Unit 5

The Villain in the Atmosphere

Warm-up Questions

What’s the weather like in your hometown? Do you like it? Why or why not?Have you ever noticed any changes in your hometown or in the city you’re now living in? What are they?Do you have any idea of the greenhouse effect? How does it affect the temperature on Earth?

1.

2.

3.

Background InformationGlobal warming refers to an average increase in

the Earth's temperature, which in turn causes changes in climate. A warmer Earth may lead to changes in rainfall patterns, a rise in sea level, and a wide range of impacts on plants, wildlife, and humans. When scientists talk about the issue of climate change, their concern is about global warming caused by human activities.

Glacier, an enduring accumulation of ice, snow, water, rock, and sediment （沉淀物） that moves under the influence of gravity. Glaciers form where the temperature is low enough to allow falling snow to accumulate and slowly transform into ice. This accumulation is most common in the polar regions, but can also occur at high altitudes on mountains even near the equator. Glaciers are complex systems that grow and shrink in response to climate. At the present, glacier ice covers about 15 million sq km ， or 10 percent, of Earth’s land area.

Polar Ice Cap

A polar ice cap is a high-latitude region, centered in the polar region, which is covered in ice.

Manhattan is one of the five boroughs that comprise the City of New York. It is by far the most densely populated county in the United States and famous for its soaring skyscrapers ，including the United Nation Headquarter ， Empire State Building ， Greenwich village ，Chinatown ， Broadway ， Times Square.

Writing Strategy Problem (What is it?)

Causes (Why?)

Solutions (How?)

Structure of the Text

Main IdeasParts

1 1 — 7

2 8 — 18

3 19 — 22

It introduces an essential gas to life — carbon dioxide and its influence.

It analyzes what carbon dioxide does to the temperature of the Earth and the factors that cause the concentration of it.

It gives us some suggestions to deal with the problems.

Read the text and finish the following True or False questions.

1. Carbon dioxide is very poisonous, although it is present in the atmosphere in a small quantity, it does us harm.

2. Carbon dioxide is one of the essential gases to life in the atmosphere.

3. The sea level is rising very slowly from year to year, mainly because of too much rain in these areas.

4. Among the gases in the atmosphere, only the concentration of carbon dioxide may result in preventing heat around the Earth from escaping.

True or False

5. The concentration of carbon dioxide increased steadily and it will be twice what is now by 2020.

6. Burning coal, oil and natural gas are ways to reduce carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

7. People are the real villains actually.8. In order to save ourselves, we must have new

sources of fuel that do not involve the production of carbon dioxide.

FTFT TFTT

Language Points & Sentence Analysis

villain: n. 1) a bad person who harms other people or brea

ks the law He's either a hero or a villain, depending on your

point of view.2) (infml) something or someone considered harmf

ul or dangerousWe've always been told that cholesterol (胆固醇 ),

in foods like eggs, was a major cause of heart disease but, actually, saturated(饱和的 ) fat is the worst villain.

Translate: 这个问题的另一元凶在于政府本身 .Another villain in the problem is the government its

elf.

poisonous: adj. containing or having the effect of poison

Can you tell the difference between poisonous mushrooms and edible (可食用的 ) varieties?

Translate: 这种药如大量服用是有害的。This medicine is poisonous if taken in large

quantities.

essential 1) n. a basic thing that you cannot live withoutBecause I live in a remote village, I regard my car

as an essential.

我们只来得及装上几件必需品。We only had time to pack a few essentials. 2) adj. necessary ； neededIt is essential for us to try to decide whether televisi

on is a blessing or a curse. Compare: essential, necessary & indispensable

retreat

1) vi. fall or draw back; withdraw or retireThe defeated army had to retreat hastily fro

m the battle field.2) n. withdrawalEnemy soldiers are now in full retreat.make/ carry out a retreata hasty retreatin full retreat 全线撤退

widespread: adj. found, placed, etc., in many places

Malnutrition in the region is widespread — affecting up to 78% of children under five years old.

Translate: 竞选运动得到了广泛的支持。The campaign has received widespread s

upport.

collapse

1) vi. fall down suddenly because of pressure or lack of strength or support

Thousands of buildings collapsed in the earthquake.

The bridge collapsed under the weight of the train. 2) n. the sudden failure of a system, organizatio

n, business, etc. Negotiations between the two countries are on t

he brink / verge of collapse.两国的谈判濒于失败。

alternative1) n. sth. that is different from something else,

especially from what is usual, and offering the possibility of choice

I'm afraid I have no alternative but to ask you to leave. Translate: 除了你的计划，另有几种选择方案。 There are several alternatives to your plan.2) adj. available in place of sth. else; other Translate: 你有没有可供选择的建议？ Have you got an alternative suggestion?

propose an alternative fall back on an alternative an alternative to…no alternative but to…

提出另一种选择依靠另一种办法…的替换物除…外别无选择

1.Where there are low-lying coastal areas (where a large fraction of the world’s population lives) the water will advance steadily, forcing people to retreat inland. (para. 5)

The water will move forward to the coastal areas that are not much above the land (in which a great number of people in the world live), as a result, many people have to move away and settle down inside their countries.

2.Florida will disappear beneath the waves, as will much of the British Isles, the crowded Nile valley, and the low-lying areas of China, India, and Russia. （ para. 6 ）佛罗里达将会沉没在海浪之下，英伦三岛的大部分，人口稠密的尼罗河流域，还有中国、印度和俄罗斯的低洼地区也都将遭到同样的命运。

He was exhausted, as were all the others in the team.

3. The atmosphere is not quite as transparent to infrared radiation as it is to visible light. (para. 10)

Paraphrase: The atmosphere is clearer to visible light than that to infrared radiation.大气层对红外线来说并不像它对可见光那样透明。

4. Thus, not only is more carbon dioxide being added to the atmosphere through burning of fuel, but as the forests disappear, less carbon dioxide is being removed from the atmosphere by plants.

Inversion. Inversion must be used when a negative word is put at the beginning of a sentence.

因此，不仅是通过燃料的燃烧使更多的二氧化碳被释放到大气中，而且，随着森林的消失，植物从大气中吸收的二氧化碳也减少了。

Review the useful expressions in the text.

1. 温室效应2. 对某人造成损害3. 生命必不可少4. 将…转化为…

5. 起…作用

6.…的基本食物供给7. 年复一年

8. 极有可能

greenhouse effect

do sb. harm

be essential to life

convert…into…

serve as

basic food supply for sth.

from year to year

in all likelihood

Useful Expressions

9. 以更快速度

10. 低洼的沿海地区

11. 盛产粮食的地区

12. 社会结构

13. 在…压力下14. 发生

15. 大气中的各种气体

16. 温暖地球表面

at a greater rate

low-lying coastal areas

productive farming areas

structure of society

under the pressure

come about

various gases of the atmosphere

warm the Earth’s surface

at a greater rate

17. 以…形式18. 红外线辐射

19. 二氧化碳浓度

20. 据估计

21. 地球的平均温度22. 极地冰盖

23. 用作燃料获取能量

24. 排放

in the form of

infrared radiation

concentration of carbon dioxide

it is estimated that…

Earth’s average temperature

the polar ice caps

be burned for energy

pour into

25. 近一两个世纪26. 被加入…27. 从…清除

28. 给某人一个新视角

in the last couple of centuries

be added to…

be removed from

give sb. a new perspective

29. 新的燃料源

30. 反对，不喜欢

new source of fuel

object to doing sth.

Summarize the text

1. The villain…is carbon dioxide.2. It is harmful if we have too much of it…3. To blame are two factors.4. What should we do?

Proverbs and Quotations

1. Ill air slays sooner than the sword. 污浊的空气杀人比刀还要快。

2. Exercise, temperance, fresh air, and needful rest are the best of all physicians.

锻炼、节制、新鲜空气和必要的休息是最好的医生。

3. Fire and water are good servants, but bad masters.

水火是忠仆，造灾成元凶。

5. Every particular in nature, a leaf, a drop, a moment of time is related to the whole, and partakes of the perfection of the whole. Each particle is a microcosm, and faithfully renders the likeness of the world. — Ralph Emerson, American philosopher

滴滴小水珠，颗颗小沙粒，会形成浩瀚的海洋和宜人的土地。 —— 美国诗人 J. 卡尼

自然界中每一微小细节，一片树叶，一滴雨水，一个瞬间，都是和整个大自然相连，共同组成它的完美。每一个微粒都是一个微观世界，忠实地反映着它和整个世界的相似。 —— 美国哲学家 R. 爱默生

4.Little drops of water, little grains of sand, make the mighty ocean and the pleasant land. —Julia Carney, American poet