环境工程专业英语复习(二)

1.Four characteristics of community structure(空间分布)physical appearance, species diversity or richness（多样性）, species abundance（丰度）, niche structure（生态地位结构）.2.Three major factors affect species diversity: latitude（纬度）in terrestrial communities（地球群落）; depthin aquatic system; pollution in aquatic system（水环境）.3.Where is most of the W orld’s Biodiversity Found?Tropical rain forests, coral reefs, the deep sea, largetropical lakes.4.What determines the number of species on island?Size and degree of isolation（隔离程度）.5.Four types of species:native species（本土物种）: normally live and thrive（繁衍）in a particular ecosystem; nonnative species: migrate into an ecosystem or are deliberately or accidentally introduced into an ecosystem by humans;indicator species（指示性生物）: serves early warnings of damage to a community or an ecosystem(Birds are excellent biological indicators because they are found almost everywhere and respond quickly toenvironmental change.); keystone species（关键物种）: the roles of some species in an ecosystem are much more important than their abundance or biomass suggests.6.Five basic types of interaction between species: interspecific competition, predation（掠夺）, parasitism（寄生）, mutualism（互利共生）, commensalism（共生）7.Intraspecific competition: competition between members of the same species for the same resources.Interspecific competition: competition between members of two or more different species for food, space, or any other limited resource.8.What is the competitive exclusion principle?Sometimes one species eliminates another species in aparticular area through competition for limited resources.9.How have some species reduced or avoided competition? One way this happens is through resourcepartitioning，the dividing up of scarce（紧缺的）resources so that species with similar needs use them(1) at different times, (2)in different ways, (3)in different places.10.Symbiosis: a relationship in which species live together in an intimate associatio n（密切联合）. Three types:parasitism, mutualism, and commensalism.11.Parasitism: occurs when one species feeds on part of another organism by living on or in the host（宿主）.In this relationship, the parasite（寄生物）benefits and the host is harmed.12.Mutualism: two species involved in a symbiotic relationship interact in ways that benefit both. Suchbenefits include(1)having pollen and seeds dispersed for reproduction, (2)being supplied with food,or(3)receiving protection.mensalism: a symbiotic interaction that benefits one species but neither harms nor helps the otherspecies much, if at all.14.Tectonic plates: both convection currents and mantle plumes move upward as the heated material isdisplaced by denser, cooler material sinking under the influence of gravity. These flows of energy and heated material in the mantle convection cells cause movement of rigid plates.Plate tectonics（构造板块）: The theory explaining the movement of the plates and the processes that occur at their boundaries.15.Mineral: an element or inorganic compound that occurs naturally and is solid.16.Rock: any material that makes up a large, natural, continuous part of the earth’s crust.17.Three major rock types and their characteristics: Igneous rock（火成岩）, sedimentary rock（水成岩）,metamorphic rock（变质岩）.18.Rock cycle: Rocks are constantly exposed to various physical and chemical conditions that can changethem over time. The interaction of processes that change rocks from one type to another.19.Earthquakes: stress in earth’s crust can cause solid rock to deform until it suddenly fractures and shiftsalong the fracture, producing a fault. The faulting or a later abrupt movement on an existing fault causes anearthquake.20.Risk: the possibility of suffering harm from a hazard that can cause injury, disease, economic loss, orenvironmental damage. Risk is expressed in terms of probability: a mathematical statement about how likely it is that some event or effect will occur.21.Risk assessment（评估）: （1）identifying a real or potential hazard, （2）determining the probability of itsoccurrence, （3）and assessing the severity（严重程度）of its health, environmental, economic, and social impact. Risk management: ⑪serious it is compared to other risks, ⑫how much the risk should bereduced, ⑬how such risk reduction can be accomplished, and ⑭how much money should be devoted to reducing the risk to an acceptable level.22.What determines whether a chemical is harmful? Whether a chemical is harmful depends on ⑪the sizeof the dose over a certain period of time,⑫how often an exposure occurs, ⑬who is exposed, ⑭how well the body’s detoxification systems work, an d⑮genetic makeup that determines an individual’s sensitivity toa particular toxic.23.Poison: a chemical that has an LD50 of 50 milligrams or less per kilogram of body weight.24.Toxic chemicals: defined as substances that are fatal to more than 50% of test animals (LD50) at givenconcentrations.25.Mutagens: agents, such as chemicals and ionizing radiation, that cause random mutation, or changes, in theDNA molecules found in cells.26.Teratogens: chemicals radiation, or viruses that cause birth defects while the human embryo is growing anddeveloping during pregnancy, especially during the first 3 months.27.Nontransmissible disease: not caused by living organisms and does not spread from one person to another.Transmissible disease: caused by a living organism and can be spread from one person to another.Risk analysis: ⑪identifying hazards and evaluating their associated risks, ⑫ranking risks, ⑬determining options and making decisions about reducing or eliminating risks, and ⑭informing decision makers and the public about risks.28.Populations grow or decline through the interplay of three factors: births, deaths, and migration.Population change: calculated by subtracting the number of people leaving a population from the number entering it during a specific period of time:Population change= (Births + Immigration)-(Deaths + Emigration)29.Factors affect birth rate and fertility rates:①importance of children as a part of the labor force; ②urbanization; ③cost of raising and educating children; ④educational and employment opportunities for women; ⑤infant mortality rate（夭折率）, ⑥average age at marriage, ⑦availability（有效性）of private and public pension system（抚恤金体系）, ⑧availability of legal abortions; ⑨availability of reliable birth control methods; ⑩religious beliefs（宗教信仰）, traditions, and cultural norms（规范）.30.Factor affects death rate: two useful indicators（指标）of overall health of people in a country or regionare (1)life expectancy and (2)the infant mortality rate.31.age structure: the proportion of the population at each age level. Demographers typically construct apopulation age structure diagram by plotting the percentages or numbers of males and females in the total population in each of three age categories: (1)prereproductive, (2)reproductive, and (3)postreproductive 32.Three system provide Us with food: (1)croplands（耕地）(mostly for producing grains, which provideabout 76% of the world’s food); (2)rangelands牧场(which supply about 17% of the world’s food);(3)oceanic fisheries海洋渔业(which supply about 7% of the world’s food).33.What plants and animals feed the world? Although the earth has perhaps 30,000plants species with partsthat people can eat, only 15plant and 8 terrestrial animal species supply an estimated 90% of our global intake of caloriesMajor types of food production: industrialized agriculture(high-input agriculture); plantation agriculture大垦殖农业; Traditional subsistence agriculture传统温饱型农业; traditional intensive agriculture传统集约耕作.34.Green revolution: most of the increase in global food production has come from increased yields per unitof area of cropland in a process.35.Three steps of green revolution: (1)developing and planting monocultures of selectively bred orgenetically engineered high-yield varieties of key crops such as rice, wheat, and corn; (2)producing high yields by using large inputs of fertilizer, pesticides, and water on crops;(3)increasing the number of crops grown per year on a plot of land through multiple cropping.36.Undernutrition: people who cannot grow or buy enough food to meet their basic energy needs.37.Malnutrition: people who are forced to live on a low-protein, high-carbohydrate diet consisting only ofgrains such as wheat, rice, or corn.38.What are the environmental effects of producing food? Future ability to produce more food will belimited by a combination of (1)soil erosion侵蚀, (2)desertification沙漠化, (3)salinization and waterlogging 水浸of irrigated lands, (4)water deficits and droughts, (5)loss of wild species that provide the genetic resources for improved foams of foods, and (6)the effects of global warming.39.Important properties of water: (1)there are strong forces of attraction between molecules of water;(2)water sexists as liquid over a wide temperature range because of the strong forces of attraction betweenmolecules; (3)liquid water changes temperature very slowly because it can store a large amount of heat without a large change in temperature; (4)it takes a lot of heat to evaporate liquid water because of the strong forces of attraction between its molecules; (5)liquid water can dissolve a variety of compounds;(6)water molecules can break down into hydrogen ions and hydroxide ions, which help maintain a balancebetween acids and bases in cells, as measured by the pH of water solutions; (7)the strong attractive forces between the molecules of liquid water cause its surface to contract and to adhere to and coat a solid;(8)water filters out wavelengths of ultraviolet radiation that would harm some aquatic organism; (9)unlikemost liquid, water expands when it freezes40.Surface runoff: precipitation that does not infiltrate the ground or return to the atmosphere by evaporation.41.Groundwater: some precipitation infiltrates the ground and percolates downward through voids in soil androck.42.Recharge area: any area of land through which water passes downward or laterally into an aquifer.43.Natural recharge: aquifers are replenished naturally by precipitation that percolates downward through soiland rock in what is called ~44.How can we increase freshwater supplies? Six ways to increase the supply of fresh water in a particulararea are to (1)build dams and reservoirs to store runoff, (2)bring in surface water from another area,(3)withdraw groundwater, (4)convert salt water to fresh water, (5)waste less water, and (6)import food toreduce water use.45.Advantages of withdrawing groundwater: (1)can be removed as needed year round, (2)is not lost byevaporation, and (3)usually is less expensive to develop than surface water systems.46.Disadvantages of withdrawing groundwater: (1)water table lowering, (2)aquifer depletion, (3)aquifersubsidence; (4)intrusion of salt water into aquifers, (5)drawing of chemical contamination in groundwater toward wells, and (6)reduced stream flow.47.Desalination: removing dissolved salts from ocean water or from brackish groundwater. Two majordisadvantages: it is expensive because it takes large amounts of energy; it produces large quantities of wastewater containing high level of salt and other minerals.48.Floodplain: heavy rain or rapid melting of snow is the major cause of natural flooding by streams. Thiscauses water in a stream to overflow its normal channel and flood the adjacent area.49.Methods of reducing flood risks: (1)straightening and deepening streams; (2)building levees; (3)buildingdams; (4)restoring wetlands to take advantage of the natural flood control provided by floodplains;(5)identifying and managing flood-prone areas.50.Petroleum(crude oil): a thick liquid consisting of hundreds of combustible hydrocarbons along with smallamounts of sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen impurities.51.Advantage of nuclear: large fuel supply; low environmental impact; emits 1/6 as much CO2 as coal;moderate land disruption and water pollution; moderate land use; low risk of accidents because of multiple safety systems.Disadvantage of nuclear: high cost; low net energy yield; high environmental impact; catastrophicaccidents can happen; no acceptable solution for long-term storage of radioactive wastes anddecommissioning worn-out plants; spreads knowledge and technology for building nuclear weapons.52.Energy effects能源效应: the percentage of total energy input into an energy conversion device or systemthat does useful work and is not converted to low-quality, essentially useless heat.53.Advantage of use solar energy: moderate net energy; moderate environmental impact; no CO2 emissions;fast construction; costs reduced with natural gas turbine backup.Disadvantage: low efficiency; high costs; needs backup or storage system; need access to sun most of the time; high land use; may disturb desert areas.54.Advantage of using solar cells: fairly high net energy; work on cloudy days; quick installation; easilyexpanded or moved; no CO2 emissions; low environmental impacts; last 20-40years; low land use; reduces dependence on fossil fuels.Disadvantage: need access to sun; low efficiency; need electricity storage system or backup; high land use could disrupt desert areas; high costs; DC current must be converted to AC.55.Advantage of using large dams: moderate to high net energy; high efficiency(80%); low-cost electricity;long life span; no CO2 emissions during operation; may provide flood control below dam; provides water for year-round irrigation of crop land; reservoir is useful for fishing and recreation.Disadvantage: high construction costs; high environmental impacts; high CO2 emissions from biomass decay in shallow tropical reservoirs; flood natural areas; converts land habitat to take habitat; danger of collapse; uproots people; decreases fish harvest below dam; decreases flow of natural fertilizer to land below dam.58. Advantage of using wind: moderate to high net energy; high efficiency; moderate capital cost; very lowenvironmental impact; no CO2 emissions; quick construction; easily expanded; land below turbines can be used to grow crops or graze livestock.Disadvantage: steady winds needed; backup systems needed when winds are low; high land use for wind farm; visual pollution; noise when located near populated areas; may interfere in flights of migratory birds and kill birds of prey.59. Advantage of burning solid biomass: large potential supply in some areas; moderate costs; no net CO2increase if harvested and burned sustainably; plantation can be located on semiarid land not needed for crops; plantation can help restore degraded lands; can make use of agricultural, timber, and urban wastes;Disadvantage: nonrenewable if harvested unsustainably; moderate to high environmental impact; CO2 emissions if harvested and burned unsustainably; low photosynthetic efficiency; soil erosion, water pollution, and loss of wildlife habitat; plantation could compete with cropland; often burned in inefficient andpolluting open-fires and stoves,60.Advantage of using geothermal energy: very high efficiency; moderate net energy at accessible sites;lower CO2 emissions than fossil fuels; low cost at favorable sites; low land use; low land disturbance;moderate environmental impact.Disadvantage: scarcity of suitable sites; depleted if used too rapidly; CO2 emissions; moderate to high local air pollution; noise and odor; cost too high expect at the most concentrated and accessible sources.61.Atmosphere: we lived at bottom of a sea of air.62.Troposphere对流层: ~, which expends延伸only about 17 kilometers above sea level at the equator赤道and about 8 kilometers over the poles极地.63.Air pollution: the percentage of one or more chemicals in the atmosphere in sufficient quantities andduration to (1) cause harm to us, other forms of life, and materials or (2)alter climate.64.Photochemical smog: a mixture of primary and secondary pollutants formed under the influence of sunlight.65.Industrial smog: consisting mostly of (1)sulfur dioxide; (2)suspended droplets of sulfuric acid, and (3)avariety of suspended solid particles and droplets.66.Green effects: it occurs because molecules of certain atmospheric gases, warm the lower atmosphere byabsorbing some of the infrared radiation radiated by the earth’s surface.(CO2, CH4, N2O, CFOs, HCFCs, HFCs, Halons, Carbon tetrachloride)67.Global warming: most climate scientists believe that increased inputs of CO2 and other greenhouse gasesfrom human activities will (1)enhance the earth’s natural greenhouse effect and (2)raise the average global temperature of the atmosphere near the earth’s surface.68.Effects of warmer atmosphere: (1)less severe winters; (2)more precipitation in some dry areas; (3)lessprecipitation in some wet areas; (4)increased food production in some areas; (5)expanded population and range for some plant and animal species adapted to higher temperature.69.W ater pollution: any chemicals, biological, or physical change in water quality that has a harmful effect onliving organisms or makes water unsuitable for desired uses.70.Point sources: discharge pollutants at specific locations through pipes, ditches, or sewers into bodies ofsurface water.Nonpoint sources: cannot be traced to any single site of discharge. They are usually large land areas or airsheds that pollute water by runoff, subsurface flow, or deposition from the atmosphere.71.Cultural eutrophication: near urban or agricultural areas, human activities can greatly accelerate the inputof plant nutrient to a lake, which results in a process.72. Why is groundwater pollution such a serious problem?(1)storage lagoons, (2)septic tanks, (3)landfills;(4)hazardous waste dumps, and (5)deep injection wells.73.How can we protect groundwater? Contaminated aquifers are almost impossible to clean because oftheir (1)enormous volume, (2)inaccessibility, and (3)slow movement.74.Solid waste: any unwanted or discarded material that is not a liquid or a gas.75.Hazardous waste: legally defined as any discarded solid or liquid material that (1)contains one or more of 39 toxic, carcinogenic, mutagenic, or teratogenic compounds at levels that exceed established limits,(2)catches fire easily , (3)is reactive or unstable enough to explode or release toxic fumes, or (4)is capable of corroding metal containers such as tanks, drums, and barrels. Does not include: (1)radioactive wastes,(2)hazardous and toxic material discarded by household, (3)mining wastes, (4)oil-and gas-drilling wastes, (5)liquid wastes containing organic hydrocarbon compounds, (6)cement kiln dust, produced when liquid hazardous wastes are burned in a cement kiln, and (7)wastes from the thousands of small businesses and factories that generate less than 100 kilograms.76.Advantage of incinerating solid and hazardous wastes: reduced trash volume, less need for landfills, low water pollution.Disadvantage: high cost; air pollution; produces a highly toxic ash; encourage waste producting.77.Advantage of injecting liquid hazardous wastes: simple technology; safe method if sites are chosen carefully; wastes can be retrieved if problems develop; easy to do; low cost.Disadvantage: leaks or spills at surface; leaks from corrosion of well casing; existing fractures or earthquakes can allow wastes to escape to groundwater; encourages waste production.。