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Directions: You are expected to study this section in class. Don’t preview.
- Word Pretest
For each italicized word, choose the best meaning below.
1. They were in a vulnerable position, with the enemy on the hill above them.
A. well protected
B. easily attacked
C. completely isolated
2. Their happiness was very fragile.
A. easily destroyed
B. likely to last
C. obviously seen
3. The stream overflowed and submerged the farmland.
A. washed away
B. irrigated
C. covered…with water
4. A layer of fine soil was deposited by winds carrying desert dust.
A. carried away
B. laid down
C. lifted up
5. They invented a weapon that would be devastating against truck convoys.
A. protective
B. defensive
C. destructive
6. They roamed around the fields in complete forgetfulness of the time.
A. wandered with no very clear purpose
B. walked with difficulty
C. walked with a fixed purpose
7. Virtually all the members were in agreement with the proposal.
A. Nearly
B. Clearly
C. Surprisingly
8. The development of beach resorts forced the Hawaiian geese out of their habitat.
A. habit
B. natural home
C. peaceful life
9. The little boy escaped with an agile leap.
A. able to move quickly and easily
B. able to move slowly and easily
C. able to move quickly and clumsily
10. His new farm buildings encroach on his neighbor's land.
A. share the border with
B. take more than what is right
C. enclose
2 Text
2.1Cultural Background
Adlai E．Stevenson：史蒂文森(1900-1965)，美国民主党政治家。生于洛杉矶，普林斯顿大学毕业。当过律师。1943—1945年被美国国务院派遣出使欧洲。1948年选为伊利诺州州长。他参加组建联合国，1952年和1956年两次被提名为总统候选人，与艾森豪威尔竞选。1961—1965年任美国驻联合国大使。卒于伦敦。
Nile River：尼罗河，非洲东部和东北部河流，世界最长河流。自其最远处的河源卢维龙机河计起，全长6695公里。卢维龙机河源自布隆迪中南部，大体上东北流向，其间各河段因流经地域不同而名称各异，最后注入西部的维多利亚湖。维多利亚尼罗河北流，经基奥加湖入艾伯特湖东北端。艾伯特尼罗河向北流，穿出乌干达西北部到苏丹边境，称为白尼罗河。白尼罗河在喀士穆与蓝尼罗河汇合，成为世界闻名的尼罗河。尼罗河由此至地中海人海处的尼罗河三角洲，约3000公里。其东部支流阿特巴拉河是惟一的重要支系。尼罗河进入埃及境内时，先流入因构筑亚斯文水库而形成的约瑟湖。到了开罗以北则扩展成一辽阔的三角洲，东西距离250公里，南北距离160公里。河水自三角洲两侧出，形成罗塞塔河口与达米埃塔河口，全长约240公里。埃及的人口和耕地几乎全部集中在尼罗河两边的冲积平原上。
Aswan High Dam: 即阿斯旺水坝，埃及尼罗河上的一座巨大的重力坝。位于小阿斯旺水坝上游6．4公里。高111公尺，长3600公尺，水力发电能力为2100兆瓦。
The Hawaiian Goose: 指夏威夷雁，鸭科鸟类。一种罕见的雁。产于夏威夷的高地。翅短、蹼小，食果实和草。英语又称为nene。到1950年仅存不足50只，经人工豢养已使其数量增加至两千只以上。
In 1965 the American statesman Adlai E Stevenson said, "We all travel together, passengers on a little spaceship, dependent on its vulnerable supplies of air and soil. We manage to survive by the care, work, and love we give our fragile craft" Our planet is indeed fragile Every living thing on this planet is part of a complicated web of life, for no organism lives entirely on its own. Every organism is affected by all that surrounds it whether living or nonliving. And in turn each organism has some effect on its surroundings.
Even the most elementary understanding of ecology requires knowledge of this
cause/effect relationship all organisms have on each other. Every thing we do to our environment will in one way or another affect the quality of life we experience on this tiny spaceship. If we want the quality of life to be high, we must be more aware that nature is a finely balanced mechanism and that it will not tolerate the abuse we have been giving it Consider the following examples of human ignorance concerning the delicate balance of nature.
Aswan and Other Fables
"Once there was a country that desperately needed food and energy for its growing population. It happened that one of the most magnificent rivers in the world flowed through this country. Each year the river deposited ions of mineral-rich silt on its fertile floodplain before it reached the sea. Why not dam the river, said the country's leaders, and use the water to irrigate more land, control the annual spring flooding of the river, and provide hydroelectric power all at the same time? The result of this modern-day fairy tale is known as the billion-dollar Aswan High Dam of Egypt, and not all Egyptians are living happily ever after.
"For one thing, as water backed up behind the dam, almost 100,000 Egyptians had to choose between giving up their family homes or being submerged along with ancient and priceless temples that were part of Egypt's cultural heritage. But there have been far more devastating results. Now that the Nile River floodplain is deprived of its annual enrichment with silt, artificial fertilizer has to be trucked in at a cost of 100 million dollars a year --- a cost carried by the subsistence farmers who make, on the average, less than a hundred dollars a year each. Furthermore, now there is nothing to wash away the previous year's silt buildup in the soil. And with silt deposits no longer compensating for erosion, the fertile river delta is shrinking -- and an alarming part of what remains has completely dried up Restoring the delta with pumps, drains, and wells may cost more than the dam itself.
"Ironically, evaporation as well as bottom seepage from the new lake filling in behind the dam is so great that the lake basin may never fill up to predicted levels So nobody can live around the lake because nobody knows for sure where the shoreline will be More seriously, there is less water to go around than there was before. And even though some 700,000 new acres (about 1.6 million hectares) have been opened up for agriculture, the population outgrew the potential food increase even before the dam was finished At the same time, with the nutrient-rich flow of the Nile turned off, another major food source the sardines, shrimp, and mackerel that flourished in the enriched waters off the delta -- has declined catastrophically Worse yet, the lake and the irrigation networks have so accelerated the spread of blood flukes that half the Egyptian populace are now carriers of schistosomiasis. In irrigated areas, where eight out often humans live, women can expect to live only to age twenty-seven, men to age twenty-five."
The Hawaiian Goose
Another clear example of human ignorance of nature's delicate balance is seen in the near extinction of the Hawaiian Goose or Nene. It was estimated in the late eighteenth century that the population of Hawaii's unique variety of goose stood at about 25,000. In a matter of fifty years the population had dropped to approximately thirty birds. There were undoubtedly multiple causes for the decline in the Nene population, and virtually all of them resulted, either directly or indirectly, from humans.
The most disastrous activities of humans included hunting with firearms, ranching activities, and the building of beach resorts There is little doubt that the Nene's near extinction was hastened after shotguns were brought to Hawaii It seems reasonable to assume that many more Nene were killed when guns became common. In a similar fashion, as people moved further inland on the islands they began to open more and more land for the development of ranches and beach resorts. These developments forced the geese out of their natural nesting and breeding ranges As these ranches and resorts became more plentiful, the Nene population accordingly decreased.
The most harmful indirect effect of humans' activities was the introduction of animals such as cattle, goats, mongooses, and game birds. When cattle Were first brought to the islands, King Kamehameha proclaimed a tan-year protection of the animals They were allowed to roam the islands unrestrained They multiplied rapidly, and as they did they moved further and further into the virgin forests, destroying many of the plants that provided food and shelter for the Nene The goats that were introduced to the islands were even more destructive to the Nene'natural habitat. Because the goats were more agile, not only could they reach the plants at the lower elevations, but they also moved into the high-lands. In 1882, the mongoose was introduced to Hawaii in hopes that it would control the rats that were doing great damage in the sugar cane fields The mongoose neither solved the rat problem nor remained in the sugar cane fields. As it moved out of the cane fields, it did what it does naturally: it became a predator of ground-nesting birds -- including the Nane. The game birds introduced to Hawaii (quail, turkey, and guinea hen) all encroached on the Nene's already severely limited natural range. With the limited land space that an island has, the Nene had no escape route and no time to build defenses against these rapidly arriving unnatural opponents.
By the 1940s, the Nene population had dwindled to a number so low that almost nothing could be done to save this unique, tame, land-living goose It had become a classic example of our unconscious destruction of nature.
Mosquito Plague
"Still another famous incident drives home the intricate relationships within our ecosystem. Some years ago, large quantities of DDT were used by the World Health Organization in a program of mosquito control in Borneo. Soon the local people, spared a mosquito plague, began to suffer a plague of caterpillars, which devoured the thatched roofs of their houses, causing them to fall in The habits of the caterpillars limited their exposure to DDT, but predatory wasps that had formerly controlled the caterpillars were devastated.
"Further spraying was done indoors to get rid of houseflies The local gecko
lizards, which previously had controlled the flies, continued to gobble their corpses--- now full of DDT. As a result ,the geckos were poisoned, and the dying geckos were caught and eaten by house cats. The cats received doses of DDT, which had been concentrated as it passed from fly to gecko to cat, and the cats died. This led to another plague, now of rats. They not only devoured the people’s food but also threatened them with yet another plague—this time the genuine article, bubonic plague the government of Borneo became so concerned that cats were parachuted into the area in an attempt to restore the balance.
These are only three of many examples of our misunderstanding and mistreatment of the environment. Every thing we do to the environment will in one way or another affect other living things around us. Every time a factory dumps chemicals, a power plant burns coal, a corporation builds a new resort, or hunters overkill a species of animal, a chain reaction is started that may have harmful, long-range consequences. The more we try to understand, control, and compensate for those consequences before they are set in motion, the more harmoniously we will be able to live on this delicately balanced “tiny spaceship”.
Total words:1 395
Total Reading Time_______
The text is based on Beyond Words by Mark O. James and Norman W Evans,
Prentice Hall Regents, 1989.
◆ Reading Comprehension
Circle the letter of the best answer.
1 Everything we do to our environment will _________.
A. improve the complicated web of life
B. break the finely balanced mechanism of life
C. affect the quality of life
D. destroy the cause/effect relationship of life
2 The leaders of Egypt decided to dam the Nile for the following purposes
except_________.
A. using the water to irrigate more land
B. controlling the flooding of the river in spring
C. shipping in artificial fertilizer
D. providing hydroelectric power
3 After the Aswan High Dam was built, __________.
A. almost 100, 000 Egyptians were submerged along with ancient temples
B. each year tons of mineral-rich silt were deposited on the Nile River floodplain
C. artificial fertilizer has to be tracked in
D. the Egyptians started restoring the delta with pumps, drains and wells
4. Nobody can live around the new lake because__________.
A. bottom seepage from the new lake is great
B. one major food source has declined
C. nobody knows for sure where the shoreline will be
D. there is the spread of blood flukes in the area
5. In a matter of fitly years the population of the Nene __________.
A. increaded from thirty to 25 00
B. increased from thirty to 25 000
C. dropped from 2500 to thirty
D. dropped from 25 000 to thirty
6. The mongoose was introduced to Hawaii in the hope that _________.
A. it would protect the Nene
B. it would control the rats
C. it would multiply rapidly
D. it would kill game birds
7. We may infer that __________.
A. DDT cannot kill the caterpillars
B. the wasps cause the mosquito plague
C. with the help of DDT, the local people's living condition was improved
D. DDT was unable to reach the caterpillars that had the habit of hiding in the thatched roofs
8. In the last paragraph, the author suggests that ____________.
A. since everything we do to the enviroment affects other living things around us, we should never tamper with nature
B. since everything we do the enviroment affects other living things around us, we could do nothing to prevent the chain reaction
C. since everything we do to the environment may have harmful consequences, we will never live harmoniously on our planet
D. since everything we do to the environment may have harmful consequences, we should try our best to understand, control and compensate for those consequences
◆Key to Reading Comprehension
◆Vocabulary Building
Definition
Define the following terms in your own words.
ecology
a delicate balance of nature
mechanism
ecosystem
a chain reaction
Idiom
Complete the following sentences with the appropriate idiomatic expressions which are related to the idea of PERSEVERANCE .Make sure it fits the blanks.
go through with hang in there
give up stick with sweat….. out
1. Even though things get hard, don't _________.
2. We decided to the new highway.
3. I know if I , things will come out okay.
4. I'll _________my ideas whether you like them or not.
5. I had to wait for her in the reception area. It was a long wait, but I managed to _________it __________.
General Vocabulary Exercise
Choose the word that correctly completes the sentence.
1. Since your teacher has________ the time for a talk with you, you must make sure that you will be there on time.
A. predicted B. made
C. specified D. classified
2. If you have mosquito problem, remember that they reproduce in water. Be sure to __________ these spots in and around your home.
A. occupy B. release
C. eliminate D. investigate
3. Hot metal ______ as it grows colder.
A. compresses B. reduces
C. contracts D. condenses
4. They_____ the project to the board for approval.
A .submitted B. permitted
C. admitted D. committed
5. He said he could not _____all the information given in the broadcast
A. adhere B. admire
C. absorb D. accumulate
6. I don't know if this is true, but I'll try to _____ it.
A. identify B. reinforce
C. verify D. conform
7. Going round to the bank was part of the _____of her work.
A. routine B. revenue
C. remedy D. relief
8. Since the couple couldn't _____their differences, they decided to get a divorce.
A. resume B. repel
C. reconcile D. revise
9 Jim badly ___________ his back digging in the garden last night.
A. exerted B. strained
C. pulled D. stretched
10. Although the arguments were
A. apparent B. universal
C. exceptional D. rational
Key
Analogies
Select the lettered pair that expressed a relationship similar to that expressed in the original pair.
1. GROUP: INDIVIDUAL:
A. mountain: tree B. garden: bower
C. archipelago: island D. galaxy: planets
2. BIOGRAPHY: AUTOBIOGRAPHY:
A. mobile: automobile B. testimony: confession
C. dead: living D .author: performer
3. BASEMENT: ATTIC:
A. pinnacle: apex B. nadir: zenith
C. zenith: root D. nadir: foundation
4. SCHOLARLY: ERUDITE:
A. teacher: lawyer B. teacher: headmaster
C. reader: hermit D. ignorant: illiterate
5. HYPOCRISY: HONESTY:
A. pugnacity: pacifism B. belligerence: inhumanity
C. authenticity: quality. D. literature: philosophy
6. WEALTH: INDIGENT:
A. satisfaction: happy B. money: aristocracy
C. food: emaciated D. jewelry: nobility
7. HAMMER: CARPENTER:
A .road: driver B. kitchen: cook
C. letter: secretary D. knife: butcher
8. EMBRACE: AFFECTION:
A. jeer: sullenness B. flattery: love
C. frown: displeasure D. cooperation: respect
Key
◆ Cloze
Read through the following passage and then decide which of the choices given below would correctly complete the passage if inserted in the corresponding blanks.
It was during the 1960s that ecology, a small and relatively unimportant 1 of biology rose to the attention of the United Sates public．Science and medicine had 2 great advances in madding life easier, longer, and 3 comfortable. People became so reliant 4 technology they were sure science could solve almost any 5 .In the early 1960s, however, as populations became larger and open space 6 available, people started to 7 that there was one problem technology didn’t have a quick-fix solution for --- the mistreatment of the environment.
The s science of 8 studies the ways humans can exist on this planet 10 destroying the very systems that sustain life. Nature abides by very 11 laws and an extremely delicate check and balance system. When those laws and that system are upset, the 12 can be devastating. It is an ecologist’s job to see to it that the laws and system are not violated.
1. A. role B. branch C. subject D. point
2. A. made B. done C. had D. caused
3. A. much B. very C. more D. less
4. A. of B. about C. about D. at
5. A. matter B. problem C. trouble D. way
6. A. less B. more C. little D. not
7. A. know B. think C. realize D. ask
8. A. biology B. ecology C. nature D. environment
9. A. natural B. original C. old D. normal
10. A. by B. not C. when D. without
11. A. few B. strict C. complicated D. reasonable
12.A. results B. nature C. system D. proble
key
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