詞匯輔導：通過閱讀學習英語六級詞匯(十六)
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英語六級詞匯
UNIT SIXTEEN
The Eco-War
The military lexicon needs a new term:"eco-war". What better way to describe the acts of environmental slaughter committed last week in the Persian Gulf, where the air is thick with the smoke from burning oil wells and a wide stripe of crude petroleum is fouling the water and devastating wildlife?
What is certain is that the oil spill has delivered a devastating blow to the ecology of the Persian Gulf. "Massive oil spills could turn this body of water into a virtual dead sea." says Brent Blackwelder, vice president of Friends of the Earth.
But last week's fires and oil spills could be just a prelude of future environmental disasters wrought by the war with Iraq. Among the areas of greatest concern:
THE GULF. Because it is virtually an enclosed basin, with an outlet to the sea only 55 km wide at the Strait of Hormuz, the gulf is especialy vulnerable to oil spills. In a body of water badly contaminated by tankers and garbage, a disastrous spill of the kind that Iraq caused last week could destroy nesting areas for endangered sea turles while poisoning fish which are vital to local fishermen.
BURNING OIL FIELDS. Saddam is assumed to have mined all or most of Kuwait's 360 operating oil wells. If he throws the switch, the resulting fires could send forth a vast cloud of dense black smoke that would foul the sir and darken skies as far east as Afghanistan and northern India. After 30 days, smoke could cover an area half the size of Europe. But because oil gushes naturally to the surface in most Kuwaiti wells, with no need of pumping, it will go on feeding a blaze until someone puts it out -- months or years later, depending on how long the war lasts.
The worst possibility is that the immense smoke could lower temperatures in the Indian subcontinent a few degrees, disrupting the monsoon rains that are essential to crops for the nations of that area.
CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL WEAPONS. Chemical weapons work fast, then disappear. They were used during the Iran-Iraq war, sometimes with devastating consequences for combatants, but with almost none for the environment. Since the gulf war began, allied planes and missiles have pounded Iraqi chemical-weapons plants that manufacture mustard gas and nerve agents. Because the plants are surrounded by a 25 sq.km "exclusion zone", the likelihood of a deadly plume invading populated areas is small. Explosives would also tend to break the gases down into less deadly substances. Harmful chemicals that penetrated the soil would disappear without a trace within a few weeks at most.
Biological agents could be a different problem. Iraq is believed to possess some of them. In open air, most of those die within hours. But if they penetrate the ground, they can survive in a dormant state for decades, waiting for new victims.
military a.軍事的,軍用的 n.[the ~]軍隊,武裝力量
militant a.激進的,好斗的 n.激進分子,斗士
[聯想詞]
cannon n.大炮,火炮
artillery n.火炮,大炮
armor n.盔甲,裝甲,保護物
pistol n.手槍
trigger n.1.扳機 2.引起反應的行動 vt.觸發,引起
ammunition n.軍火,彈藥
lexicon n.1.詞典,字典 2.特殊詞匯,專門詞匯
[聯想詞]
appendix n.1.闌尾 2.附錄
slaughter vt. n. 1.屠殺,殺戮 2.屠宰
[聯想詞]
massacre vt.1. 大規模屠殺,殘殺2.徹底擊敗 n.1.大屠殺 2.慘敗 assassination n.刺殺,暗殺
foul a.1.難聞的 2.令人不愉快的,糟透了的 3.污濁的 vt.1.對…犯規 2.弄臟,污染 n.犯規
devastate vt.1.破壞,蹂躪,使荒蕪 2.壓倒,使垮掉
devastating a. 1.毀滅性的,破壞力極強的 2.令人震驚的 3.強有力的
ecology n. 1.生態 2.生態學
prelude n.前奏,序幕,先聲
strait n. 1.海峽 2.[-s]困境,危難
[聯想詞]
cape n. 1.海角,山甲 2.斗篷,披肩
isle n.小島
vulnerable a.1.易受傷的,脆弱的 2.易受攻擊的,難防御的
[聯想詞]
susceptible a.1.易受影響的 2.過敏的 3.能接受的,容許的
contaminate vt.弄臟,污染
disastrous a. 1.災難性的 2.極壞的,很糟的
[聯想詞]
misfortune n. 1.不幸,厄運 2.災難,災禍
gush v. 1.噴,涌 2.滔滔不絕地說 n.1.噴,涌流 2.迸發,發作
blaze vi.1.熊熊燃燒,著火 2.發光,放光 3.迸發,爆發
[聯想詞]
glare vi.1.怒目而視 2.發射強光 n.炫耀,張揚
disrupt vt.使中斷,擾亂
monsoon n.季風,季節風
mustard n.芥菜
likelihood n.可能,可能性
plume n.1.(升上空中的)一縷(煙,塵土等) 2.羽毛
The Eco-War
The military lexicon needs a new term:"eco-war". What better way to describe the acts of environmental slaughter committed last week in the Persian Gulf, where the air is thick with the smoke from burning oil wells and a wide stripe of crude petroleum is fouling the water and devastating wildlife?
What is certain is that the oil spill has delivered a devastating blow to the ecology of the Persian Gulf. "Massive oil spills could turn this body of water into a virtual dead sea." says Brent Blackwelder, vice president of Friends of the Earth.
But last week's fires and oil spills could be just a prelude of future environmental disasters wrought by the war with Iraq. Among the areas of greatest concern:
THE GULF. Because it is virtually an enclosed basin, with an outlet to the sea only 55 km wide at the Strait of Hormuz, the gulf is especialy vulnerable to oil spills. In a body of water badly contaminated by tankers and garbage, a disastrous spill of the kind that Iraq caused last week could destroy nesting areas for endangered sea turles while poisoning fish which are vital to local fishermen.
BURNING OIL FIELDS. Saddam is assumed to have mined all or most of Kuwait's 360 operating oil wells. If he throws the switch, the resulting fires could send forth a vast cloud of dense black smoke that would foul the sir and darken skies as far east as Afghanistan and northern India. After 30 days, smoke could cover an area half the size of Europe. But because oil gushes naturally to the surface in most Kuwaiti wells, with no need of pumping, it will go on feeding a blaze until someone puts it out -- months or years later, depending on how long the war lasts.
The worst possibility is that the immense smoke could lower temperatures in the Indian subcontinent a few degrees, disrupting the monsoon rains that are essential to crops for the nations of that area.
CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL WEAPONS. Chemical weapons work fast, then disappear. They were used during the Iran-Iraq war, sometimes with devastating consequences for combatants, but with almost none for the environment. Since the gulf war began, allied planes and missiles have pounded Iraqi chemical-weapons plants that manufacture mustard gas and nerve agents. Because the plants are surrounded by a 25 sq.km "exclusion zone", the likelihood of a deadly plume invading populated areas is small. Explosives would also tend to break the gases down into less deadly substances. Harmful chemicals that penetrated the soil would disappear without a trace within a few weeks at most.
Biological agents could be a different problem. Iraq is believed to possess some of them. In open air, most of those die within hours. But if they penetrate the ground, they can survive in a dormant state for decades, waiting for new victims.
military a.軍事的,軍用的 n.[the ~]軍隊,武裝力量
militant a.激進的,好斗的 n.激進分子,斗士
[聯想詞]
cannon n.大炮,火炮
artillery n.火炮,大炮
armor n.盔甲,裝甲,保護物
pistol n.手槍
trigger n.1.扳機 2.引起反應的行動 vt.觸發,引起
ammunition n.軍火,彈藥
lexicon n.1.詞典,字典 2.特殊詞匯,專門詞匯
[聯想詞]
appendix n.1.闌尾 2.附錄
slaughter vt. n. 1.屠殺,殺戮 2.屠宰
[聯想詞]
massacre vt.1. 大規模屠殺,殘殺2.徹底擊敗 n.1.大屠殺 2.慘敗 assassination n.刺殺,暗殺
foul a.1.難聞的 2.令人不愉快的,糟透了的 3.污濁的 vt.1.對…犯規 2.弄臟,污染 n.犯規
devastate vt.1.破壞,蹂躪,使荒蕪 2.壓倒,使垮掉
devastating a. 1.毀滅性的,破壞力極強的 2.令人震驚的 3.強有力的
ecology n. 1.生態 2.生態學
prelude n.前奏,序幕,先聲
strait n. 1.海峽 2.[-s]困境,危難
[聯想詞]
cape n. 1.海角,山甲 2.斗篷,披肩
isle n.小島
vulnerable a.1.易受傷的,脆弱的 2.易受攻擊的,難防御的
[聯想詞]
susceptible a.1.易受影響的 2.過敏的 3.能接受的,容許的
contaminate vt.弄臟,污染
disastrous a. 1.災難性的 2.極壞的,很糟的
[聯想詞]
misfortune n. 1.不幸,厄運 2.災難,災禍
gush v. 1.噴,涌 2.滔滔不絕地說 n.1.噴,涌流 2.迸發,發作
blaze vi.1.熊熊燃燒,著火 2.發光,放光 3.迸發,爆發
[聯想詞]
glare vi.1.怒目而視 2.發射強光 n.炫耀,張揚
disrupt vt.使中斷,擾亂
monsoon n.季風,季節風
mustard n.芥菜
likelihood n.可能,可能性
plume n.1.(升上空中的)一縷(煙,塵土等) 2.羽毛