墨尔本PTE素材库——Beaver Dams Strengthened by Humans Help Fish Rebound
2016/08/16墨尔本PTE素材库——Cutting Carbon Pollution Could Save Health Care Money
2016/08/16
墨尔本PTE素材库——Climate Change Most Affects Nations That Didn’t Produce It
中文批注
这段Podcast讲解了昆士兰大学一位教授的关于气候变化及其后果的研究。大家可以试试把这段Podcast当做re-tell lecture的素材，或是当做Summarize Written/Spoken Text的素材来做练习。文章生词不算太多，但是内容是很好的Science话题素材。
总的说来，该研究认为造成全球气候变化的国家，如澳大利亚等发达国家，只会经手一小部分的气候变化带来的负面影响；而气候变化造成的更多严重后果，如洪水、海平面上升等，则由一些基本对造成气候变化没有责任的欠发达国家承担，例如非洲国家等。
澳大利亚语言学院整理的PTE素材库，旨在用最贴近PTE Official Question Criteria的材料，最适合PTE难度和话题的素材，给大家提供一系列不同话题的PTE练习素材！让大家可以在平时练习听力、阅读、口语、写作，不至于陷入“题荒”的境地！
【Key Vocabulary】
incur v. 招致，引发
second-hand 二手的
majority n. 大部分
be trapped in 被困在，陷入…（困境）
puff away 吹走，吹风，呼气
devastating adj. 毁灭性的，全然的
extreme weather 极端天气
vulnerable adj. 易受伤害的，脆弱的
emission n. 排放，发散
Full Transcript
Developed nations that drive climate change incur relatively few of the costs whereas countries that produce few greenhouse gas emissions will be hard-hit, like nonsmokers exposed to second–hand smoke.
“Less than 4 percent of countries are responsible for over half of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions.
Glenn Althor, of the University of Queensland.
“This means that the majority of countries are unfairly bearing the burden of a problem that they did not create. Clearly, this isn’t fair by any definition. It’s much like a non-smoker being trapped in a room and getting cancer from second hand smoke while a heavy smoker continues to puff away in good health.”
Althor and colleagues at the University of Queensland and the Wildlife Conservation Society have just published a study analyzing the contributions to climate change by the world’s nations versus the effect that climate change will have on those countries.
“We found that developed nations, such as Australia, the United States, Canada and Russia, are essentially climate free riders, driving the problem of climate change while incurring relatively few of the costs, such as devastating flood, increased extreme weather and rising sea levels.”
Meanwhile, the most vulnerable countries, many of which are in Africa or are small island states, produce few greenhouse gas emissions. The study is in the Nature publication Scientific Reports. [Glenn Althor, James E. M. Watson and Richard A. Fuller, Global mismatch between greenhouse gas emissions and the burden of climate change]
“While it’s important that this issue is defined by scientists, it needs to be acted on by global leaders. The Paris Climate Agreement, finalized in December last year, was widely seen as a positive step forward in addressing climate change. However, there must be an urgent and meaningful mobilization of the policies outlined in the Paris Agreement if we’re to help the most vulnerable countries adapt to climate change while achieving global emissions reductions.”
—Steve Mirsky
