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Time for Americans to act on climate change
The climate crisis is worsening at a rate that is becoming harder and harder to ignore. For more than two decades, scientific reports have made it clear that global warming is real, that humans cause it and that the consequences will be disastrous.
The scientific community has become increasingly panicked over the past year. The latest assessment from the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change painted a far more terrible picture than its previous analyses, and the long-awaited National Climate Assessment made clear that climate change represents a severe threat to human health as well as our economic security. Out of this panic came the treaty(条约)reached this past weekend by world leaders to keep the Paris climate agreement alive.
Yet many Americans still don’t regard the threat as a key priority for our government, and support President Trump’s decision to withdraw from the Paris treaty. Campaign contributions from fossil fuel companies have convinced elected officials to look the other way. A certain amount of despair has resulted in widespread apathy(漠然).
But there is another reason that has been discussed far less openly. While a growing number of people understand that climate change will have significant worldwide consequences, many Americans have an intuitive(直觉的)belief that their nation is more capable than others of adapting to a changed environment. Why? Because they have before.
This historical success, however, resulted from the federal government taking science seriously, and making investments to urge revolution and innovation.
But these innovations did not happen by themselves, or simply because of the United States’ rich resources. They depended on consistent support from the leaders about the need to take action when faced with crises. This has been especially true in the environmental crisis.
President Bill Clinton had a shockingly modest record of advancing climate security, particularly given that his vice president, Al Gore, had been one of the most outspoken environmentalists in Congress. By far Clinton’s biggest accomplishment was assigning Gore to participate іn thе Куоtо Рrоtoсоl negotiations. Сlіntоn сhоѕе, hоwеvеr, tо аvоіd whаt ѕurеlу wоuld have been a terrible fight in the Senate to gain approval of the treaty. While this effort probably would have failed, it would have signaled to the American people how seriously the Democratic Party took climate change.
Thus, the time has clearly arrived for progressive candidates to start campaigning on a platform built around the need for a sustainability revolution. Such a plan should include a carbon tax, well-funded clean energy research, evolved agricultural policies and smarter public transport. Given that Generation X and millennials(千禧一代)never bought into the fiction that the United States is immune to the dangers of global warming, the time is ripe to make climate security a crucial government responsibility. Only by doing so can we begin the long-overdue(拖延好久的)campaign to save the planet.
Time for Americans to act on climate change
| Introduction | More and more people have become It is human beings that are to | |
| Worldwide efforts | Given that human health as well as our economic security is | |
| Current American’s responses | A negative attitude | Unable to grasp the seriousness of the threat, many Americans are in |
| Elected officials turn a deaf ear to the threat on account of their A certain amount of despair has resulted in widespread apathy. Many Americans are wildly | ||
| Earlier American’s responses | A(n) | Wisely assigning his vice president to participate in the Kyoto Protocol negotiations, President Bill Clinton took climate change seriously. |
| Inspiration form responses | The Democratic Party used to take adequate notice of the potential crisis of the climate change. | |
| It is high time for Americans to begin the long-overdue campaign to save the planet. | ||
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【推荐1】Polar bears are strong creatures, standing up to nine feet tall and weighing up to one thousand pounds.
In early November 201 8 the polar bears were still on land. There was no sea ice on Hudson Bay, Weeks passed. By December, there was still barely any ice at all
The warmer climate affected the polar bears in important ways, In the 1980s, Hudson Bay bears were bigger and rounder, well fed.
In 2018, the water in Hudson Bay didn't freeze until December 12. That was very late.“Sea ice is finally forming," one scientist reported.“The polar bears are moving quickly offshore."The Arctic- the polar bears' habitat- is changing. Temperatures have gone up about 3 degrees Celsius since 1900.
| A．They are built for the cold. |
| B．The ice cover is becoming smaller, too. |
| C．In the Arctic, winter used to come early. |
| D．Thousands of polar bears live in the Arctic. |
| E．So the polar bears had to wait longer to return to the sea. |
| F．Recently they've been losing weight and becoming weaker. |
| G．The fact is that our entire planet is getting warmer, not just the Arctic. |
【推荐2】A tiny clue found in ancient deposits has unlocked big secrets about Greenland’s past and future climate. Just beyond the northwest edge of the vast Greenland Ice Sheet, researchers have discovered lake mud that have survived the last ice age. The mud, and remains of common flies in it, record two interglacial periods（间冰期）in northwest Greenland.
Although researchers have long known these two periods—the early Holocene and Last Interglacial—experienced warming in the Arctic, the mix of fly species shows that Greenland was even warmer than previously thought. “As far as we know, it has never been found in Greenland. We think this is the first time anyone has reported it in ancient deposits or modern lakes there,” Axford said. “We were really surprised to see how far north it migrated (迁徙).”
This new information could help researchers better measure Greenland’s sensitivity to warming, by testing and improving models of climate and ice sheet behaviour. Those models could then improve predictions of how Greenland’s ice sheet might respond to man-made global warming. After all, Greenland covers 80 per cent of the Arctic country and holds enough ice to equal 20 feet of global sea level. “Northwest Greenland might feel really remote, but what happens to that ice sheet is going to matter to everyone in every coastal city around the world,” said Yarrow Axford, an associate professor in the team. “One of the big uncertainties in climate science is how fast the Earth changes when it gets warmer. Geology gives us an opportunity to see what happened when the Earth was warmer than today,” said Axford.
People might be surprised to see how today’s Greenland looked during the last two interglacial periods. During the Last Interglacial, global sea levels increased by 15 to 30 feet, largely due to thinning of Greenland and Antarctica’s ice sheets. However, now researchers believe northern Greenland’s ice sheet experienced stronger warming than previously thought, which could mean that Greenland is more responsible for that sea-level rise.
Finding lake deposits older than about 10,000 years, however, has been historically very difficult in Greenland. To measure these ancient temperatures, researchers look to ice cores ( 冰 核 ) and lake deposits. Since ice and lake deposits form by a gradual buildup on annual layers of snow or mud, these cores contain history of the past. By looking through the layers, researchers can obtain climate clues from centuries ago.
1. Why are the remains of flies mentioned in the first two paragraphs?| A．They serve as evidence that there is still life in the Northwest Greenland. |
| B．They were one of the many ancient lives that were left in the Greenland mud. |
| C．They are indicators that Greenland was much warmer than previously thought. |
| D．They help the researchers realize that there was once a warm period in the Arctic. |
| A．It is easier for today’s scientists to find ancient lake deposits. |
| B．People are surprised at the landscape feature of Greenland today. |
| C．Researchers measure the changing temperatures by directly examining mud. |
| D．Greenland holds enough ice that might one day threaten life in coastal cities. |
| A．Greenland Used to Be Much Greener |
| B．Earth Once Experienced Warm Periods |
| C．Coastal Cities Warned of Coming Disasters |
| D．Northwest Greenland, A Perfect Destination |
【推荐3】From the loss of wildlife to rising sea levels, we’re all well aware of the problems that climate change could cause.
But while it may seem like such issues won’t affect most of us directly, it looks like future generations could grow up without something that many of us now take for granted: chocolate.
According to an essay published by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, changes to the climate in the regions that produce cacao - the plant from which chocolate is produced - may mean that it will soon become extinct.
Most of the world’s cacao grows in countries close to the equator, with over half of it growing in the African nations of Ghana and Ivory Coast.
It’s predicted that by 2050, climate change will have accelerated the rate at which temperatures in these countries rise, making it extremely difficult for cacao to grow there.
The problem doesn’t lie in increased heat, however, but in lower humidity (湿度), as it’s believed that rainfall will stay at the same level if the temperature rises.
“In other words, as higher temperatures squeeze more water out of soil and plants, it’s unlikely that rainfall will increase enough to offset the moisture (含水量) loss,” Michon Scott, the essay’s author, wrote.
To help fight this problem, researchers from Berkeley University in the US are working on changing the DNA of cacao plants to allow them to survive in dryer conditions by using gene editing technology, according to US News.
In the meantime, US company Mars, one of the world’s biggest manufacturers of chocolate products, announced in January that it would spend $1 billion to help reduce the effects of climate change.
“This is a world issue, and it requires everyone to work together,” Mars spokesperson Barry Parkin told Business Insider.
The message here is that if we all do our part, we may be able to prevent some of the worst impacts of climate change. Or if we’re unlucky, chocolate will become a thing of the past.
1. What could make it hard for cacao to survive around the equator in the future?| A．The increased heat there. | B．The higher humidity there. |
| C．The decrease in rainfall there. | D．The moisture loss in the soil there. |
| A．hold back | B．make up for |
| C．protect | D．accept |
| A．It will work hard to plant cacao in greenhouses. |
| B．It will apply gene editing technology in planting cacao. |
| C．It will give financial support to help fight climate change. |
| D．It will develop cacao that can survive in dryer conditions. |
| A．Chocolate could become history |
| B．Work together to fight climate change |
| C．How do we grow cacao in the future? |
| D．How do cacao plants affect climate change? |
【推荐1】Barcelona’s opera house has celebrated its reopening to the public since the coronavirus pandemic put the world into a huge horror, but the opening night had an unusual audience. For its first concert, the theater refused the usual crowd of people and instead packed the house with plants. Yes, that’s correct. All 2,292 seats at the Gran Teatre del Liceu were occupied by green plants.
These lucky ficus trees, palms, and Swiss cheese plants — which were brought in by local nurseries(苗圃) — got the pleasure of hearing Puccini’s Crisantemi performed by the UceLi Quartet string musical group. Though the guest list was strictly limited to plants, humans still enjoyed the event as the concert was broadcast live on the theater’s website.
The idea was put forward by the artist Eugenio Ampudia. He hoped that his idea and the work would inspire people to think more deeply about their relationship with nature and the idea of sustainability. “We are at the end of an era and that means that we have to change certain patterns,” he shared. “The world we live in now is not the same as that of 90 days ago, and this means we have to reflect on everything that we do.”
As plants can respond to different vibrations(震动) caused by music, they certainly weren’t a passive audience — even if they weren’t able to give applause. When the concert was over, each plant was given to a different front-line health care worker who helped guide the country through its battle with the coronavirus.
The moving concert is a continuation of the Liceu’s task to create a dialogue between music and the visual arts. Pictures and a video of the performance taken by Ampudia will become part of “la Caixa” Collection of Contemporary Art.
1. What was the special part of the concert?| A．It had only 2,292 seats. |
| B．It made the world fall into horror. |
| C．It welcomed the audience with plants to come. |
| D．It gave plants an opportunity to enjoy music. |
| A．Eugenio Ampudia. |
| B．The UceLi Quartet. |
| C．The director of the Gran Teatre del Liceu. |
| D．The audience of Barcelona’s opera house. |
| A．We don’t do very well in dealing with nature. |
| B．The plants should have the equal rights. |
| C．The health care workers are more important. |
| D．We should think deeply about our interpersonal relationships. |
| A．Daily Hero. |
| B．Teen’s Life. |
| C．Art Around the World. |
| D．Animals and Plants. |
【推荐2】YOUR VOICE
Animals in Danger — Take Action!!
Your voice, the school newspaper that gives you your say, is going to take part in supporting wildlife protection, and you will have the opportunity to be part of that. We hope that you will all join in the activity to save nature and help out as much as possible.
On Monday 22, we are going to visit Big Tree Park to adopt (收养) an animal. You will get the chance to see the animals in their natural environment and then we will all decide which animal to choose. There are lots of other things that you can do, including mountain biking and horse riding for those of you who want a bit of exercise. A word of warning, though, remember that you have to be careful around the animals.
Mr. Abbey, an expert on endangered species (濒危物种), is going to give us a talk on what we can do to make a difference to the environment. It will take place at the café at 2:00 pm — don’t be late! We really need you to support our program.
1. What is Your Voice?| A．A lecture. | B．A warning. |
| C．An activity. | D．A school newspaper. |
| A．To call on students to protect animals. |
| B．To ask students to give talks on nature. |
| C．To get students to buy their newspaper. |
| D．To encourage students to do more exercise. |
| A．A poster | B．A diary | C．A letter | D．A guidebook |
【推荐3】What were you doing when you were nine years old? Making crafts from a Klutz book? Kicking around a soccer ball? Designing a business plan to deal with plastic pollution and relieve childhood poverty? Zymal Umar showed us the latter. The Pakistan’s youngest businesswoman has started a project entitled Zee Bags, which aims to reduce plastic pollution by providing an environmentally-friendly alternative to plastic grocery bags.
When Zymal was on a shopping trip with her parents three years ago, she was shocked by the number of plastic bags on the streets. Depressed by the plastic pollution, she was reminded of the severe consequences our habits have on the environment. Then, she noticed a shopkeeper handing out newspaper bags. And at that moment, Zymal knew she had to act. Since then she has created beautiful, unique reusable newspaper bags for hundreds of customers.
It’s amazing to see this youngster using her brains and business skills for good. And she should certainly feel proud of the work she is doing. After all, plastic grocery bags are killing thousands of marine animals every year through their contribution to plastic waste. According to The Earth Institute, over one trillion plastic bags are used worldwide annually—that’s about two million bags used per minute around the world.
And those bags certainly don’t disappear into thin air. Instead, they end up in our oceans, putting approximately 700 marine species in danger of extinction due to the threat from pollution. And plastic bags are just one of the many forms of plastic trash that ends up in the oceans—in fact, an astonishing 8. 8 million tons of this material make their way from land to the oceans every single year.
But with Zee Bags, we’re all empowered to make more thoughtful choices about our trash production. And Zymal’s amazingness doesn’t stop there—the profits from her sales go towards helping poor children.
1. What is the second paragraph mainly about?| A．How Zymal felt about her shopping trip. |
| B．How Zymal learned about plastic pollution. |
| C．How Zymal was received by the shopkeeper. |
| D．How Zymal was inspired to create her bags. |
| A．To praise Zymal for her great efforts. |
| B．To urge readers to stop using plastics. |
| C．To stress the seriousness of plastic pollution. |
| D．To show the rich knowledge of the author. |
| A．She is amazing in every aspect of her life. |
| B．She has concern for the disadvantaged. |
| C．She urges everyone to be eco-friendly. |
| D．She earns a lot of money from her business. |
| A．Caring. | B．Determined. |
| C．Confident. | D．Optimistic. |
