1. Who is Rachel Carson?

2. 1. “Wildlife野生动物 conservation保护 must be
dynamic活跃, evolving演变 as conditions状态
change, seeking寻求 always to become more
effective有效,” so said Rachel Carson. Ever
since自从 she was a child小孩, Rachel Carson
was interested感兴趣 in nature大自然 and
devoted忠诚 to birds. She was born on May 27,
1907 in Springdale, Pennsylvania. Carson began
writing when she was an adolescent青少年.
Her first articles文章 were published出版 in
the St. Nicolas literary文学 magazine杂志 for
children.

3. 2. Carson entered进入 Pennsylvania College for
Women where she studied biology and graduated毕
业 with flying colours辉煌成绩, in 1929. In 1936, she
received a Master’s degree in Zoology动物学 from
the Johns Hopkins University. While continuing继续
to study during the summer夏天 at the Marine海洋
Biological生物 Laboratories实验室 in Woods Hole,
Massachusetts, Carson taught教 at the University of
Maryland. It was at this time that she became
fascinated着迷 with the sea. In 1935, she worked
part-time, writing science radio scripts脚本 for the
Fish and Wildlife Service服务. This job later became
a full-time appointment任命 as a junior初级 aquatic
水生 biologist生物学家.

4. 3. In September 1937, Carson’s article, ‘The
Undersea’, was published. This article became the
starting point 起跑点for her first book, ‘Under the
Sea-Wind’. In 1949, she became chief总 editor编辑
of publications刊物 at the Fish and Wildlife Service.
Ten years after her first book was published, Carson
circulated传阅 a second piece of work作品, ‘The Sea
Around Us’ which won the John Burroughs Medal奖
章 and the National Book Award奖. In the first
year, it sold more than 200,000 copies.

5. 4. After publishing her second book, Carson retired退休 from
the Fish and Wildlife Service in order to以便 write full time.
She was concerned忧虑 with the government’s abuse滥用 of
new chemical化学 pesticides农药 and the pest虫害control防
治 programmes方案 which were distributing散发 poisons毒
, without regard for而不为 the welfare福利 of animals. “The
more I learned about the use of pesticides, the more appalled
震惊 I became. What I discovered发现 was that everything
which meant most to me对我来说很重要的 as a naturalist自
然学家 was being threatened被威胁, and that nothing I could
do would be more important,” Carson stated. In 1962, she
described形容 the dangers of harmful有害 chemicals in her
bestseller畅销书 ‘Silent寂静的 Spring春天’ which raised提高
the awareness意识 of the need to protect the environment环
境. The message in her book was clear明确. It was a warning
about the dangers of destroying摧毁 the environment.

6. 5. The following以下 excerpt一段 from the book
explains what Carson felt about nature: “There was
once曾经有 a town镇 in the heart中心 of America
where all life seemed好像 to live in harmony和平相处
with its surroundings四周围. Then, a strange blight白
叶枯病 crept蔓延 over the area and everything began
to change. There was a strange stillness寂静. The few
birds seen anywhere were moribund垂死; they
trembled颤抖 violently剧烈 and could not fly. It was a
spring without voices. On the mornings that had once
throbbed波动着 with the dawn黎明 chorus合奏 of
scores乐谱 of bird voices, there was now no sound;
only silence lay over遮盖 the fields草原 and woods树
丛 and marsh沼泽.”

7. 6. As a result of her book, which has been translated
into over 40 languages, new environmental laws were
passed被通过. People all over the world became
involved in activities to protect the environment.
Today, the book is still recognised被认可 as the
cornerstone基石 of the new environmentalism环境论.
In 1962, in a letter to her friend, Carson wrote: “The
beauty of the living world I was trying to save has
always been uppermost最重要的 in my mind –
that, and anger愤怒 at the senseless无意义, brutish粗
俗 things that were being done. I have felt bound被绑
by a solemn庄严 obligation义务 to do what I could – if I
didn’t at least try, I could never be happy again with
nature. Now, however, I can believe that I have at least
helped a little.”

8. 7. On April 14, 1964, Rachel Carson died in Silver
Springs, Maryland of cancer at the age of 56. In
commemoration纪念 of her achievements成就 as a
writer, biologist and environmentalist, the U.S.
Department of the Interior美国内政部 erected竖立
a plaque in her honour at the Carson Wildlife Refuge
in Maine. Inscribed印 on the plaque are the words
of Ms. Carson: “All the life of the planet is inter-
related互相关联. Each species种类 has its own ties
关系 to others. And all are related to the earth. This
is the theme主题 of ‘The Sea Around Us’, and the
other sea books, and it is also the message of ‘Silent
Spring’.

9. Questions:
3. a) From paragraph 3, what awards did Carson’s book,
‘The Sea Around Us’, win?
It won the John Burroughs Medal and the National Book
Award.
b) From paragraph 4, why was Carson concerned about
the government’s pest control programmes?
She felt that they were distributing poisons without regard
for the welfare of animals.

10. Plaque

11. Questions:
1. From paragraph 1, what was unusual不寻常
about Rachel Carson’s childhood童年?
She was interested in nature and devoted to birds.
2. From paragraph 2,
a) We are told that Carson worked while
studying. What does this tell us about Carson?
She was very hardworking.
a) What job did Carson take up as a result of her
love for the sea?
She became a full-time junior aquatic biologist.

12. 4. From paragraph 6, how do you know that Carson’s
second book was a success? State two pieces of
evidence.
A) It has been translated into over 40 languages. /
New environmental laws were passed.
B) People all over the world became involved in
activities to protect the environment.
5. From paragraph 7, do you think Carson’s
contribution贡献 was important? Give a reason.
I think her contribution was important as she made
governments and people more aware of the
importance of the environment. New laws were
passed because of her work.