新编大学英语4单元6翻译和课后习题答案

Unit 6 Risks
Useful Information
Risk is the probability of losing something of value. Since we value life above other things, the greatest risk for most people is the risk of death. Yet life itself, to the best of our knowledge, is ultimately limited. The key word here is “ultimately”. Since we hope to live a lot longer, we easily overlook the routine and long-range risks associated with being human, and concentrate instead on other sorts of risks. We rarely think about the chances of death, disability, or disaster, or try to predict the times of their occurrence. Walking across the street in many cities is more dangerous than riding an airplane across an ocean, but many people give no thought to the former and have great fear of the latter. People eagerly do dangerous things for recreation that they would rarely do at work, such as scaling a steep mountain or skiing rapidly down it. Young people are especially willing to take foolish chances for the sheer joy of doing so, or because they discount the probability of adverse outcomes. Yet they should probably be much more careful than their elders, since they have longer life expectancies remaining and thus have more at stake.
Other things we value include health, safety, money, property, relationships and happiness. There are risks attached to the loss of any of these. Hypochondriacs exaggerate the risks of ill health or injury. Ironically the precautions taken to promote health and safety may add to a hypochondriac’s perception of the risks involved. A wise investor takes calculated risks with money, and tries to choose reasonable risks over unreasonable ones. A compulsive gambler, on the other hand, is so addicted to risk that there is little thought of the loss that inevitably follows from gambling indefinitely against the odds. So risk itself may at times be perceived as a reward.
Optimists and pessimists have opposite attitudes toward risk. Extreme optimists always expect the best. Therefore they try to maximize gain. More cautious optimists may try to maximize the minimum gain. Extreme pessimists always expect the worst. Therefore they come to expect the maximum loss. More moderate pessimists may try to maximize the minimum loss. The science of cost-benefit analysis studies these and other strategies for managing risk. So does actuarial science (保险计算科学), with special emphasis on the risks of death, injury, or illness.
One way to manage risk in ordinary life is through rational planning. By considering alternatives and balancing the greatest or most likely risks against the greatest or most likely rewards, we can often make better decisions and give greater consideration to long-term outcomes. By always having a contingency plan in case our main plan fails, we can usually avoid catastrophes. But planning takes
effort, and we must balance this effort against the pleasure of doing things spontaneously because they are not very important or not very risky, and plan other things carefully because they are very important or very risky.
Part One
PREPARATION
1. Risks in Jobs
Physical Risks Financial Risks Emotional Risks
coal-miner, nurse, policeman, secretary, teacher, fighter pilot, interpreter, fireman
football player, writer,
cleaner, tourist guide, factory worker, chemical engineer, computer programmer businessman,
stockbroker,
accountant,
peasant, writer,
civil servant,
tourist guide
nurse,
psychiatrist,
lawyer, president,
teacher, singer,
psychologist,
tourist guide,
writer, host of TV
show, ambassador,
model, journalist
Note: Students may ha ve different ideas in grouping these jobs. That’s natural.
2. Which activity is riskier?
STEP ONE
The following is a list of the activities from the riskiest to the safest: rock climbing skydiving driving a motorcycle being a 65-year-old man skiing flying in an airplane driving a car working on a farm
STEP THREE
—I prefer to do rock-climbing. I know it’s a risky sport but I really want to challenge myself and see how I can use my muscles and brain to do a tough job. You may ask why I like this risky sport while there are so many safer ones to test my strength and determination.
I was born in a mountain area and I’ve been enjoying mountain climbing
since my childhood. I always feel excited while climbing a mountain, and rock-climbing is even more exciting. It’s true rock-climbing is full of dangers, but life itself is full of dangers too. With modern equipment and our brains, we can prevent serious accidents and minor injuries won’t hurt us too much.
—I don’t think I would like any of the activities listed. Actually I don’t like sports. As far back as I can recall, my childhood was spent in hospital.
In other words, I was in poor health for a long time. When other children in the neighborhood began their training in sports, I had to go to hospital and take medicine to survive. In that case, I wasn’t allowed to play outdoors most of the time. In addition to my physical weakness, I’m cautious by nature.
I don’t like to take any risks in my life. Anyway, I’m an excellent chess
player. My father taught me how to play chess and bought several books about chess to improve my skill. So chess is something I enjoy most.
3. Why Would People Like to Take Risks?
Sample:
I am really impressed by these quotes. They tell us that life is full of risks. As Ali put it, he who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life. So taking risks is an essential part of growth and progress. If we look at some famous people we know, obviously they are all good risk takers.
In addition to making achievements, some people take risks to enjoy a new experience and to challenge themselves. They want to look like a courageous guy or a strong person. Taking risks will make them feel more confident and competent. They also want to enjoy the excitement in risk taking because their lives are otherwise too peaceful and comfortable.
Part Two
READING-CENTERED ACTIVITIES
In-Class Reading
Pre-Reading
Sample
The three riskiest things I do in a normal day: ride my bicycle in heavy traffic; run down stairs; do scientific experiments.
Passage Reading
Words, Phrases and Grammatical Points
1. risk
关于risk的词组有很多：
at risk处于危险之中
e.g. I) The disease is spreading, and all children under five are at risk.
II) Heart disease can be avoided if people at risk take medical advice.
at the risk of冒……的危险
e.g. I) He saved my life at the risk of losing his own.
II) At the risk of offending you, I must tell you that I disapprove of your behavior.
run the risk of冒……的危险
e.g.I) I don’t want to run the risk of me eting George.
II) I was afraid to run the risk of betting on the game.
take a risk/risks冒险做可能失败或危险的事
e.g. I) You are taking a big risk driving so fast.
II) But he must be cautious; he must take no unnecessary risks.
2. “And from these threats come questions that we must pose to ourselves…” (l. 6)
1) This sentence means that these threats give rise to questions that we must ask ourselves.
当句首状语为表示地点的介词词组，谓语动词为go, come等表示位置转移的动作动词时，句子通常全部倒装。

e.g. I) From the room came the sound of children singing.
II) From the fountain bubbled a stream of cool water.
2) pose: give rise to (a difficult or dangerous situation)
Some phrases with “pose”:pose a problem/difficulty/risk/threat/challenge/question.
e.g. I) Officials claim the chemical poses no real threat.
II) Rising unemployment is posing serious problems for the administration. III) They had been expected to pose a serious challenge to the main parties.
3. rather (l.16)adv. to a fairly large degree
e.g.I realize that I’ve been rather stupid and selfish.
Some phrases with “rather”:
rather than: instead of
e.g.I) It would be better to make a decision now, rather than leave it until later.
II) It was what he meant rather than what he said that annoyed me. would rather: prefer to do or have something
e.g. I would rather you didn’t mention this matter to anyone else.
or rather: used before correcting something that you have said, or giving more specific information
e.g. We all went in Vic’s car, or rather his father’s.
not... but rather...: used to say that one thing is not true but a different thing is
e.g. The problem is not their lack of funding, but rather their lack of planning.
4. accidentally (l. 21) happening by chance, not by plan or intention
e.g. This morning I accidentally met with a friend with whom I have never kept
in touch for a long time.
Compare:
incidentally:used for adding something to what was said before, either on the same or another subject
e.g. I must go now. Incidentally if you want that book I’ll bring it next
time.
5. accordingly (l. 28)
1)in a way that is suitable for a particular situation or that is based on what
someone has done or said
e.g. I have told you the circumstances, so you must act accordingly
2)for that reason; therefore
e.g. He has impressed his employers considerably and accordingly he is soon
to be promoted.
课内阅读参考译文
风险与你
1 在说不定的某个时候，我们大家都曾充当过疑病症患者的角色,只凭一些轻微的症状便怀疑自己得了某种可怕的病。

有的人只要一听说一种新的疾病，就会去检查，看自己是否可能患了这种病。

然而，对疾病的恐惧并非我们唯一的恐惧。

同样，患病的危险也并非我们唯一会遇上的危险。

现代生活中充满了各种各样的威胁，诸如对我们生命的威胁，对我们平和心境的威胁，对我们家人的威胁，对我们未来的威胁。

从而产生了好些问题，我们不得不问自己：我买的食品安全吗？给孩子们的玩具会伤害他们吗？我们家的人是不是不该吃熏肉？我度假时会不会遭抢劫？我们的疑虑就;无休止地增加。

2 对生活中风险的担忧与疑病症有相似之处；二者的恐惧或忧虑皆起因于信息不全面。

但二者之间也存在一个明显的差别。

疑病症患者通常可以求助于医生，以便澄清疑虑
——要么你得了你所怀疑的疾病，要么你没得。

但当涉及到其它形式的风险时，事情就要困难得多，因为对许多风险来说，情况并不那么简单。

3 风险几乎总是一个可能性的问题而无确定性可言。

你也许会问：“我该不该系安全带？”如果你坐的车要与其它车正面相撞，那当然该系安全带。

倘若你的车侧面被撞，结果你被困在车里，又因安全带装置遭破坏而无法挣脱，那怎么办呢？这是否意味着你该再花些钱在车内安一个保险气袋呢？同样，在正面相撞的情况下，保险气袋完全可以救你一命。

但是，万一正当你在高速公路上开车时，保险气袋突然意外充气膨胀，从而导致了本来绝不会发生的事故，那又该如何是好？
4 上面说的这一切，只是从另一角度说明我们所做的事没有一件是百分之百安全的。

有些风险——常常是潜在的重大风险——与我们的每个业余爱好、所做的每项工作、所吃的每种食物有关，换句话说，与所进行的任何活动有关。

但我们又不能，也不该因危险存在于我们将要做的每件事，而变成战战兢兢的神经症患者。

有
5 例如，两车相撞时，大车总的说来要比小车安全些。

可究竟能安全多少呢？答案是这样：在一起严重的车祸中坐小车丧生的可能性是坐大车的两倍左右。

然而，大车通常比小车贵（并且消耗更多的汽油，由此给环境带来了更大的风险！）。

那么我们该怎样确定什么时候值得为降低风险增加花费呢？例如，避免风险最保险的做法也许是去买一辆坦克或装甲车，从而把撞车时死亡或受伤的风险降到最小。

然而，即便你买得起，这笔额外的费用以及忍受坦克或装甲车所带来的不便是否值得呢？
些活动是比其它活动更危险。

关键在于要让自己了解相应的风险，然后相机行事。

6 在我们尚不知所涉及的风险程度之前，我们还无法回答这些问题。

那么，我们该如何去衡量风险程度呢？有些人似乎认为答案只不过是一个简单的数字。

例如，我们知道每年大约有25,000 人死于车祸。

相比之下，每年只有大约300人死于矿山事故和灾难。

这难道就意味着乘坐汽车要比采矿危险得多吗？未必。

事实是，在美国每年大约有两亿人经常性地以车代步；而大概只有70万人从事采矿作业。

我们评估一种风险时，所需要的有关数字是一个比率或分数。

该分数的分子告诉我们在某个特定时期由于从事某种特定活动而丧生或受伤的人数；其分母告诉我们在这一时期从事这种活动的总人数。

这样，所有的风险程度都是由比率或分数表示，其大小介于0（无风险）到1（完全风险）之间。

7 通过把所有风险都简化为这种比率或分数，我们便可以开始比较不同种类的风险，如比较采矿与乘坐汽车。

这个比率越大，也就是说它越接近1，那么有关活动的风险就越大。

在刚才讨论的例子中，我们可以用每一活动中死亡的人数除以参与该活动的总人数，从而找出汽车旅行与采煤的相对安全性。

此处，我们可以很清楚地看到，乘坐汽车旅行的风险是每一万人中大约有一人丧生；而就采矿而言，其危险程度是每一万矿工中大约有四人死亡。

所以，尽管在车祸中丧生的人远比采矿要多，其实后者的风险是前者的四倍。

这些比率使我们能够对毫不相干的活动或情形的危险性加以比较，即便差别如苹果与橘子那样大也能比较。

如果你反对冒险，你就会选择风险比率较小的活动。

如果你无所畏惧，那么你往往会对高比率不太在乎，除非它们大得令人难以承受。

8 我们一旦明白了风险是永远无法从任何情况中完全去除的，因而就没有绝对安全的事，我们也就会明白问题的关键不是要彻底避免风险，而是要理智地管理风险。

风险管理需要两大要素：常识以及与我们可能要承担的风险的性质和程度相关的
信息。

Reading Comprehension
1. Understanding the Organization of the Text
Step One
1) Risks are always a matter of probability rather than certainty.
2) The author supports the main idea by means of a comparison between hypochondria and anxiety about the risks of life, and an analysis of injury prevention.
Step Two
2) How do we measure the risk level?
Total Number of
Deaths People Involved in the
Activity
The Risk Level
Traveling by
Car
25,000 200 million 1/8,000 Coal Mining300 700,000 3/7,000
3. Group Discussion
1) I think airplanes are safer.
2) Perhaps because airplane crashes are almost always fatal. If you are in an
airplane crash, you will die most probably, but you might not be killed in
a car accident. Even though fewer people die in air crash than in car accidents,
people feel far less secure in the air than on the ground. We are still more used to cars than airplanes.
Vocabulary Practice
1.
1) sensible
sensible: having or showing good sense; reasonable
sensitive: easily hurt, upset, or offended by things that people say
2) relative
relevant: directly connected with the subject or problem being discussed or considered
relative: considered in relation or proportion to somebody/something else; comparative
3) mechanism
machine: 机器
mechanism: a structure of working parts functioning together to produce an effect 4) requires
require: need something
request: ask for something politely or formally
5) eliminate
reduce: make something smaller in size, number, degree, price, etc. eliminate: completely get rid of something that is unnecessary or unwanted
6) crash
crash: a breaking to pieces especially by or as if by collision
collision: an accident in which two or more people or vehicles hit each other while moving in different directions
2.
1) character 2) end up 3) Rarely 4) casual 5) risky 6) all manner of
7) inform 8) sensible 9) definitively
3.
1) On the strength of 2) all manner of 3) feed on 4) reduce…to 5) end up
6) associated with 7) focus on 8) turned to 9) participate in 10) involved in
课外阅读参考译文
Passage I
健康威胁
1 民意调查一再告诉我们，美国人最为担心的就是他们的健康，其次才是环境问题。

这是完全可以理解的，因为身体健康显然比生病要好。

美国人现在对健康如此关注，是有点令人吃惊，因为他们目前比以往任何时候都要健康得多。

许多曾令人恐惧的疾病现在或者已经彻底根除，或者已得到控制。

尽管艾滋病是个显著的例外，但是现在几乎没有什么新的能置许多人于死地的疾病出现，以取代那些已被根除的疾病。

2 然而，健康以及对健康的各种威胁，仍然是人们永久关注的问题。

毕竟，如果目前的趋势无法制止的话，我们中将有不止一半（57％）的人将死于心脏病或是癌症。

3 将威胁健康的危险，特别是致命的危险，进行比较时，有一个主要的问题，就是这些危险的紧迫性有很大差异。

例如艾滋病，如果你染上的话，很可能几年后就死亡。

然而，由吸烟或辐射诱发的癌症，也许要经过20至30年的时间其灾难性的后果才会出现。

因此，在对健康的各种危险做出选择时，务必要考虑进行冒险与承受其后果之间的时间间隔。

4 那些一心要“今朝有酒今朝醉”的人们，往往对潜伏期较长的危害不放在心上。

尽管这是一种目光短浅的行为，但不理会滞后期长的危险，重视近期危险还是有道理的。

毕竟，如果我们真的面临选择，是去做今天就可能使我们丧命的事，还是去做20年后才可能使我们丧命的事，我们往往会两害相比取其轻。

5 对待这类问题有种常用的计算方法，就是考虑可能少活的年数（YPLL）。

其意思是，对一个
25岁的人来说，去做一件使自己五年后丧生的事要比做一件40年后丧生的事“代价高昂”得多。

二者同样都具有危险因素——即最终因从事某事而导致死亡的可能性相同——但是，会马上引起伤害的危险，要比一个很长时间不需付出代价的危险要昂贵得多。

在第一种情形下，他的正常寿命减少了约45年，而在第二种情形下，减少了约5年。

以这种角度看问题必然会对威胁健康的许多因素进行重新评估。

例如，心脏病是夺去美国人性命的头号杀手，远远超过癌症或中风。

然而，老年人患心脏病的比例大大超出了年轻人。

相比之下，癌症的死亡人数虽然要少于心脏病的死亡人数，但患癌症的人群比较年轻。

所以，尽管心脏病死亡率要大，但癌症损失的YPLL要比心脏病多。

具体来讲，与心脏病相比，癌症让人大约多损失了25％的YPLL（如果我们将YPLL定义为65岁以前寿命缩短的年头）。

6 YPLL这一概念，尽管人们对它还有争议，却对保健经济学有着重要影响。

人们经常争辩说，用于医学研究攻克疾病的资金应该按每种疾病死亡人数的多少来分配。

因此，一些人士抨击将大量资金用于艾滋病研究。

他们认为与其它致命的疾病如心脏病和癌症相比，艾滋病得到了不成比例的高额资助。

该批评没有考虑到这样一个事实：由于艾滋病的主要受害者为二三十岁的年轻人，尽管每年只造成20,000人死亡——该数字本身也不小了——但是艾滋病引起的YPLL要大得多，远比简单的死亡人数更值得我们重视。

换句话说，找到治疗艾滋病的方法，将可能增加每位潜在的艾滋病患者25至30年的寿命。

找到治疗心脏病的方法，虽然可能拯救更多人的生命，但对每位受害者来说只能增加平均5到10年的寿命。

7 对一种危险的严重程度的估算会有差异，这要看我们是关注它所引起的死亡人数还是它所导致的YPLL的多少。

有些差异很令人吃惊。

比如，如果我们只算引起的死亡人数的话，与癌症和心脏病相比，意外死亡就显得无足轻重。

然而，一旦我们关注所损失的YPLL，意外事故却赫然位居美国杀手榜的榜首。

这些数据显示，我们不仅要探究危险程度的大小，而且要探究危险什么时候要我们付出代价。

在其它因素都相等的情况下，危险所导致的损害或死亡来得越快，人们就越应该回避这种危险。

Passage II
寻求刺激者
1 “简单的冒险”已成为一种新兴的假日娱乐项目。

如今在西方每逢节假日，游客都有很多旅游胜地和娱乐项目可以选择。

但同时大多数旅行代理商都认为传统的海滩度假已不再时髦，越来越多的人在寻找新的娱乐项目。

2 英国林顿·库柏旅行社的彼得·伊文思解释说：“我们绝大多数顾客都喜欢冒险性的活动。

沙滩度假已经是过去的事情了，人们对此已不再觉得希奇了。

我们目前正在努力做的就是开发新颖而又刺激的活动项目。

”
3 像彼得·伊文思这样的旅行代理商提供的活动内容丰富，从漂流非洲赞比西河，直到攀登世界最高峰。

尽管这样，仍有一些游客还觉得不够刺激。

于是他们转向了所谓的“极限运动”，诸如“空中冲浪”（与水上冲浪相似，但在自由落体跳伞过程中进行）、“极限自由滑雪”（从悬崖顶滑下来）。

4 这些运动主要的魅力在于它们有伤亡的风险。

布伦丹·柯纳是一位驻华盛顿的记者，
一直关注极限运动的兴起。

他认为这种运动确实存在风险。

风险的严重程度各不相同，可能是市内危险运动如穿直立式旱冰鞋溜冰引起的手腕骨折等创伤，也可能严重到丧失生命——那些热衷于进行低空跳伞这类高风险运动的人会有这种危险。

5 柯纳介绍说：“低空跳伞是指乘降落伞从固定的物体，比如摩天大楼，或河流的峡谷顶上往下跳。

我看到过一些关于这项运动的数据，大约每700次低空跳伞中就有一次是致命的。

相比之下，传统的跳伞运动每90,000次才有一次是致命的。

”
6 很多人还没有做好充分准备就去尝试高风险运动，这使得情况更糟糕。

例如，攀登高山成了近几年越来越流行的一项运动，可是很多人似乎并不了解其中的风险。

去年夏天，欧洲最高的阿尔卑斯山脉有90多个登山者遇难，其中有一天就死了12人。

今年夏天，攀登事故的死亡人数估计仍会居高不下。

这并不是因为山脉本身变得越来越危险了，而是由于更多的攀登者没有足够的经验和必要的设备。

比如去年就有报道说，有登山者只穿着短裤和网球鞋就试图徒步穿过冰河，在他们当中只有十分之一的人配有合格的登山向导。

7 那么，为什么有越来越多的人想冒险和体验危险呢？部分原因是近年来冒险的机会急剧增加。

现在的旅游公司几乎可以把游客带到世界上任何地方，从珠穆朗玛峰到南极。

在国内，公司排着队向人们提供体验危险的机会。

例如，现在在世界各地的城市里，你都会看到一种叫蹦极跳的运动。

人们只要用一根有弹性的绳索拴住脚腕，就可以把自己从高高的塔顶抛下去。

8 杰罗姆•斯梅尔是英国新近一家极限运动杂志的编辑，他认为这些运动虽然危险性高，却能帮助人们拓展视野。

“越来越多的人愿意进行这项活动，是因为这是体验人生的捷径，”他说。

“他们付了钱就能体验到那种因分泌肾上腺素而产生的兴奋，这是一般人在正常情况下无法体验的。

而且我认为极限运动还可以使人们逃避朝九晚五的生活方式,
而过着这种平淡生活的人不在少数。

”
9 布伦丹•柯纳同意这种说法。

他认为极限运动在美国之所以盛行是人们对自己过于安逸舒适的生活的反动。

10 “我们生活在人类历史上法律诉讼最多的时代。

为了防止有人受到起诉，金属攀登架和秋千被搬出了孩子们的操场。

如今的美国生活充满了各种各样的规章制度，以保证尽可能地安全。

”
11 柯纳认为过于强调安全性是与美国的冒险精神相违背的。

美国自早期的拓荒者开始就崇尚冒险，这种精神一直可以在电影里看到。

“看看我们的好莱坞电影，里面有各种各样的动作明星。

当人们环视周围枯燥的郊区环境时，不禁要问‘哪儿有适合我的刺激和惊险啊？’。

”
12 而且心理学家们也赞同此观点。

他们相信人们的生活中需要一点刺激。

英国设菲尔德大学心理学教授巴里•冈特解释道：
13 “从根本上说，追求新鲜事物是人的基本需求，人们时不时地会想要冒一点险，以便在应对周围的环境时感到更得心应手。

”
14 寻找挑战以证明自己勇气和胆量的欲望似乎显示了典型的阳刚之气，但是，虽然极限运动的主要倡导者和支持者是年轻小伙子，该运动也吸引了女性。

15 不仅仅是旅行社一直在充分利用人们对冒险运动的向往。

软饮料的生产商百事公司也把极限运动的理念，结合到了最近的广告中，宣传的对象就是年轻人。

百事公司英国市场
的经理西蒙
•洛登认为利用危险体育做广告能在年轻人中引起共鸣。

16 “充分享受生活，享受今天，是Pepsi Max饮料的全部理念。

极限运动真正实现了这个愿望。

不管年轻人是否真的从事这项运动，但至少能够使他们心生向往，说：‘是的，我愿意这样做。

’况且，从极限运动中我们享受到了怎样的飘飘欲仙的感觉啊——那是真正的飘飘欲仙！”
Part Three
FURTHER DEVELOPMENT
1. Enriching Your Word Power
1) B 2) A 3) A 4) A 5) C 6) C 7) B 8) C 9) A 10) B
2. Case Study
STEP TWO
Samples
Possibility 1: Swimming across a lake in cold weather is extremely dangerous. Leaving two young children alone in the woods is unwise—something unexpected could happen to them. And if you drown, they might never be found.
Possibility 2: Letting the 14-year-old boy go alone to try to find the right path is very foolish. He could fall and hurt himself or he could get lost and get very frightened.
Possibility 3: Not moving and spending the night in the forest is also risky. The temperature might drop, you might be very cold and you still might not be found the next day.
All three possibilities are full of risks. But, if you are a very good swimmer and you are fairly confident that there are houses on the other side of the lake, then Possibility 1 would be a fairly safe choice. If you are quite confident that people might start looking for you in daylight, then Possibility 3 might be a safe choice. If you huddle close together, you will be able to keep warm. Getting sleep or rest will help conserve your energy.
3. Personal Safety
Samples
1) Ways of describing numbers:
Motor vehicle accidents account for the largest percentage (59.0%) of all accidental deaths, followed by falls, which make up almost 15% of the accidental deaths.
Only about 2.5% of all accidental deaths are caused by firearms.
2) Suggested ways of preventing accidents:
— reduce the speed limit;
—make less powerful cars;
—never ride a motorcycle without wearing a helmet and protective gear;—never go swimming alone and be careful not to swim in dangerous areas; wear
a life jacket if you are not a good swimmer;
—constantly check electric wires and replace old ones;
—keep poisons out of the reach of children;
—ban all firearms;
—wear a safety belt while driving.
4. Staging a Talk Show
Sample
Host: Good Evening, everybody. Welcome to our Talk Show Program this week. Tonight we have three guest speakers from XXX University to discuss the rise of extreme sports and their popularity among college students. Now risky sports like bungee jumping, skiing, base jumping, rock climbing, mountaineering are no longer new to them. Participating in these sports is a growing trend. As we know, some students get injured and some have even lost their lives. So many people begin to ask whether it is worthwhile for college students to take these risks. We want to hear your opinion.
Guest Speaker A: Well, young people are full of vigor and vitality and tend to seek thrills when possible. They want to challenge themselves, and challenge nature. They aim to overcome their fear and to be able to say “I did that!”
Sure their great bravery will inspire other people. Although people may not do the same kind of sport, they’ll be encouraged by the sense of adventure to overcome the fear in their own lives. I really admire those students who take the risk of pursuing their dreams.
Host: Thank you very much. You showed us the best side of these people. I think many people would respect them for their sense of adventure and their bravery.
(Turning to Speaker B) What do you think about this, Speaker B?
Guest Speaker B: I can understand Speaker A’s admiration for these people. However, I’m awfully sorry for those who have lost their lives in risky activities.
Life is the most precious thing in the world and each of us can have only one life. Young people should value their lives. It is not easy for parents to bring them up and our society needs courageous living beings. They have more important things to devote themselves to. How could they take a risky activity at the cost of their lives? It is not only a loss to their family but also
a loss to our country.
Host: Thank you, Speaker B. You showed the matter in a different light. I think there’s something in what you said. Now, Speaker C, we’re eager to know what you think about this.
Guest Speaker C: Everyone has their preference in making choices. Nobody can interfere. If these college students found that they wanted to try these sports, who could stop or blame them? The key point is whether they are fully prepared for these sports. There are varying degrees of risks, however, and not everyone is qualified for the sports. They should be encouraged to understand the risk involved and see if they can minimize or avoid it. That is a responsible attitude towards life.
Host: Thank you all very much for joining us. Your ideas are very important to our young college students when they make their decisions. (Turning to the audience) Good-bye everyone and we’ll see you again next week.
5. Weighing the Risks
STEP ONE
1) disasters 2) poses 3) damage 4) thinking 5) pollutants 6) risk 7) amount
8) released 9) effects 10) variables
STEP TWO
Samples
1) What are some of the negative effects of technology on our health?
The negative effects of technology on our health include: air pollution;
water pollution; soil erosion; increased amounts of garbage; more dangerous chemicals; increased rates of cancer and other diseases; more stress because the pace of life is faster…
2) Are environmental risks worth taking? Explain your answer.
It’s a difficult question to answer. According to what happened in China, China did take many environmental risks while developing its economy. Some environmental risks were taken because of ignorance, and some were taken because China couldn’t afford to protect the environment at that time.
That’s why many people believed that taking risks was necessary at the early stage when the country had to accumulate enough money for further development.
If the environmental risks taken could be examined again, we may say that most of them could have been avoided if we had been smart enough.
3) Do you think people have interfered too much in the environment?
Yes. For a long time humans felt proud of themselves because they could fight against nature. They were too self-centered to pay attention to their environment. When humans have interfered too much in their environment, it。