朗文英語(yǔ)聽(tīng)說(shuō)教程二聽(tīng)力原文-Units-3.7.8.9

Unit3HighAnxiety:Phobias

TEACHER:Goodafternoon.Todaywe'regoingtoturntoanewtopicin

psychologyandstartlookingatsomespecificpsychologicalproblems.There

areavarietyofmentalproblemsthatcanaffectusinourdailylives-someare

notsoserious,likeafearofcatsorofinsects,andothersaremoreserious.

Nowaspsychologists,wetrytostudythesedifferentproblemsandfindways

tohelppeople.

Iwanttostartthediscussionbytalkingaboutafairlycommonkindof

psychologicalproblem-aphobia,that'sP-H-O-B-I-A.First,I'llexplainwhata

phobiaisandthenI'lltalkaboutsometheoriesonwhypeoplehavephobias.

Asyouprobablyknow,aphobiaisafear.Sodoanyofyouhavephobias?Oh,

comeon,youcantellme;I'mapsychologist.Yes,Monica?

STUDENT1:Ihaveafearofswimming.Idon'tliketogoneartheocean.

TEACHER:OK,that'snotanunusualphobia.Anyoneelse?Ali?

STUDENT2:Ihatedogs.Imean,Ijustdon'tlikethem.WhenIseeabigdog,

actuallyanydog,Ijustgetnervous,soIavoidthem.

TEACHER:OK,that'sanothercommonphobia.Thanksforsharingthose

examplesofphobias.Aphobiaisnotanormalfear;itisanextremefear―a

verystrongfear.Forexample,mybrother,who'sasuccessfulartist,had

computerphobia.Hedidn'tsimplydislikeusingcomputers.Heusedtohave

averystrongfearofusingthem.

Psychologistshavecomeupwiththreecharacteristicsofaphobia.People

displaythesethreecharacteristicsiftheyhaveaphobia,notjustanormalfear.

Nowfirst,aphobiaisnotarationalresponse.It'saverystrongreaction,too

strongforthesituation.Formybrother,thismeanthehadaverystrong

physicalreactionifsomeoneaskedhimtouseacomputer.Hestartedshaking

violentlyandhadtroublebreathing.Once,heevenstartedchoking.Physical

reactionslikethisarecommon.Second,aphobiaoftenlastsforalongtime,

formonthsorevenyears.Inmybrother’scase,itlastedseveralyears.Third,

thereactionistoostrongforapersontocontrol.Forexample,evenifmy

brothertoldhimselfnottobeafraidatthecomputer,itdidn'thelp.Hestillfelt

veryafraid.Usually,peopleavoidwhateveritistheyaresoafraidof.So,in

mybrother’scase,heavoidedusingacomputer.

OK,sothosearethethreecharacteristicsofphobias.It'sanextreme,irrational

response,it'slong-lasting,andit’suncontrollable.

STUDENT3:Souncontrollablemeansevenifyoutrytocontrolit,youcan't?

TEACHER:Yes,itmeansyoucan'tcontrolitbytryingtodenyyoufeelthe

phobia.Therearewaystotreatphobias,andwe'lltalkaboutthoseinaminute.

Yes?

STUDENT4:Whathappenedtoyourbrother?Didhegetoverit?

TEACHER:Yes,hedid.Themainthingwasthathedecidedthathewanted

togetoverit,andhewastreatedbyapsychologist.Nowheusescomputers

allthetime.

OK,solet'sspendaminutegoingoversomeclassificationsofphobias.

Phobiasareclassifiedbythethingorsituationthatthepersonfears.Greekor

Latinnamesareusuallyusedtodescribethefear.Here'sanexample:hypno,

H-Y-P-N-O,meanssleep,sofearofsleepishypnophobia.Cyno,C-Y-N-O,

meansdog.Soafearofdogsis...cynophobia,right?Here'sanotherexample.

Aerophobia.Listentothefirstpart,Aero.What'sthefear?Aeroasinairplane-

aerophobiaisfearofflying.

Let'sturnnowtothecausesofphobias.Onetheoryisthataphobiaislearned.

Thismeanssomethinghappensthatcausessomeone,orinasense"teaches

someone"tofreeafraid.Forexample,Alicouldhavelearnedtobeafraidof

dogsifhewasattackedandinjuredbyoneasachild.

Peoplecanalsolearntohavephobiasbywatchinghowotherpeoplereact.In

fact,doctorsfindthatphobiastendtoruninfamilies.Forexample,let's

imaginethatAli’smotherhasalwaysbeenafraidofdogs.WheneverAlland

hismotherweretogetherandsawadog,hismotherwouldgetveryscared,

verynervous.WhenAlisawhowhismotherreacted,hewouldthengradually

becomeveryscared,too.Hewouldthenhavedevelopedcynophobiafrom

watchinghismother.So,youcanseethattherearetwowayslearningcanbe

involvedinphobias.So,thefirsttheoryisthataphobiaislearned.Learned

eitherbydirectexperienceorbywatchingthereactionsofothers.

Thesecondtheorysaysthataphobiaisonlyasignofadeeperproblem.This

meansthatthephobiaisn'tthewholeproblem.Let'stakeanotherexample.I

oncetreatedateenagerwhowasveryafraidofthedark.Hecouldn'tbeina

darkroombyhimself.Hewasterrifiedtogooutsideatnight,andsoon.

Accordingtothistheory,whenheactedafraidofthedark,hewasreally

showinghisfearofsomethingelse.Intherapy,itwasrevealedthathewas

afraidofhisfather.Hisfatherwasverystrictwhenhewasyoung,andonce

hisfathermadehimsitinadarktheroomwhenhedidsomethingbad.

Accordingtothistheory,hisfearofthedarkwasasignofhisdeeper,realfear

ofhisfather.Yes,question.

STUDENT4:Sowhatdidyoudo?Didhehavetotalkwithhisfather?

TEACHER:Well,no,wecouldn'tdothat.Butrecognizingthathewasreally

afraidofhisfather,andnotthedarkwasthekeystepinthetreatment.Now

he'scured.Nomorefearofthedark.

OK,solet'sthinkaboutthesetwotheories,andaboutthemaindifference

betweenthem.Thefirsttheorysaysthatthephobiaistheproblemitself.Right?

And,thesecondtheorysaysthatthephobiaisasignofadeeperproblemthe

personhas.Whyisthisdifferenceimportant?It'smostlyimportantindeciding

howtotreattheperson.Accordingtothefirsttheory,ifaphobiaislearned,

perhapsitcanbeunlearned.Apsychologistwhofollowsthistheorywilltry

toteachsomeonetoreactdifferently,tobehavedifferentlywhenheorshe

feelsafraid.Changingtheperson’sbehavioristhegoal.Ontheotherhand,a

psychologistwhobelievesthesecondtheorymaystartbytryingtoteachthe

persontoreactdifferently,butthedoctorisinterestedinmorethanthat.The

doctor’sobjective,orgoal,istohelpthepatientrevealthedeeper

psychologicalproblem,becauseitwillbeeasiertotreatthephobiaifthe

deeperproblemisidentifiedandworkedonaswell.

Iwantyoutothinkforaminuteaboutthesignificanceofhavingthesetwo

theories,oranycompetingtheories.Whatdoesitmean?Ittellsusthat

psychologists,likeanyscientists,havetocontinuetodoresearch,tolearn,

andtotesttreatmentswebelievewillbeeffectivebasedonresearch.

Treatmentsimprovethemorewelearn.

I’mgoingtostoptherefortoday.Inthenextclass,Iwanttotalkaboutother

psychologicalproblems.Readthenextunitinyourbookbeforethenextclass.

That’sallfortoday.

Unit7Who'sCallingtheShots?

TEACHER:Goodmorning.Hopeyouhadagoodweekend.Todaywe're

goingtostarttalkingaboutstylesofbusinessmanagement.Stylesof

managementvaryfromcountrytocountry,companytocompany,and,from

persontoperson.Oneapproachtogoodmanagementnowconsidered

importantworldwideisteambuilding.Teambuildingisonlypartofwhat

makessomeoneagoodmanager,butitunderliesmanygoodmanagement

practices.Whenteambuilding,themanagerdoesthingstohelpemployees

worktogethereffectivelyasagroup,asateam.

Thisisbasedontheideathatthemanager'sjobisn'tsimplytotellpeoplewhat

todo,buttohelpsolveproblemsandhelppeoplecommunicatesotheywork

welltogether.Thisapproachemphasizesemployeerelations,anditbenefits

thecompany.Ithasn'talwaysbeenthisway.Notsomanyyearsagotherewas

anattitudeinAmericancompanies,of"Whatthemanagersays,goes."

Employeeswereexpectedtodowhattheyweretold.Butwe'reseeinganew

paradigmbecausecompanieshaverealizedthatemployeesdon'tdotheirbest

workwhenthey'retreatedlikethis.ThiswasabigchangeinAmerican

managementstyle,perhapsinfluencedbytheJapanesemodel.

First,inordertobuildateam,agoodbusinessmanagerknowsthatdifferent

peoplearegoodatdifferentthingsandvaluesthespecialskillsthateach

employeebringstothecompany.Agoodmanagerneedstofindawaytolet

theemployeesknowthattheirparticularskillsareimportanttothecompany.

Theemployeesarethenmorelikelytodotheirbestwhentheyfeelvalued,

andvalueeachother.Astrongmanagerknowshowtobuildateamof

employeeswhohelpeachotherdotheirbestwork.

So,whatcanamanagerdotohelpemployeesfeelthey'revalued,likepartof

theteam?Let'sconsiderasituationatacompanycalledtheABCcompany.

Let'ssaythere'snewmanagerintheoffice,Mrs.Gomez,andshe'smadesome

changes.Oneday,anemployee--Mrs.Parks--decidestoapproachMrs.

Gomezaboutsomeproblemssheishavingatwork.Mrs.Parkshasworkedat

thecompanyformorethantenyears.Thenewchangesmakeitdifficultfor

hertodoherjobwell.She'sstressed,andthisisaffectingherjobperformance.

So,Mrs.GomezandMrs.Parkstalk.Mrs.Gomezlistens.Sheknowsshehas

madesomechanges,andthattheofficeisn'tbeingrunlikeitwasbefore.But

shetellsMrs.Parkstotryherbest,andtogiveitmoretime.Oh,Iseea

question,Anna?

STUDENT1:I'mnotclear.Whatkindofchangesareyoutalkingabout?

TEACHER:Oh.Well,let'ssayonechangeisthat,before,yougavearough

draftofyourreporttothesecretary,andsheediteditandsentitout.Now,the

secretarydoesn't1dothisforyou.Youhavetodoityourself.Shechangedthe

waytheofficewasorganized.

STUDENT1:Oh,OK.

TEACHER:Laterthatnight,Mrs.GomezthinksaboutwhatMrs.Parkssaid.

Shethinksit'spossiblethatotherpeopleintheofficearehavingproblems,too.

Mrs.GomezknowsthatsheneedsastrongteamtobeaSuccessfulmanager.

Shealsoneedsastablegroupofemployees.Shedoesn'twantpeopletoleave.

Shedecidessheneedstogetanaccurateideaoftheemployees'perspectives.

Shedecidestogivetheemployeesanopportunitytosharetheirideas.She

wantstoshowthemshevaluestheirworkandtheirexperienceatthecompany.

So,Mrs.Gomezmakesateam-buildingplan.Shebeginsbyschedulinga

meetingforthenextdaytotalkaboutthechangesshehasmade,togivethe

employeesanopportunitytosaywhatproblemsthey'rehavingandtoask

questions.Attheendofthemeeting,shegivestheemployeessomequestions

toanswerinwritingtomakeiteasyforthemtosharetheirideas.Shetells

themshewillusetheanswerstheywriteandtheideasfromthemeetingto

decideonthenextstepintheoffice.

Let’sconsiderthekindorquestionsshegivesthem.Shewantsquestionsthat

focusontheworkitself,questionsthatwouldbeeasyforanemployeeto

answerhonestly

Questionslike:

AIsitcleartoyouwhatyourresponsibilitiesare?

BDoyouknowwhototalktoifataskisunclear?

CDoyourteammemberssupportyou?Ifnot,whatspecificthingscould

theydotohelpyoudoabetterjob?

D.Whatwasdoneinthepastthatyouthinkworkedbetter?

Thesequestionsareaboutthework,abouthowtheofficeisorganized,and

aboutworkingtogether.Theydon'tfocusontheemployee’sfeelingsabout

themanager.

Mrs.Gomezreadstheiranswerstothequestions.Shealsocheckshernotes

fromthemeeting.Shedecidestomodifythewayshehasreorganizedthe

office.Notbigchanges-justafewsmallones.Sherealizesthatsomeofthe

oldwayswerebetter.So,shemakesafewchangesbacktohowtheofficewas

organizedbefore.Shealsocomesupwithasixmonthplanforimprovement,

andtellstheemployeestheywillallreviewtheplantogetherinsixmonths.

Whatmessageisshecommunicatingtotheemployeesbytheseactions?Well

first,she'stellingthemsheconsidertheirideasimportant;shevaluestheir

opinions.Secondsheistellingthemsheisincharge,butshevalueswhatthey

say.Third,she'stellingthemthatchangeisnotnecessarilygoodifthereisno

goodreasonforit.Inotherwords,shedidn’tneedtomakesomanybig

changeswhenshestartedasmanager.And,finally,sheistellingthemthatshe

ishuman,thatshecanadmithermistakesandthatsheiswillingtodowhat

benefitsthegroup.Thisputsherontheroadtogainingtheirsupport,andto

beingasuccessfulmanager.

Now,ontothethirdpartofherplan.Mrs.Gomezplansapicnicatthepark

neartheiroffice.Theyhavelunch,playgames,andtalk.Theylaughandjoke

andrelax.Bytheendoftheday,theyknoweachotherbetter.Hopefully,this

willhelpthemworktogetherbetter,aswell.

Let’sreviewthethreepartsorMrs.Gomez’steam-buildingplan:shehada

meeting,shegaveemployeesquestionsabouttheofficeorganization,andshe

plannedafunactivitytohelpthemgettoknoweachother.Wecansee|that

herplanisbasedontheimportanceofsolvingproblems,andonthebeliefthat

communicationisvitalinordertosucceedasateam.Thisisakeypoint:Her

planisbasedontheideaofsolvingproblemsandemployeessharingideas.

Anyquestions?Felipe?

STUDENT2:Well,I'vestudiedsomebusinessmanagementcourses,andI

understandthatit’simportanttodevelopcommunicationandbuildupteam

players,butisn’titjustawasteoftimetohavethese“fun”activities?

TEACHER:Well,alotofmanagersdothinkit’sawasteoftime,especially

intheshortterm.But,inthelongrun,it'sdefinitelynotawasteoftime.In

fact,it'softenagreatwaytosavetimeinteambuilding.

Let'sstophere.Todaywediscussedteambuildingandwhyithasbecome

important.Inthenextclass,1wanttotalkaboutothergroupactivities

managerscanusetobuildteam.We’llstarttherenexttime.That'sallfortoday.

Unit8RightandWrongontheNet

TEACHER:Goodmorning.Didanyonehearthenewsabouttheteenagerin

NewYorkwhohackedintoabank’sdatabaseandstoleabout30,000credit

cardnumbersovertheweekend?Hackingisrelatedtocomputerethics―

that’sourtopictoday.

Computerethicsdealswiththeproperuseofinformationtechnology,suchas

computersandtheInternet.Byproperuse,Imeansociallyresponsibleuse.

We’llfirsttalkaboutwhatethicalbehaviorisandhowthisappliestocomputer

use.

First,Iwanttomakesureweallknowwhatethicsis.Anyone?Yes,John?

STUDENT1:It’saboutrightandwrong.

TEACHER:Yes;OK,Jennifer.

STUDENT2:Andit’saboutbeingagoodperson,doingwhat’sright.

TEACHER:Yes,ethicsincludesbothoftheseideas.Itdealswithmoral

judgment,withwhatisacceptableorunacceptabletodo.Nowwelearnideas

aboutwhatisrightandwrongfromourfamilies,ourfriends,andfromthe

culturewelivein.Becauseofdifferencesinourbackgrounds,wemaynot

alwaysagreeonwhatisrightandwrong.

However,forourdiscussiontoday,IwilldefineforyouwhatImeanbyan

ethicalaction.Anethicalactionissomethingsomeonedoesthatbenefits

someoneanddoesn'thurtanyone.So,forexample,ifyouseeamandropsome

money,andyoupickthemoneyupandgiveittohim,thisisanethicalaction.

Ontheotherhand,ifyoupickupthemoneyanddon'tgiveitbacktotheman,

thisbenefitsyou,buthurtstheman.Thisisnotanethicalaction.

Nowwhataboutcomputers?Whataretheethicalboundariesforusing

computersandtheInternet?Mostpeopleagreethatitiswrongtostealfroma

store.Wouldtheyalsosayit'swrongtocopymusicfilesfromtheInternet?

Or,totakeanotherexample,mostpeopleagreethatitiswrongtoopenan

envelopeandreadalettertosomeoneelse.Wouldtheyalsosayit'swrongto

readsomeoneelse'se-mail?

Inthepastdecadeorso,manymorepeoplehavestartedusingcomputersand

theInternet,sotheseissueshavebecomeimportant.In1992,theComputer

EthicsInstitutewasfoundedintheUnitedStates.Thisisaresearch,education,

andpolicystudygroupwhosegoalistoincreaseawarenessoftheethical

issuesthatarelikelytocomeupastechnologydevelops.

OneconcepttheComputerEthicsInstitutehasdevelopedistheTen

CommandmentsofComputerEthics.Theserulesareimportantguidelinesthe

Institutethinksallcomputerusersshouldfollow.Nowsomeofyoumaybe

familiarwiththeTenCommandmentsfromtheBible,like,uh,"Thoushalt

notkill"or"Thoushalthonorthyfatherandthymother."TheTen

CommandmentsofComputerEthicshavebeenwritteninthesamestyleof

languageusedintheTenCommandmentsfromtheBible.Forexample,they

usethephrase"Thoushaltnot.""Thoushaltnot"meansdon'toryoushouldn't.

Let'slookateachcommandmentorrule.Thefirstcommandmentsays:Thou

shaltnotuseacomputertoharmotherpeople.Simpleenough,right?Number

Two.Thoushaltnotinterferewithotherpeoplescomputerwork.Iinterpret

thistomeandon'tuseacomputerinanywaythatwillaffectorchangethe

worksomeoneelseisdoing.Don'tmoveoreditsomeoneelse'sfileswithout

tellingthem.NumberThree.Thoushaltnotsnoopinotherpeople'sfiles.To

snoopmeanstotrytofindoutsomethingwithoutanotherpersonknowingit.

Ifyoulookatsomeoneelse'sfilesonthecomputerorreadtheire-mail,you're

snooping.Respectotherpeople’sprivacy.NumberFour.Thoushaltnotusea

computertosteal.TherearesituationsontheInternetinwhichyouhaveto

decideifyouarestealingornot,likedownloadingmusicfiles,asImentioned

earlier.

NumberFive.Thoushaltnotuseacomputertosaythingsthatareuntrue.It

isuptoyoutobetruthfulinyourwebsite,inyoure-business,andinyoure-

mail.

NumberSix.Thoushaltnotusesoftwareforwhichyouhavenotpaid.In

otherwords,ifthesoftwareisfreeontheInternet,it'sokaytodownloadand

useit.However,itisnotokaytocopysoftwarefromafriend,becauseyou

didn'tpayforit.

NumberSeven.Thoushaltnotuseotherpeople’scomputerresources

withouttellingthem,orwithoutpayingthem.Forexample,youshouldn't

usesomeoneelse'scomputer,password,orInternetconnectionwithout

askingthemfirst.

NumberEight.Thoushaltnotappropriatesomeoneelse'sideas.Appropriate

isspelledA-P-P-R-O-P-R-I-A-T-E....Itmeanstotakewordssomeoneelse

wroteandsaythey'reyours.Uh,forexample,youhavetowriteareportfor

school.IfyoucopyatermpaperfromtheInternetandhanditin,you're

breakingtherule.CopyingevenafewsentencesofftheInternetand

presentingthemasyourownisbreakingtherule.

NumberNine.Theninthcommandmentsays:Thoushaltthinkaboutthe

socialconsequencesoftheprogramyouarewriting.Now,thisappliesmostly

tocomputerprogrammers.Socialconsequencesmeanshowtheprogram

you'rewritingmightaffectothersinsociety.Couldhackerspossiblyuseyour

programtoillegallygainaccesstoacomputersystem?Skillfulhackerscan

hackintobanksandintocreditcardcompanies;theycanalteraccountsand

stealmoney.Theycanalsocreatevirusesthatcancausebillionsofdollarsof

damageworldwide.

NumberTen.Thetenthcommandmentsays:Thoushaltalwaysusea

computerinwaysthatarerespectfulofothers.Forexample,sending

unfriendlye-mailtosomeoneoraboutsomeoneorcreatingwebsiteswith

negativemessagesareexamplesofbreakingthisrule.

OK,theComputerEthicsInstitutehassenttheseguidelinestomanylarge

companiesandtoschoolsacrosstheUnitedStates.However,there'snoway

toenforcetheserules.Nevertheless,theywouldliketoseeschools,in

particular,utilizetheserulestohelpstudentsdevelopastrongsenseof

computerethics.OK,anyquestionsorcommentsatthispoint?

STUDENT1:Howarewesupposedtorememberallthoserules?

TEACHER:Well,therearealotofrules,buttheyallboildowntoacouple

ofprinciples:respectandfairness.Respectwhatbelongstoothersanduse

resourcesfairly.Doesthathelp?

STUDENT1:Yeah,Iguessso.

TEACHER:good.Let’sgobacktoethics.Nowincreasingly,schoolsare

seeingthatstudentsneedtobetaughtcomputerethicsaspartoftheschool

curriculum.Someschoolshavecomeupwithacceptable-usepolicies,or

rulesaboutwhatisorisn’tOKforstudentstodoregardingcomputeruse.

ThisishowtheComputerEthicsInstitutewouldliketoseeschoolsutilizing

therules.Generally,it’sconsideredwrongtostealsomeoneelse’spassword

ortoreadsomeoneelse’se-mail.It’salsoconsideredunacceptableincollege

classesforastudenttodownloadatermpaperofftheInternetandpretend

thatheorshewroteit.Thisiscalled“plagiarism,”andit’sagoodexample

ofbreakingrulenumbereight.StudentsarepermittedtousetheInternetfor

research,butareinstructedtowritetheinformationintheirownwordsand

toexplainwheretheygottheinformation.

Nowthetenrulesareguidelinesforustofollow.Theseruleshelpustobe

awareoftheethicalusesoftechnology.Let’sstopherefortoday.Thinkabout

theserulesthisweekandwe’lltalkaboutthem.Andreadthenexttwo

chaptersfornextweek.

Unit9WhichWayWillItGo?

TEACHER:Thetopicfortoday'sclassislandasaresource.Land,water,

trees,oil..,theseareallresources,andasfutureenvironmentalscientists,you

needtounderstandhowtomanagetheseresources.Astheworldpopulation

increases,managinglandresourceswillbecomeagreaterpriority.Landisa

limitedresource.

TodayI'mgoingtodividethelectureintotwoparts.Firstwe'lllookatsome

ofthefactorscontributingtopressuresonthelandwehave,andthenIwant

toturntosomeofthewayspeopleworldwidearetryingtoaddressland

problemsandmeettheneedsoffuturegenerations.Thinkofitasfirstthebad

news,thenthegoodnews.Letmestartbysayingthereislessgoodproductive

landnowthantherewaseventenyearsago.ByproductivelandImeanland

thatisfertile,thatwecanusetogrowfoodandraiseanimals.Eachyearmore

andmorelandbecomesdegraded.Wearelosingproductiveland.Worldwide,

newdryareasaredevelopingandexpanding.Thisishappeningonevery

continentexceptAntarctica.

Idon'tmeanexistingdesertsliketheSaharaaregettingbigger.I'mtalking

aboutnewdryareas,areaswherelandhasbeendeclininginquality.Youcan

seetheseareasinthemapinyourbook.Whyaretheseareasformingand

expanding?Whatdoyouthink?Theresa?

STUDENT1:It'stheclimate,isn'tit?Theearthisgetting,youknow,hotter

becauseofglobalwarming,sowatergetsevaporatedandthelanddriesout.

TEACHER:OK.Marcel,doyouagree?

STUDENT2:Well,yeah.Ithastobetheweather.Whatelsecoulditbe?

TEACHER:Well,differentreasonshavebeengiven.Somepeoplecontribute

ittoglobalwarmingortoclimatechanges.Theysaynaturesimplyproduces

dryregions,liketheSaharaDesert,aswellaswetregions,liketheAmazon

RainforestWell,let'sthinkaboutthis.Isitonlytheweather?Let'sseeifthere

areotherfactorscontributingtothistrend.Isnature,ortheweather,reallythe

problem?Accordingtoalargegroupofscientists,theweatherisn'tthemain

factor.Instead,theysay,peoplearethemainfactor.Whentheysaypeopleare

themainproblem,theymeanpeople'sactions--howpeopleuseandmanage

land.Poorlandmanagement,overpopulation,poorfarmingtechniques,too

manyanimals,andsoon,canallaffecttheland.

Lookatthechartinyourbook.Asyoucansee,researchershaveidentified

severalwayshumanactivitiescontributetotheproblem.Thefirstis

overgrazingbyfarmanimals.Theysayabout35percentofthelossof

productivelandisduetoovergrazingbyfarmanimals.Thesecondis

overcuttingoftrees,whichleadstoabout30percentoftheloss.Andlastly,

28percentofthelossofgoodlandisfrommethodsoffarming.Overgrazing,

overcutting,andfarmingmethods.Let'slookattheseoneatatime.

Thefirstisovergrazing.Goodtopsoilislostordamagedbecauseof

overgrazingbyfarmanimals.Overgrazingmeanstheanimalseattoomanyof

theplants.Thereareseveralbadresultsofovergrazing.First,therearen't

enoughplantslefttoholdthesoilinplace.Then,thetopsoiliserodedbywind

andrain;theycarryitaway.Second,astheanimalswalkaround,thesoilis

compacted,andgetsveryhard.Ifthesoilistoohard,rain-waterisn'tabsorbed

intothesoil,andthiscausesthesoiltostaydryandwarm.Asthesoilgets

drier,evenfewerplantscangrow.This,inturn,causestheanimalstowalk

aroundmoreandmore,inordertofindenoughfoodtoeat.And,thiscauses

thegroundtogetpackeddownevenmore,andgetevendrier,andsoon.So,

youcanseethatovergrazingcancreatethiscycle.

Second,overcuttingoftreesalsocontributestothelossofgoodland.The

mainproblemistoomanytreesarecutandnotreplanted.Foryearswe've

heardabouthowthisishappeningonalargescaleintheAmazonRainForest

inBrazil.Trees,likeland,arearesourcewedependon.They'revitaltothe

wholeenvironmentalbalanceonearth.Iftreesarecutdownandnotreplanted,

thereisnothingtoholdthegoodsoil.Windandwatercarrythegoodsoilaway

anditerodesquickly,leavinglandthatisdryandlessproductive.So,

overcuttingisanotherreasonwhylandqualityisdeclining.

Third,farmingmethodsareanotherbigfactor.Insomeplaces,traditional

methodsthathavebeenusedforhundredsofyearsnolongerworkwell.Why

dotheynolongerworkwell?Partlybecausethepopulationisincreasing,

andfarmersaren'tequippedtomeetthesenewdemands,andpartlybecause

thesoilisgettingwornout.Morepeopleneedtobefedfromlessland.Asa

result,somefarmersm