was digging through timeabouttheicecoresamplemarkedbyannuallayers,whichcanshowthedifferentdegreesofpollutionfromyeartoyear.Thedeeperhedrilled,thefartherthesampleintime;inotherwords,thesurfaceoftheglacierisanindicationofrecenttimewhilethedeeperpartoftheglaciertellsofsituationofamuchmoreremoteperiod.32Slipping his parka back to reveal a badly burned face that was cracked and peeling, crackedadj.1)damagedwithlinesinitssurfacebutnotcompletelybroken;The mirror was cracked and dirty.2) (ofsbsvoice)soundingroughwithsuddenchangesinhowloudorhighitis,becausethepersonisupset;Im just fine, she said in a cracked voice.33He moved his finger back in time to the ice of two decades ago.Paraphrase:Followingthelayersoficeinthecoresample,hisfingercametotheplacewherethelayeroficewasformed20yearsago.34pick up speed/steam:to go fasterThe train was gradually picking up speed.35Para 3Industry meant coal, and later oil,and slowly warm the earth.Paraphrase:Thedevelopmentofindustrymeanttheuseoflargeamountsofcoalandlaterpetroleumasfuelstogeneratepower.Whencoalandoilareburned,theyemitcarbondioxide(CO2)intheairwhichkeepsmoreheatneartheearth.WhenthelevelofCO2emissionsintheairbecomeshigh,heatwillfinditdifficulttogetthroughittogointohigheraltitudes.Thusthetemperatureoftheearthgetswarmer.36upwind: adv.& adj.in the direction from which the wind is blowing or usually blows 逆风地；顶风地；逆风地；顶风地；to chart the course: to show the onward movement on an outline mapinexorable: that cannot be changed; unalterable37, pushing the end of a steep line still higher on the graph.Translation:把图表上一条斜度很大的上升的线再上推进38hover v.1)tostayclosetosth,ortostayinanuncertainstateTemperatures hovered around freezing.hover around/ between2)tostayinoneplaceintheair,usuallybymovingthewingsquicklyI heard the noise of a helicopter hovering overhead.hover over/ above39emerge: appearsubmerge: go below the surface of water;subconscious 下意识的；潜意识的subculture 亚文化；次文化subclass 亚纲，子集；子类submarine 水下的，海底的；潜艇 40Icecap411979200342ridge43Para 5Consideringsuchscenariosisnotapurelyspeculativeexercise.scenario：thewayinwhichasituationmaydevelop；speculative:thinking;pondering;guessingnotbasedonfactorinvestigation;Paraphrase:Thinkingabouthowaseriesofeventsmighthappenasaconsequenceofthethinningofthepolarcapisnotjustakindofpracticeinconjecture(speculation):ithasgotpracticalvalue.44a still controversial claimcontroversial adj.causing a lot of disagreement, because many people have strong opinions about the subject being discussed controversialist争论者，好争论者争论者，好争论者Paraphrase:a statement which some scientists still do not completely accept45 where billowing clouds of smoke regularly blacken the sky above the immense but now threatened Amazon rainforest.billow:1) if smoke, cloud, etc. billows, it rises and moves in a large massA great cloud of smoke billowed out of the chimney.2) (of a sail, skirt, etc.) to fill with air and swell outHer long skirt billowed in the breeze.46blacken:to become black, or make something blackThe thunder became louder and the sky blackened. blacken sbs name/character/reputationto say unpleasant things about someone in order to make other people have a bad opinion of themHe accused the newspaper of trying to blacken his name.47Amazon rainforest.TheBrazilianAmazoncontainsaboutathirdoftheEarthsremainingtropicalforestandaveryhighportionofitsbiologicaldiversity. 48Acre by acre, the rain forest is being burned to create fast pasture for fast-food beef.fastpastureforfast-foodbeef:alliterationParaphrase：Bitbybittreesintherainforestareburntandthelandisclearedandturnedintopasturewherecattlecanberaisedquicklyandslaughteredandthebeefcanbeusedinhamburgers.49, with more than one Tennessees worth of rainforests being slashed and burned each year.worth:equalinareaorsizeslash:cutwithasweepingstroke；（toreducecostsorjobsbyalargeamount.Eg：Everyoneagreesthatsubsidieshavetobeslashed.所有人都同意必须大幅度削减补贴。）Paraphrase:TheareaofrainforestburnedinoneyearisbiggerthanthestateofTennessee50, there are more different species of birds in each square mile of the Amazon than exist in all of North America which means we are silencing thousands of songs we have never even heard.Paraphrase：Sincemilesofforestarebeingdestroyedandthehabitatfortheserarebirdsnolongerexists,thousandsofbirdswhichwehavenotevenhadachancetoseewillbecomeextinct.Translation:51亚马逊雨林中每平方英里的林区栖息的禽鸟亚马逊雨林中每平方英里的林区栖息的禽鸟种类多于整个北美洲现存的禽鸟种类种类多于整个北美洲现存的禽鸟种类这就意味这就意味着我们正在使成千上万种我们从来没有听到过的飞着我们正在使成千上万种我们从来没有听到过的飞禽的歌声永远消失禽的歌声永远消失。52assaultn. 1) a violent attack by violence ;They launched an assault on the capital yesterday.2) a strong criticism.v. to attack someone violentlyHe has been charged with assaulting a police officer.53Image that signal the distress of our global environment are now commonly seen almost anywhere.distress: a state of extreme sorrow, suffering, pain or in extreme danger ;Paraphrase:Typical examples showing the dangerous environmental situation in the world can be found almost everywhere.54blot out phr. v.1)tocoverorhidesomethingcompletelyThick white smoke blotted out the sun.2) ifyoublotoutanunpleasantmemory,athoughtetc,youdeliberatelytrytoforgetitShe said she took drugs to blot out her problems.55, where it condenses at much higher altitudes to form more clouds that the suns rays still strike long after sunset has brought the beginning of night to the surface far beneath them.condense v.1) to reduce something, such as a speech or piece of writing, in lengthI condensed ten pages of comments into/to two.2) to change from a gas into a liquidSteam condenses into water when it cools.56beneath prep.1) in or to a lower position than sb/sthThey found the body buried beneath a pile of leaves.2) not good enough or not suitable for sbMany find themselves having to take jobs far beneath them. 很多人觉得自己在工作上被迫大材小用。57Translation: (虽说过去天空中偶尔也出现过夜光云团，)但大气层中所含的那些过量的甲烷会将更多的水蒸气带到高层大气中；水蒸气在更高处凝结，会形成更厚的云层，夜幕降临以后很久，这些位于高空的云层还在受着太阳光的照射。Theimplication：Thenightcomesearlierthantheupperpart.Thebalancebetweendayandnightisbroken.58Para 8What should we feel toward these ghosts in the sky sky? Simple wonder or the mix of emotions we feel at the zoo? the mix of emotions we feel at the zoo: excitement and guilt when we feel sorry for them because they have been deprived of freedom.Paraphrase:What should our attitude be toward these noctilucent clouds ? Should it only be a feeling of surprise and admiration or a combination of different feelings of excitement and guilt we experience in the zoo?59, just as men tear tusks from elephants heads in such quantity as to threaten the beast with extinction.tear v.1)topullorbepulledapart,ortopullpiecesoff;I tore my skirt on the chair as I stood up.2) toinjureamuscle,etc.bystretchingittoomuch;She had torn a muscle in her leg. tear down 拆毁拆毁;拆除拆除 tear away 逼逼离开离开;迫使迫使停止停止 He was enjoying the fun and couldnt tear himself away.60Paraphrase: Men are killing such large number of elephants for their tusks that the species is on the brink of extinction.61 whether its the new frequency of days when the temperature exceeds 100 degrees, the new speed with which the sun burns our skin, or the new constancy of public debate over what to do with growing mountains of waste.exceed: to be greater or more than.The success of our campaign has exceeded our wildest expectations.超出，超越（限制、规定等）超出，超越（限制、规定等）62constancy n.1) the quality of staying the same and not changingThe constancy of the speed of light seems, at first thought, unremarkable.2) the quality of being faithfulNever doubt the constancy of my love for you.63Translation: 或是气温超过一百度的高温天气出现频率的增加，或是太阳灼伤人的皮肤的速度的加快，或是公众对越积越多的废物该如何处理这一问题进行讨论的热情的高涨。64And why do other images, though sometimes equally dramatic, produce instead a kind of paralysis, focusing our attention not on ways to respond but rather on some convenient, less painful distraction?Paraphrase:Andwhydoothersymbols,thoughsometimesnolessstriking,onlycauseakindoflossandinactivityandweconcentrateourattentionnotonthewaystodealwiththembutinstead,onsomeothersubstituteswhichareeasytogetandlesspainful?65Translation:为什么另外一些现象，虽然有时也同样为什么另外一些现象，虽然有时也同样严重，却让人们无动于衷，人们的注意力不是严重，却让人们无动于衷，人们的注意力不是集中在寻求积极有效的对策而是某种方便省事集中在寻求积极有效的对策而是某种方便省事的规避策略呢的规避策略呢?e.g: gases from cars (distraction: people still want cars, and have an easy and less painful way to deal with this issue.)66Para 11 be reserved for: If something is reserved for a particular person or purpose, it is kept specially for that person or purpose.Eg: He gave me a look of the sort usually reserved for naughty school children.67Para 12Acid rain（酸雨）rain with a high concentration of acids produced by sulfur dioxide (二氧化硫) nitrogen oxide (氧化氮), etc. emitted during the combustion （氧化）of fossil fuels; it has a destructive effect on plant and aquatic (水中的) life, buildings, etc.68Problems like acid rain, the contamination of underground aquifers, and large oil spills are fundamentally regional.contaminate v.to spoil the purity of something or make it poisonousMuch of the coast has been contaminated by nuclear waste. contamination n.U69aquifer n.a layer of rock or soil that can absorb and hold water 含水土层spill n.an amount of something which has come out of a containerI wiped up the coffee spills on the table. spill into/onto phr vif light spills onto or into something, it shines through a window, door, hole etc onto something elseThe morning light spilled into the room.70oil spill71 and the survival of civilization is not at stake.at stake: that can be won or lost depending on the success of a particular action.在紧要关头Eg: The Chinese nation has reached a point where its very existence is at stake. 中华民族到了这生死存亡的关头。 stake sth on sb/sth 拿拿.打赌打赌/冒险冒险Kevin is staking his reputation on the success of the project.72, posing a worldwide threat to the earths ability to regulate the amount of heat from the sun retained in the atmosphere.pose v.1) to cause something, especially a problem or difficultyNuclear weapons pose a threat to everyone. pose sth to/for sb/sthRising unemployment is posing serious problems for the administration.2) pose a question ：to ask a question73retain v.1) to keep something or continue to have somethingHe managed to retain his dignity throughout the performance.2) to store or keep something inside something elseA lot of information can be retained in your computer.74This increase in heat seriously threatens the global climate equilibrium that determines the pattern of winds, rainfall, surface temperatures, ocean currents and sea level.Paraphrase:The global climate balance determines the pattern of winds rainfall, surface temperatures, ocean currents and sea level. Once this state of balance is upset, winds, rainfall, ocean currents will become abnormal; surface temperatures and sea level will rise.75But these changes, while sometimes appearing to be pervasive, have, until recently, been relatively trivial factors in the global ecological system.Paraphrase:Although sometimes these changes seem to be taking place everywhere in the world, they have, until recently, been relatively insignificant in their influence on the ecological system of the world.76But it is precisely that assumption which must now be discarded so that we can think strategically about our new relationship to the environment.Paraphrase:What we should get rid of is exactly that kind of view which has been taken for granted. Only when we have dropped such a view can we think in a long-term, overall way about our relationship to the environment.Para 1577Para 16So far, however, we seem oblivious of the fragility of the earths natural systems.Paraphrase:Up till now, we seem to be unaware of the fact that the earths natural systems are vulnerable and can easily be damaged.78Para 17that define the physical reality of our relationship to the earth: that determine the actual state of our relationship with nature.79, with the addition of one Chinas worth of people every ten years, worth: equal in size or numbere.g. The storm did thousands of pounds worth of damage (=did damage worth thousands of pounds).Paraphrase:Every ten years the newly added population will equal the population of China80Para 18 Julius Caesar : (102? B.C.- 44 B.C.), Roman statesman and general Christopher Columbus : (1451- 1506), discoverer of America, born Genoa, Italy Thomas Jefferson : 1743-1826) third President of the U.S. (1801-9), author of the Declaration of Independence.81Para 19 in the course of one human lifemine: during the life span of an individual my lifetimeit is already more than half way there: the world population is already more than half of that figure.82Now, in the course of one human lifetime mine the world population will increase from 2 to more than 9 billion, and it is already more than halfway there. Translation:而如今，在一个人我的一生的时间里，世界人口便能从二十亿增长到九十亿。目前，这个增长过程业已完成一大半。83Para 20making the consequence of unrestrained exploitation every bit as unthinkable as the consequences of unrestrained nuclear war: Paraphrase:this increased ability has made the results of unlimited use of global resources altogether as terrible as the results of full-scale nuclear war84While no single discoveryunrestrained nuclear war.Translation:虽然没有哪一单项的科学发现能够像核武器改变人类与战争的关系那样改变人类与地球的关系，但这些科学发现若结合在一起，却是千真万确地从根本上改变人类开发地球以求生存的积累能力，使得无控制地开发利用地球的后果与无控制的核战争的后果一样不堪设想。85They are symptoms of an underlying problem broader in scope and more serious than any we have ever faced.Paraphrase:They are signs and indications showing that there exists a much greater and more serious problem which we have never encountered.86 to see ourselves as part of a complex system that does not operate according to the same simple rules of cause and effect we are used to.see sb/sth as sthI see the job as a challenge.Paraphrase:to regard ourselves as part of a complicated system which does not function according to the rule of cause-effect we are familiar with87The problem is not our effect on the environment so much as our relationship with the environment.not so much.as.与其说是与其说是不如说是不如说是 used to say that one description of someone or something is less suitable or correct than anotherShe was not so much nervous as impatient for the journey to be over.88Paraphrase:What is involved is a matter of human relations with nature, rather than how mankind will affect nature.89As a result, any solution to the problem will require a careful assessment of that relationship as well as the complex interrelationship among factors within civilization and between them and the major natural components of the earths ecological system.assessment: opinion or judgement90Paraphrase:As a result, if we want to solve the problem, we will have to carefully weigh and determine how important that relationship is and how important is the complicated interconnection among factors inside human society and between these factors and the main natural parts of global ecological system.91Para 23：at best: 至多，充其量；顶多used to emphasize that something is not very good, pleasant, honest etc. even if you consider it in the best possible way.The technique is at best ineffective and at worst dangerous.92Structure Analysis1.Para1-7: The destruction around the world-TheAral,Antarctic,theArctic,theequator,aroundus2. Para 8-14: attitude and response toward theenvironmental crises:Classificationoftheimagesofdestruction-Local-Regional-Strategic/globalcontext3. Para 15-20: The dominant cause of the change -Humancivilization:population&technology4. Paras. 21-23: SolutionA.RecognizingthestarlingimagesofdestructionB.UnderstandingthetwoaspectsC.Changingtheviewoftherelationship93LanguageappreciationThe author developed this exposition by thecauseandeffectmethod.Hechosetypicalexamplestosupporthisideas.Tomakehiswritingclear,vividandforceful,heusedfiguresofspeechsuchasunderstatement, alliteration, metaphor, simile andrhetoricalquestion.94LanguageappreciationHisformalstyle,serioustoneaswellasmilitarymetaphorsindicatedthatenvironmentalprotectionisakindofwar.Although this writing is about a scientificresearchontheenvironment,thewriterusesveryfewtechnicaltermssothatordinarypeoplecanunderstanditeasily.95Words of Environmental crisis：imagesofdestruction,distressingimagespollution,contaminationmonitortheair,chartthecourse,measurements,graphpickupspeedglobalwarmingpolaricecap,thinningcaphole,ozonedepletionthelossoflivingspeciesdeforestation96acidrainthetemperaturerisingbillowingcloudsofsmokehumankindsassaultontheearththedistressofourglobalenvironmentghostlyimage,noctiluncentclouds,transparentwhitenessfrequency,constancythreatenthebeastwithextinctionprecedent:oneexampleinthepastexceeds100degreesFahrenheitdegrees38Celsiusdegrees97Words of the loss of ecological balance：upsetthebalancetheglobalclimateequilibriumtheglobalecologicalsystemtheearthsecologicalsystemtheearthsnaturalbalanceaphysicalmanifestationoftheviolentcollisionbetweenhumancivilizationandtheearththepatternofwinds,rainfall,surfacetemperatures,oceancurrents,andsealevelthedistributionofvegetativeandanimallifeonlandandsea98Wordsofchemistryoftheupperatmospherewatervaporcarbondioxidemethane,naturalgasgrowinggreen-housegaseschlorinechlorofluorocarbonsultravioletradiation99