TEENS共同战“疫”好文精选 | Meat of the matter
在举国上下抗击疫情之际，21世纪英文报特别策划“共同战‘疫’”TEENS专题合刊，通过集中、及时、权威的内容，向广大青少年宣示党中央以人民为中心的执政理念，带领全国人民抗击疫情；开展科学教育，让青少年更好了解病毒和疫情相关的科普知识；展现共克时艰的凝聚力和人性光辉，引导青少年积极面对困难，理性看待问题，共同迎接春天的到来。
今天起，21世纪英文报微信公众号将定期推送各年级共同战“疫”专题合刊中的精选文章，同时配有音频或视频、知识点解析、测试题、课件或课程等学习和教学资源，内容丰富、形式多样，“晚开学、不停学”~今天的精选文章“Meatofthematter 在疫情中反思人与自然的关系 ”来自《21世纪学生英文报·高一》第780期4-5版。
Meat of the matter
在疫情中反思人与自然的关系
UK physicist Isaac Newton once said, "Nature is pleased with simplicity and nature is no dummy (傻子)." Indeed, Mother Nature can provide almost everything human beings need if we follow her rules. But if we break the rules, she is likely to be cruel and lash out at us.
The outbreak of the novel coronavirus pneumonia (新型冠状病毒肺炎, NCP) in China and some other countries at the beginning of this year is an example. According to Xinhua News Agency, the new coronavirus is similar to a virus found in a bat in 2017 and probably has an intermediate host (中间宿主). It’s believed that the virus originated from the Huanan Seafood Market in Wuhan, Hubei province, where live wild animals were sold.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Dr Peter Daszak, president of the US-based health organization EcoHealth Alliance, said, "This outbreak is a lesson for us. On a global scale (规模), human population density (密度), wildlife diversity, and land use change are what drive new pandemics (流行病)."
In ancient times, people needed to rely on nature to survive so they held it in awe (敬畏). For example, the American Indians believed that humans are a part of nature and nature is a part of humans. Chinese ancients always pursued the harmony between nature and human beings.
However, as human beings master more knowledge and make more advanced tools, people try to change and even conquer nature. They use more land to make buildings, genetically modify (改变) plants, capture some wild and rare animals to suit their own needs. In this process, humans gradually lose contact with nature and even throw it out of balance. For example, cutting a large number of forests means carbon dioxide must build up in the atmosphere and it contributes to global warming.
Although we don’t know for sure what first caused the NCP outbreak, Brian Lamacraft at Medium said it’s time for people to "reflect on our relationship with our planet" and "reconnect with this world and everything that we’ve been given".①After all, according to US poet Gary Snyder, "Nature is not the place to visit. It’s our home."
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长难句分析
Although we don’t know for sure what first caused the NCP outbreak, Brian Lamacraft at Medium said it’s time for people to “reflect on our relationship with our planet” and “reconnect with this world and everything that we’ve been given”.
分析
本句的主句是：Brian Lamacraft at Medium said …；
although引导让步状语从句；
what引导的名词性从句作know的宾语；
said后面的句子是宾语从句，省略了引导词that；
that引导定语从句，修饰先行词everything。
词汇
reconnect此处意为“改善变差（或疏远）的关系”。
释义
Medium网站的编辑Brian Lamacraft说，尽管我们还不确定2019年新冠肺炎爆发的原因，但现在是时候“反思我们与地球的关系”、“改善我们与世界以及我们被赋予的一切的关系了”。
Quiz:
Meat of the matter (P4-5)
Choose the best answer
01
What does the phrase “lash out at” in Paragraph 1 probably mean?
A.punish
C. test
B.control
D.challenge
点击空白处查看答案
A
02
What lesson did Daszak think human beings should learn from the NCP outbreak?
A. Bats are one of the most dangerous wild animals.
B.It’s impossible to prevent new pandemics globally.
C. We should stop the wildlife trade around the world.
D. Humans should live peacefully with nature.
点击空白处查看答案
D
03
What is the main idea of Paragraph 5?
A. How human beings become their own masters.
B. How human activities cause global warming.
C. How human beings break the balance of nature.
D. How humans use technology to improve their lives.
点击空白处查看答案
C
04
What is the author’s purpose in writing this article?
A. To reflect on the NCP outbreak.
B. To explain what led to the NCP outbreak.
C. To describe experts’ predictions on new pandemics.
D. To compare ancient and modern attitudes toward nature.
点击空白处查看答案
A
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