Reducing Carbon Dioxide in the Atmosphere劍橋雅思11聽力-原文翻譯及答案解析

一、Reducing Carbon Dioxide in the Atmosphere 聽力原文：

As we saw in the last lecture, a major cause of climate change is the rapid rise in the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere over the last century.

If we could reduce the amount of CO2, perhaps the rate of climate change could also be slowed down.

One potential method involves enhancing the role of the soil that plants grow in, with regard to absorbing CO2.

Rattan Lal, a soil scientist from Ohio State University, in the USA, claims that the world's agricultural soils could potentially absorb 13 per cent of the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere - the equivalent of the amount released in the last 30 years.

And research is going on into how this might be achieved.

Lal first came to the idea that soil might be valuable in this way not through an interest in climate change, but rather out of concern for the land itself and the people dependent on it.

Carbon-rich soil is dark, crumbly and fertile, and retains some water.

But erosion can occur if soil is dry, which is a likely effect if it contains inadequate amounts of carbon.

Erosion is of course bad for people trying to grow crops or breed animals on that terrain.

In the 1970s and'80s,  Lal was studying soils in Africa so devoid of organic matter that the ground had become extremely hard, like cement.

There he met a pioneer in the study of global warming, who suggested that carbon from the soil had moved into the atmosphere.

This is now looking increasingly likely.

Let me explain.

For millions of years, carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere have been regulated, in part, by a natural partnership between plants and microbes - tiny organisms in the soil.

Plants absorb CO2 from the air and transform it into sugars and other carbon-based substances.

While a proportion of these carbon products remain in the plant,  some transfer from the roots to fungi and soil microbes, which store the carbon in the soil.

The invention of agriculture some 10,000 years ago disrupted these ancient soil-building processes and led to the loss of carbon from the soil.

When humans started draining the natural topsoil, and ploughing it up for planting, they exposed the buried carbon to oxygen.

This created carbon dioxide and released it into the air.

And in some places, grazing by domesticated animals has removed all vegetation, releasing carbon into the air.

Tons of carbon have been stripped from the world's soils - where it's needed - and pumped into the atmosphere.

So what can be done?

Researchers are now coming up with evidence that even modest changes to farming can significantly help to reduce the amount of carbon in the atmosphere.

Some growers have already started using an approach known as regenerative agriculture.

This aims to boost the fertility of soil and keep it moist through established practices.

These include keeping fields planted all year round, and increasing the variety of plants being grown.

Strategies like these can significantly increase the amount of carbon stored in the soil, so agricultural researchers are now building a case for their use in combating climate change.

One American investigation into the potential for storing CO2 on agricultural lands is taking place in California.

Soil scientist Whendee Silver of the University of California, Berkeley, is conducting a first-of-its-kind study on a large cattle farm in the state.

She and her students are testing the effects on carbon storage of the compost that is created from waste - both agricultural, including manure and cornstalks, and waste produced in gardens, such as leaves, branches, and lawn trimmings.

In Australia, soil ecologist Christine Jones is testing another promising soil-enrichment strategy.

Jones and 12 farmers are working to build up soil carbon by cultivating grasses that stay green all year round.

Like composting, the approach has already been proved experimentally;

Jones now hopes to show that it can be applied on working farms and that the resulting carbon capture can be accurately measured.

It's hoped in the future that projects such as these will demonstrate the role that farmers and other land managers can play in reducing the harmful effects of greenhouse gases.

For example, in countries like the United States, where most farming operations use large applications of fertiliser, changing such long-standing habits will require a change of system.

Rattan Lal argues that farmers should receive payment not just for the corn or beef they produce, but also for the carbon they can store in their soil.

Another study being carried out ...

二、Reducing Carbon Dioxide in the Atmosphere 聽力中文翻譯：

正如我們在上一次演講中所看到的，氣候變化的一個主要原因是上個世紀(jì)大氣中二氧化碳水平的迅速上升

如果我們能夠減少二氧化碳的排放量，也許氣候變化的速度也可以減緩

一種可能的方法是增強植物生長的土壤在吸收二氧化碳方面的作用

美國俄亥俄州立大學(xué)（Ohio State University）的土壤科學(xué)家拉坦·拉爾（Rattan Lal）聲稱，世界農(nóng)業(yè)土壤可能吸收大氣中13%的二氧化碳，相當(dāng)于過去30年釋放的二氧化碳量

目前正在研究如何實現(xiàn)這一目標(biāo)

拉爾首先想到土壤的價值，不是因為對氣候變化感興趣，而是出于對土地本身和依賴土地的人民的關(guān)注

富含碳的土壤是黑色的、易碎的和肥沃的，并且保留了一些水分

但是，如果土壤干燥，就會發(fā)生侵蝕，如果土壤含碳量不足，可能會產(chǎn)生影響

侵蝕當(dāng)然對試圖在該地區(qū)種植作物或繁殖動物的人不利

在20世紀(jì)70年代和80年代，拉爾研究了非洲的土壤，因為土壤中缺乏有機物質(zhì)，以至于地面變得非常堅硬，就像水泥一樣

在那里，他遇到了一位全球變暖研究的先驅(qū)，他認(rèn)為土壤中的碳已經(jīng)進(jìn)入了大氣

現(xiàn)在看來，這種可能性越來越大

讓我解釋一下

數(shù)百萬年來，大氣中的二氧化碳水平在一定程度上是由植物和微生物——土壤中的微生物——之間的自然伙伴關(guān)系調(diào)節(jié)的

植物從空氣中吸收二氧化碳并將其轉(zhuǎn)化為糖和其他碳基物質(zhì)

雖然這些碳產(chǎn)物中有一部分留在植物中，但一些從根轉(zhuǎn)移到真菌和土壤微生物中，這些微生物將碳儲存在土壤中

大約一萬年前，農(nóng)業(yè)的發(fā)明破壞了這些古老的造土過程，導(dǎo)致土壤中碳的流失

當(dāng)人類開始排干天然表層土并將其翻耕種植時，他們將埋藏的碳暴露在氧氣中

這產(chǎn)生了二氧化碳并釋放到空氣中

在一些地方，家畜放牧已經(jīng)清除了所有植被，將碳釋放到空氣中

全世界需要碳的地方，有成噸的碳被從土壤中剝離出來，并注入大氣

那么我們能做些什么呢？

研究人員現(xiàn)在正在拿出證據(jù)，證明即使對農(nóng)業(yè)進(jìn)行適度的改變，也能顯著幫助減少大氣中的碳含量

一些種植者已經(jīng)開始使用一種稱為再生農(nóng)業(yè)的方法

這旨在通過既定的做法提高土壤肥力并保持土壤濕潤

這些措施包括全年種植農(nóng)田，以及增加正在種植的植物種類

像這樣的策略可以顯著增加土壤中儲存的碳量，因此農(nóng)業(yè)研究人員現(xiàn)在正在構(gòu)建一個利用這些策略應(yīng)對氣候變化的案例

美國正在加利福尼亞州進(jìn)行一項關(guān)于農(nóng)業(yè)用地儲存二氧化碳潛力的調(diào)查

加州大學(xué)伯克利分校的土壤科學(xué)家溫迪·西爾弗正在該州的一個大型養(yǎng)牛場進(jìn)行首次此類研究

她和她的學(xué)生正在測試由農(nóng)業(yè)廢物（包括糞肥和玉米秸稈）以及花園中產(chǎn)生的廢物（如樹葉、樹枝和草坪修剪物）產(chǎn)生的堆肥對碳儲存的影響

在澳大利亞，土壤生態(tài)學(xué)家克里斯汀·瓊斯正在測試另一種有希望的土壤富集策略

瓊斯和12位農(nóng)民正在通過種植全年保持綠色的草來增加土壤碳

就像堆肥一樣，這種方法已經(jīng)被實驗證明了；

瓊斯現(xiàn)在希望證明它可以應(yīng)用于工作農(nóng)場，并且由此產(chǎn)生的碳捕獲可以準(zhǔn)確測量

人們希望，今后此類項目將展示農(nóng)民和其他土地管理者在減少溫室氣體有害影響方面可以發(fā)揮的作用

例如，在美國這樣的國家，大多數(shù)農(nóng)業(yè)經(jīng)營都使用大量化肥，改變這種長期存在的習(xí)慣需要改變制度

RattanLal認(rèn)為，農(nóng)民不僅應(yīng)該為他們生產(chǎn)的玉米或牛肉獲得報酬，還應(yīng)該為他們可以在土壤中儲存的碳獲得報酬

正在進(jìn)行的另一項研究

三、Reducing Carbon Dioxide in the Atmosphere 聽力問題：

Question 31-40

Complete the notes below.

Write ONE WORD ONLY for each answer.The use of soil to reduce carbon

dioxide (CO2)in the atmosphere

Rattan Lal:

· Claims that 13% of CO2 in the atmosphere could be absorbed by agricultural soils

· Erosion is more likely in soil that is

· Lal found soil in Africa that was very

· It was suggested that carbon from soil was entering the atmosphere

Soil and carbon:

· plants turn CO2 from the air into carbon-based substances such as

· some CO2 moves from the of plants to microbes in the soil

· carbon was lost from the soil when agriculture was invented

Regenerative agriculture:

· uses established practices to make sure soil remains fertile and

· eg through year-round planting and increasing the  of plants that are grown

California study:

· taking place on a big farm

· uses compost made from waste from agriculture and

Australia study:

· aims to increase soil carbon by using  that are always green

Future developments may include:

· reducing the amount of fertilizer used in farming

· giving farmers  for carbon storage, as well as their produce

四、Reducing Carbon Dioxide in the Atmosphere 聽力答案：

31.dry

32.hard

33.sugar / sugars

34.roots

35.moist / damp / wet

36.variety

37.cattle

38.gardens / gardening

39.grasses

40.payment / payments / money

五、Reducing Carbon Dioxide in the Atmosphere 聽力答案解析

31. dry  根據(jù)題干中的erosion, soil定位根據(jù)本題的前后內(nèi)容，考生可以預(yù)判答案的詞性為形容詞或動詞的過去分詞錄音中提到but erosion can occur if soil is dry本題在同義轉(zhuǎn)換上存在難點：卷面的“more likely”表示可能性，錄音中用的則是“if”，同樣表示可能性故答案為dry

32. hard  根據(jù)題干中的soil in Africa定位與上一題相同，本題預(yù)判的答案詞性為形容詞或動詞的過去分詞錄音中提到“…that the ground had become extremely hard…”其中g(shù)round與soil為同義替換；extremely與very為同義替換故答案為hard

33. sugar/sugars  根據(jù)題干中的plants, carbon-based substances定位根據(jù)本題上下文，考生可以預(yù)判出答案應(yīng)該是某一種具體的物質(zhì)錄音中提到“plants absorb CO2 from the air and transform it into sugars and other carbon-based substances…”其中transform與turn為同義轉(zhuǎn)換本題在同義轉(zhuǎn)換上存在難點：卷面的舉例短語“such as”在錄音中沒有直接對應(yīng)的轉(zhuǎn)換詞，而是用“sugars and other…substances”這個結(jié)構(gòu)表示糖是若干種被轉(zhuǎn)換而成的物質(zhì)之一；卷面空格前的“carbon-based substances”在錄音中出現(xiàn)在了考點詞的后面，這種倒置的現(xiàn)象在雅思聽力考試中很常見，考生應(yīng)該警惕故答案為sugar/sugars

34. roots  根據(jù)題干中的microbes定位根據(jù)本題的上下文考生應(yīng)該很容易預(yù)判答案為植物的某一部分錄音中提到“…some transfer from the roots to fungi and soil microbes…”其中transfer與move為同義替換故答案為roots

35. moist/damp/wet  根據(jù)題干中的established practices定位根據(jù)空格前的“…fertile and…”，考生應(yīng)該可以預(yù)判出答案為描述土壤性質(zhì)的形容詞錄音中提到“…this aims to boost the fertility of soil and keep it moist through established practices…”其中，keep與remain為同義替換本題在同義轉(zhuǎn)換上存在難點：卷面的形容詞“fertile”在語音中被轉(zhuǎn)換為名詞“fertility”；卷面空格前的“established practice”再次被倒置到了答案詞的后面由于雅思聽力考試在部分填空題中允許考生填寫考點詞的近義詞，這道題考生也可以寫“damp”或“wet”，但我們不建議大家這么做，因為考生對于哪些詞是官方接受的近義詞并不清楚，這么做有被判錯的風(fēng)險故本題答案為moist/damp/wet

36. variety  根據(jù)題干中的year-round planting, increasing定位本題考生只能預(yù)判答案為名詞詞性錄音中提到“…keeping fields planted all-year-round and increasing the variety of plants being growing…”由于卷面考點詞前的“increasing”在錄音中沒有被轉(zhuǎn)換，本題相對簡單

37. cattle  根據(jù)題干中的farm定位根據(jù)上下文信息考生應(yīng)該可以預(yù)測本題的答案應(yīng)該是名詞或形容詞詞性，修飾“farm”錄音提到“…is conducting a first-of-its-kind study on a large cattle farm in the state…”其中l(wèi)arge與big為同義替換故答案為cattle

38. gardens/gardening  根據(jù)題干的compost, waste定位本題的上下文告訴我們，答案是與“agriculture”并列的一個名詞本題的難度比較大，因為錄音中出現(xiàn)了多個“and”結(jié)構(gòu)，考生容易混淆當(dāng)錄音中出現(xiàn)多個并列結(jié)構(gòu)時，考生一定要區(qū)分并列的層次錄音中提到“She and her students are testing the effects on carbon storage of the compost that is created from waste – both agricultural, including manure and cornstalks, and waste produced in gardens, such as leaves, branches, and lawn trimmings.”這句話中有兩層并列結(jié)構(gòu)：第一層是“agricultural waste”與“waste produced in gardens”的并列；第二層則是在第一層的下面“manure and cornstalks”從屬與“agricultural waste”，而“l(fā)eaves, branches, and lawn trimmings”則是從屬于“waste produced in gardens”題目要填寫的是與“agriculture”并列的名詞，因此答案自然就是“gardens”，或者其近義詞“gardening”

39. grasses  根據(jù)題干中的soil carbon定位本題的答案預(yù)判為名詞，并且是“常綠的”錄音中提到“Jones and 12 farmers are working to build up soil carbon by cultivating grasses that stay green all year round.”其中build up與increase為同義轉(zhuǎn)換；always與all year round為同義轉(zhuǎn)換故答案為grasses

40. payment/payments/money  根據(jù)題干中的farmers, their produce定位本題的答案預(yù)判為名詞錄音中提到“…farmers should receive payment not just for corn or beef they produce, but also for the carbon they can store in their soil…”本句首先在句子結(jié)構(gòu)上與卷面不同，卷面的“giving farmers sth.”在錄音中被轉(zhuǎn)換成了“farmers receive sth.”另外，卷面的并列結(jié)構(gòu)在錄音中發(fā)生了顛倒：卷面是“A as well as B”，而錄音中是“not just B but also A”結(jié)構(gòu)這樣的轉(zhuǎn)換在考試中并不罕見，考生應(yīng)做好準(zhǔn)備本題也允許考生填寫“payment”的近義詞“money”故本題答案為payment/payments/money

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