欢乐美语:The Great Northwest 西北奇观

　　INTRODUCTION TO ACT I
Today on TUNING¹ IN THE U.S.A., Richard Stewart is the great forests of the Pacific Northwest. Here, much of America’s wood is produced. Richard is interested in photographing the trees and the men working among them. Some of the giant fir trees he sees are hundreds of years old. But they are being cut down for sale. Richard talks to a tree cutter and learns of a meeting where the people of the town will discuss the future of the trees.
Act I
Richard: [he speaks to himself.] What a beautiful morning! ... I love being with people, but there’s something about being a line in nature. It makes me feel so good…These Douglas fir trees are so big! [He photographs the trees.] [We hear the sound of saws.]
Ri: Sounds like chainsaws. Hmm. I thought this was a public forest. I didn’t think they were cutting trees here. Let’s take a look.
Lumberjack: Timber²! [Tree falls to the ground.]
Lumberjack: Hey, fella! What are you doing here?
Ri: I’ve been hiking in these woods, and I wondered about all this noise.
Lu: Well, now you know. But you should get back over that way. It’s dangerous around here.
Ri: I can see that.
Lu: The logging³ company doesn’t allow the public up here. It’s too easy for people to get hurt when we’re cutting down trees.
Ri: Well I’ll be leaving then. But would you mind if I took a couple of photographs before I go?
Lu: Go ahead. I don’t mind. Are you a conservationist!
Ri: If you mean, do I care about nature and the environment, then the answer is yes.
Lumberjack: My sister is a conservationist. And in a way, I am too. I love to hunt and fish. And the animals have to have wild lands to live in. But this is my job. I cut trees.
Ri: Who do you work for?
Lu: The logging company that runs this operation. They bought the rights to cut all around here from the Forest Service.
Ri: How do you choose which trees to cut?
Lu: In some places they’ll mark this tree and that tree. In other place, like here, we cut them all down. That really angers the conservationist.
Ri: I can see that it would. These are beautiful trees.
Lu: Listen, buddy⁵. I’ve got work to do. If you want to hear more about this business, you should come to the town meeting tonight.
Richard: Oh?
Lu: Yeah, people from the logging company and from the town will be there. You’ll hear all sides of the story.
Ri: Maybe I’ll do stat. So long.
NTRODUCTION TO ACT II
This time on TUNING IN THE U.S.A., Richard is at a town meeting in the Pacific Northwest. At the meeting there are many people who are concerned about the forests. But they are worried for different reasons. Some want to stop togging companies from cutting so many trees. Others say the cutting must continue because their jobs depend on it. It’s a difficult problem-as Richard soon discovers.
Act II
Richard: Excuse me. Is shat chair free?
Maggie: Yes, it is. This should be an interesting meeting. Hi. I’m Maggie Wright.
Ri: Hi. My name’s Richard Stewart.
Chairperson: [she bangs⁶ the desk and speaks into a microphone⁷.] Come to order! Come to order! We’re here tonight to discuss the new “forest plan” for West Mountain. The Forest Service wants to hear our comments within the nest thirty days. As you know, the Western Logging Corporation⁸ wants to start cutting trees on West Mountain…
Vice⁴: Yeah, we know about that plan! It’s a bad idea.
Chairperson: [she bangs the desk.] Hold on. Now, there are microphones⁹ on both sides of the hall so we can hear and record all your comments. Let’s get started.
Maggie: Richard? Have you seen their plans for West Mountain?
Ri: I’m from out of town, Maggie. But I was up on East Mountain photographing this morning.
Ma: It’s the same thing.
Ed: [he speaks into a microphone.] I’m Ed Anders. I’m a logger by trade. We’re cutting all over East Mountain. I see no reason not to do the same thing up on West Mountain.
Maggie: Excuse me, Richard. I need to move to the microphone.
Ed: My family has made a living in the woods for three generations. We have to be able to keep cutting.
Ma: [she speaks into a microphone.] I’m Maggie Wright. I understand your point, Ed. But those are old growth Douglas firs on West Mountain. They’re the last ones we have around here.
Ed: What do you propose¹⁰ we do?
Ma: I think we should preserve the trees on West Mountain.
Ed: Come on! Seventy percent of the jobs in this town are in cutting and in forest products.
Ma: I know. My brother is a logger, too. But the forest is a home to animals. And the land belongs to our children, too.
Ed: And what are we going to do for jobs? I don’t want to move away from here or go into any other kind of work. I’ve been a logger all my life…
[The meeting ends. Richard and Maggie walk outside to the parking lot.]
Richard: Well, Maggie, you were right. It was interesting.
Maggie: Oh, here’s my car. [She opens the door to her car.] We need to find other kinds of work to do around here. We can’t expect to live exactly the same way we always have – cutting and cutting. I just hope the Forest Service listens to us.
Ri: I’m sure they’ll try to come up with a plan that satisfies everyone.
Ma: Yup. That’s the way it works¹¹. Nice to meet you, Richard.
Ri: Nice to meet you, too. Good night.

1 tuning   

n.调谐，调整，调音v.调音( tune的现在分词 )；调整；（给收音机、电视等）调谐；使协调

参考例句：

• They are tuning up a plane on the flight line. 他们正在机场的飞机跑道上调试一架飞机。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The orchestra are tuning up. 管弦乐队在定弦。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

2 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。

3 logging   

n.伐木搬运业；记录，存入；航行日志v.砍伐树木(log的现在分词)

参考例句：

• All these measures were calculated to prevent water-logging by rainstorm or mountain torrents. 这些措施都是为了预防暴雨或山洪造成的涝灾。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They cleared large tracts of forest for farming, logging and ranching. 他们清除了大片的森林以经营农耕、采伐与畜牧。 来自辞典例句

4 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

5 buddy   

n.（美口）密友，伙伴

参考例句：

• Calm down,buddy.What's the trouble?压压气，老兄。有什么麻烦吗？
• Get out of my way,buddy!别挡道了，你这家伙！

6 bangs   

n.（发型）留海；猛击( bang的名词复数 )；猛撞；巨响；爆炸声

参考例句：

• She bangs open the door and, without ceremony, burst in. 她也不先敲门，砰地一声推开门就冲了进去。 来自辞典例句
• The boy bangs the lid down. 那个男孩将盖子砰然关上。 来自辞典例句

7 microphone   

n.扩音器，麦克风，话筒

参考例句：

• He gave a tap at the microphone before speaking.他在讲话前先轻叩了一下扩音器。
• She behaved naturally before the microphone.她在话筒前表现自然。

8 corporation   

n.公司，企业&n.社团，团体

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation. 这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• The inflation did the corporation up. 通货膨胀使这个公司破产了。

9 microphones   

n.扩音器，麦克风( microphone的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They descended from the plane into a forest of microphones and cameras. 他们从飞机上走下来，迎接他们的是数不清的麦克风和照相机。 来自辞典例句
• The music was amplified with microphones. 音乐声通过麦克风被放大。 来自辞典例句

10 propose   

v.提出，建议；提名，推荐

参考例句：

• Did he propose marriage to you?他向你求婚了吗？
• I propose resting for an hour.我建议休息一小时。

11 works   

n.作品，著作；工厂，活动部件，机件

参考例句：

• We expect writers to produce more and better works.我们期望作家们写出更多更好的作品。
• The novel is regarded as one of the classic works.这篇小说被公认为是最优秀的作品之一。