直面全球變暖造成的情感影響

陜西 李俊娥

福恩·夏普通過一次搭乘直升機飛行的經(jīng)歷認識到了冰川融化和環(huán)境污染問題的嚴重性。 這啟發(fā)了珍妮弗·雷恩·阿特金森，她決定給學生開設(shè)課程，教學生如何面對環(huán)境污染，她的課程讓很多學生開始關(guān)注環(huán)境問題。

313 難度 ★★★ 建議用時文章詞數(shù) 6分鐘

When she first started learning about the climate change from one of her elders, Fawn Sharp was invited on a helicopter flight over the Olympic Mountains to survey the Mount Anderson glacier. But the glacier was gone, melted by the warming climate. Sharp had a deep sense of loss when she discovered the glacier wasn't there anymore.

Loss is a growing issue for people working and living on the front lines of climate change.And that gave Jennifer Wren Atkinson, a fulltime lecturer at the University of Washington

Bothell, US, an idea for a class.

This term,she taught students on the Bothell campus about the emotional burdens of environmental studies. She used the experiences of Native American tribes (部落), scientists and activists, and asked her 24 students to face the reality that there is no easy fix—that “this is such an intractable problem that they're going to be dealing with it for the rest of their lives”.

Student Cody Dillon used to be a climate science skeptic (懷疑論者). Then he did his own reading and research, and changed his mind.

Dillon wasn't going into environmental work—he was a computer-science major. Yet,the potential for a worldwide environmental catastrophe seemed so real to him five years ago that he quit his job and became a full-time volunteer for an environmental group that worked on restoration (恢復) projects.

Six months into the work, he decided that Atkinson's class was just what he was looking for—a place where he could discuss his concerns about a changing climate.

Atkinson said she hopes the class helped her students prepare themselves for the amount of environmental loss that will happen over their lifetimes.

“We are already changing the planet—so many species are going to be lost, displaced or massively impacted,” she said. “The future isn't going to be what they imagined.”

Reading Check

Choose the best answer for each question.

1. Why did the author mention the case of Fawn Sharp?

A. To lay a basis for Fawn Sharp's further research.

B. To prove Fawn Sharp's work is similar to Atkinson's.

C. To lead into the issue of loss caused by climate change.

D.To show scientists'concern about the Mount Anderson glacier.

2. What's the main purpose of Atkinson's class?A. To explore how different people deal with climate change.

B. To get students more concerned about the environmental issue.

C. To find solutions to the environmental issue of the Olympic Mountains.

D. To teach students how to conduct research into the environment.

3. Which of the following best explains “intractable” underlined in paragraph 3?

A. Simple. B. Difficult.

C. Common. D. Interesting.

4. How did Atkinson's class influence Dillon?

A. It made him work as a part-time volunteer for restoration projects.

B. It made him realize a wide planet climate disaster would happen.

C. It encouraged him to be more involved in environmental protection.

D. It discouraged him to work on restoration projects for the environment.

Language Study

mind知多少？ 快來瞧一瞧！

Complete the sentences with proper phrases in proper forms related to “mind”.

cross one's mind spring to mind change one's mind make up one's mind blow one's mind

1. If something ________, you find it extremely exciting and impressive.

2.If something ________,you suddenly or immediately think of it.

3. If something _________, you have a thought or an idea.

4.If a person ________,he changes his decision,plan or opinion about something.

5. If a person _________, he decides which of the two or more choices he wants, especially after thinking for a long time.