环球英语 — 351： Your Planet Needs You

　　Voice 1
Welcome to Spotlight¹. I'm Liz Waid
Voice 2
And I'm Joshua Leo. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
Voice 1
What will you be doing on June 5, 2009?
Voice 2
In Kenya, people will be giving their time to remove waste and trash from along the Nairobi River. High school students there are part of a group called "Clean Up Young Youth Club." They work with other volunteers from around the city. Together they hope to return the Nairobi River to the beautiful river is once was.
Voice 1
In Australia young children will begin to think about parts of the environment through games and other activities. A local government will hold a special celebration. On this day, children will learn real ways to take care of their local environment.
Voice 2
Other people around the world will be joining parades to encourage bicycle riding. There will be music concerts. Some people will be writing opinion pieces for a newspaper. Some people will inspire, other people through their words. And some will inspire other people through their actions. So, what will YOU be doing on June 5, 2009?
Voice 1
If you are anything like these people, you will be joining the world in celebrating this year's World Environment Day. On this day the UN hopes you will be taking action - because your planet² needs you!
Voice 2
Every year on June 5, people around the world celebrate World Environment Day. It is a day for people to think about the world they live in. The United Nations, governments and other organizations use the day to encourage people to act to change their world. They try to change people's mistaken ideas about environmental issues. They encourage people to work with other people, and countries to work with other countries, because we all share one planet. This year the theme for the day is "Your Planet Needs You - UNite to Combat³ Climate Change."
Voice 1
Climate change threatens our Earth. The way people use the earth's resources is often wasteful⁴. The waste that people produce affects the earth. Many experts are concerned about greenhouse⁵ gases. These gases trap heat in the Earth's atmosphere. They influence the temperature of the Earth. In recent history, people have produced more and more of these gases. And over a time, the Earth's temperature has been changing. Changes in temperature affect weather patterns like how much rain or sun an area gets. Changing weather can affect food production and animals' lives. And this affects people's lives.
Voice 2
Climate change affects all people. Greenhouse gases cannot be contained inside a country's borders. Climate change affects every place. This is why people must work together to change.
Voice 1
This year, the official celebration of World Environment Day will take place in Mexico. Experts believe that Mexico will soon become one of the world's leaders in fighting climate change. They believe that Mexicans are doing a good job of uniting to fight climate change. One UN official pointed⁶ out that in only four years, Mexico had become "second only to Brazil in terms of wind, solar, biogas, and other Clean Development Mechanism⁷ projects in the region⁸." That is, Mexico is working to develop cleaner forms of producing energy. Mexicans are working to reduce the amounts of greenhouse gases they produce.
Voice 2
But there is another reason the United Nations chose Mexico to hold the World Environment Day celebration. The Mexicans are good examples and leaders in a program called "The Billion Tree Campaign."
Voice 1
The Plant for the Planet: Billion Tree Campaign is a project of the UNEP, the United Nations Environment Program. The project asks all people to do one simple thing - plant a tree! They ask "people, communities, business and industry, civil society, organizations and governments" to take part. They encourage each person or group to visit the UNEP's website and promise to plant one tree. Their goal is to plant at least one billion [1,000,000,000] trees each year. As an even bigger goal, the UNEP wants to plant seven billion [7,000,000,000]  trees by the end of 2009.
Voice 2
On March 30, 2009, the Billion Tree Campaign confirmed that people had planted more than three billion trees already. The country of Turkey helped to reach that goal. In two thousand eight, the Turkish government and Turkish communities planted over three hundred million [300,000,000] trees. One government official described why Turkey was so excited to take part in the Billion Tree Campaign:
Voice 3
"We believe that investing⁹ in our environment is investing in our future. And we consider the planting of over three hundred million [300,000,000] trees as a wonderful gift to our children and to the generations to come."
Voice 1
The United Nations Environment Program says that Mexico has been a leader in the Billion Tree Campaign. The President and the people have all supported it. The country has already planted some trees. And they have promised to plant more. The amount they have already planted, plus the amount they have promised to plant are about twenty-five [25] percent of the trees in the campaign.
Voice 2
But why is planting trees so important? You see, trees take in carbon dioxide - one greenhouse gas. Carbon dioxide is produced when people breathe. Vehicles burn fuels and create it too. When trees take in carbon dioxide they produce oxygen. And oxygen is the main gas that we need when we breathe. But cutting down forests means less trees to take the carbon dioxide gases in. So, planting new trees is important because it helps to balance the amount of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the world.
Voice 1
Joining the Billion Tree Campaign is just one way people can celebrate World Environment Day. World Environment Day encourages people everywhere to think about their place in this world. It encourages people to act. We all share one planet. We all share the responsibility of caring for it. Recycle. Reuse things you might throw away. Reduce the amount of waste you throw away. Ride a bicycle or walk instead of using a vehicle. Learn more about how your environment works¹⁰. If you need more ideas, you can visit our website. There, you can find a link to the UNEP's website for more ideas. Whatever you do, World Environment Day asks you to work with other people to save your planet. Your planet needs you!
So, what will you be doing on June 5, 2009?
 

1 spotlight   

n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目

参考例句：

• This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
• The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。

2 planet   

n.行星

参考例句：

• Neptune is the furthest planet from the sun. 海王星是离太阳最远的行星。
• Rubbish, however, is only part of the problem of polluting our planet. 然而, 垃圾只是我们这个星球的污染问题的一个方面。

3 combat   

n.战斗，斗争，格斗；vt.与...斗争，与...战斗

参考例句：

• The police are now using computers to help combat crime.警方现在使用电脑打击犯罪活动。
• A reporter interviewed the combat hero.记者访问了这位战斗英雄。

4 wasteful   

adj.（造成）浪费的，挥霍的

参考例句：

• It is a shame to be so wasteful.这样浪费太可惜了。
• Duties have been reassigned to avoid wasteful duplication of work.为避免重复劳动浪费资源，任务已经重新分派。

5 greenhouse   

n.花房，温室，玻璃暖房

参考例句：

• Behind the green house was a greenhouse.在那所绿房子后面是一个花房。
• The tomatoes were grown in the greenhouse.这些西红柿是在温室栽培的。

6 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

7 mechanism   

n.机械装置；机构，结构

参考例句：

• The bones and muscles are parts of the mechanism of the body.骨骼和肌肉是人体的组成部件。
• The mechanism of the machine is very complicated.这台机器的结构是非常复杂的。

8 region   

n.地区，地带，区域；范围，幅度

参考例句：

• The students went to study the geology of that region.学生们去研究那个地区的地质情况。
• It is unusual to see snow in this region.这个地区难得见到雪。

9 investing   

v.投资，花费( invest的现在分词 )；授予；（把资金）投入；投入（时间、精力等）

参考例句：

• He was timid about investing money. 他不敢投资。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Europe also caught the excitement of investing in American railroads. 欧洲人对投资美国铁路也极感兴趣。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

10 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。