Report 1 气候变化引发争议
Wors Tips
emitter n.排放者 caveat n.隐患，警告
concede v.让步 non-fossilfuel非矿物燃料
Senate n.参议院 dump n.丢弃，撂挑子
utility rates公共事业费率 hoax n.骗局
Gestapo n.盖世太保 theHouseofRepresentatives（美）众议院
scupper v.使……破碎，使……以失败告终
EnvironmentalProtectionAgency（EPA）环境保护局
perpetrate v.犯（罪）；做（错事）；干（坏事）
Listen to the following recording and answer questions 1-3.
1）A.Because the UN Conference on Climate Change has been held.
B.Because it is a rule of a Sino-Chinese agreement.
C.Because more efforts have been made by China in dealing with climate change.
D.Because America is responsible for a far larger share of the greenhouse gases already in the atmosphere.
2）A.Because China’s economic growth is slowing and urbanization will have mostly run its course by 2030.
B.Because China has agreed that its emissions will peak in 2030.
C.Because the US and China announced a deal on carbon emissions.
D.Because the percentage of non-fossil fuels in China’s energy consumption will rise to 20% by 2030.
3）A.They welcome the greenhouse-gas regulations issued by the EPA.
B.They would like to work together with the EPA to carry out the emission cut plan.
C.They have no interest in the emission reduction efforts made by EPA.
D.They are strongly against greenhouse-gas regulations issued by the EPA.
听力原文
FIVE years ago next month，disagreement between America and China，the world’s biggest greenhouse-gas emitters，scuppered the UN’s Copenhagen climate-change conference.On November 11th Presidents Barack Obama and Xi Jinping announced a deal on carbon emissions.This is welcome，with two caveats：China has not conceded much，and Congress will do its best to prevent America from delivering what the president has promised.
Because America is responsible for a far larger share of the greenhouse gases already in the atmosphere than China，it was bound to accept sharper cuts.Even so，it has made big concessions.America had previously signed up to a cut of 17% below 2005 levels by 2020.This looks achievable because emissions are already falling.The new agreement is for a 26-28% cut by 2025，which would require a doubling in the pace of cuts after 2020.
China has agreed that its emissions will peak in 2030，and that the percentage of non-fossil fuels in its energy consumption will rise to 20% by 2030.Just getting a date out of the Chinese is an achievement，but American negotiators had been aiming for 2025.More important，the date the Chinese have agreed to may not be so different from what would have happened without a deal.Earlier this year He Jiankun of Tsinghua University reckoned that China’s carbon emissions would peak by“around 2030”，as economic growth is slowing and urbanization will have mostly run its course by then.
Those efforts are in the hands of the Environmental Protection Agency（EPA），which many Republicans would like to abolish altogether.The Republican majority in the House of Representatives has already made it clear that it would like to roll back greenhouse-gas regulations issued by the EPA；the new Republican Senate will probably agree.
Mitch McConnell，the Republican leader in the Senate，comes from Kentucky，a coal-producing state，and has already attacked the deal.“This unrealistic plan that the president would dump on his successor would ensure higher utility rates and far fewer jobs，”he said.Senator Jim Inhofe，who is likely to head the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee，has called climate change“the greatest hoax ever perpetrated on the American people”，and compared the EPA to the Gestapo.
Questions：
1.Why was America bound to accept sharper cuts in carbon emissions？
2.According to the report，why will China’s carbon emissions peak by“around 2030”？
3.What is the attitude of most Republicans toward the Environmental Protection Agency？
参考译文
五年前的12月，世界最大的温室气体排放国美国和中国，两国的分歧使联合国气候变化大会无果而终。11月11日，奥巴马总统与习近平总书记就碳排放问题宣布了一项协议。协议不可否认受到欢迎，但也存在两个隐患：中国并没有做出多大让步，同样美国国会将尽其所能阻止总统奥巴马兑现承诺。
由于大气中美国所排放的温室气体要远大于中国，它负有更多的责任，因而必定要承受更多的减排任务。即便如此，美国还是做出了重大让步。此前美国就签订协议在2020年前在2005年减排指标的基础上再减排17%。这不是无稽之谈，因为现在美国的碳排放已经在下降。新的减排协议要求在2025年前实现26%～28%的减排任务，这将要求美国在2020年之后加速减排的步伐，估计是以前减排步伐的两倍。
中国同意2030年其碳排放量达到峰值，截至2030年，中国非化石燃料能源占能源消费比重的百分比将增至20%。中国能给出一个具体的时间就是一场胜利，然而美国谈判专家想要中国将时间提前至2025年。更重要的是，中国所同意的时间表在没有协议的情况下基本可以说形同虚设。今年年初，清华大学的专家何建坤称中国的碳排放将在2030年达到顶峰，那时候中国的经济增长已经趋缓，城市化进程也趋于完善。
而实现这些努力措施的决定权掌握在环境保护局手中，但是共和党人却都想废止这些行动。众议院中共和党中的绝大多数人明确表示将会退回之前保护局发行的温室气体规定，新的共和党众议员很可能会同意。
参议院的共和党领导人明奇·麦康奈尔，来自产煤之州肯塔基，已经在攻击该协议。他宣称：“这是一个不切实际的计划，是奥巴马甩给继任者的烂摊子，将会增加公共事业费率而大大减少就业岗位。参议员吉姆·英霍夫，很有可能会成为参议院环境与公共事业委员会的一把手，称气候变化是“降临到美国人民身上最大的骗局”，并将环境保护局比作盖世太保。
参考答案
1.D 2.A 3.D