发布时间 : 星期日 文章Unit 3.ships in the desert课文解释更新完毕开始阅读
just as men tear tusks…with extinction: men are killing such large number of elephants for their tusks that the species will soon extinguish.
we are ripping matter from its place …darkness: we are using and destroying resources in such a big amount that we are disturbing the balance between daylight and darkness.
rip: tear; When you rip something or when it rips, it is torn violently. e.g. The poster had been ripped to pieces. Two of the canvas bags had been ripped in such volume: in such quantity
upset: When the word is used as a verb or a predicative, the second syllable is stressed; When it is used as an adjective in an attributive position, the first syllable is stressed.
e.g.: You are upset. I’ve got an upset stomach. to upset the balance: to cause something to go wrong
changing the chemistry of the upper atmosphere: changing the chemical composition of the upper atmosphere
But, without even…shouldn’t it startle us…glisten with a spectral light? Or have our eyes …earth?
These are two rhetorical questions.
startle: to alarm suddenly or unexpectedly
glisten: to shine or sparkle with reflected light, as a wet or polished surface spectral: like a ghost; ghostly
adjust (to) : to change so as to fit, conform see : understand
for what they are: in their real light; the real nature of manifestation: display
Paragraph 9
whether it’s the frequency of days…waste: whether it is the fact that recently there are more hot days when the temperature is over 100 degrees Fahrenheit (=38℃), or the fact the sun burns our skin more quickly in recent times, or the fact that the debate over the way of disposing of the growing amount of waste matter comes up more frequently.
But our response to these signals is puzzling: But our reaction to these signals is so baffling that it is difficult to understand.
Why haven’t we launched …environment: Why haven’t we started a large-scale movement to save our environment?
To come at the question another way: To approach the question in a different way; to put the question differently
Why do some images…respond effectively: Why do some signs so alarm us that we immediately take action and concentrate on ways of dealing with them effectively?
And why do other images, though sometimes…distraction: And why do other signs, though sometimes no less striking, only cause a kind of loss and inactivity and we concentrate our attention not on the ways to deal with them but instead, on some other substitutes which are easy to get and less painful?
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it may be … appropriately: it may be useful to arrange them into different groups, thus getting our thoughts and feelings straightened out / organized so that we will be able to take the most suitable action.
Problems like acid rain …regional in both of these categories: Problems like
acid rain, the contamination of underground aquifers, and large oil spills basically belong to both local and regional categories.
Acid rain:（酸雨） rain with a high concentration of acids produced by sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide, etc. emitted during the combustion of fossil fuels; it has a destructive effect on plant and aquatic life, buildings, etc.
aquifer: an underground layer of porous (多孔的)rock, sand, etc, containing water, into which wells can be sunk. at stake
Some observers think there is too much at stake for the two sides not to come to an agreement on oversight. 一些观察人士认为，如果两国在监管问题上不能达成一致，将会涉及相当大的利害关系。
The same is about to happen again but with more at stake for Europe this time around.
同样的一幕又将重演，但这一次对欧洲来说更加利害攸关
The 600 percent increase … to the top of the sky: chlorine: 氯
chlorofluorocarbons: CFC氟里昂