人类正在摧毁自然界

李全忠

一項重要的研究警告说，全球野生动植物种类和栖息地正在以“前所未有”的速度减少，这直接威胁到人类自身。

1. dramatically /drmtkli/ adv. 极大地

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

3. wither /wr/ v. （尤指渐渐）破灭;消失

4. degradation /deɡrden/ n. 毁坏;恶化（过程）

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.

译文：联合国的一项新评估得出结论：人类正在极大地改变地球的自然景观，以致多达100万种动植物正面临灭绝的危险，这对全世界人民赖以生存的生态系统构成了巨大威胁。

分析：本句是一个主从复合句，谓语动词为has concluded， 其后的that 引导宾语从句。so dramatically that...为so...that...句型，意为“如此……以至于……”。posing a huge threat...survival部分为现在分词作结果状语，其中that people... survival为定语从句，先行词为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.

译文：当与人类破坏环境的其他方式相结合时，气候变化正在推动越来越多的物种，如孟加拉虎，更接近灭绝。

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的定语从句，先行词为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.

译文：但这份报告明确指出，无论是在富裕还是贫穷的国家，生物多样性与自然以及食品安全和洁净水等问题之间存在着联系。

分析：本句使用了make it clear that...的句型，意为“明确指出/表明……”。

Practice：句式仿写

他的演讲已明确表明他会支持我们。

假定你是李华。在阅读完本文后，深受触动，想给《疯狂英语》撰写一篇以“Healing the earth”为题的英语文章，呼吁人类停止对地球的伤害。

要求：

1. 文章150词左右，开头和结尾已给出，不计入总词数;

2. 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯;

3. 至少要有两个段落有主题句。

写作导引

本文是一篇说明文。文章一开始就以一份研究报告引入主题，介绍了人类正在以“前所未有”的速度破坏自然景观及其所造成的影响。接下来，文章说明了自然景观和生态遭到破坏的几种原因：人口增长、气候变化，以及人类生态意识的淡薄。最后，使用举例的方法强调了人类面临的问题。

文章限定了“依托本文”的写作要求，因此，写作时必须注意文章提取和相关信息的整合。

一、确定主题内容

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、整合話题表达

在整合相关的话题时需要对文中的相关句子进行整合、改写，并根据内容的需要增补适当的表达。同时，还应注意所提取的表达应反映出文章的主要信息。

（一）描述现象及其影响

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）解释原因

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）解决措施

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

本次写作任务是一篇典型的说明文写作，根据提取的信息，语篇结构可定为“现象与结果—原因—解决方案”。文章的框架如下：

Nowadays， with the development of economy...（现象） It has posed a huge threat to mans survival.（过渡句） Firstly， ...（影响1） Secondly， ...（影响2） Finally， ...（最后一条影响）

There are two reasons which account for this phenomenon. （段落主题句） 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.（概述解决措施） To begin with...（措施1） Then...（措施2） Last but not least...（最后一条措施） Only by joint efforts， can human truly maintain the balance of nature and obtain sustainable development.（以倒装句总结收尾）

四、连句成文，加工润色

连句成文时可以根据实际，对已经提取的信息进行合并、精简或删除。并且，需要注意合理控制文章的篇幅，同时使用必要的连接手段，以使得行文连贯。

Healing the earth