Task 1

A. Answer the following questions.

1）key: It had quite a warm climate then.

2）key: About 150 million years ago, Gondwanaland began to break up, and the Antarctic moved southwards until it reached its present position.

3)key: 99 percent of the total area of Antarctica is covered by a massive ice sheet.

 

B. Complete the following sentences with what you hear on the tape.

1)…America, Africa, India, Australia

2)…size of a small dog,…proved the (former) land connection…fossils of animals and plants

3)is the penguin

Task 2

Choose the best answer to each of the following questions.

1)c 2)a 3)b 4)a

Task 3

A. Answer the following questions.

1)key: Because until 1980, it had been quiet for more than a hundred years.

2)key: It was strange. No birds were singing, and the air was still.

3)key: He was standing near the summit and reporting the eruption on radio.

B. Complete the following summary of the passage.

…southwest Washington,…over 35…eruption was in 1980, had been 123 years…beautiful recreation area,…to its summit.

…some tremors and small eruptions...there was no danger.

…May 18, 1980…Clouds of dust and ash…and rocks and mud…More than 40

…is peaceful now…slopes are empty.

Task 6

A. Answer the following questions.

1) key: A solar eclipse occurs when the moon passes between the Earth and the sun, and the moon’s shadow covers part of the Earth.

2)key: A solar eclipse has occurred at Christmas only 30 times during the past 5,000 years, the last time in 1954.

3) key: The (retina of the) eye can be permanently damaged.

4) key: It works by projecting the sun’s image on a piece of paper through a pinhole on another piece.

5) key: The next eclipse at Christmas will occur in 2307; it can be observed on the west coast of Africa.

A.    Decide whether the following statements are true (T) or false (F) according to the tape.

1)T 2)F 3)T

 

Task 8

A.    Fill in the following chart about the Roots & Shoots programme.

When was it started?	1991
Who started it?	Jane Goodall
What kind of program is it?	An environmental and humanitarian program
How many Roots & Shoots groups are there worldwide? In how many countries?	More than 4,000 groups in 68 countries
What is its main purpose?	To help kids develop a concern for animals, the environment, and their own communities
Why is it called Roots & Shoots?	Young people, like the roots which creep underground everywhere and shoots which break through brick walls to reach light, can break trough the walls, which represent all the problems that humans have caused on the planet, and change the world.

 

B.     Decide whether the following statements are true (T) or false (F) according to the tape.

1)F 2)F 3)T

 

Task 9

A. Answer the following questions.

1) key: Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco.

2) key: It’s San Francisco’s world-famous landmark.

3) key: Because of the gap between the amount of cars and the amount of roadway available.

       Or: If you think of it as a supply/ demand relationship, you’ll find that there’s a lot more demand than supply.

4) key: Texas Transportation Institute.

 

B. Complete the findings of the Urban Mobility Report according to the tape.

1) …traveled 85...

2)…average of 62 hours…case being in Los Angeles (136 hours)…, D.C., Seattle, Houston, San Jose, Dallas, New York, Atlanta and  Miami (an average of 69 hours).

3) Bigger cities …pace of the roadway and transit system development.

4) …also expensive …almost $68 billion a year.

Task 4

A. Answer the following questions.

1) Key: Mrs. Rakel Surlien is the Norwegian Minister of Environmental Protection, and she is about to begin a three-day visit to Britain.

2)key: Britain.

3)key: Britain insists the case against acid rain in general and its contribution in particular is far from proven. / Britain insists that neither the disastrous effects of acid rain nor Britain’s responsibility in the issue has been proven.

4) key: Sweden.

5) key: It refers to a group of some 20 nations which are committed to reducing sulfur dioxide by a third.  commit to 对…作出承诺, 承担义务,

6) key: Norway is against Britain in the dispute over acid rain in spite of its cordial approach.

B. Complete the following sentences with what you hear on the tape.

1) It is believed that the acid deposit may kill fish and most other aquatic life…large areas of forest at risk.

2) …burning power stations

3) …Britain can remain isolated

 

Task 5

A.    Complete the following sentences with the information you hear on the tape.

1)      In 1960, four out of five of all …every five survive. …from the rosy periwinkle, a forest flower,… used for centuries.

2)      …more than 2,000…with the ability to fight cancer. About 40 percent…connection with wildlife, largely from the rainforest.

3)      …Other drugs…comes from a South American tree,… high blood pressure are derived form the snakeroot plant from Indian forests.

4)      … new foods found in the tropical forests, such as the  winged bean

5)      …including rubber, spices, oils,…only one percent…been examined…remaining 99 percent are threatened

winged bean   有四个翼瓣豆荚的豆

 

Task 7

A.    Complete the following sentences about the changes in packaging.

1)      …,people use  pottery or metal containers,

2)      … growth of large cities….methods of food production.

3)      …Until the late 1950s, Americans had to borrow…, the returnable bottles were replaced by one-trip cans…

4)      …replace pots and pans.

returnable bottle   可回收瓶;多次使用瓶

packaging    ['pækədʒɪŋ]  n. 包装材料;包装材料的设计和生产

 

B.     Answer the following questions.

1)      key: Because the food must be shipped from place to place when it is produced, and because of the increased variety of foods available and the convenience of precooked meals, it is impossible for the customer to collect many foods in his own container.

2)      Key: Until the late 1950s Americans had to borrow soft-drink bottles by paying a deposit each time they bought one.  deposit    订金; 押金

3)      Key: Yes, because sales of soft drinks climbed.

4)      Key: Glass companies gave soft-drink sellers a helping hand. A US company, Consumer’s Glass, made an arrangement with the bottler companies to reimburse them for much of the cost of one-trip bottles.

5)      Key: Aluminium food packages now have their own electric plugs after you eat the food, you can just throw them away.

6)      Key: The writer is mildly criticizing the trend toward one-trip living and thinks it probably has gone too far.

Task 10 (explain the ways of writing an outline)

Complete the following outline of the passage.

Problems of Urbanization

I.                   Introduction

A.    Some problems common to both developed and developing countries

       e.g. poor housing, unemployment, and traffic problems

B.     Problems peculiar to developing countries

1.      Need for infrastructure

2.      Provision of infrastructure= process of urbanization

II.                Five consequences of uncontrolled urbanization

A.    Migration from country to city

B.     Depopulation of rural areas→decrease in food production

                                                   rise in prices

C.     High urban population growth rate

       Because: 1. more adults moving to the city

                      2. rural traditions of large families

D. Pressure on the supply of social services

       e.g. health and education

E. Excess of labor supply

  Lead to: low-productivity activities, e.g. street selling & car watching

III.             Three possible policies

A.    (Promote a) more equal land distribution→farmers stay on the land

       Because: able to feed families better

B.     Improve rural social services, particularly in the field of health and education

C.     (Give) financial aid to agriculture, especially to small landowners

Task 11

Planet Earth is 4,600,000,000 years old. If we condense this time span we can compare it to a person 46 years old. Only at the age of 42 did the Earth begin to flower. Dinosaurs and the great reptiles did not appear until one year ago, when the planet was 45. Mammals arrived only eight months ago, and in the middle of last week human-like apes developed into ape-like humans, and last weekend the last ice age covered the Earth.

Modern man has been around for 4 hours. During the last hour agriculture was discovered. The Industrial Revolution began a minute ago. Since then, we have multiplied our numbers to plague proportions, caused the extinction of 500 species of animals, turned the planet upside down in the search for fuels, and now we stand, arrogant with power, on the edge of a war to end all wars, and close to effectively destroying this oasis of life in the solar system.

proportion 一物与他物在数量、大小等方面的关系

 multiply (使)增加; (使)繁殖