夜雨聆风Section II Reading Comprehension
Part A
Directions: Read the following four texts. Answer the questions below each text by choosing A, B, C or D. Mark your answers on the ANSWER SHEET.
Text 4
Fires have been wreaking havoc across France and Spain, as they often do when conditions are dry and wind is high. But it wouldn’t be a weather-related tragedy these days if someone didn’t blame climate change. The tragic irony is that Europe’s environmental policies are making such wildfires more likely and more devastating.
Under its Green Deal and related policies, the European Union is designating 30% of the continent as nature-protected by 2030. Goals include increasing the amount of deadwood and the density of tree cover in forests. Whatever their environmental merit, such measures increase the amount of highly flammable fuel for fires, make it easier for blazes to spread and harder to extinguish.
The EU also wants at least a third of this protected land to fall under “strict protection,” which means it will be left “essentially undisturbed from human pressures and threats,” according to European Commission guidance. It allows for some natural disaster prevention measures, but only “when such activities are compatible with the conservation objectives of the areas on the basis of a case-by-case assessment,” the guidance says.
Ranchers and farmers in Spain and France have historically managed their land to mitigate the risk of megafires. But the EU’s regulations have made it harder for small farms to survive across Europe, accelerating a rural exodus. Red tape often hinders those who remain from carrying out preventive actions like controlled burns.
“Environmental legislation has not been based on the science of ecology, or on forestry,” says Víctor Resco de Dios, a professor of forestry at the University of Lleida in Spain. “I think it’s been based on ideology, on a Walt Disney view of the world with Bambi, where you see human beings as inherently bad” for the environment. But “when you remove humans out of it, what happens is you get more fuel, and then you get worse fires.”
In a paper last year for the Journal of Environmental Management, Mr. Resco de Dios and co-authors looked at fires in the temperate forests of southwestern Europe, including Spain, France and Portugal. They found that protected areas constitute 38% of the forest land but 55% of the burned area in recent fires.
They also reported that in Australia, California and southwestern Europe, fires burned more intensely on protected lands, which makes them more dangerous to nearby residents and more damaging to natural habitats. This explains some of the fires that have done so much damage in recent years to residential areas in the American West.
The European Forest Fire Information System publishes maps and data, updated daily, on the current blazes. They show considerable overlap between the protected nature areas in Spain and France and the wildfires. That suggests in addition to the vagaries of weather, a policy failure.
Blaming climate change is the default explanation these days for any natural disaster, but Europe’s costly solutions will make little difference to global temperatures. Better forest management and fire prevention can make a difference, however. And they would reduce the CO2 emissions from fires that now overwhelm much of the reduction from electric vehicles or other climate nostrums.
36. According to Paragraphs 1 and 2, the EU's conservation targets contribute to worse wildfires mainly by ____
[A] increasing the amount of combustible material available to feed a fire
[B] reducing the number of firefighters available to respond to blazes
[C] discouraging farmers from living in rural areas near forests
[D] reducing the overall area of land that is currently vulnerable to fire
37. It can be inferred from Paragraphs 3 and 4 that current EU regulations ____
[A] require farmers to conduct regular controlled burns on protected land
[B] offer financial incentives specifically designed to keep small farms in operation
[C] prohibit any form of human activity on all EU-protected land without exception
[D] make it more difficult for those managing the land to take preventive action against fire
38. What does Resco de Dios imply by referring to a "Walt Disney view of the world with Bambi"?
[A] policymakers have received most of their environmental education from entertainment media
[B] the EU has failed to adequately fund forestry research programmes
[C] current policy is shaped more by an idealized, unscientific attitude toward nature than by ecological expertise
[D] most Europeans are unaware that wildfires pose any danger to the environment
39. The statistic comparing 38% and 55% in Paragraph 6 is cited to ____
[A] demonstrate that protected areas now cover more land than previously reported
[B] show that protected forest land has burned disproportionately relative to its share of total forest area
[C] suggest that most wildfires in Europe originate within protected areas
[D] prove that unprotected forest land is now entirely safe from wildfire risk
40. Which of the following best summarizes the author's overall argument?
[A] climate change plays no meaningful role in the wildfires currently affecting Europe
[B] electric vehicles have proven completely ineffective at reducing any carbon emissions
[C] all forms of land conservation should be abandoned in favour of unrestricted human development
[D] addressing wildfires through active land management could reduce carbon emissions more effectively than measures like electric vehicle adoption
附注：根据历年考研英语真题阅读题源外刊等，摘选最新文章，模拟仿真出题。
参考答案见以下。
Quick look: ADCBD
36.【正确答案】A
【解析】题型：细节推理题
定位：第二段提到，绿色新政的目标之一是增加森林中的枯木量与树木密度，这类措施会增加极易燃烧的燃料。
分析：欧盟绿色新政的目标客观上增加了易燃燃料储备，让火势更容易蔓延、更难扑灭。选项A准确概括了这一机制。
干扰项：[B]"减少了可用于应对火灾的消防员数量"——无中生有，原文未提及消防员数量；[C]"劝阻农民在森林附近的农村地区居住"——偷换概念，原文谈的是政策使小农场难以维系、加速农村人口外流，这是政策的间接后果而非"劝阻居住"的直接措施；[D]"减少了目前容易发生火灾的土地总面积"——事实相反，原文说的正是这类措施会增加而非减少易燃风险。
37.【正确答案】D
【解析】题型：推理判断题
定位：第三段提到"严格保护"意味着土地"基本不受人类活动干扰"；第四段提到繁琐的行政程序常常阻碍留守农民采取可控燃烧等预防性措施。
分析：严格保护区要求"基本不受人类活动干扰"，繁文缛节又阻碍了留守农民采取预防性措施。选项D准确概括了这一综合推论。
干扰项：[A]"要求农民在受保护土地上定期进行可控燃烧"——事实相反，原文说繁文缛节"阻碍"了可控燃烧，而非"要求"进行；[B]"提供专门旨在维持小农场运营的财政激励"——无中生有，原文说的是欧盟法规让小农场更难生存；[C]"禁止在所有欧盟受保护土地上进行任何形式的人类活动，没有例外"——程度夸大，原文提到符合保护目标、经个案评估后仍允许一些防灾措施。
38.【正确答案】C
【解析】题型：推理判断题
定位：Resco de Dios的原话中提到，环境立法并非基于生态学或林业科学，而是基于一种"迪士尼《小鹿斑比》式"的意识形态。
分析：这一比喻讽刺当前环境立法并非基于生态学或林业科学，而是基于一种理想化、不切实际的意识形态。选项C准确概括了这一隐含批评。
干扰项：[A]"决策者的环境教育大多来自娱乐媒体"——无中生有，这是对比喻的过度字面化解读；[B]"欧盟未能为林业研究项目提供充分资金"——偷换概念，原文批评的是立法的理念基础，而非科研经费；[D]"大多数欧洲人没有意识到野火对环境构成任何危险"——以偏概全，原文未涉及公众认知层面的判断。
39.【正确答案】B
【解析】题型：举例目的题
定位：第六段提到，受保护区域占森林总面积的38%，但在近期过火面积中占55%。
分析：这组数据表明，受保护林地的过火比例明显高于其面积占比，呈现出不成比例的燃烧情况。选项B准确概括了这一数据引用的目的。
干扰项：[A]"证明受保护区域现在的面积比此前报告的更大"——无中生有，这组数据比较的是面积占比与过火面积占比，而非质疑面积统计本身；[C]"暗示欧洲大多数野火都始于受保护区域内"——偷换概念，55%指的是过火面积占比，并非起火点位于受保护区域内的比例；[D]"证明未受保护的林地现在完全不存在野火风险"——程度夸大，原文并未做出这种绝对化判断。
40.【正确答案】D
【解析】题型：主旨大意题
定位：末段提到，更好的森林管理与防火措施能带来改善，其减排效果甚至可能超过电动汽车等气候应对措施——因为野火排放已经抵消了后者带来的大部分减排成效。
分析：作者结尾的核心论点是，森林管理带来的减排效果可能超过电动汽车等措施。选项D准确概括了这一比较性论点。
干扰项：[A]"气候变化对当前影响欧洲的野火不起任何实质作用"——事实相反并程度夸大，作者质疑的是"默认归咎于气候变化"这一反射性解释，并未彻底否认气候变化的作用；[B]"电动汽车已被证明在减少任何碳排放方面完全无效"——程度夸大，原文只说野火排放"抵消了电动汽车减排的大部分成效"，并未说电动汽车"完全无效"；[C]"应放弃一切形式的土地保护，转而支持不受限制的人类开发"——程度夸大，作者批评的是特定的严格保护与红tape政策，并未主张放弃一切保护措施。
【词汇注释】
wreak havoc: phrase (CAUSE DAMAGE) to cause great destruction or damage 造成严重破坏
flammable: adjective (BURNS EASILY) easily set on fire 易燃的
exodus: noun (MASS DEPARTURE) a mass departure of people from a place 大规模迁离；外流
red tape: noun (BUREAUCRACY) excessive bureaucracy or adherence to official rules and formalities 繁文缛节；官僚程序
inherently: adverb (BY NATURE) in a permanent, essential, or characteristic way; by nature 内在地；固有地
vagaries: noun (UNPREDICTABLE CHANGES) unexpected and inexplicable changes in a situation 反复无常；不可预测的变化
overwhelm: verb (OVERPOWER) to have such a great effect on something that it is difficult to resist or counteract 压倒；抵消（文中指野火排放"抵消"了电动车的减排成效）
【长难句】They also reported that in Australia, California and southwestern Europe, fires burned more intensely on protected lands, which makes them more dangerous to nearby residents and more damaging to natural habitats.
主干为They also reported that...，that引导宾语从句； 宾语从句内部：in Australia, California and southwestern Europe为地点状语前置，fires burned more intensely on protected lands为从句主干； which makes them more dangerous to nearby residents and more damaging to natural habitats为非限制性定语从句，修饰前面"受保护土地上火势更猛烈"这一事实，说明其带来的后果。
他们还报告称，在澳大利亚、加利福尼亚州以及欧洲西南部，受保护土地上的火灾燃烧得更为猛烈，这使得它们对附近居民而言更加危险，对自然栖息地的破坏也更大。
【参考译文】
法国和西班牙各地正遭受火灾肆虐，这种现象在气候干燥、大风频发时并不罕见。然而，如今任何与天气相关的灾难，似乎总少不了将矛头指向气候变化。具有讽刺意味的是，欧洲的环保政策反而使得此类山火发生的几率更高，破坏力也更强。
根据“欧洲绿色协议”及相关政策，欧盟计划到2030年将欧洲大陆30%的土地划为自然保护区。其目标包括增加森林中的枯木量和树木覆盖密度。无论这些措施在环保方面有何益处，它们确实增加了极易燃烧的林火燃料，导致火势更易蔓延且更难扑灭。
欧盟还要求将至少三分之一的保护区土地纳入“严格保护”范畴。根据欧盟委员会的指导方针，这意味着这些区域将“基本不受人类活动压力和威胁的干扰”。虽然指导方针允许采取某些自然灾害预防措施，但前提是“经逐案评估后，此类活动与该区域的保护目标相兼容”。
长期以来，西班牙和法国的牧场主与农民一直通过土地管理来降低发生特大山火的风险。然而，欧盟的法规使得欧洲各地的小型农场难以生存，从而加速了农村人口的外流。对于那些留守的农户而言，繁琐的行政审批往往阻碍了他们采取受控焚烧等预防性措施。
“环境法规的制定并非基于生态学或林业科学，”西班牙莱里达大学（University of Lleida）林业学教授维克多·雷斯科·德·迪奥斯（Víctor Resco de Dios）说道，“我认为这些法规基于意识形态，基于一种类似迪士尼动画片《小鹿斑比》的世界观，即把人类视为对环境‘天生有害’的存在。”然而，“一旦将人类排除在外，结果往往是燃料堆积，进而引发更严重的火灾。”
在去年发表于《环境管理杂志》（Journal of Environmental Management）的一篇论文中，雷斯科·德·迪奥斯及其合著者研究了包括西班牙、法国和葡萄牙在内的欧洲西南部温带森林火灾情况。研究发现，尽管保护区仅占森林总面积的38%，但在近期的火灾中，其过火面积却占到了总过火面积的55%。报告还指出，在澳大利亚、加利福尼亚州和欧洲西南部，受保护土地上的火灾燃烧更为剧烈，这对周边居民构成了更大威胁，也对自然栖息地造成了更严重的破坏。这在一定程度上解释了近年来美国西部居民区遭受重创的那些火灾。
欧洲森林火灾信息系统（EFFIS）每日发布有关当前火情的地图与数据。这些数据显示，西班牙和法国的自然保护区与野火发生区域存在高度重合。这表明，除了变幻莫测的天气因素外，政策上的失误也是原因之一。
如今，人们在面对任何自然灾害时，往往习惯性地将其归咎于气候变化；然而，欧洲那些代价高昂的应对措施对全球气温的影响微乎其微。相比之下，改善森林管理和加强火灾预防则能真正发挥作用。这些措施还能减少火灾产生的二氧化碳排放——目前的火灾排放量已抵消了电动汽车或其他所谓“气候灵丹妙药”所带来的大部分减排成果。
附注：
