研究生英语精读教程-Seven.ppt

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1、研究生英语精读教程(第三版下)中国人民大学出版社Unit SevenA Bet on Planet Earth 1. Text 2. Exercise 3. Supplementary ReadingA Bet on Planet EarthIt was doom* versus* boom*,and a lot more than money was riding on the outcome Condensed from New York Times Magazine John Tierney1.doom n. ruin, death毁灭2.versus prep. against反对3.

2、boom n. increase, development增加, 发展1. stake n. bet赌注2. ultimate adj. final最终的1In 1980 an ecologist and an economist bet $1 000 over the future price of five metals, At stake* was much more - a view of the planets ultimate* limits, a vision of humanitys destiny. One saw pesticide seeping into groundw

3、ater; the other saw farm silos* brimming with record harvests. One saw rain forests being decimated*; the other saw people living longer. 2Today, these men lead two intellectual schools . sometimes called the doomsters and the boomsters - that debate whether the world is getting better or going to t

4、he dogs.1. silo n.粮仓2. decimate v. to destroy a large part of毁掉大部分3The ecologist, Paul R. Ehrlich, 58, has been one of the worlds better-known scientists since publishing The Population Bomb in 1968. More than two million copies were sold. When he is not teaching at Stanford University or studying b

5、utterflies, Ehrlich can be found lecturing, collecting an award or appearing on the Today show. He is the pessimist.4The Population Bomb began: “The battle to feed all of humanity is over. In the 1970s hundreds of millions of people are going to starve to death.” Ehrlich wrote that, “nothing can pre

6、vent a substantial increase in the world death rate.” In 1974, he predicted that “before 1985 mankind will enter an age of scarcity” in which “the accessible supplies of many key minerals will be nearing depletion*.1. depletion n. lessening markedly in quantity, content or power空虚；干枯, 干涸5The economi

7、st, Julian L. Simon, 59, is a professor at the University of Maryland. His views have helped shape policy in Washington for the past decade, but he has never enjoyed Ehrlichs academic success or popular appeal*. He is the optimist.1.appeal n. attraction吸引力6Simon believes that population growth const

8、itutes not a crisis but a boon* that will ultimately mean a cleaner environment and a healthier humanity. Tomorrows world will be better because it will have more people producing more bright ideas. Progress can go on indefinitely because the planets resources are not finite.1.boon n. benefit, favor

9、恩惠, 恩赐物 7When Simon wrote about his happy vision of the future in Science magazine in 1980, his article attracted a slew of angry letters. An irate Ehrlich provided the simple arithmetic: the planets resources had to be divided among a population then growing at the rate of 75 million people a year,

10、 outstripping* the earths carrying capacity - its supplies of food, fresh water and minerals.1. outstrip v. to go faster or farther than超过, 胜过As resources became scarcer, it was inevitable* that commodities must become expensive. 8Simon responded with a challenge. Pick any natural resource - grain,

11、oil, coal, timber, metals - and any future date. If the resource were to become scarcer as the worlds population grew, then its price should rise. Simon wanted to bet that the price would instead decline.1. inevitable adj. incapable of being avoided or evaded不可避免的 9Ehrlich accepted Simons offer. In

12、October 1980 he bet $1 000 on five metals chrome*, copper, nickel, tin and tungsten. If the 1990 combined prices, corrected for inflation, turned out to be higher than $1 000, Simon would pay him the difference. If prices fell, Ehrlich would pay him.1. chrome n.铬A contract was signed, and Ehrlich an

13、d Simon, who have never met, went on attacking each other throughout the 1980s. 10Ehrlich was right about world population. It is now 5.3 billion, 1.8 billion larger than when he published The Population Bomb. Yet somehow the average person is healthier and wealthier. Infant mortality has declined a

14、nd life expectancy has increased, most dramatically in the Third World. There have been families in countries afflicted by war, drought and disastrous agricultural policies, but overall food production has outpaced* population. Experts agree that the average person in the Third World is better nouri

15、shed today than in 1968. The day of reckoning will have to be rescheduled.1. outpace v. to surpass in speed, to outdo超过 11Ehrlichs is such an obvious proposition* in a finite world: things run out. A slogan used by environmentalists puts it nicely: We do not inherit the earth from our parents. We bo

16、rrow it from our children. The idea shapes our actions when we bundle newspapers to avoid running out of wood for paper. The counter argument is not nearly as intuitively convincing. It has generally consisted of a simple question: why havent things run out yet?1. proposition n. proposal, the point

17、to be discussed in argument提议, 建议 12When Julian Simon heard grim* predictions about overpopulation in the late 1960s, he began writing on the need to persuade women to have fewer babies. But then he read studies showing that, overall, countries with rapid population growth were not suffering more th

18、an other countries. Many did better.1. grim adj. fierce, stern严厉的, 可怕的13He also came across evidence that the price of natural resources since 1870 had fallen in real terms. The average worker today could buy more coal with an hours pay than he could in the last century, just as he could buy more me

19、tals and more food. Things were getting less scarce as population grew.14Simon and others looked back at 10 000 years of resource crises and saw a pattern: as things became scarce, people responded with innovations. They found new supplies or practiced conservation. 15Often the scarcity led to a bet

20、ter substitute. The Greeks transition from the Bronze Age to the Iron Age 3 000 years ago was inspired* by a disruption of trade. A shortage of tin needed to make bronze led the Greeks to try iron. Similarly, timber shortages in 16th century Britain ushered in the age of coal; the scarcity of whale

21、oil around 1850 contributed to the first oil well in 1859.1. inspire v. to be the cause or source of; bring about作为原因或根源；引起16Temporary shortages do occur, but Simon and other boomsters argue that as long as government doesnt interfere - by mandating* conservation or setting price controls-people wil

22、l find alternatives.1. mandate v. to order, direct, require命令；指挥；要求17In his 1981 book, Ultimate Resource, Simon wrote that human ingenuity* could indefinitely expand the planets carrying capacity. This idea marked a key difference between Simon and Ehrlich: the view of the world not as a closed ecos

23、ystem* but as a flexible marketplace.1. ingenuity n. cleverness, inventiveness聪明；创造力2. ecosystem n. ecological system生态系统18Simon conceded that the marketplace did need some regulation. But Americas air and water have been getting cleaner for decades, thanks partly to greater affluence (richer societ

24、ies can afford to pay for pollution controls) and to technology (the pollution in our cities from cars is minimal compared with the soot* from coal-burning furnaces and the solid waste from horses at the turn of the century.1. soot n.煤烟, 烟灰 19Simon insists that environmental crises are being exagger

25、ated. “As soon as one predicted disaster doesnt occur, the doomsters skip to another,” he complains. Theres nothing wrong with worrying about new problems - but why dont they see that, in the aggregate, things are getting better? They deny our creative powers for solutions. 20Simons fiercest battle

26、has been against Ehrlichs idea that the world has too many people. Simon acknowledges that rising population causes shortterm problems, but he maintains* that there are longterm benefits when those children become productive, resourceful* adults.1.maintain v. to assert, affirm主张；坚持2.resourceful adj.

27、 able to meet situations机智的, 善于随机应变的He attacked Ehrlich for suggesting that governments should use coercion to limit family size and cut off food aid to countries that refuse to control population growth. 21Among academics, Simon seems to be gaining* in the debate. Many scientists are uncomfortable

28、with his sweeping* optimism - there is no guarantee that past trends will continue - but the consensus has been shifting against Ehrlichs idea of population growth as the great evil.1.gain v. to win in competition or conflict取胜2.sweeping adj. marked by wholesale and indiscriminate inclusion包罗万象的, 笼统

29、的 22Simon is still far behind, however, when it comes to winning over the public. Prior to Earth Day last year, Ehrlich was on TV promoting his new book The Population Explosion, which declares that “the population bomb has detonated*.1.detonate v. to explode with sudden violence爆炸At the Earth Day r

30、ally in Washington, a crowd of over 100 000 applauded after Ehrlich told them that population growth could produce a world in which their grandchildren would endure food riots in the streets of America. 23That same day, only a block away in a small conference room, Simon called population growth “a

31、victory over death” because it was due to the doubling of life expectancy since the start of the Industrial Revolution: “This is an incredible gain,” he said. “Youd expect lovers of human life to be jumping with joy; instead, theyre lamenting* that so many people are alive.1.lament v. to mourn, expr

32、ess sorrow哀悼；痛惜Only 16 people were in the audience to celebrate Simons message. 24The bet was settled last fall without ceremony. Ehrlich simply mailed Simon a sheet of calculations about metal prices - along with a check for $ 576.07. Each of the five metals chosen by Ehrlichs group, when adjusted

33、for inflation since 1980, had declined in price. 25Prices fell, in part, for the same reasons they had fallen in previous decades entrepreneurship* and continuing technological improvements. Prospectors found new lodes*. Thanks to computers, new machines and new chemical processes, there were more e

34、fficient ways to extract and refine ores.1.entrepreneurship n.创业精神2.lode n.矿脉 26For many uses, metals were replaced by cheaper materials, notably plastics. Phone calls went through satellites and fiberoptic lines instead of copper wires. Ceramics* replaced tungsten* in cutting tools.1.ceramics n.陶瓷2

35、.tungsten n.钨 27Is there a lesson here for the future? “Absolutely not,” said Ehrlich. “Look at the new problems: the ozone* hole, acid rain, global warming. I have no doubt that in the next century, if we let the ecological systems keep running downhill, we could have a gigantic population crash.1.

36、ozone n. 臭氧 28Simon was not surprised to hear about his opponents reaction. So Ehrlich is talking about a population crash, he said. That sounds like an even better way to make money. Ill give him heavy odds on that one.Exercise . Comprehension . Vocabulary . Close . Translation (English to Chinese)

37、 . Translation (Chinese to English) . Writing. ComprehensionAnswer the following questions or complete the following statements by choosing the best alternative A, B, C or D under each. You are allowed 2 minutes 30 seconds for this part.1. What is the nature of the bet between Ehrlich and Simon? A.

38、They are betting on the future price of five metals. B. They are trying to win some money in this way. C. The debate between boomsters and doomsters. D. The human destiny is in danger. Comprehension2. The difference between the views of Ehrlich and Simon is _. A. whether people are going to starve t

39、o death or people are going to be healthier and wealthier B. whether man will enter an age of scarcity or material abundance C. whether we will have a polluted environment or a clean one D. whether the world is going to the dogs or becoming better 3. Which of the following is a ground for Simons ide

40、a that the world is getting better? A. His research in resource-crisis pattern. B. His belief in science and technology. C. His optimism. D. His findings that the world is a flexible marketplace. Comprehension4. The key point of Simons argument is that _. A. environmental crises have been exaggerate

41、d B. population growth is a victory over death C. talking about population crash is a better way to make money D. our planets carrying capacity can be expanded by human creativity. Comprehension5. Ehrlichs idea about the world is that _. A. overall food production has not kept pace with the rapid po

42、pulation growth B. man has entered an age of scarcity C. a gigantic population crash will inevitably occur D. human ingenuity is limited. Comprehension6. From the debate between the doomsters and boomsters we can conclude that _. A. Simon and Ehrlich are both right B. human destiny is in danger C. t

43、he danger does exist, yet there is a way out D. both of the experts are too extreme. Comprehension7. The last two sentences of the text“That sounds like an even better way to make money. Ill give him heavy odds on that one.” suggest that _. A. Simon wants to show his kindness and generosity B. he fe

44、els certain that he will win the bet C. much as he is sarcastic, he is sympathetic with Ehrlich D. he feels quite sure of his complete success in the debate. Comprehension8. This article is mainly about _. A. the authors criticizing Simon and praising Ehrlich B. his finding fault with Ehrlich and fl

45、attering Simon C. the relationship between mankind and the earth D. the struggle between ecologists and economists. Comprehension9. One can infer that the author . A. avoids taking sides in the quarrels between the doomsters and boomstersB. prefers Ehrlichs idea to Simons C. is interestedly neutral

46、and seems a little bit partial to Simons idea D. has a happy vision of the future. Comprehension10. What is your impression of the authors attitudes towards Ehrlich and Simon? A. He is on the side of Simons. B. He agrees with Ehrlich. C. He agrees with none of them. D. He is trying to be objective,

47、although he shows personal preference.11. Do you think a gigantic population crash will inevitably occur? Why or why not?. Comprehension. VocabularyA. Identify one of the four choices A, B, C, or D which would keep the meaning of the underlined word or phrase.1. He staked all his money on the result

48、 of the card game. A. put B. risked C. bet D. issued 2. Although the fire decimated the city ten years ago, the people of that city have rebuilt it into an even more beautiful city. A. destroyed B. maimed C. impaired D. hurt. VocabularyA. Identify one of the four choices A, B, C, or D which would ke

49、ep the meaning of the underlined word or phrase.3. In this time of the year, there is a scarcity of apples. A. rareness B. infrequency C. shortage D. uncommonness 4. You should not make sweeping statements about such important matters. A. general B. complicated C. overall D. specific. VocabularyA. I

50、dentify one of the four choices A, B, C, or D which would keep the meaning of the underlined word or phrase.5. If you mean to please any people, you must give them the boon for which they ask. A. gift B. favor C. largess D. present 6. He would have us fill up our depleted curriculum with subjects wh