人類正在摧毀自然界

李全忠

一項(xiàng)重要的研究警告說，全球野生動植物種類和棲息地正在以“前所未有”的速度減少，這直接威脅到人類自身。

1. dramatically /drmtkli/ adv. 極大地

2. unprecedented /npresdentd/ adj. 前所未有的

3. wither /wr/ v. （尤指漸漸）破滅;消失

4. degradation /deɡrden/ n. 毀壞;惡化（過程）

5. pollinate /plnet/ v. 授粉

A new United Nations assessment has concluded that humans are transforming Earths natural landscapes so dramatically that as many as one million plant and animal species are now at risk of extinction， posing a huge threat to ecosystems that people all over the world depend on for their survival.

Its conclusions are worrying. In most major land habitats， the average abundance of native plant and animal life has fallen by 20 percent or more. With the human population passing 7 billion， activities like farming， logging， poaching， fishing and mining are altering the natural world at a rate unprecedented in human history.

At the same time， a new threat has emerged. Global warming has become a major driver of wildlife decline by shifting or shrinking the local climates that many mammals， birds， insects， fish and plants evolved to survive in. When combined with the other ways humans are damaging the environment， climate change is now pushing a growing number of species， such as the Bengal tiger， closer to extinction.

As a result， biodiversity loss is projected to accelerate through 2050， particularly in the tropics， unless countries drastically step up their conservation efforts.

“For a long time， people have thought of biodiversity as saving nature for its own sake，” said Robert Watson， chair of the Intergovernmental SciencePolicy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services. “But this report makes it clear that therere links between biodiversity and nature and things like food security and clean water in both rich and poor countries.”

But as these natural landscapes wither and become less biologically rich， the services they can provide to humans have been on the decrease.

Humans are producing more food than ever， but land degradation is already harming agricultural productivity on 23 percent of the planets land area， the new report said. The decline of wild bees and other insects that help pollinate fruits and vegetables is putting up to $577 billion in annual crop production at risk. The loss of mangrove forests and coral reefs along coasts could expose up to 300 million people to increased risk of flooding.

Ⅰ. Difficult sentences

1. A new United Nations assessment has concluded that humans are transforming Earths natural landscapes so dramatically that as many as one million plant and animal species are now at risk of extinction， posing a huge threat to ecosystems that people all over the world depend on for their survival.

譯文：聯(lián)合國的一項(xiàng)新評估得出結(jié)論：人類正在極大地改變地球的自然景觀，以致多達(dá)100萬種動植物正面臨滅絕的危險，這對全世界人民賴以生存的生態(tài)系統(tǒng)構(gòu)成了巨大威脅。

分析：本句是一個主從復(fù)合句，謂語動詞為has concluded， 其后的that 引導(dǎo)賓語從句。so dramatically that...為so...that...句型，意為“如此……以至于……”。posing a huge threat...survival部分為現(xiàn)在分詞作結(jié)果狀語，其中that people... survival為定語從句，先行詞為ecosystems。

2. When combined with the other ways humans are damaging the environment， climate change is now pushing a growing number of species， such as the Bengal tiger， closer to extinction.

譯文：當(dāng)與人類破壞環(huán)境的其他方式相結(jié)合時，氣候變化正在推動越來越多的物種，如孟加拉虎，更接近滅絕。

分析：When combined with...是when climate change is combined with...的省略形式。humans

are damaging the environment是一個省略了that/in which的定語從句，先行詞為ways。

Ⅱ. Useful sentence patterns

But this report makes it clear that therere links between biodiversity and nature and things like food security and clean water in both rich and poor countries.

譯文：但這份報告明確指出，無論是在富裕還是貧窮的國家，生物多樣性與自然以及食品安全和潔凈水等問題之間存在著聯(lián)系。

分析：本句使用了make it clear that...的句型，意為“明確指出/表明……”。

Practice：句式仿寫

他的演講已明確表明他會支持我們。

假定你是李華。在閱讀完本文后，深受觸動，想給《瘋狂英語》撰寫一篇以“Healing the earth”為題的英語文章，呼吁人類停止對地球的傷害。

要求：

1. 文章150詞左右，開頭和結(jié)尾已給出，不計(jì)入總詞數(shù);

2. 可以適當(dāng)增加細(xì)節(jié)，以使行文連貫;

3. 至少要有兩個段落有主題句。

寫作導(dǎo)引

本文是一篇說明文。文章一開始就以一份研究報告引入主題，介紹了人類正在以“前所未有”的速度破壞自然景觀及其所造成的影響。接下來，文章說明了自然景觀和生態(tài)遭到破壞的幾種原因：人口增長、氣候變化，以及人類生態(tài)意識的淡薄。最后，使用舉例的方法強(qiáng)調(diào)了人類面臨的問題。

文章限定了“依托本文”的寫作要求，因此，寫作時必須注意文章提取和相關(guān)信息的整合。

一、確定主題內(nèi)容

1. What does the passage mainly talk about？（Humans are devastating the natural world at an unprecedented pace.）

2. In what aspect are humans devastating the natural world？（Speeding extinction and altering the natural world.）

3. What are the factors in devastating the natural world？（Increase in human population，global warming， lack of the awareness of maintaining the biodiversity.）

4. What are the impacts of humans devastating the natural world？（The average abundance of native plant and animal life has fallen by 20 percent or more; pushing a growing number of species， such as the Bengal tiger， closer to extinction; natural landscapes wither and become less biologically rich...）

5. What should humans do to protect the natural world？（Control the birth rate， step up conservation efforts， raise the awareness of maintaining the biodiversity.）

二、整合話題表達(dá)

在整合相關(guān)的話題時需要對文中的相關(guān)句子進(jìn)行整合、改寫，并根據(jù)內(nèi)容的需要增補(bǔ)適當(dāng)?shù)谋磉_(dá)。同時，還應(yīng)注意所提取的表達(dá)應(yīng)反映出文章的主要信息。

（一）描述現(xiàn)象及其影響

Humans are transforming Earths natural landscapes so dramatically that as many as one million plant and animal species are now at risk of extinction， posing a huge threat to ecosystems that people all over the world depend on for their survival.

→Earths natural landscapes are being dramatically transformed， for which one million species are endangered to be extinct and ecosystems essential for mans survival are profoundly destroyed.

As a result， biodiversity loss is projected to accelerate through 2050， particularly in the tropics， unless countries drastically step up their conservation efforts.

→Consequently， biodiversity loss is projected to accelerate through 2050， especially in the tropics if countries fail to step up their conservation efforts.

But as these natural landscapes wither and become less biologically rich， the services they can provide to humans have been on the decrease.

→Some natural landscapes wither and become less biologically rich， providing dwindling services for humans.

（二）解釋原因

With the human population passing 7 billion， activities like farming， logging， poaching， fishing and mining are altering the natural world at a rate unprecedented in human history.

→Mans endless demands have destroyed nature when the population keeps growing.

Global warming has been shifting or shrinking the local climates that many mammals， birds， insects， fish and plants evolved to survive in.

→Global warming has been contributing to the shift or shrinkage of the local climates where many species evolved to survive.

→When combined with the other ways humans are damaging the environment， climate change is now pushing a growing number of species， such as the Bengal tiger， closer to extinction.

→More and more species like the Bengal tiger are closer to extinction because of climate change and humans destruction on the environment.

For a long time， people have thought of biodiversity as saving nature for its own sake.

→The lack of the awareness of maintaining the biodiversity has long been around.

（三）解決措施

核心措施1：birth control

→Man should take stricter measures to control the birth rate.

核心措施2：Countries drastically step up their conservation efforts.

→It is vital that all countries make more efforts to conserve the biodiversity.

核心措施3：For a long time， people have thought of biodiversity as saving nature for its own sake.

→It is also necessary that everyone raise the awareness of maintaining the biodiversity.

三、搭建寫作支架

本次寫作任務(wù)是一篇典型的說明文寫作，根據(jù)提取的信息，語篇結(jié)構(gòu)可定為“現(xiàn)象與結(jié)果—原因—解決方案”。文章的框架如下：

Nowadays， with the development of economy...（現(xiàn)象） It has posed a huge threat to mans survival.（過渡句） Firstly， ...（影響1） Secondly， ...（影響2） Finally， ...（最后一條影響）

There are two reasons which account for this phenomenon. （段落主題句） On the one hand， ...（原因1） Therefore， ...（拓展句） On the other hand， ...（原因2） Consequently， ...（拓展句）

It is time that measures should be taken to make a change.（概述解決措施） To begin with...（措施1） Then...（措施2） Last but not least...（最后一條措施） Only by joint efforts， can human truly maintain the balance of nature and obtain sustainable development.（以倒裝句總結(jié)收尾）

四、連句成文，加工潤色

連句成文時可以根據(jù)實(shí)際，對已經(jīng)提取的信息進(jìn)行合并、精簡或刪除。并且，需要注意合理控制文章的篇幅，同時使用必要的連接手段，以使得行文連貫。

Healing the earth