ReadingExplorerLevel3U8-B

发布于 2021-04-20 03:59 ，所属分类：知识学习综合资讯

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Unit8-B

Peru's
Highway ofDreams

This road is part of a new 2,600-kilometer (1,600-mile) Transoceanic Highway. The highway stretches from the Pacific Ocean in Peru and connects with Brazil's already existing highways, which travel to the Atlantic.

Before You Read

A. Scanning

Read the captionand answerthe questions with a partner.

1. Many Peruvians are happy about the construction of the Transoceanic Highway. Why do you think this is?

2.What concerns might environmentalists have about the highway?

B. Scan

Scan the reading and underline any answers to the two questions above. Then read the passage closely to check your ideas.

习题答案在文末

Paragraph1

A new road that connects the Pacific with the Atlantic could bring riches—and environmental ruin.

Paragraph 2

Mary Luz Guerra remembers a trip she took in 2003 from the city of Cusco, high in the Peruvian Andes, to her home in Puerto Maldonado, a city in the Amazon rain forest. By plane, this 320-kilometer (200-mile) journey would have taken only 37 minutes, but Mary Luz had traveled by truck: along narrow mountain roads, across rushing rivers, and throughdense Amazon jungle. It took her three days to reach home. During the long and exhausting trip, she remembers thinking. "l can?x-oss-process=image/format,webp" style="max-width:100%">

Paragraph 3

|Bridging a Continent

ln early 2012, the Transoceanic Highway opened to public vehicles for the first time. A dream of Peru's leaders since the 1950s, work on the vast network of roads and bridges began in 2006 and was completed in late 2011. Today, the east-west passageway spans 2,600 kilometers (1,600 miles). From Peru's Pacific Ocean coastline, it continues across the Andes Mountains and through a large part of the Amazon rain forest in the Peruvian state of Madre de Dios. It then travels into Brazil, where it connects with a network of existing highways to the Atlantic.

Paragraph 4

The Transoceanic Highway has been celebrated as one of South America's greatest engineering feats, and supporters say it will greatly improve people's lives. Until recently, travel between the cities of Cusco and Puerto Maldonado in Peru took days by bus or truck—as Mary Luz's story illustrates—and drivers had to use narrow, partially unpavedmountain roads. Now, thanks to the new highway, the trip only takes a few hours, and is much safer.

Paragraph 5

|Improving People'sLives

ln addition to making travel faster and easier, supporters say the highway will also be good for business. There is enormous demand in North America and Asia for Brazilian and Peruvian products, including soybeans, beef, and gold. A number of companies in Cusco and Puerto Maldonado also sell wood to different corners of the world. Many of these companies transport their lumberto the Pacific, where it travels by ship to other countries. Thanks to the highway, wood can now reach the Pacific in days; in the past, it could take a week or more. This lowers costs and allows the wood to reach a company's customers sooner, and also in better condition. ln the long run, say many business owners, this will mean more profit.

If a roadisunpaved,it is mostly dirt.
Lumberiswood that has been cut intoboards.

Sunset over the Amazon rain forest, Madre de Dios, Peru.

Paragraph 6

The highway will also open up areas of the Peruvian Amazon that wereinaccessiblejust a few years ago. The highway may increaseactivity in these areas and give people new places to live and travel to. This, in turn, could mean more jobs and money for Peruvians.

Paragraph7

|Environmental Challenges

Despite the highway's many potential benefits, environmentalists are concerned. The Transoceanic passes directly through a large part of the Amazon rain forest, in the state of Madre de Dios in Peru. According to a Peruvian government study, the forested area in the western mountains of this state has thegreatest biodiversity of any place on Earth, and until recently, large parts of the forest were in pristine condition. As more people are moving into the region, environmentalists are worrying about the impact this will have on the Amazon's plants and animals, many of which are foundnowhere else.

Paragraph 8

Shortly after the highway opened, large numbers of people began coming into Puerto Maldonado from all over Peru—and the world—-to mine gold. There's a lot of money to be made inmining, as well as in farming, says environmental photographer Gabby Salazar. "l think we'regoing to see a big increase in farming." she says. "Right across the border in Brazil, you see soybean farms all over the place." Studies show three-quarters of the deforestationof the Brazilian Amazon occurs within 50 kilometers (30 miles) of a highway, and environmentalists like Salazar are concerned that the same thing will happen in Peru. "It's having an impact on the environment," she explains. "It's having an impact on the people as well."

Paragraph9

Faced with these risks, many Peruvians talk about the importance of being practical. "In rural Peru, a lot of people are living in poverty, so it's very difficult to say don't build the highway," explains Roger Mustalish, president of the Amazon Center for Environmental Educationand Research. "But every time you see a road like this going through, you soon see major changes." Will these changes be mostly positive or negative? Many Peruvians are hopeful, but only time will tell.

Biodiversity isthe existence of a wide variety of living things (plants, animals, insects, etc.) in a certain place.
lf something is pristine, it is in its original condition or is unspoiled.
Deforestation is the destruction or cutting down of all the trees in an area.
Rural places are in the country, far away from cities.

习题答案在文末

Multiple Choice

Choose the best answer for each question.

1. What is the reading mainly about?

a. the impact a highway will have on the environmentand people of Peru

b. how the Brazilian government helped the people ofPeru build a new highway

c. a new development that is resulting in mining andfarming jobs

d. how environmentalists are protecting the Amazon'sdiverse wildlife

2. What is true about the Transoceanic Highway?

a. Its construction began in the 1950s.

b. It helps connect the Pacific Ocean with Brazil.

c. It was opened to the public in 2006.

d. It begins at the Atlantic Ocean.

3. The phrase In the long run (Paragraph 5)could be replaced by

a. on the other hand

b. as expected

c. eventually

d. optimistically

4. What is NOT given as a reason the highway will begood for Peru?

a. The cost of transporting goods will be lower.

b. Goods will reach customers in better condition.

c. It will increase the number of tourists in Peru.

d. Goods will reach customers faster.

5. Which of the following concerns doesthe reading specifically mention?

a. Increased mining will lead to soil erosion.

b. Farming will lead to an increase in water pollution.

c. The highway will have an impact on plants and animals.

d. The cities along the highway will become overpopulated.

6. In paragraph 5, what does these risks refer to?

a. environmental risks

b. financial risks

c. transportation risks

d. depopulation risks

7. What would be the best heading for the final paragraph?

a. A Positive Future

b. Finding the Right Balance

c. An End to Poverty

d. Say No to Highways

Organizing Notes in a T-chart

One way to organize your notes about a reading is to use a T-chart. A T-chart is particularly useful when you need to examine two aspects of a topic. For example, a T-chart can be used to note similarities and differences, compare advantages and disadvantages, show problems and solutions, evaluate pros and cons, or separate facts from opinions.

A. Analyzing

Look at the following types of texts. Check ☑the three in which you would probably use a T-chart to organize your notes.

1.□a list of tips for getting into the top college in the country

2.□ a comparison of pursuing a science degree vs. pursuing an

arts degree

3.□ an article about how a neighborhood fought back against an

increase in crime

4.□ a blog post about a guided food tour of a Paris market

5.□ an article about problems caused by crime in a neighborhood

and some possible solutions

6.□ a summary of why a community is divided over theconstruction of a new shopping mall

B. Completion

Look back at the reading. Complete the T-chart with words from the text..

A. Completion.

Complete the informationby circling the correct word in each pair.

At 57 kilometers (35 miles) long, the Gotthard BaseTunnel will be the world's longest railway tunnel.

For the past decade, engineers have been at work deep under the Swiss Alps (阿尔卑斯山), building a(n) 1.(enormous/practical) tunnel. Although only 2. (partially / densely) completed, the Gotthard Base Tunnel will be the world's longest and deepest railway tunnel when it opens in 2017. Once that 3.(illustrates / occurs), high-speed trains will travel through the Alps at 250 kilometers (155 miles) per hour.

ln the last few decades, a huge number of trucks crossing the Alps have had an enormous 4.(customer / impact)on the environment. The new tunnel provides a(n)5.(practical / inaccessible) solution to this problem. Goods will be transported by train between northern and southern Europe, without 6.(illustrating / ruining) the beautiful mountain landscape.

Avillagein the Swiss Alps

B. Definitions
Use the correct form of words in A tocomplete the definitions.

1. A(n)(?)jungle has many plants in it.

2. If something has been(?),it has been broken and destroyed.

3. People who buy goods and services from a businessare its(?).

4. If something is(?),it is difficultor impossible to reach.

5. If something(?)anotherthing,it serves as an example of that thing.

本期答案

Before You Read

1. The highway would provide easier and more affordable transportation for people andgoods.

2. Based on what has happened in other areas in the Amazon Basin, people will move into a fragile ecosystem and destroy it in order to mine gold, clear-cut lumber, or produce crops for profit.

Paragraphs 1,3, 4 and 5 address the issuesin question 1.

The last three paragraphs addressthe environmental concerns.

Reading Comprehension

1.a; 2.b; 3.c; 4.c; 5.c; 6.a; 7.b

Reading Skill

The following should be checked: 2,5,6.

Help: faster, better, live, jobs;

Harm: biodiversity, condition, impact, farming

Vocabulary Practice

1.enormous; 2.partially; 3.occurs; 4.impact; 5.practical; 6.ruining

1.dense; 2.ruined; 3.customers; 4.inaccessible; 5. illustrates