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1、s atmosphere by the factories and vehicles have been speeding up the process of global warming and affecting our climate. Looking ahead, scientists believe that global warming could be one of the biggest environmental problems facing the 21st century. But what exactly is global warming, why is it se

2、en as a danger, and how is it relevant to our livesGlobal warming refers to an average increase in the Earths temperature that, in turn, leads to climate change. Scientists found that the temperature of the Earth is controlled by greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide which trap heat from the sun i

3、n the Earths atmosphere. Without these naturally occurring gases, the suns rays would bounce back into space leaving the Earth cold and impossible to live on. When the presence of these gases in the atmosphere increase, however, more heat is trapped and the Earths temperature rises.Over the last 100

4、 years, the global average temperature has increased by 1F and many experts insist that the blame for this global warming can mostly be pinned on human activities. As a result of increased industry, agriculture, the cutting down of forests, the increase in transport and the burning of fuels, nearly

5、6 tonnes of carbon dioxide goes into the atmosphere every year for every one of the Earths 6 billion people. The amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has risen by more than 30% in the last 250 years with half of this increase occurring since 1960. Given this data, it seems that the link betwee

6、n human activities and rising global temperatures is not merely a coincidence.A temperature increase of 1F may not sound like a lot, but if we continue to produce carbon dioxide and other gases in such huge quantities, we are condemning life on Earth and should expect severe consequences. Recent rep

7、orts warned that global warming will cause terrible climate changes including more frequent flooding, heat waves and droughts. Serious diseases will spread and industries that rely on nature such as fishing will be badly affected. Increased temperatures will also cause the polar ice to melt, raising

8、 sea levels and flooding many islands and cities. How can we stop these disasters from happeningGovernments all over the world have a responsibility to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide which their countries are producing. If less carbon dioxide goes into the atmosphere, global warming will slow d

9、own. This is no easy task, however, and some governments, for example, the USAs federal government, express reservations about whether global warming is really caused by human activities.Many people believe that they are simply not prepared to sacrifice the amount of money they make from industry to

10、 save the Earth. But why wait around for governments to take action Experts advocate that each person play their part. They suggest making small changes like taking public transport, recycling, using low-flow shower heads, and buying light bulbs that use less energy. Even simple things like using re

11、cycled paper or switching off the lights when you leave a room can help. If we add up all these small changes made by everyone worldwide, they wont be such small changes. They could be the changes that save our future. After all, theres no substitute for our Earth. Its all weve got to live on.Unit 2

12、2 Lesson 3 Natural DisastersNature is turning on usThe last few years have seen environmental disasters on a grand scale, and experts are predicting far worse to come. Jin Li reports on our Earths changeable weather patterns.In the last decade, thunderstorms, floods, earthquakes, typhoons, volcanic

13、eruptions, tsunamis and forest fires have become increasingly has been terrible flooding in Asia, Africa,America and Oceania. （1） _ Storms have been getting worse everywhere too, with a growing number of hurricanes hitting the US, and Central America. Reduced rainfall has affected large areas of Afr

14、ica for years leaving irrigation canals dry and many other zones are becoming drier. （2） _ A number of nations have already been in armed conflict over water, and reduced rainfall in the west of the US has resulted in huge forest fires.Volcanic eruptions and earthquakes have always been a threat in

15、certain parts of the world. A volcanic eruption nearly wiped out the small island of Montserrat in 1997, and there have been serious earthquakes in many parts of Asia, Europe and South America. In the last three years, Indonesia has had a rough time, suffering several killer quakes and it is still r

16、ecovering from the Asian tsunami caused by an offshore earthquake on December 26th, tsunami killed 132,000 Indonesians and another 100,000 people of other catastrophe is still very fresh in the minds of people worldwide who have not yet got over their separation from loved ones lost in the tsunami.S

17、o why is nature beginning to turn on us （3） _ The population of the world is growing at the disturbing rate of 10,000 people an hour, nearly 90 million a year, with most of the growth in the developing world. People in agricultural areas, without any means to earn their living, move to the cities, a

18、nd then construct shabby homes from whatever materials they can find on poor clay homes, seldom made of bricks, can easily fall down in earthquakes or slip and slide downhill in landslides, especially in mountainous areas. （4） _ This has mainly been caused by the huge amounts of carbon dioxide produ

19、ced by factories and vehicles, and the destruction of the worlds forests. As a result, a hotter ocean causes more powerful winds. Atlantic hurricanes their howling winds with speeds of over 300 kilometres an hour are 40% stronger now than they were 30 years ago.Volcanoes and earthquakes are even mor

20、e dangerous than in the past as around half the worlds population now lives in are more than 300 active volcanoes, about fifty of which erupt each year, and more than 500 million people now live within the range of a volcanic eruption. Because these natural disasters occur at random times, it is dif

21、ficult to warn people in advance. In May 2006, thousands of Indonesians living near Mt Merapi （which means mountain of fire） had to flee as they thought it was about to erupt. An even greater number of people live at risk, to some degree, from earthquakes which have claimed more than million lives i

22、n the last hundred years.Most disaster experts believe there is the potential that things could get a lot worse. Professor Hou Ming, of Beijing University studies volcanoes and he warns that the world has not seen the worst nature can worst eruption in human history was probably Mt Tambora in 1815,

23、in Indonesia. Dust from the volcano rolled across the Earths skies and pretty much cancelled the following summer in Europe and America. （5） _ “It reduced temperatures by maybe 6C in some places and the whole planet was sent into winter for years. And there are about two of these events every 100,00

24、0 years .”Unit 23 Lesson 1 Living in a CommunityDrummer hits the roadYang Ming, drummer for the rock band “Storm”, has packed his bags. Hes bid his furnished apartment goodbye after complaints from his neighbours about loss of sleep. Being a bachelor, Yang Ming held parties every night but the bigge

25、st problem was his latenight drumming. Seldom has drumming caused such conflict. Yang Mings neighbours say they were being driven mad being exposed to such noise. Had they known their neighbour was a drummer, they wouldnt have moved into the building. No sooner had they moved in than the noise began

26、 and rarely did they get a full nights sleep. Neither could they relax or read a book without plugging their ears. One neighbour also claims that Yang Ming is an alcoholic and was a bad influence on his adolescent son.In the end, the local council took action. “It was only after careful consideratio

27、n that we gave Yang Ming a warning,” a council member said. “Getting enough sleep is important for peoples health and after such a chorus of complaints, we had to take action.” Yang Mings departure has pleased his neighbours. “Life will go back to normal now,” they say.For Yang Mings version of the

28、story, we found him in the lounge of his suite at Shanghais Holiday Inn Hotel. Yang Ming feels that his rights have been ignored. Yang Ming hates being called an alcoholic, but it is the fact that people have classified his music as “noise” that upsets him most. Otherwise he doesnt really mind havin

29、g to leave his apartment. “Living in a hotel means a maid makes my bed every day and I dont have to do my own laundry!” But how long will the hotel tolerate him We wonder.Grandpa jailed after one shower too manyEighty-year-old retired tailor, James McKay, spent Saturday night in jail after hitting t

30、hirty-year-old Keith Smith over the head with his walking stick. McKays wife, Laurene told us that while McKay is usually a peaceful person, he had been driven to this act of violence by getting wet just once too often.Smith lives above the McKays and it appears that not only is he a keen gardener,

31、he is also a fish collector. Unfortunately for him, the water he sent over his balcony every day ended up on the McKays, or too often, on the McKays themselves.“For the last fortnight, since Smith moved into the flat above us, we have hardly dared go onto our balcony,” said Laurene. She added that it wasnt so much the water falling onto their balcony from Smith watering his plants that bothered them, it was more the way he cleaned his fish tanks. “Wed be sitting there happily reading our newspapers, when suddenly so much water would come from ab