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Unit2. World News: Earth and Environment
Contents:
Warming up
News report
City recycling
Goals:
To train students to recognize key words and phrases in listening
To develop students’ ability to identify significant information through listening
To activate students’ knowledge about environment
To cultivate students’ ability of summarizing
Teaching methods:
Students’ listening; group discussion; teacher’s instruction
Duration:
90 minutes
I. Warming up
A.
blaze (n. & v) [C] (a) bright flame or fire 火焰; 火光: Dry wood makes a good blaze. 乾木燃起夺目的火焰. (b) very large (often dangerous) fire 大火; 火灾: Five people died in the blaze. 有五人死於火灾.
Brazil ---- Rio de Janeiro（ former capital of Brazil）
The new city, Brasilia, replaced Rio de Janeiro as the capital of Brazil in 1960.
Desertification is the process by which a piece of land becomes dry, empty, and unsuitable for growing trees or crops on. (土壤)荒漠化, 沙漠化
----- A third of Africa is under threat of desertification.
everglade n. marshland, swamp
------- wetlands region in southern Florida大沼泽地
Greenland
n. self-governing island belonging to Denmark located between Iceland and the northeastern coastal islands of North America (largest island in the world)
Listen to some sentences about environment and supply the missing information.
Check the answers after students’ discussion.
1. New research on the likely impact of climate change suggests that damage to crops in low-lying coastal regions could be worse than previously thought.
2. More than 2000 delegates from around the world have gathered in northern Brazil for the third United Nations Conference on Desertification.
3. Crews are working to clean up a huge oil spill off the coast of Mexico, about 50 miles south of San Diego. ----- a port city in California (USA)
4. Wildfires in the Florida Everglades have been contained after a nearly a week of blazes that consumed 65,000 hectares in the southern part of the States.
5. A. US Space Agency study finds that Greenland is melting around the edges. The loss to the world’s second largest ice sheet---more than 50 cubic kilometers per year---is enough to raise global sea level by 0.13 millimeters.
B.
Aerial offensive
reptile
/ ˈreptaɪl; US -tl; ˋrɛptl/ n any of the class ofcold-blooded, egg-laying animals including lizards, tortoises, crocodiles, snakes, etc with relatively short legs or no legs at all 爬行动物（冷血, 卵生, 如蜥蜴﹑ 龟﹑ 鳄鱼﹑ 蛇等）; 爬虫.
‘salamander火蜥蜴
alligator短吻鳄
amphibian: 两栖动物
poppy: 罂粟
herbicide: substance used to destroy weeds
directory: list of telephone subscribers, business firms, etc.
xeric adj. of a dry environment, suited for a dry environment
xeriscaping -----a landscaping method that employs drought-resistant plants in an effort to conserve resources, especially water.旱生园艺; 节水型花园----通过选择需水少的植物，进行环境美化
sawgrass ----A tall coastal or marshy sedge of eastern North America, Mexico, and the West Indies, having leaves with sharp, minutely toothed margins.
锯齿草:一种产于北美东部、西哥和西印度群岛高海岸或沼生的蓑衣草,叶片具有尖利的小齿边缘.
锯草球场 ----golf course
Preliminary listening. Listen to the items and summarize each of them.
Listen to the news items again. Focus your attention on the “wh-“ questions and try to answer them.
Discussion after the first listening.
1. What?
It attempts to balance environmental concerns and the needs of the community.
2. What?
Reptile species are in greater trouble than amphibian species.
3． What?
A new approach in the fight against the illegal drugs trade.
4. What?
One in every eight species of plants is threatened with extinction.
5. What?
A new local directory for the environmentally-aware, called the “Boulder County Green Pages.”
News items:
1. Australia is the world’s driest continent. There’s general agreement that the country
has to use water more efficiently. In many parts, supplies are in crisis. At a meeting in Canberra, the Council of Australian Governments has approved a national water plan. It attempts to balance environmental concerns and the needs of the community. The amount of water taken from rivers for commercial use is to be cut and farmers will be compensated.
2. The disappearance and deformity of amphibians such as frogs and salamanders from rain forests and mountain lakes worldwide has attracted wide-spread scientific attention over the last decade. Now a new study says reptile species including turtles, snakes, and alligators are in even greater trouble. Twice as many reptiles as amphibians, or some 100 species, are currently listed as endangered by the World Conservation Union. The study says habitat loss and degradation, pollution, disease, climate change, and over-collection for food, pets and drugs are the major threats to reptiles.
3. Four regional governors from columbia, on a visit to Washington, have sharply criticized an American-backed aerial offensive to eradicate thousands of hectares of illegal coca and poppy plantations. At a news conference the governors called for a different approach in the fight against the illegal drugs trade, saying that the herbicides currently being used were harmful to public health and the environment.
4. Much attention has been devoted to threatened animal species. But what about plants which are the fundamental bases of life? One in every eight species of plants is threatened with extinction. Since all food chains begin in the sphere of plant life, this is bad news for the animals too, including humans who depend on plants not only for food but also for medicines, building materials, and other vital purposes.
5. A new local directory for the environmentally-aware is now available, called the “Boulder County Green Pages”. The Rotary Clubs in Boulder County got together with local recycling and environmental specialists to put together this first-ever directory. It includes quick reference to green products and services for recycling, xeriscaping, energy conservation, and more. The $5 cost helps raise funds for the sponsoring groups.
II. News reports
A
Deteriorate: become worse in quality or condition
Vibrancy----- vitality, essentiality, powerfulness, vigorousness
vibrant: full of life and energy; exciting 充满生气的; 精力充沛的; 兴奋的: a vibrant atmosphere, personality,performance 活跃的气氛﹑ 活泼的个性﹑ 有活力的表演 * She was vibrant with health and enthusiasm. 她健康活泼生气勃勃.
virtual world虚拟世界imaginary, hypothetical; computer simulated representation of an actual object
Coral reef: 珊瑚礁
Glacier: mass of ice, formed by snow on mountains
Listening. Listen to the first news report and supply the missing information.
Give students time to discuss their answers. Ask some students about their answers.
Furthering listening. Listen again and check the answers.
An annual study by the Worldwatch Institute in Washington says with the boom in the information economy, Americans have lost sight of the deteriorating health of the planet. The fast growing information economy is affecting every aspect of life, from communication, commerce and work, to education and entertainment. The Worldwatch Institude gives the earth an annual physical exam. According to this year’s result, almost all those vital signs of the health of the earth, including the number of species, the stability of climate, the health of coral reefs, show deterioration. Other warning signs are rising temperatures, falling water tables, melting glaciers, shrinking forests and collapsing fisheries. The major environmental challenges in the 21st century will be to stabilize both climate and world population growth.
B.
Catastrophic (a.)
Catastrophe (n.)
Obligation: law, moral pressure, promise, etc that forces one to do sth义务，责任
Potable (fml) fit for drinking; drinkable
Sanitary (a): hygienic; free from dirt or substances that may cause disease
World Meteorological Organization: 世界气象组织
Shell oil---- Shell Union Oil Corporation
Listening. Listen to the second news report. Complete the news summary and then briefly answer the questions you hear.
Summary:
This news report is about the severe shortage of water in some developing nations. It will lead to catastrophic consequences unless global solutions are found soon.
Answers to some of the questions:
3. almost one billion people could suffer from a scarcity of water.
4. Middle East, parts of Africa, western Asia, northeastern china, western and southern India, large parts of Pakistan and Mexico, parts of the Pacific coast of the United States and South America
5. to treat water as a precious resource
6. 5 liters;
II. City recycling
To meet sth head-on
with the head foremost, frontally; directly, face to face
eligible
suitable or fit to be chosen; having the right or proper qualifications 适宜被选中的; 有恰当资格的; 合格的: eligible for a pension, a job, an award 有资格领取养老金﹑ 得到工作﹑ 获得奖品 * eligible for promotion, membership 适宜提升﹑ 得到会员身分 * eligible to join a club 有资格加入俱乐部 * an eligible young man, eg one who would be a satisfactory choice as a husband 合意的 年轻人（如可做佳婿者）.
Head-on
Curb (side): 路边,(人行道旁的)镶边石,边栏
He parked his car close to the curb. 他将汽车停在紧靠人行道路缘的地方
bustle (with sth) ---- be full of (noise, activity, etc) 到处是（嘈杂的声音﹑ 繁忙的景象等）: bustling streets 熙熙攘攘的街道 * The city centre was bustling with life. 城市中心充满了生活的繁忙景象.
Mound: mass of piled-up earth; small hill
Commingle: merge, mix, blend
Assorted: mixed; different sorts各种各样的; 混杂的; 什锦的: a tin of assorted biscuits 一罐什锦饼乾.
Forklift: machine used to lift and transport heavy loads叉车;铲运车
Newsprint ----- cheap paper used mainly for printing newspapers (often made of recycled materials)
Fuzz （u.n）: mass of soft light particles
Conduct tours
Listening. Listen to a reportabout city recycling. Number the following major points accordint to the order you hear them.
Discuss your answers with you partners.
Suggested answers:
2-a 4-b 3-c 1-d
B. Listen to the report again and answer the corresponding questions on your textbook.
1. 130,000/80%
2. plastic/glass/tin cans/newspapers
3. recycle truck picks it up.
4. one of community recycling centers.
5. each weekday.
6. conducts tours of the plant
7. 3/4
8. sold to other companies that make them into different products
9. made into new containers.
10. one of the top five in the USA
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