英语时文泛读 Current News Articles for Extensive Reading

1. 英语时文泛读Current News Articles for Extensive Reading BOOK II

2. Human Impact on Nature

3. I. Overview • This unit gives a glimpse of how human activities, especially new technology, have impacted the world we live in.

4. Structure • All the texts concern the relationship between man and nature. They may shed some new light on our understanding of the role of man in this world. We have obviously done too much to Mother Nature, and there is still a lot more for us to do if we want to secure a brighter future for the human race.

5. After We Are Gone This article depicts what the world would look like if all humans disappeared all of a sudden. Text A

6. This article reports on the breakthrough that some scientists have achieved in creating synthetic organisms. A New Step toward Synthetic Life Text B

7. This article expresses deep concern for the lack of joined efforts and immediate action by the international community in battling worsening climate change. Can We Save the World by 2015? Text C

8. Focus of this session

9. II. Text A After We Are Gone • Main Idea of the Text • Alan Weisman wrote a book, The World Without Us, which describes how ecological balance would be restored and the rest of the biosphere would flourish if humans were all removed from the earth.

10. Author Jerry Adler is a senior editor of Newsweek. In his career at Newsweek he’s covered a wide range of subjects, including cover stories on stress, political correctness, America’s infatuation with “self-esteem,” the heroes of September 11 and the blackout of 2003. His writing and reporting have earned him many accolades. He was a 1993 finalist for a National Magazine Award in the “Special Interests” category for his cover story on mountain climbing and other extreme sports. Background Information

11. Source Newsweekis an American weekly newsmagazine published in New York City. It is distributed throughout the United States and internationally. It is the second largest news weekly magazine in the U.S., having trailed Time in circulation and advertising revenue for most of its existence, although both are much larger than the third of America's prominent weeklies, U.S. News & World Report. Newsweek is published in four English language editions and 12 global editions written in the language of the circulation region. Background Information

12. The Second Coming refers to the Christian and Islamic belief in the return of Jesus Christ from heaven to earth, an event that will fulfill aspects of Messianic prophecy, such as the general resurrection of the dead, the last judgment of the dead and the living and the full establishment of the Kingdom of God on earth (also called the “Reign of God”), including the Messianic Age. Views about the nature of this return vary among Christian denominations. Cultural Notes

13. The Voluntary Human Extinction Movement, or VHEMT (pronounced “vehement”), is a movement that calls for the voluntary extinction of the human race. Basic ideas: The basic concept behind VHEMT is the belief that the Earth would be better off without humans, and as such, humans should refuse to breed. However, this does not mean that they intend to force people to not breed, to kill anyone, or to commit suicide. This last point is illustrated in their motto, “May we live long and die out”. Cultural Notes

14. Alan Weisman (born March 24, 1947 in Minneapolis) is an American author, professor, and journalist. He is author of five books, including The World without Us (St. Martin’s Press, 2007). His work has appeared in Harpers, the New York Times Magazine, the Los Angeles Times Magazine, Discover, the Atlantic Monthly, Condé Nast Traveler, Orion and Mother Jones. Cultural Notes

15. The “Chernobyl disaster”, reactor accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, or simply “Chernobyl” was the worst nuclear power plant accident in history and the only instance so far of level 7 on the International Nuclear Event Scale, resulting in a severe nuclear meltdown. On 26 April 1986 at 01:23:40 a.m. (UTC+3) reactor number four at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant located in the Soviet Union near Pripyat in Ukraine exploded. Further explosions and the resulting fire sent a plume of highly radioactive fallout into the atmosphere and over an extensive geographical area. Cultural Notes

16. The biosphere is the part of the Earth, including air, land, surface rocks, and water, within which life occurs, and which biotic processes in turn alter or transform. From the broadest biophysiological point of view, the biosphere is the global ecological system integrating all living beings and their relationships, including their interaction with the elements of the lithosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere. This biosphere is postulated to have evolved, beginning through a process of biogenesis or biopoesis, at least some 3.5 billion years ago. Cultural Notes

17. The Korean Demilitarized Zone is a strip of land running across the Korean Peninsula that serves as a buffer zone between North and South Korea. The DMZ cuts the Korean Peninsula roughly in half, crossing the 38th parallel on an angle, with the west end of the DMZ lying south of the parallel and the east end lying north of it. It is 155 miles (248 km) long and approximately 2.5 miles (4 km) wide, and is the most heavily armed border in the world. Cultural Notes

18. Language Points Key Words & Expressions • what of…? (para. 3): • (fml) used to introduce a new subject into a conversation, or to mention something or someone else that also needs to be considered 用于引入一个新的话题，或者提及需要考虑的另外的人/事 （what about 和how about也可用于表达这层意思。） • e.g. • And what of her other job? How is that progressing? （ 她的另一项工作呢？进展得怎么样？）

19. Language Points • have the run of (sth) (para. 3): • to have permission to make full use of sth；to be allowed to go anywhere and do anything in a place (获准)充分使用某物/自由利用某处 • e.g. • He has the run of the house. （ 他获准自由使用那所房子。）

20. Language Points • be headed (toward) (para. 4): • means the same as head—to go or travel towards a particular place, especially in a deliberate way; always followed by adverbs or prepositions (for/towards/back, etc) 朝某方向行进 • e.g. • Where are you headed? （ 你往哪儿去？）

21. Language Points Difficult Sentences • Unless global warming has already progressed beyond the point of no return, it would eventually recover much of its diversity and richness. (para.3) • 本句中beyond the point of no return意指 “超出可回归/逆转的限度”；全句意为：除非全球变暖已达到不可逆转的程度，否则大自然最终将在很大程度上恢复其多样性和丰富性。