Less Interests More Interest

王佳秀 葛城均

【Abstract】 Nowadays， environmental pollution and natural resource exhaustion have always been hot topics in the research of the development of human society. Humans are afflicting with diseases which have killed and are still killing thousands and thousands of men today around the world， such as water pollution， air pollution， noise pollution， rubbish pollution， green-house effect， deforestation， seaquake，desertification， mud-rock flow and so on.

【Key words】At War with the Planet environmental protection environmental pollution

The essay At war with the Planet is the opening chapter of Making peace with the Planet， a book published in 1990 by Barry Commoner， was an American cellular biologist， college professor， and politician. He was a leading ecologist among the founders of the modern environmental movement. And he also was the director of the Critical Genetics Project and the Center for Biology of Natural Systems.

We have a growing awareness of the damage caused by environmental pollution for it concerns each one of us. When exploring solution to the environmental crisis， the author dialectically analyzes American relevant policies. In reading this essay， we find many things familiar because these problems also exist in China. Frankly speaking， we have already paid heavily for past ignorance or neglect of environmental consequences. This essay is absolutely enlightening and will heighten our awareness and help motivate us to become activists in environmental protection.

Summary：

This essay is an argumentative writing which is organized in the following order： raising the question； then analyzing the question； finally solving the question.

Personally， the article can be divided into eight sections， section I ： This is the introductory part in which the author gets straight to the point that people live in two worlds： ecosphere and technosphere. Section II： The author Commoner explains why the two worlds are at war. The classic sign of the war is the appearance of a continent-sized hole in the Earths protective ozone layer and the threat of global warming. Section III： This part deals with the first law of the ecosphere， “Everything is connected to everything”， governing the relationship between man-made objects and the surroundings. Section IV： This part deals with the closed cyclical process of ecosphere and the linear process of technosphere. And the second law of the ecology is “Everything has to go somewhere”. Section V： This part focus on the ecosphere which is consistent and harmonious is in contrast to the technosphere which is composed of objects and materials that reflect a rapid and relentless process of rapid change and variation. Section VI： In this part， the author Commoner compares the ecosphere and the technosphere with respect to the consequences of failure. Section VII： Since people inhabit both worlds， they are caught in the clash between the ecosphere and technosphere. Section VIII： This is the concluding part of the essay. In this section， the author reemphasizes the importance of understanding the interplay of the two worlds.

ANALYSIS

In the essay， the author Barry Commoner uses numerous rhetorical devices to make his viewpoint more convincing， such as metaphor， simile， repetition， exemplification， comparison and contrast and so on.

A metaphor is a figure of speech that directly refers to one thing by mentioning another for rhetorical effect. It provides clarity or identify hidden similarities between two ideas. One of the most commonly cited examples is the war between ecosphere and technosphere. By asserting that the conflict is a war， the author conveys an understanding about the seriousness and urgency to solve this war with the planet.

Repetition is a literary device that repeats the same words or phrases a few times to make an idea clearer. It could be a word， a phrase or a full sentence， or a poetical line repeated to emphasize its significance in the entire text. Say， the two sentences that “there is no such thing as a free lunch” in the 15th paragraph and “A free lunch is really a debt” in the 16th paragraph； the word “Since” in the first sentence of the 17th and 18th paragraph as well as the word “if” in the 18th and 19th paragraph.

There are also some comparative sentence patterns worthy of learning. Such as “The purpose is less a lament over the wars numerous casualties than an inquiry into how future casualties can be prevented.” The pattern is “A is less … than B”. And this means “the purpose is a lament over the wars numerous casualties， and the purpose is an inquiry into how future casualties can be prevented”. When analyzing such kind of sentences， we should find out comparing patterns first.

Enlightenment

With the development of industry and agriculture， cars make great noises and give off poisonous gas. Trees on the hills have been cut down， and waste water is being poured continuously into rivers. We cannot alleviate and eliminate these damages to ecosphere. In that case， we must face the situation that exists and take actions. We must recognize that making peace with the planet is the only way to solve our environmental problems. For instance， new laws must be passed to place strict control over industrial pollution， the public must receive the education about the hazard of pollution and so on. We hope that all these measures will be effective and bring back a healthful environment for future generations.

Less interests， more interest. We should not only pursuit for the immediate interests， ignoring the long-term interests any more.

【參考文獻】

[1]楊立民，梅仁毅等.現代大學英語精讀6[M].外語教學與研究出版社，