新视野大学英语视听说教程 4 Unit 3-7

MODEL2   Things are a bit out of balance.
Script
John: The seventh straight day of rain. It’s too much. Things are a bit out of balance.
Susan: Yeah, too much rain here, too little there. Last summer firestorms destroyed many parts of the globe.
John: Firestorms are a pretty interesting phenomenon. They generate¹ so much heat that they create their own weather. Nothing you can do about it.
Susan: Once a fire developed into a firestorm, there’s no stopping it. Some people think we shouldn’t try.
John: You mean, just let the forests burn? How can we watch people’s homes on fire with folded arms?
Susan: Some experts argue that forest fires are part of nature, and that we shouldn’t try to interfere², except, of course, to save homes and lives.
John:  It seems wrong to let all good timber³ burn. What a waste that would be!
Susan: But that’s nature’s way of cleaning up the debris⁴ that collects on the forest floor and creating new kind of growth.
John: Maybe so, but it still seems wrong to just let fires burn.
Susan: After all, there have been verdant⁵ forests for millions of years without man’s help fighting the fires.
John: That may be true, but I still think it’s wrong to not put out forest fires

1 generate   

vt.生成，产生（光、热、电等）导致

参考例句：

• We need someone to generate new ideas.我们需要有人出新主意。
• This book will continue to generate excitement for a long time.这本书将在很长一段时间里继续使人们为之激动。

2 interfere   

v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰

参考例句：

• If we interfere, it may do more harm than good.如果我们干预的话，可能弊多利少。
• When others interfere in the affair,it always makes troubles. 别人一卷入这一事件，棘手的事情就来了。

3 timber   

n.木材，原木，大木料，栋木

参考例句：

• These trees need more time to grow into useful timber.这些树不够年头，还没成材呢。
• The timber is graded according to its thickness.木材按厚度分级。

4 debris   

n.瓦砾堆，废墟，碎片

参考例句：

• After the bombing there was a lot of debris everywhere.轰炸之后到处瓦砾成堆。
• Bacteria sticks to food debris in the teeth,causing decay.细菌附着在牙缝中的食物残渣上，导致蛀牙。

5 verdant   

adj.翠绿的，青翠的，生疏的，不老练的

参考例句：

• Children are playing on the verdant lawn.孩子们在绿茵茵的草坪上嬉戏玩耍。
• The verdant mountain forest turns red gradually in the autumn wind.苍翠的山林在秋风中渐渐变红了。