完整word版高级英语第三课ShipsintheDesertdocx.docx
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完整word版高级英语第三课ShipsintheDesertdocx
Lesson3ShipsintheDesert
ALGore
1.Iwasstandinginthesunonthehotsteeldeckofafishingshipcapableofprocessinga
fifty-toncatchonagoodday.Butitwasn’tagoodday.Wewereanchoredinwhatusedtobeth
mostproductivefishingsiteinallofcentralAsia,butasIlookedoutoverthebow,theprospectsof
agoodcatchlookedbleak.Wherethereshouldhavebeengentleblue-greenwaveslappingagainst
thesideoftheship,therewasnothingbuthotdrysand——asfarasIcouldseeinalldirect
Theothershipsofthefleetwerealsoatrestinthesand,scatteredinthedunesthatstretchedallthe
waytothehorizon.TenyearsagotheAralwasthefourth-largestinlandseaintheworld,
comparabletothelargestofNorthAmerica’GreatsLakes.Nowitisdisappearingbecausethe
waterthatusedtofeedithasbeendivertedinanill-consideredirrigationschemetogrowcottonin
thedesert.Thenewshorelinewasalmostfortykilometersacrossthesandfromwherethefishing
fleetwasnowpermanentlydocked.Meanwhile,inthenearbytownofMuynakthepeoplewere
stillcanningfish——broughtnotfromtheAralSeabutshippedbyrailthroughSiberiafromthe
PacificOcean,morethanathousandmilesaway.
2.Mysearchfortheunderlyingcausesoftheenvironmentalcrisishasledmetotravelaround
theworldtoexamineandstudymanyoftheseimagesofdestruction.Attheverybottomofthe
earth,highintheTrans-AntarcticMountains,withthesunglaringatmidnightthroughaholeinthe
sky,Istoodintheunbelievablecoldnessandtalkedwithascientistinthelatetallof1988aboutthe
tunnelhewasdiggingthroughtime.Slippinghisparkabacktorevealabadlyburnedfacethatwas
crackedandpeeling,hepointedtotheannuallayersoficeinacoresampledugfromtheglacieron
whichwewerestanding.Hemovedhisfingerbackintimetotheiceoftwodecadesago.
wheretheU.SCongresspassedtheCleanAirAct,”hesaid.Atthebottomoftheworld,two
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continentsawayfromWashington,D.C.,evenasmallreductioninonecountry'semissionshad
changedtheamountofpollutionfoundintheremotestendleastaccessibleplaceonearth.
3.Butthemostsignificantchangethusfarintheearth’satmosphereistheonethatbe
theindustrialrevolutionearlyinthelastcenturyandhaspickedupspeedeversince.Industry
meantcoal,andlateroil,andwebegantoburnlotsofit——bringingrisinglevelsofcarbon
dioxide(CO2),withitsabilitytotrapmoreheatintheatmosphereandslowlywarmtheearth.
FewerthanahundredyardsfromtheSouthPole,upwindfromtheicerunwaywheretheskiplane
landsandkeepsitsenginesrunningtopreventthemetalpartsfromfreeze-lockingtogether,
scientistsmonitortheairseveraltimeseverydaytochartthecourseofthatinexorablechange.
Duringmyvisit,Iwatchedonescientistdrawtheresultsofthatday’smeasurements,
endofasteeplinestillhigheronthegraph.Hetoldmehoweasyitis——thereatthe
earth——toseethatthisenormouschangeintheglobalatmosphereisstillpickingupspeed.
4.TwoandahalfyearslaterIsleptunderthemidnightsunattheotherendofourplanet,ina
smalltentpitchedonatwelve-toot-thickslaboficefloatinginthefrigidArcticOcean.Aftera
heartybreakfast,mycompanionsandItraveledbysnowmobilesafewmilesfarthernorthtoa
rendezvouspointwheretheicewasthinner——onlythreeandahalffeetthick——and
submarinehoveredinthewaterbelow.Afteritcrashedthroughtheice,tookonitsnewpassengers,
andresubmerged,Italkedwithscientistswhoweretryingtomeasuremoreaccuratelythe
thicknessofthepolaricecap,whichmanybelieveisthinningasaresultofglobalwarming.Ihad
justnegotiatedanagreementbetweenicescientistsandtheU.S.Navytosecurethereleaseof
previouslytopsecretdatafromsubmarinesonartracks,datathatcouldhelpthemlearnwhatis
happeningtothenorthpolarcap.Now,Iwantedtoseethepoleit-self,andsomeeighthoursafter
wemetthesubmarine,wewerecrashingthroughthatice,surfacing,andthenIwasstandinginan
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eerilybeautifulsnowscape,windsweptandsparklingwhite,withthehorizondefinedbylittle
hummocks,or“pressureridges”oficethatarepushedupliketinymountainrangeswhenseparate
sheetscollide.Butheretoo,CO2,levelsarerisingjustasrapidly,andultimatelytemperaturewill
risewiththem——indeed,globalwarmingisexpectedtopushtemperaturesupmuchmorerapidly
inthepolarregionsthanintherestoftheworld.Asthepolarairwarms,theiceherewillthin;and
sincethepolarcapplayssuchacrucialroleintheworld’sweathersystem,theconsequ
thinningcapcouldbedisastrous.
5.Consideringsuchscenariosisnotapurelyspeculativeexercise.SixmonthsafterIreturnedfromtheNorthPole,ateamofscientistsreporteddramaticchangesinthepatternoficedistributionintheArctic,andasecondteamreportedastillcontroversialclaim(whichavarietyofdatanowsuggest)that,overall,thenorthpolarcaphasthinnedby2percentinjustthelastdecade.
Moreover,scientistsestablishedseveralyearsagothatinmanylandareasnorthoftheArcticCircle,
thespringsnowmeltnowcomesearliereveryyear,anddeepinthetundrabelow,thetemperature
oftheearthissteadilyrising.
*
6.Asithappens,someofthemostdisturbingimagesofenvironmentaldestructioncanbe
foundexactlyhalfwaybetweentheNorthandSouthpoles——preciselyatheequatorinBrazil
——wherebillowingcloudsofsmokeregularlyblackentheskyabovetheimmensebutnowthreatenedAmazonrainforest.Acrebyacre,therainforestisbeingburnedtocreatefastpastureforfast-foodbeef;asIlearnedwhenIwentthereinearly1989,thefiresaresetearlierandearlierinthedryseasonnow,withmorethanoneTennessee’worthsofrainforestbeingslashedandburnedeachyear.Accordingtoourguide,thebiologistTomLovejoy,therearemoredifferentspeciesofbirdsineachsquaremileoftheAmazonthanexistinallofNorthAmerica
meanswearesilencingthousandsofsongswehaveneverevenheard.
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*
7.Butonedoesn'thavetotravelaroundtheworldtowitnesshumankind’sassaulton
Imagesthatsignalthedistressofourglobalenvironmentarenowcommonlyseenalmostanywhere.
Onsomenights,inhighnorthernlatitudes,theskyitselfoffersanotherghostlyimagethatsignals
thelossofecologicalbalancenowinprogress.Iftheskyisclearaftersunset——a
watchingfromaplacewherepollutionhasn'tblottedoutthenightskyaltogether——youcan
sometimesseeastrangekindofcloudhighinthesky.This“noctilucentcloud”occasionally
appearswhentheearthisfirstcloakedintheeveningdarkness;shimmeringaboveuswitha
translucentwhiteness,thesecloudsseemquiteunnatural.Andtheyshould:
noctilucentcloudshave
beguntoappearmoreoftenbecauseofahugebuildupofmethanegasintheatmosphere.(Also
callednaturalgas,methaneisreleasedfromlandfills,fromcoalminesandricepaddies,from
billionsoftermitesthatswarmthroughthefreshlycutforestland,fromtheburningofbiomassand
fromavarietyofotherhumanactivities.)Eventhoughnoctilucentcloudsweresometimesseenin
thepast,allthisextramethanecarriesmorewatervaporintotheupperatmosphere,whereit
condensesatmuchhigheraltitudestoformmorecloudsthatthesun’sraysstillstrikelon
sunsethasbroughtthebeginningofnighttothesurfacefarbeneaththem.
8.Whatshouldwefeeltowardtheseghostsinthesky?
Simplewonderorthemixofemotions
wefeelatthezoo?
Perhapsweshouldfeelaweforourownpower:
justasmenteartusksfrom
elephants’headsuchinquantityastothreatenthebeastwithextinction,wearerippingmatter
fromitsplaceintheearthinsuchvolumeastoupsetthebalancebetweendaylightanddarkness.In
theprocess,weareonceagainaddingtothethreatofglobalwarming,becausemethanehasbeen
oneofthefastest-growinggreen-housegases,andisthirdonlytocarbondioxideandwatervapor
intotalvolume,changingthechemistryoftheupperatmosphere.But,withoutevenconsidering
thatthreat,shouldn’ittstartleusthatwehavenowputthesecloudsintheeveningskywhich
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glistenwithaspectrallight?
Orhaveoureyesadjustedsocompletelytothebrightlightsof
civilizationthatwecan’seetthesecloudsforwhattheyare——aphysicalmanifestationofthe
violentcollisionbetweenhumancivilizationandtheearth?
*
9.Eventhoughitissometimeshardtoseetheirmeaning,wehavebynowallwitnessed
surprisingexperiencesthatsignalthedamagefromourassaultontheenvironment——
thenewfrequencyofdayswhenthetemperatureexceeds100degrees,thenewspeedwithwhich
thesunburnsourskin,orthenewconstancyofpublicdebateoverwhattodowithgrowing
mountainsofwaste.Butourresponsetothesesignalsispuzzling.Whyhaven’wetlauncheda
massiveefforttosaveourenvironment?
Tocomeatthequestionanotherway:
Whydosome
imagesstartleusintoimmediateactionandfocusourattentionorwaystorespondeffectively?
And
whydootherimages,thoughsometimesequallydramatic,produceinsteadaKin.ofparalysis,
focusingourattentionnotonwaystorespondbutratheronsomeconvenient,lesspainful
distraction?
10.Still,therearesomanydistressingimagesofe
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