Section B: Information Matching
Directions: In this section, you are going to read a passage with ten statements attached to it. Each statement contains information given in one of the paragraphs. Identify the paragraph from which the information is derived. You may choose a paragraph more than once. Each paragraph is marked with a letter. Answer the questions by marking the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2.
Fear of Nature: An Emerging Threat to Conservation
[A] What do we lose when natural spaces and species disappear? Increasingly, research has shown that as species and ecosystems vanish, it also chips away at our ability to preserve what remains—because we no longer understand what we’re losing.
[B] You probably see it all the time. The neighbor who puts pesticides on his lawn rather than deal with annoying bees. The politician who votes against wildlife protection because she’s never seen a wolf in the wild. The corporation that wants to bulldoze the habitat of a rare frog.
[C] At best this can be termed “the extinction of experience,” where our cultural and natural histories fade from our memories and therefore our reality. At its worst it becomes something even more concerning: “biophobia,” the fear of living things and a complete aversion to nature.
[D] This isn’t the fiction of living in a cold, empty dystopia. Sadly, it’s becoming a way of life for too many people—especially children. A recent study in Japan paints a striking portrait of this problem. A survey of more than 5,300 school children in the Tochigi Prefecture examined their perception of 14 local insect species and one spider. The results? A collective “ew!” Most of the students saw the species as things to dislike or fear, or even as sources of danger. The less experience the students had with nature, the more negative their feelings.
[E] The results were published earlier this year in the journal Biological Conservation. Lead researcher Masashi Soga with the University of Tokyo says the study stemmed from observations about today’s nature-deficient children. “Humans inherently avoid dangerous organisms such as bees, but children these days avoid even harmless insects such as butterflies and dragonflies,” he says. “I have long wondered why so many of today’s children react like this.”
[F] Although the children’s reactions were somewhat expected, the new study did contain an unexpected finding: Many of the surveyed children revealed that their parents also expressed fear or disgust of the same animals. In fact these parental emotions were strong enough to overwhelm any positive experiences the children might have gained from direct experiences in nature. As Soga and his coauthors wrote in their paper, “Our results suggest that there is likely a feedback loop in which an increase in people who have negative attitudes towards nature in one generation will lead to a further increase in people with similar attitudes in the next generation.”
[G] And that’s possibly the greater threat posed by extinction of experience. Soga suggests the generational loss—a condition previously dubbed environmental generational amnesia—could chip away at our societal ability to preserve what we’re losing. “I believe that increased biophobia is a major, but invisible, threat to global biodiversity,” Soga says. “As the number of children who have biophobia increases, public interest and support for biodiversity conservation will gradually decline. Although many conservation biologists still consider that preventing the loss of wildlife habitat is the most important way to conserve biodiversity, I think preventing increased bio-phobia is also important for conservation.”
[H] What’s to be done about this? The paper makes several recommendations, the most obvious of which is that children should experience nature more often. The authors also suggest establishing policies to guide these natural experiences and increasing educational programs about the natural world.
[I] Helping parents to see species around them in a new light would make a difference, too. And, of course, maintaining support for preserving the wild spaces where these “scary” creatures live is the most important thing of all. That’s a point reinforced by another recent study, which found that wild spaces located within urban areas—and the plants and animals that thrive in them—are particularly important for human health and well-being.
[J] Published in the journal Frontiers in Sustainable Cities, the study examined attitudes toward Discovery Park, the heavily forested 534-acre public park in Seattle, Washington. It found that the public had the most appreciation for—and gained the most value from—the wildest parts of the park. “I have seen whales, seals, fish, eagles, shorebirds and many other sea creatures in their natural habitat,” one survey participant wrote. “Coming here with people has allowed me to connect and talk with them about conversation that simply does not happen in everyday life,” wrote another.
[K] The participants reported that their most valuable experiences in the park included encountering wildlife, walking through open spaces, exploring the beach and finding beautiful views. “We saw that a large majority of participants’ interactions, especially their most meaningful interactions, depended on Discovery Park’s relative wildness,” says lead author Elizabeth Lev, a master’s student in the University of Washington’s Human Interaction with Nature Lab. This is only possible because the park is relatively wild. After all, you can’t enjoy watching birds if there are no birds to follow; gaze at the sunset if it’s obscured by skyscrapers; or stop and smell the flowers if they don’t have room to grow.
[L] And yet even this long-protected space could someday become less hospitable to nature. Over the past few years a lot of people and organizations have suggested developing parts of Discovery Park or the neighboring area. Most recently a plan proposed building 34 acres of much-needed affordable housing and parking spaces adjacent to the park, bringing with them noise, traffic and pollution.
[M] If anything like that happened, both the park and the people of Seattle could lose something vital. And that would continue the trend of chipping away at Seattle’s—and the world’s—natural spaces, leaving just tiny pocket parks and green-but-empty spaces that offer little real value to wildlife, plants or people.
[N] “It is true that any interaction with nature is better than none, but I don’t want people to be satisfied with any small bit of grass and trees,” Lev says. “We have been in this cycle of environmental generational amnesia for a long time, where the baseline keeps shifting and we don’t even realize what we’re losing until it’s gone. If we can get people to understand how much meaning and value can come from having more experiences with more wild forms of nature, then maybe we can stop this cycle and move toward conserving and restoring what we have left.”
[O] Building this understanding in an ever-more fearful and disconnected world may be the biggest challenge. Peter Kahn, the senior author of Lev’s paper and the director of the Human Interaction with Nature lab, made several suggestions for bridging this gap in this 2011 book, Technological Nature. They echo the recommendation about getting children into nature, but also include telling stories of how things used to be, imagining what things might be like in the future, and developing a common language about nature, “a way of speaking about wild and domestic interaction patterns, and the meaningful, deep and often joyful feelings that they generate.”
[P] No matter what techniques we use, this growing field of research illustrates that saving nature requires encouraging people to experience it more often and more deeply. That calls for additional research—Lev and her coauthors have published a toolkit that other municipalities can follow to study the value of their own wild spaces—and clear communication of the results. “If we can continue to show people the benefits of these wild spaces,” Lev says, “maybe people will begin to see more value in keeping these areas undeveloped—for the sake of our mutual benefit.”
36. A new study found parents’ aversion to certain animals would pass on to their children.
37. The disappearance of species and ecological systems erodes our ability to keep what is left.
38. A study showed that the wildest areas of Discovery Park appealed most to the public.
39. The fear of living organisms is becoming more worrisome.
40. Preventing the increase in children’s fear of living creatures is also important for conserving biodiversity.
41. Research shows that more and deeper experience people have with nature will help save it.
42. Though humans naturally tend to avoid dangerous animals, today’s children try to stay away from even harmless ones.
43. Development in and around Discovery Park could cause heavy losses to the park and the local residents.
44. A large survey of school children found that their negative feelings grew as their experience with nature diminished.
45. Elizabeth Lev believes increased contact with more wildlife helps conserve biodiversity.
Answers & Explanations (答案与解析)
36. F。解析：题干 A new study found parents’ aversion to certain animals would pass on to their children.（一项新研究发现，父母对某些动物的厌恶会传递给他们的孩子。）对应 [F] 段 Many of the surveyed children revealed that their parents also expressed fear or disgust of the same animals... an increase in people who have negative attitudes towards nature in one generation will lead to a further increase in people with similar attitudes in the next generation.（父母对相同动物也表现出恐惧或厌恶……一代人对自然持负面态度的人数增加，将导致下一代持类似态度的人数进一步增加。）pass on to their children 对应 lead to a further increase in people with similar attitudes in the next generation。
37. A。解析：题干 The disappearance of species and ecological systems erodes our ability to keep what is left.（物种和生态系统的消失削弱了我们保护剩下东西的能力。）对应 [A] 段 Increasingly, research has shown that as species and ecosystems vanish, it also chips away at our ability to preserve what remains...（研究越来越多地表明，随着物种和生态系统的消失，它也削弱了我们保护剩下东西的能力……）disappearance 对应 vanish，erodes 对应 chips away at，keep what is left 对应 preserve what remains。
38. J。解析：题干 A study showed that the wildest areas of Discovery Park appealed most to the public.（一项研究表明，探索公园最原始（最野生）的区域对公众最具有吸引力。）对应 [J] 段 It found that the public had the most appreciation for—and gained the most value from—the wildest parts of the park.（研究发现，公众对公园最原始（最野生）的部分最欣赏，也从中获得了最大的价值。）appealed most to the public 对应 had the most appreciation for。
39. C。解析：题干 The fear of living organisms is becoming more worrisome.（对生物的恐惧正变得越来越令人担忧。）对应 [C] 段 At its worst it becomes something even more concerning: “biophobia,” the fear of living things...（在最坏的情况下，它变成了更令人担忧的事情：“生物恐惧症”，即对生物的恐惧……）living organisms 对应 living things，worrisome 对应 concerning。
40. G。解析：题干 Preventing the increase in children’s fear of living creatures is also important for conserving biodiversity.（防止儿童对生物的恐惧加剧对于保护生物多样性同样重要。）对应 [G] 段 ...I think preventing increased bio-phobia is also important for conservation.（……我认为防止日益加剧的生物恐惧症对于保护也很重要。）fear of living creatures 对应 bio-phobia。
41. P。解析：题干 Research shows that more and deeper experience people have with nature will help save it.（研究表明，人们对自然的更多更深的体验将有助于拯救自然。）对应 [P] 段 ...this growing field of research illustrates that saving nature requires encouraging people to experience it more often and more deeply.（……这个不断发展的研究领域表明，拯救自然需要鼓励人们更经常、更深入地体验它。）will help save it 对应 saving nature requires...。
42. E。解析：题干 Though humans naturally tend to avoid dangerous animals, today’s children try to stay away from even harmless ones.（尽管人类天生倾向于避开危险的动物，但今天的孩子们甚至试图远离无害的动物。）对应 [E] 段 “Humans inherently avoid dangerous organisms such as bees, but children these days avoid even harmless insects such as butterflies and dragonflies,” he says.（他说：“人类天生就会避开蜜蜂等危险生物，但现在的孩子连蝴蝶和蜻蜓等无害昆虫都要避开。”）naturally tend to 对应 inherently，stay away from 对应 avoid。
43. M。解析：题干 Development in and around Discovery Park could cause heavy losses to the park and the local residents.（探索公园及其周围的开发可能会给公园和当地居民造成重大损失。）对应 [M] 段 If anything like that happened, both the park and the people of Seattle could lose something vital.（如果发生（L段提到的开发建设）那样的事情，公园和西雅图人民都可能失去至关重要的东西。）cause heavy losses 对应 lose something vital。
44. D。解析：题干 A large survey of school children found that their negative feelings grew as their experience with nature diminished.（一项针对学童的大型调查发现，他们的负面情绪随着与自然接触的减少而增加。）对应 [D] 段 A survey of more than 5,300 school children... The less experience the students had with nature, the more negative their feelings.（一项对5300多名学童的调查……学生对自然的体验越少，他们的负面情绪就越强。）experience with nature diminished 对应 The less experience... had with nature。
45. N。解析：题干 Elizabeth Lev believes increased contact with more wildlife helps conserve biodiversity.（伊丽莎白·莱夫认为增加与更多野生动植物的接触有助于保护生物多样性。）对应 [N] 段 If we can get people to understand how much meaning and value can come from having more experiences with more wild forms of nature, then maybe we can stop this cycle and move toward conserving and restoring what we have left.（如果我们能让人们明白，从体验更多野生形态的自然中可以获得多大的意义和价值，那么也许我们可以阻止这种循环，并朝着保护和恢复我们所剩东西的方向迈进。）increased contact with more wildlife 对应 having more experiences with more wild forms of nature，helps conserve biodiversity 对应 move toward conserving and restoring what we have left。
核心搭配与高分句型
【核心搭配与高频短语】
chip away at：不断削弱，损害（chips away at our ability to preserve what remains）
fade from：从...中褪色，逐渐消失（fade from our memories）
feedback loop：反馈回路，恶性循环（there is likely a feedback loop）
in a new light：以新的眼光，从新的角度（see species around them in a new light）
for the sake of：为了...的缘故/利益（for the sake of our mutual benefit）
no matter what：无论什么（No matter what techniques we use）
【亮点句型解析】
The more... the more... 比较级句型：
"The less experience the students had with nature, the more negative their feelings."
（学生对自然的体验越少，他们的负面情绪就越强。）经典的双重比较级，生动且直接地表明了自然体验缺乏与负面情绪增加之间的正相关关系。
"The less experience the students had with nature, the more negative their feelings."
（学生对自然的体验越少，他们的负面情绪就越强。）经典的双重比较级，生动且直接地表明了自然体验缺乏与负面情绪增加之间的正相关关系。
Not until 强调句型与时间状语从句：
"...where the baseline keeps shifting and we don’t even realize what we’re losing until it’s gone."
（……基线不断变化，我们甚至直到失去它才意识到我们正在失去什么。）使用 `not... until` 句型，强调了人类对自然环境恶化反应的迟钝和“代际健忘症”（generational amnesia）的严重性。
"...where the baseline keeps shifting and we don’t even realize what we’re losing until it’s gone."
（……基线不断变化，我们甚至直到失去它才意识到我们正在失去什么。）使用 `not... until` 句型，强调了人类对自然环境恶化反应的迟钝和“代际健忘症”（generational amnesia）的严重性。