SAMPLE
A: In my opinion, we must give priority to economic growth. At present China‘s
economy is not strong enough, and the per-capita GDP is much smaller than those of advanced countries.
B: I beg to differ. Compared with 30 years ago, the Chinese economy has developed a great deal, and at the same time it has produced a lot of pollution. It is high time we gave environmental conservation serous consideration.
A: It seems to me that it‘s more urgent for us to improve people‘s life. If we don‘t boost our economy, we can‘t raise the living standards..
B: I‘d like to draw your attention to the fact that environmental problems are already affecting people‘s lives. Didn‘t you hear that the poisonous substances factories dump into rivers are killing fish and causing cancer among people?
A: Well, you have a point there, but we should be aware that an economically backward nation is also militarily weak, and therefore it tends to be bullied by stronger countries.
B: If China wants to follow the trend toward economic globalization, it has to meet the international environmental criteria. Even if you can make a lot of products, they can‘t be exported if they are environmentally unfriendly.
A: OK, people we‘d better combine out point of view and strike a balance between economic growth and environmental conservation.
B: That certainly makes sense. What we need is sustainable development.
A: To achieve this goal, we have to burn less coal, petroleum and wood because they can‘t e reproduced easily.
B: Right on, we can rely more on solar energy. We can also make more use of water power if the dams we build don‘t present great environmental hazards.
A: Also, we should not build so many roads because they occupy so much farmland. B: Yeah, we should turn more to water transportation. By transporting more cargo along rivers and the coast, we can ease the burden on highway transportation.
VI. Further Listening and Speaking
Task1: The environment and the development Script
Li: Hi Professor Wang, I‘m Li Lin, a correspondent from the University
Newspaper. The staff and students here are getting more and more interested in the relationship between the environment and development. What do you think is the most serious environmental problem at present? What measures should
we adopt to improve the environment and develop the economy at the same time?
Wang: There are many environmental problems: air pollution, water pollution,
desertification, over-fishing, destruction of natural habitats, acid train, over-consumption of wild animals and plants, etc. But lying at the center of all those problems, as I see it, is the contradiction between economic growth and the environment.
Since the United Nations Earth Summit in 1992, more and more people and governments have adopted a new idea; that is, ―sustainable development‖. This means today‘s economic growth should not wipe out he resources and options for future generations. Planning and development should ensure not only economic growth, but also social advancement and environment health. In other words, some economic behavior must be restricted or controlled. Instilling principles of development into government planning, resource management and economic policy is the most important step China could take to solve its environmental problems.
China has already taken some remarkable steps to reduce damage to the environment. For instance, following the huge floods of 1998, the government banned logging in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River in order to protect forests and reduce the risk of floods.
Still, the basic contradiction between environment and development persists. Much work is to be done before we can achieve the aim of a balance between economic growth and the environment. air pollution, water pollution, desertification, over-fishing, destruction of natural habitats, acid train, Environment Problems over-consumption of wild animals and plants, etc. the contradiction between economic growth and the environment. Central problems sustainable development; it means: (1) Today‘s economic growth should not wipe out he resources and options for future generations. (2) Planning and development should ensure not only economic growth, but also social advancement and A New Idea environment health. (3) some economic behavior must be restricted or controlled Instill principles of sustainable development into What China Could Do government planning, resource management and economic policy China has already taken some remarkable steps to reduce What China Has Done damage to the environment. e.g. Following the huge floods of 1998, the government The Aim banned logging in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River A balance between economic growth and the environment. Task 2: Thick Cloud of Pollution Covering Southern Asia
Script
A United Nations study says that a thick cloud of pollution covering southern Asia threatens the lives of millions of people. Scientists say the pollution could increase lung disease and cause early deaths. The cloud is also damaging agriculture and affecting rainfall levels. It has affected many countries in southern Asia. The pollution cloud is three kilometers high. Scientists say it can move halfway around the world in a week.
The cloud is the result of forest fires, the burning of agricultural waste, and huge increases in the burning of fuels by vehicles, industries and power stations.
Pollution from millions of bad cooking stoves hs made the problem worse. Many poor people burn of fuels wood and animal waste in such stoves.
Scientists say this combination could be changing winter rainfall levels in Asia. They say rainfall has increased over the eastern coast of Asia. But it has dropped sharply over parts of northwestern Asia. The report says the cloud could reduce rainfall over northwestern Pakistan, Afghanistan, and western China by up to forty percent.
Harmful chemicals from the cloud are mixing with rainfall. This acid rain damages crops and trees and threatens public health. Scientists are concerned that the pollution will intensify during the next thirty years as the population of Asia increase to an Estimated 5,000 million people.
6. What is the true of the cloud of pollution?
7. What is NOT the cause of the cloud of pollution? 8. What does the cloud of pollution bring about?
9. Why will the pollution intensify in the next 30 years, according to the passage? 10. What is the main idea of the passage?
Keys: 1.D 2.B 3.A 4.C 5.C
Task3:Mountain regions face a number of dangers. Digging a Hole
Script
Mountain people around the world are in great danger of the negative effects of the worsening environment, according to a UN report. As global warming and deforestation accelerate and technology makes wilder places more accessible, environmental and social pressures on the world‘s remotest regions
increases.
The UN has found that many mountainous regions—inhabited by one out of five of the world‘s people—are barely recognizable when they are compared to what they ere like 60 years ago. This is mostly because forests were cut to make way for cattle grazing and agriculture.
The authors of the UN study expect 98 percent of its mountain areas to experience severe climate change by 2055. Biological losses are expected to be heavy. The mountains of Europe, part of California and the northwest Andes in South America are among the most threatened mountain areas in the world and should be given priority in conservation.
The UN is anxious to raise awareness of the problem facing mountain areas because they are inhabited by some of the most vulnerable people. These people could lose their culture and their livelihood with even the smallest shifts in climate.
At the same time, many mountain regions are losing people. Thousands of villages in Europe are deserted most of the year. In other areas like Nepal, people are drifting to the cities in search of work.
Viewing and speaking
Santa’s Hometown in Danger Script
Weather experts may have found a new problem caused by global warming, one which many people will pay attention to: There are signs that Santa‘s home in the North may be in trouble because of warmer temperatures. The Finnish town of Rovaniemi on the Arctic Circle, which many Europeans say is the home of Santa Claus, has had its warmest winter in 40 years. As a result, there has been much less snow than usual—meaning no snowmen, no snowballs and possible not enough snow for Santa to ride his sleigh on.
More important for local residents, it may mean fewer tourists, as well. Santa‘s wintry hometown normally attracts thousands of visitors each year, and millions of dollars. Anne Pelttari-Bergman, the town‘s tourist director, worries that the town could be in trouble if snow levels do not return to normal. She explains: ―Snow is really important for us, of course. For Santa Claus, for Christmas tourism, and also for our winter tourism because winter is our best season. It is really important for us.‖
Weather experts and town residents are hoping this warm winter is a one-time thing. Few people can imagine a holiday when even Santa does not have a white Christmas.
Uint 3
Culture makes me what I am
II. Basic Listening Practice
1. Script
W: Many Chinese students are too shy to say anything in a classroom.
M: I think they don‘t speak because their culture values modesty, and they don‘t want to appear to be showing off. Goes back to Confucius.
Q: Why don‘t Chinese students say anything in classroom according to the man?
2. Script
W: The government is doing something at last about sex discrimination in the
workplace. Women deserve the same pay as men for the same work.
M: Yeah. In the United States, women earn only 70 percent of what men do for the same job. It‘s a situation that has to be changed. Q: What does the man say about women?
3. Script
W: I admire Michael Dell. He had a dream to be the world‘s largest manufacturer of personal computers, and he has realized that dream.
M: And he dropped out of university to become a success. I wonder if there is a lesson in that.
Q: What do we learn about Dell from the conversation?
4. Script
M: Successful entrepreneurs are often self-made people who have a vision and know where they are going.
W: But do they enjoy life like you and me, or is money their only concern? Q: What are the two speakers‘ attitudes toward successful entrepreneurs?
5. Script
W: Do you agree that equal opportunity for all in an educational system is important? M: Yes, but we have to recognize that all of us are not of equal ability. Q: What does the man imply?
Keys: 1.C 2.A 3. D 4.B 5.A
III. Listening In
Task 1: Competition in America Script