研究生精读教程第三版PPT下册Unit 4 The Man Who Discovered Mother Nature.ppt

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1、研究生英语精读教程(第三版下),中国人民大学出版社,Unit Four,The Man Who Discovered Mother Nature,1.Text,2.Exercise,3.Supplementary Reading,The Man Who Discovered Mother Nature,James Lovelocks bold new theorymay forever change the way welook at life on our planetLowell Ponte,Menu,Translation,peacock n.a large bird,which has

2、 long tail feathers孔雀strut vi.(usu.derog)to walk proudly and stiffly,esp.with the chest pushed forwards and trying to look important大摇大摆地走，架子十足地走,Menu,1AMID GREEN ROLLING HILLS in southwest England,the mud-and-straw cottage seems unchanged since Shakespeares time.Peacocks*strut*in the surrounding me

3、adow.,But a new adjoining*building houses a laboratory filled with computers,chromatographs*,chemical and electronic equipment.,adjoining adj.touching or having a common boundary at a point or line毗邻的chromatograph n.instrument for separating and usu.identifying the chemical compounds present in a mi

4、xture by dissolving the mixture in a liquid or gas and passing it over or through an absorbent substance so that each compound remains in the substance as a separate often colored layer色谱仪，色层分离仪,Translation,Menu,2The owner,James Lovelock,is an anachronism*.In an age when almost all scientists are sp

5、ecialists working in large organizations,Lovelock,now 72,is an independent researcher and inventor,freely pursuing his curiosity across many fields.,anachronism n.a person,thing,or idea that is or appears to be in the wrong period of time与时代不相符合的人(或事物),Menu,Credited*with more than 40 patents*,he res

6、embles a modern Ben Franklin,who would study the Gulf Stream one day and the next fly his kite to catch the secrets of lightning bolts.And from his small laboratory,Lovelock has proposed a theory that is changing the way scientists think about life on our planet.,credit vt.to consider usu.favorably

7、as the source,author,motivating agent,or performer of an action or as possessor of a traitusu.used with“with”认为有(某种优点或成就等)patent n.a grant made by a government to an inventor,assuring him the sole right to make,use and sell his invention for a certain period of time专利，专利权,Translation,Menu,3It all be

8、gan more than three decades ago when Lovelock devised the electron capture detector*.Still widely used,this electronic nose is able to sniff out a few parts per trillion*of chemicals found in the soil,water or air.Aware of Lovelocks skills,NASA asked him in 1961 to help devise ways of detecting life

9、 on Mars.,detector n.any instrument for finding out the presence of something检测器，探测器trillion n.(Gt.Brit.)million million million 英百亿亿，百万兆(百万的三次幂)；美 百亿，兆(百万的二次幂),Menu,Translation,4Lovelock studied the chemistry of Mars,using analyses provided by NASAs infrared*telescopes,and found that no chemical ch

10、anges were going on.Such stability was a clear gravestone marking a lifeless planet.Later,two Viking*robot landers on Mars confirmed his grim analysis.,infrared adj.of or being rays of light of long wavelength that cannot be seen but give heat红外线的，产生红外辐射的Viking n.the coasts of northern and western E

11、urope from the 8th through the 10th century北欧海盗；海盗；维京人,Menu,But now notice this.If one simply withholds treatment,it may take the patient longer to die,and so he may suffer more than he would if more direct action were taken and lethal*injection given.This fact provides strong reason for thinking th

12、at,once the initial decision not to prolong his agony has been made,active euthanasia is actually preferable to passive euthanasia,rather than the reverse.,lethal adj.able or certain to kill致死的,Menu,Translation,5But while searching for signs of life on Mars,Lovelock became fascinated with the Goldil

13、ocks*Problem,a puzzle that has long intrigued*scientists:Why is Venus too hot for life,Mars too cold and Earth just right?,goldilocks n.a European plant欧洲一种黄花；金发菊属植物；欧洲童话中的一位“金发小姑娘”（她到野外游玩，误入住有三只熊的房子，她把熊老二的粥喝了，椅子坐坏了，最后倒在熊老二的床上睡着了。）intrigue vt.arouse the interest or curiosity of激起的兴趣或好奇心；使感到迷惑不解而急欲弄清

14、,Translation,Menu,6Researchers used to assume that Earth simply had the good luck to be at precisely the right distance from the Sun so that water remained in a liquid state,at temperatures between boiling and freezing.,Menu,But our sun has burned hotter as it ages;the best estimate is that it shine

15、s with 25 to 30 percent more light and heat than when life first appeared on Earth about 3.8 billion years ago.Earths average temperature then is estimated to have been around 73 degrees Fahrenheit.Today its cooler,about 59 degrees F.How could this be?,Translation,Menu,7Lovelock wondered whether som

16、e powerful,self regulating system was at work.He came up with a provocative*thesis:our planet acts like a giant living organism,in which all living things interact to maintain stability.,provocative adj.likely to cause,anger,argument,interest,etc.激怒的；引起议论、兴趣等的；刺激的,Menu,Individuals and species unknow

17、ingly play a part,much as the red blood cells in your body have a life of their own,but unwittingly*work in concert to maintain your life.,unwitting adj.not knowing or not intended不知情的；无心的；非故意的,Translation,Menu,8Nobel Prize winning author William Golding,Lovelocks neighbor,suggested calling the theo

18、ry Gaia(GUY-ah)after the ancient Greek Earth goddess,Lovelock embraced*the name.Since he first propounded*it in 1969,the Gaia Hypothesis has become the center of a major storm of scientific debate.,embrace vt.accept;make use of接受；利用propound vt.put forward or offer for consideration or solution提出以供考虑

19、或解决,Menu,Translation,9Simple as it sounds,the Gaia Hypothesis is a revolutionary idea.It argues that living things are not passive victims of their environment but can alter it.The theory could transform scientific thinking much as did Sir Isaac Newtons image of the universe as a clockwork mechanism

20、.,Menu,Gaia challenges the scientific establishment-whose experts jealously rule narrow specialties-to see a bigger picture:the world as one system in which sea and sky and life transform one another.,Menu,As Lovelock,who earned his doctorate*in medicine,has said,We need to study Earth as doctors di

21、agnose and treat patients,not as an isolated leg or ear but as a whole,living being.We need scientists to think in a new way,to be geophysicians.,doctorate n.the degree or status of a doctor as conferred by a university博士衔，博士学位,Translation,Menu,10To understand how Gaia works,turn the clock back to w

22、hen life was first emerging.Evidence suggests that Earths atmosphere then contained up to 98 percent carbon dioxide.This produced a super greenhouse effect“that kept our world warm.,Menu,But as the Sun gradually burned hotter,what prevented Earth from becoming overheated?Just such a runaway*greenhou

23、se effect turned Venus,a planet very similar to ours in size and primordial*chemistry,into a hellish place with surface temperatures above 800 F.,runaway adj.out of control脱离控制的primordial adj.existing from or at the beginning(of time)初发的，初生的；原始的，(从)原始时代存在的,Menu,Lovelocks answer is that on Earth livi

24、ng things made the difference.The first bacteria,for instance,consumed carbon dioxide,removing it from the atmosphere and limiting the effect of this greenhouse gas.,Menu,Translation,11Then around 3.7 billion years ago,early forms of blue green algae*began to use sunlight to make food.But they also

25、produced what was in their world a poisonous gas-oxygen.When this eventually began to accumulate in the atmosphere,2.5 billion years ago,it cooled the planet and killed some life forms.Other organisms learned to live with oxygen,and that set the scene for the life we now know.,algae n.(pl.)very simp

26、le,usu.very small plants that live in or near water(复数)水藻，海藻,Translation,Menu,12Today oxygen makes up 21 percent of Earths atmosphere.Carbon dioxide comprises only 3/100ths of one percent of the air around us.On Venus,it is 98 percent.,Menu,Translation,13Gaia has many feedback*systems.For instance,L

27、ovelock once mentioned his measurements of plankton*-produced dimethylsulfide*gas in the atmosphere to University of Washington scientist Robert Charlson.,feedback n.remarks about or in answer to an action,process,etc.,passed back to the person(or machine)in charge,so that changes can be made if nec

28、essary反馈，反应，回复plankton n.the very small forms of plant and animal life that live in water,esp.the sea,and are eaten by many fish浮游生物dimethylsulfide n.二甲硫,Menu,Charlson had been puzzling over what unknown particles provide the nuclei on which moisture condenses,forming clouds.As a result,Lovelock,Cha

29、rlson and two other colleague hypothesized*another Gaian feedback mechanism.,hypothesize vt.to adopt as a hypothesis;assume假设，假定,Menu,If weather warmed,plankton might emit*more dimethylsulfide;the resulting sulfur particles in the air might produce more abundant droplets and reflective*clouds,thereb

30、y shading the world beneath and reflecting more sunlight back into space.Earth,according to this still debated theory,would be responding to hotter conditions with action to cool the environment.,emit vt.to send out(esp.heat,light,smell,sound,etc.)散发，发射reflective adj.capable of reflecting light,an i

31、mage,sound waves,etc.反射的，反映的,Translation,Menu,14In the 22 years since Lovelock propounded it,the Gaia Hypothesis has attracted an odd assortment*of enthusiasts.Some industrialists like Gaia because it seems to suggest that Mother Earth could survive even vast amounts of industrial pollution.,assortm

32、ent n.a group or quantity of mixed things or of various examples of the same type of thing;mixture;a collection of assorted things or people各种各类（人或物）的聚合；什锦；杂拌,Menu,Lovelock would agree,but he would add that the survival might include replacement of humans by more pollution resistant species.Many act

33、ivists in Europes environmentalist“Green”parties have embraced their own notions of Gaia.But Lovelock has criticized environmental politics as a“lush pasture for demagogues*.,demagogue n.(derog)a leader who tries to gain,or has gained,power by exciting popular feelings rather than by reasoned argume

34、nt煽动者，蛊惑民心的政客,Translation,Menu,15Gaia was heretical to many scientists because it seemed to suggest that life on Earth consciously controlled its environment.But Lovelock believes that Mother Nature acts in accord with Darwinian evolution,with no conscious plan or intelligence.Its just that,with 30

35、million species in the world,life has enormous resilience*.,resilience n.an ability to recover quickly from or adjust easily to misfortune,change,or disturbance恢复力，复原力；韧性,Menu,Translation,16“Whether you agree with Gaia or not,its a brilliant organizing principle,”says Stephen Schneider,a climatologi

36、st with the U.S.National Center for Atmospheric Research.“It brings together scientists who normally dont talk to one another,such as biologists,geochemists and atmospheric scientists,to ask profound questions about how living things and the planet interact*.,interact vi.act on each other相互作用，互相影响,T

37、ranslation,Menu,17One critic of the Gaia Hypothesis,British biologist Richard Dawkins,has argued that Earth cannot be regarded as a giant living organism,because,among other things,it doesnt reproduce.Lovelocks later work has suggested an intriguing answer to this challenge.,Menu,Translation,18Recen

38、t research shows that Mars receives just enough sunshine to sustain life.Lovelock and a collaborator*,science journalist Michael Allaby,have proposed a bold futuristic scheme:unleashing*the power of Gaia to bring life to Mars.,collaborate vi.to work together,esp.in a joint intellectual effort协作，合作un

39、leash vt.to set free from control;release释放,Menu,To warm the planet and get water flowing again,they suggest flooding the Martian atmosphere with chlorofluorocarbon*gases that would begin a greenhouse effect.Then tough microorganisms*from the dry valleys of Antarctica would be implanted*.,chlorofluo

40、rocarbon n.含氯碳氟化合物（简称 CFC）microorganism n.a living creature too small to be seen without a microscope微生物implant vt.to fix or set securely or deeply种植；插入；嵌入,Menu,By photosynthesis*the wee*creatures would begin turning carbon dioxide and water into oxygen.Unimpeded*by predators*or competitors,they cou

41、ld quickly reproduce and cover the surface of the planet.Human colonies could follow.,photosynthesis n.the production of special sugar-based substances that keep plants alive,caused by the action of sunlight on the green matter in leaves;the way green plants make their own food光合作用；光能合成wee adj.very

42、small极小的unimpeded adj.free from anything that impedes or hampers不受阻碍的,Translation,Menu,19Earth would thus have its first offspring,seeded by spaceship.,Menu,Translation,Exercise,.Comprehension,.Vocabulary,.Close,.Translation(English to Chinese),.Translation(Chinese to English),.Writing,Menu,.Compreh

43、ension,Answer the following questions or complete the following statements by choosing the best alternative A,B,C or D under each.You are allowed 2 minutes 30 seconds for this part.,1.What distinguishes James Lovelock from most other scientists of our time is _.his apparently humble residencehis mod

44、ern laboratoryhis independence and wide interestshis specialty in one particular field,Menu,Answers,.Comprehension,2.Lovelock studied the chemistry of Mars and _.discovered a gravestone theredetected no signs of life theresolved the Goldilocks Problem“yet did not find many chemical changes,Answers,M

45、enu,.Comprehension,3.When life first appeared on Earth about 3.8 billion years ago,_.the Sun did not shine with as much light and heat as it does todaythe Earth was not so hot as it is todayscientists began to be puzzled by the Goldilocks Problem“Mars and Venus also showed signs of life,Menu,Answers

46、,.Comprehension,4.The Gaia Hypothesis,according to the author,_.has by now been accepted by most scientistsis in fact not as revolutionary as it appears to beis changing the way scientists think about life on our planetis too far-fetched to be true,Answers,Menu,.Comprehension,5.According to the Gaia

47、 Hypothesis,Earth is just right for life because _.it is lucky enough to be at precisely the right distance from the Sunit has a lot of goldilocksstability is maintained as a result of lack of chemical changesthere is a powerful,self regulating system at work on it,Menu,Answers,.Comprehension,6.Love

48、lock advises scientists to _.regard Earth as a giant living organismbelieve that living things are victims of their environmentbe doctors as welltreat our planet as a patient,Answers,Menu,.Comprehension,7.According to the passage,it is not true that _.carbon dioxide makes up only 0.03%of the air aro

49、und us Venus is similar to Earth in size and chemistry the greater the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere,the stronger the greenhouse effect carbon dioxide comprises 98%of Venus atmosphere,Menu,Answers,.Comprehension,8.According to the author,of the people mentioned in the passage,Lovelock s

50、ees eye to eye with _.A.some industrialists B.Stephen Schneider C.Richard Dawkins D.none of the above,Answers,Menu,.Comprehension,9.Lovelock seems to hold that _.all species in the world can live forever life on Earth consciously controls its environment living things are not passive victims of thei