Saving Us: A Climate Scientist’s Case for Hope and Healing in a Divided World—Katherine Hayhoe’s new book, proposes to fight climate change through better communication. It is a follow-up to her awesome TED talk in 2018, when she declared the most important thing any individual can do to fight climate change is to talk about it.
Of many refreshing aspects of this book, one is that Hayhoe recounts both her successes and her failures to communicate, through which she has gathered evidence about what works and what does not. Much of the book’s advice is common sense, all backed up not just by Hayhoe’s experience but also with convincing research by psychologists and social scientists.
Hayhoe advises against trying to engage with a small minority, the “Dismissives”, who angrily reject the idea that human-caused climate change is a threat. Hayhoe pays special attention to Dismissives early on, noting that their aggressive posture online may create the impression that they’re everywhere. However, she argues, Dismissives account for only 7% of all American adults. The other 93% are more receptive by degree.
The book includes amusing examples of her encounters with the “Dismissives”, including an engineer who was unconvinced about the evidence but with whom she was able to establish mutual (相互的) respect through a shared passion for knitting (打毛线衣). It is also packed with inspiring accounts of how she has won over even the crowds who are the most suspicious. Her motto is “bond, connect and inspire”, which represents her approach of always looking for point s of common ground.
She also tells of a man who approached her after an event in London in 2019. Inspired by her TED talk, he had started to speak to everybody he could in his neighborhood of Wandsworth. He showed her details of 12,000 conversations that had taken place, claiming that they had helped to convince the council to declare a climate emergency and to switch investments from fossil fuels to renewable energy.
And so, while it may feel difficult to influence the outcome of the COP26, Hayhoe’s uplifting book makes a persuasive case that we can all do our bit to bring about success just by talking about the issue.
1. What does the book mainly focus on?| A．Explaining critical talking through literature. |
| B．Teaching communication skills with TED talks. |
| C．Sharpening people’s insight into climate change. |
| D．Sharing communication-centered tips for climate problems. |
| A．Serious and challenging. | B．Well-based and workable. |
| C．Approachable but one-sided. | D．Practical but unacknowledged. |
| A．By upgrading their social position. |
| B．By seeking shared interests or hobbies. |
| C．By changing their fundamental beliefs. |
| D．By offering more facts about climate change. |
| A．Turning to clean energy is inevitable. |
| B．We should raise people’s awareness of the climate crisis. |
| C．Conversations have an impact on climate decision-making. |
| D．A shy man began to speak to everybody motivated by Hayhoe. |
相似题推荐
【推荐1】A recent study suggests there's nothing soft about pink, as it is revealed that the pinkest flamingos are the toughest. Published in the Journal Ethology, a recent study found that a pink color of feathers was a good indicator of how aggressive a bird was when feeding, as well as a sign of good health or a signal that the bird was ready to breed(繁育）.
For the study, researchers observed the behavior of flamingos in different feeding situations, ranging from small indoor spaces to large outdoor spaces, with or without a pool.
They found that compared to indoor birds competing for food from a bowl, the outdoor-raised flamingos spent twice as much as time searching for food, so they had less time to show aggressive behaviors. Interestingly, their findings also revealed that when the race for food turned hot, the birds most likely to appeal to arms were the pinkest, whether they were male or female.
“The color of flamingos comes from their food, more specifically, from the algae(藻类）that they absorb from water. So the more food they have, the pinker the birds are,” said Dr. Paul Rose, from the University of Exeter, in a statement. “Flamingos live in large groups with complex structures, in which color plays an important role.”
Flamingos don't have a breeding season. Instead, they breed when they are healthy enough to do so. Their health is indicated by the color of the feathers, which is pinker in their prime and paler when they weak. So, the signal that a bird is ready to breed is described as a pink flush in its feathers, which goes away when the bird parents a chick or already passes its best reproductive time.
A healthy pink flamingo will have more time and energy to be aggressive and dominant when feeding. When birds have to crowd together to get their food, they fight more and therefore spend less time feeding, leading to the fading color of flamingos that are already weak. “And this definitely is unfavorable for their reproduction,” Rose said.
The research provides a direction for zoos to feed their flamingos and keep them content and colorful. That is, ensure captive birds are fed in a wide space, as crowded conditions are more likely to result in fights. “Based on my observations, I suggested some changes. And the keepers were willing to try them out. As a result, we've got pinker, more relaxed flamingos," said Dr. Rose.
1. What's the purpose of the author by writing Paragraph 1?| A．To propose an example. |
| B．To make an argument. |
| C．To make a comparison. |
| D．To introduce the topic. |
| A．Health condition. |
| B．Social structures. |
| C．Feeding activities. |
| D．Breeding activities. |
| A．Body size determines status. |
| B．Family is taken as a basic unit. |
| C．Healthy flamingos control the whole group. |
| D．Pinker flamingos enjoy a breeding advantage. |
| A．Enlarging the raising space. |
| B．Raising all flamingos indoors. |
| C．Limiting the population of a group. |
| D．Increasing the frequency of providing food. |
【推荐2】Money might not grow on trees, but scientists have confirmed that gold is found in the leaves of some plants. Researchers from Australia say that the presence of the particles (颗粒) in a eucalyptus (桉树) tree’s leaves shows that deposits (矿藏) are buried many meters below. They believe that the discovery offers a new way to find the valuable metal in difficult-to-reach areas.
Dr Mel Lintern said: “We have found a lot of the easy particles in Australia in this way. Now we are trying to find the more difficult ones that are buried tens of meters below. And the trees are providing us with a method to be able to do this.”
Using a vast machine that uses X-rays to explore matter in detail—they found gold in the leaves and small thin branches.
“We need 500 eucalyptus trees growing over a gold deposit to have enough gold in the tress themselves to make a gold ring,” said Dr Lintern. However the presence of the particles pointed to richer deposits buried more than 30m below. He added, “We believe that the trees are acting like a pump(水泵). They are bringing life-giving water from their roots, and in doing so, they are taking smaller gold particles up into the leaves.”
The scientists said that research on plants could offer a better and simpler method to discover gold deposits. Dr Lintern said: “Not only do we believe it is a way of saving the exploration cost, because exploring for these deposits can be quite expensive, it also reduces the damage to the environment because we are taking a very small amount from the trees themselves, as well as the leaves and branches on the ground. The plant-analyzing(分析) method is certain to work!”
1. Which of the following is the best title of the passage?| A．A New Way to Protect Metal Deposits. |
| B．Newly-discovered Gold Deposits. |
| C．Gold in Trees leading to Hidden Deposits. |
| D．Gold Found in Eucalyptus Trees in Australia. |
| A．the amount of the valuable metal in a eucalyptus tree’s leaves was very small |
| B．a pump takes smaller gold particles up into the leaves |
| C．a tree growing over a gold deposit have enough gold to make a gold ring |
| D．the roots can take water and deposits up into the leaves |
| A．useless | B．cheap | C．environmentally-friendly | D．simple |
| A．is doubtful about the plant-analyzing method |
| B．is confident of the plant-analyzing method |
| C．is very satisfied with what he has achieved in mining |
| D．is tired of discovering gold deposits in the wild |
【推荐3】Humanity’s impact on the environment is often framed in the context of the post-industrial age but new research shows how intensive land use by East Africans in the Middle Ages changed their natural habitat forever.
Unguja Ukuu, a historic settlement located on Zanzibar Island, in Zanzibar, Tanzania, was a key port of trade in the Indian Ocean by the first millennium (一千年) AD when the island was populated by farming societies establishing trade links with the Indian Ocean, China and beyond.
For thousands of years, the Indian Ocean was a place where globalization started to develop, with extensive trade and exchange networks operating between East Africa, Southern Arabia and Southeast Asia, which predicted modern global shipping networks.
According to Dr Ania Kotarba-Morley, the lead author of a study, the islands of Zanzibar experienced many changes in their environment and culture as they became a center for maritime trade, cross-cultural interactions, and global exchange.
As a result, people started getting rid of remains and waste, taking part in more agricultural activities and using more land, Unfortunately, these human activities had a negative impact on the sediment (沉积物) buildup along the island, “Our study outlines clearly how human activities in a natural environment impacted coastal landforms and sediments on a remote East African island already over 1,000 years ago and directly changed the fortunes of the coastal inhabitants in the area as a result,” said Dr Ania.
The researchers applied a variety of standards and new techniques to find new patterns which improve our understanding of the changes in the make-up of the sediment along the coastline of local creeks (小海湾) and the bay on the island, directly impacted by human activity.
To help understand how and why these ancient ports thrived or declined, it is important to know how the coastal landscape influenced the way traders undertook their commercial activities, or drove decisions, including mooring (停泊) locations and investments of labour and capital by local communities and any central authorities.
The researchers say these processes might be responsible for the decline, and eventual abandonment of Unguja Ukuu at the turn of the second millennium AD—a period of regional socio-political and economic transformation of coastal African societies that marked the appearance of maritime Swahili culture.
1. What can we infer about Zanzibar Island in the first millennium AD?| A．It had the busiest port of trade. | B．It had developed agriculture. |
| C．It was the center of the world trade. | D．It was the settlement of the first Africans. |
| A．Agricultural activities promoted global exchange. |
| B．The Indian Ocean was the birthplace of globalization. |
| C．The building of Unguja Ukuu destroyed the shoreline. |
| D．Ancient humans influenced the African island environment. |
| A．The fish numbers. | B．The bay on the island. |
| C．The coastal landscape. | D．The make-up of the local creeks. |
| A．Unguja Ukuu was deserted. | B．The Swahili culture disappeared. |
| C．The cross-cultural interaction started. | D．The trade links were established in the world. |
【推荐1】In its eight centuries the Crouch Oak of Addlestone in Surrey has gained many titles. It is known as the Queen Elizabeth I Picnic Tree after a story that she stopped there for a meal once. It is known as Wycliffe’s Oak after John Wycliffe chose it as shelter during sermons (布道). Now it is hoping for yet another title: tree of the year 2023.
The oak, which has survived not merely Baptist preaching but also attacks, is one of 13 trees shortlisted by the Woodland Trust, which is now accepting votes in its annual competition.
The purpose of the contest is to highlight special trees, along with their role in our culture. This year the charity has focused on urban trees, in part because some remain under threat from local councils.
“Ancient trees in towns and cities are vital for the health of nature, people and planet,” Naomi Tilley, from the Woodland Trust, said. “They give thousands of urban wildlife species essential life support, boost the UK’s biodiversity and bring countless health and wellbeing benefits to communities. But most ancient trees aren’t protected by law and those in urban areas are particularly vulnerable, like one of this year’s nominees (提名), which narrowly escaped being cut down by Sheffield city council.
That tree is the Chelsea Road elm (榆树). Some 60 million elms were lost to Dutch elm disease, but this one was one of fewer than 1,000 that were resistant. But in 2017, when Sheffield engaged in a controversial (有争议的) tree-cutting plan, its 2.8 m-girth trunk was marked for removal. It was only saved when local campaigners spotted the eggs of a butterfly in its branches, meaning that it provided a habitat for a threatened species.
1. What is the goal of the annual competition organized by the Woodland Trust?| A．To find the oldest tree in the UK. |
| B．To stress special trees and their role in our culture. |
| C．To raise public awareness of the importance of ancient trees. |
| D．To protect ancient trees from being cut down by local councils. |
| A．Weak. | B．Defensive. | C．Common. | D．Dominant. |
| A．It was infected with Dutch elm disease. |
| B．It was involved in a tree-cutting plan. |
| C．It was dangerous for the eggs of a butterfly. |
| D．It didn’t provide habitats for a threatened species. |
| A．The Crouch Oak is competing to become tree of the year 2023. |
| B．Ancient trees in urban areas are important for the environment. |
| C．Tree of year contest highlights treasures at risk of being cut down. |
| D．The Chelsea Road elm was saved thanks to local campaigners’ efforts. |
【推荐2】As anyone in mainland Britain who has ever attempted to grow berries or nuts or indeed feed the birds – will know, doing so is equal to an opening move in a game of chess with local grey squirrels, a game the squirrels tend to win. Grey squirrels are also fond of the occasional bird’s egg or the young bird, and enjoy tearing and eating the bark of young broad leaf trees, which can either kill the trees or leave them open to infection. This, apart from affecting biodiversity and landscape, harms the wood industry. The loss is not insignificant: £37 a year in England and walks.
Grey squirrels, introduced from North America in 1876, have almost replaced native red squirrels by competing them for food and habitat. They are larger and stronger, and resistant to squirrel pox virus, while reds are not. About 3 million grey squirrels now live in the UK; the International Union for Conservation of Nature lists the grey squirrel among the top 100 most harmful invasive (入侵的) species in the world.
In Britain, much effort and inventiveness has been made in stopping grey squirrel progress, from trapping and shooting them, to releasing pine mar tens into their habitats. The latest move, a workable system for which was thought to be a decade away, is forbidding the breeding (繁殖) of grey squirrels. However, legal challenge brought so many delays that the invasive grey squirrel population expanded to an unmanageable level and wiping out were abandoned. The main issue in Britain was thought to be more technological than legal designing a drug that targets only grey squirrels to prevent their breeding. Another possibility in the years ahead is to use DNA editing to ensure grey female are born unable to give birth.
Grey squirrels have now been here for nearly 150 years. They do actively threaten another species in Britain. There is a strong argument that ecosystems change. In fact, that is their essential nature, and it is unrealistic to stop it. The attraction of controlling the breeding methods of grey squirrels is that they are less inhumane, and aim for balance rather than uprooting.
1. What does the author focus on in paragraph 1?| A．The harm from grey squirrels. |
| B．The eating habits of grey squirrels. |
| C．The effect of grey squirrels on industry. |
| D．The game between the British and grey squirrels. |
| A．Their huge number. | B．Their unique origins. |
| C．Their breeding ability. | D．Their physical qualities. |
| A．Less labour. | B．Shortage of money. |
| C．Imperfect law. | D．Lack of technology. |
| A．Unclear. | B．Objective. |
| C．Favorable. | D．Doubtful. |
【推荐3】In the story of the three little pigs, the one who built his house of straw did not do well; the big bad wolf blew it down. But builder Michael Furbish, who made his own home from bales (捆) of straw, and an elementary school from the same material, says that in reality straw houses are not only strong, but also good for the environment. Straw—the stalks (杆，茎) of plants like wheat, oats, and barley—is considered a waste material and is commonly used on farms as animal bedding. But more and more people are discovering that straw baled into rectangular blocks is an excellent and inexpensive building material.
There are two ways to make a straw-bale structure. You can build load-bearing walls with them, which means the walls support the roof. Or you can build a post-and-beam wooden frame that supports the roof and fill in the walls with the bales. Either way, the walls are there to stay. And they provide great insulation (绝缘), helping keep straw houses in cold climates warm in winter and those built in hot places like the desert cool in summer. Straw is considered a “green” building material because it is a renewable resource: a whole new crop can be grown and harvested every year, easily “renewing” the supply. Also, planting and harvesting straw uses relatively little energy. “Most other building materials require a lot of energy to be produced,” explains Furbish. “With straw-bale construction, you are getting a building product without using much energy at all.”
Furbish used about 900 straw bales in his family’s two-story, three-bedroom house. His company also provided straw-bale walls for the Friends Community School of College Park in Maryland. That project used about 4, 000 bales. When asked if there are any problems with living in a straw house, like mice nibbling (咬，啃). On the walls, Furbish points out that the straw is completely covered with plaster and stucco (灰泥). Besides, he has a couple of cats on mouse watch, just in case. “It would be hard to find a wall system that will wear better than straw,” he says. The big bad wolf is just out of luck.
1. The author wrote the passage in order to_________.| A．prove that the tale of the three pigs and the wolf is wrong |
| B．teach readers how to build straw houses |
| C．introduce an environmentally-friendly building material |
| D．advertise Furbish’s special houses |
| A．It costs little to make such special houses. |
| B．The outsides of the houses are green. |
| C．They are mostly built in the desert. |
| D．Plaster and stucco help make the houses strong. |
| A．straw houses are in fact nice and strong |
| B．the big bad wolf can’t blow straw houses down |
| C．the big bad wolf is very unlucky |
| D．people in straw houses needn't worry about wolves |
| A．living in a straw house, one has to keep several cats |
| B．the walls of a straw house help keep heat inside in cold climates |
| C．it is best to build a straw house at harvest time |
| D．we need 900 straw bales to build one straw house |
【推荐1】Mobile Bay in Alabama is home to a strange and unique occurrence. During the summer months, hundreds of fish and crustaceans (甲壳纲动物) from the deep waters of the bay move to the shallow waters. The free seafood is so plentiful and easy to catch with nets or bare hands that locals gather to fill their buckets with it. This natural phenomenon has existed for centuries.
Sarah Van Winkle, a student at the Alabama School of Math & Science, is no stranger to the scene. Growing up there, the rich plants and animals never stop to amaze her.
As the world’s oceans face numerous issues such as pollution, overfishing, and habitat destruction, she intended to figure out whether Mobile Bay was experiencing similar environmental threats in her most recent science project. Sarah studied the environment of Mobile Bay and she even extended the range of the research to the Mobile Tensaw-Delta, and the canals of a living district in Fairhope, Alabama. She analyzed key nutrient and metal levels in the ocean ecosystem.
Through the project, Sarah found that turbidity, an important indicator of water quality, increased sharply. This result showed, clearly that the area is filled with tiny pieces of matter, making the water there quite opaque.
For the project. Sarah was chosen as one of this year’s 24 Society for Science & the Public Community Innovation Award winners. “To me, this honor symbolizes that the ten months of late night readings, weekend field trips, and after-school sessions in the laboratory have truly come to fruition and impacted lives,” Sarah noted.
“Our local ocean ecosystem is in danger of chemical pollution from a variety of sources,” Sarah explained in an interview. “The bay plays a vital role in our community and every local should value what the bay offers. It’s our responsibility to work together to preserve it.”
1. What’s the unusual scene in Mobile Bay in summer months?| A．The water’s becoming shallow and clear. | B．The decline of the natural environment. |
| C．The flood of seafood into shallow waters. | D．The locals’ growing interest in fishing with buckets. |
| A．Fresh. | B．Cloudy. | C．Clear. | D．Shallow. |
| A．Hard work pays off. | B．Time waits for no man. |
| C．Practice makes perfect. | D．Failure is the mother of success. |
| A．The focus of her future work. | B．Her concern for the local people. |
| C．The complexity of the local ocean system. | D．Her expectation of protecting the bay. |
【推荐2】The Global Heritage Fund,a nonprofit organization, aims to protect places of cultural importance in developing countries for the reason that these countries often have few resources to protect such places and that other major cultural organizations often pay more attention to protecting places in the developed world. For example, the UNESCO has 45 World Heritage places in Italy, 42 in Spain, but Peru, famous for its ancient Incan buildings, has only 9 World Heritage places. Guatemala has only 3.
The fund recently released a list of cultural treasures in the developing world that are in danger of disappearing. These places are important because they are records of our human civilization. Globalization has created an international culture that is about sameness. But the endangered places it is trying to protect represent the rich differences of human culture throughout history.
One of the fund's current projects is in Guatemala's (危地马拉) Mirador Basin, which contains several important examples of ancient Mayan settlements. The buildings are surrounded by forest.
Centuries of tree growth have covered the pyramids and religious buildings, which provide some of the finest examples of the early part of the Mayan civilization (玛雅文明). But this area is in danger from robbers and people cutting trees illegally. Also, over the past ten years, over 70% of the natural environment in the area has been destroyed by fires.
The fund has 3 goals for its Mirador project. One is helping the government obtain UNESCO recognition. Another is establishing permanent protection for the area. And the third is working to make the area a sustainable protected area within 10 years.
To meet these goals, money from the fund will go toward restoring the buildings of El Mirador and mapping and exploring newly discovered buildings. The fund is also paying to train local guides on how to stop theft and illegal tree-cutting. Educational programs are helping to give people in the area the skills they need to have jobs that do not endanger this protected area.
The Global Heritage Fund says we have a duty to the people of the past, present and future to make sure we do not lose these examples of human history. Every country, organization and individual can play a role in helping to protect this rich history.
1. Why does the Global Heritage fund focus on protecting cultural places in developing countries?| A．They are poor and often ignored. | B．They are more important to mankind. |
| C．They are attractive to tourists. | D．They are fascinating and dangerous. |
| A．Because we should create an international culture about sameness. |
| B．Because the developing world needs them to make money. |
| C．Because they can help speed up the process of globalization. |
| D．Because the rich differences of human culture should be preserved. |
| A．Sustainable protection. | B．National recognition. |
| C．Financial cooperation. | D．Employment promotion. |
| A．World Heritage in Danger. | B．The Global Heritage Fund. |
| C．Every Project Matters. | D．Every Individual Maers. |
【推荐3】Celebrity (名人) has become one of the most important representatives of popular culture. Fans used to be crazy about a specific film, but now the public tends to base its consumption (消费) on the interest of celebrity attached to any given product. Besides, fashion magazines have almost abandoned the practice of putting models on the cover because they don’t sell nearly as well as famous faces. As a result, celebrities have realized their unbelievably powerful market potential, moving from advertising for others’ products to developing their own.
Celebrity clothing lines aren’t a completely new phenomenon, but in the past they were typically aimed at the ordinary consumers, and limited to a few TV actresses. Today they’re started by first-class stars whose products enjoy equal fame with some world top brands. The most successful start-ups have been those by celebrities with specific personal style. As celebrities become more and more experienced at the market, they expand their production scale rapidly, covering almost all the products of daily life.
However, for every success story, there’s a related warning tale of a celebrity who overvalued his consumer appeal. No matter how famous the product’s origin is, if it fails to impress consumers with its own qualities it begins to resemble an exercise in self-promotional marketing. And once the initial attention dies down, consumer interest might fade, loyalty returning to tried-and-true labels.
Today, celebrities face even more severe embarrassment. The pop-cultural circle might be bigger than ever, but its rate of turnover has speeded up as well. Each misstep threatens to reduce a celebrity’s shelf life, and the same newspaper or magazine that once brought him fame has no problem picking him to pieces when the opportunity appears. Still, the ego’s (自我的) potential for expansion is limitless. Having already achieved great wealth and public recognition, many celebrities see fashion as the next frontier to be conquered. As the saying goes, success and failure always go hand in hand. Their success as designers might last only a short time, but fashion—like celebrity—has always been temporary.
1. Fashion magazines today ______.| A．totally refuse to put models on the cover |
| B．rarely place models on the cover |
| C．need not worry about celebrities’ market potential |
| D．judge the market potential of every celebrity correctly |
| A．price rather than brand name is more concerned |
| B．producers prefer models to celebrities for advertisements |
| C．producers prefer TV actresses to film stars for advertisements |
| D．quality rather than the outside of products is more concerned |
| A．shorten the artistic career of a celebrity in show business |
| B．damage the image of a celebrity in the eyes of the general public |
| C．cut short the time of a celebrity’s popularity |
| D．influence the price of a celebrity’s products |
| A．celebrity and personal style | B．celebrity and market potential |
| C．celebrity and fashion design | D．celebrity and clothing industry |
