英语听力精选进阶版 6270（在线收听）

This coming Sunday is World Environment Day. So what is the state of the planet in 2011?

This time last year, engineers in the USA were still battling to stop the largest oil spill of its kind in the Gulf of Mexico.

A year on, engineers are trying to prevent a different kind of ocean leak – a radiation leak.

Following the nuclear meltdown at Fukishima in Japan, scientists are struggling to stop contaminated water from reaching the sea.

But for many environmentalists the key challenge remains climate change.

According to the International Energy Agency, carbon emissions reached a record level last year. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is aiming for greenhouse emissions to peak by 2020, but there are growing doubts about whether the necessary curbs will be implemented.

A recent report by the charity Oxfam highlights the impact global warming will have on food security. Food prices could almost double in the next twenty years, with climate change the main cause.

But there is one good piece of news for conservationists, relating to deforestation. According to the think-tank Chatham House, global illegal logging has fallen by nearly a quarter since 2002.

That fits nicely with the theme for this year's World Environment Day: "Forests - Nature At Your Service".

Quiz

1. Is this statement true, false or not given? Engineers are still battling to clean up the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. 

Not given. They were battling to stop it last year, but no mention is made of what they are doing this year.

2. Did carbon emissions go up last year? 

Yes, they reached a record level.

3. Is this statement true, false or not given? Everyone thinks that greenhouse emissions will peak in 2020. 

False. "There are growing doubts" about whether the necessary curbs will be implemented.

4. Why is the news from Chatham House especially relevant to World Environment Day this year? 

The Chatham House news is about illegally removing trees, and the special focus of World Environment Day this year is the world's forests.

5. Look at the article. Which phrase refers to the ability of citizens in a country to access food? 

Food security.

Glossary 词汇表

oil spill 石油泄漏 

radiation leak 辐射泄漏 

nuclear meltdown 核泄漏 

contaminated （被）污染的 

environmentalist 环保人士 

climate change 气候变化 

carbon emissions 碳排放 

curb 控制 

greenhouse (gas) emissions 温室气体排放 

global warming 全球变暖 

food security 食品安全 

conservationist 保护自然人士 

deforestation 砍伐森林 

illegal logging 非法砍伐