世界各地响应“地球一小时”

快速阅读2　世界各地响应“地球一小时”

上周六，世界各地纷纷熄灯响应“地球一小时”，抵御全球气候变化的活动。悉尼歌剧院、北京故宫，以及埃菲尔铁塔、大本钟和罗马圆形大剧场等欧洲著名地标建筑相继熄灯。美国纽约的帝国大厦、华盛顿的国家大教堂、亚特兰大的可口可乐公司总部等建筑也在当晚熄灭了灯光。

“地球一小时”活动于上周六晚8点30分开始，当晚预计有数百万人关掉电灯和电器一小时以示响应。该活动旨在加强人们的环保意识，并呼吁制定一个减少温室气体排放的有约束力协议。今年是世界自然基金会第四次举办“地球一小时”活动。世界自然基金会华盛顿分会的发言人丹·弗尔曼说：“看到全球亿万民众都持有减少碳足迹的共同价值观，真是件好事。”据“地球一小时”活动组织者介绍，从新西兰海岸遥远的查塔姆岛开始，全球120多个国家的约4 000个城市自愿参与了上周六的活动，以减少能源消耗，但交通信号灯和其它安全装置未受影响。

世界自然基金会澳大利亚分会的首席执行官格雷格·伯恩说：“从卡萨布兰卡到纳米比亚和坦桑尼亚的旅行露营地，每个人都参与到我们的活动中来。”“地球一小时”活动于2007年在悉尼首次发起，之后发展为一项全球性的活动。世界自然基金会英国分会的女发言人黛比·查普曼说：“这是在向政治家们发出呼吁：你们不能放弃对抑制气候变化的努力。”

英国白金汉宫和议会大厦于当晚熄灯支持该活动，伦敦其它一些著名建筑如圣保罗大教堂和艾伯特皇家音乐厅以及苏格兰的爱丁堡城堡也加入到熄灯行动中来。莫斯科当晚也响应了该活动，坐落于山上俯瞰全市的标志性宏伟建筑莫斯科大学消失在夜色中。附近的卢日尼基大体育场和位于市中心的高层建筑乌克兰酒店也熄灭了灯光。海参崴的几家饭店则举办起了“烛光之夜”活动，借“地球一小时”之机营造浪漫气氛。南极洲戴维斯站的科考人员也参与了活动，他们于当晚熄灭了驻地的灯。

去年，约有88个城市参加“地球一小时”活动，该活动受到了联合国、全球企业、非盈利性团体、学校、科学家和社会名流们的支持。

练习答案

I.

1. The environment provides many basic inputs of economic activity—forests， fisheries， metals， minerals—as well as the energy used to process those materials. Trade and investment， in turn， are affected by environmental concerns， as producers and investors must comply with environmental regulations and markets must address the consumer demand for greener goods.

2. Trade and investment rules.

3. “Relations in the field of trade and economic endeavor should be conducted with a view to raising standards of living...seeking both to protect and preserve the environment and to enhance the means for doing so.”

4. US-Jordan Free Trade.

5. Environmental agreements and effective national environmental policies help to decrease the possibility that economic integration could lead countries to relax their health， safety and environmental standards in order to attract international investment or gain a competitive advantage in the market place.

II. 1. c 2. j 3. g 4. a 5. i 6. b 7. h 8. e 9. f 10. d

III.

世界经济一体化有可能导致一些国家为了吸引外资或为了在市场经济中获得一席之地而放松健康、安全和环境方面的标准。世贸环境协议以及有效的国家性环境政策降低了这种可能性。如果没有适当的经济政策，日益发展的全球化经济及全球化投资也许不能持续发展下去，世贸环境协议也重申了这一点。这些协议正是为了减慢或阻止环境的进一步恶化而签署的，目前这些协议有的仍处于谈判状态，有的已经开始实施。

IV.

1. These enterprises must be made to comply with the environmental regulations， otherwise， the consequences will be quite serious.

2. Aside from motorcars， the factory turns out bicycles.

3. Let’s take the company as an example to see how they do their export trade.

4. Too much work and too little rest often lead to illness.

5. Climate change results from the destruction of the environment.

V. Omitted

快速阅读1

I. 1. T 2. F 3. T 4. F 5. F

II. 1. C 2. A 3. B 4. D 5. B

快速阅读2

I.

1. Europe’s best known landmarks—including the Eiffel Tower， Big Ben and Rome’s Colosseum.

2. To highlight environmental concerns and to call for a binding pact to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

3. Some 4 000 cities in more than 120 countries.

4. It was organized by the World Wildlife Fund and started in 2007.

5. Last year， some 88 cities took part in Earth Hour， which is backed by the United Nations as well as global corporations， nonprofit groups， schools， scientists and celebrities.

II. 1. F 2. T 3. F 4. T 5. F