Before Reading

Ⅰ. An English Song — Earth Song

(Directions:) Listen to the song and fill in the blanks with what you hear.

Earth Song

— Michael Jackson

What about sunrise

What about rain

What about all the ____ (=things)

That you said we were to gain...

What about killing ______ (=fields)

Is there a time

What about all the things

That you said was yours and mine...

Did you ever stop to notice

All the ____ we've shed before (=blood)

Did you ever stop to notice

The ____ earth the weeping shores? (=crying)

What have we done to the world

Look what we've done

What about all the ____(=peace)

That you pledge your only son...

What about ____ fields (=flowering)

Is there a time

What about all the _____ (=dreams)

That you said was yours and mine...

Did you ever stop to notice

All the children _____ from war (=dead)

Did you ever stop to notice

The crying earth the weeping shores

Ⅱ. About the Author --- Rachel Carson  

ⅰ. A brief introduction to Rachel Carson  

Ⅲ. About the Book — Silent Spring 

Silent Spring is a book written by Rachel Carson and published by Houghton Mifflin in September 1962. The book is widely 1) _____ (=credited) with helping launch the environmental movement.

When Silent Spring was published, Rachel Carson was already a well-known writer on 2) ______ (=natural history), but had not previously been a social critic. The book was widely read, and 3) ______ (=inspired) widespread public concerns with 4) ______(=pesticides) and pollution of the environment. Silent Spring facilitated the 5) _____ (=ban) of the pesticide DDT in 1972 in the United States.

The book documented detrimental effects of pesticides on the environment, 6) ______ (=particularly) on birds. Carson said that DDT had been found to cause thinner egg shells and result in 7) _______ (=productive) problems and death. She also accused the chemical industry of spreading disinformation, and public 8) ______ (=officials) of accepting industry claims uncritically.

Ⅳ. Background Information

ⅰ. Environmental Protection Organizations

1. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)  coordinates United Nations environmental activities, assisting developing countries in implementing environmentally sound policies and practices. It was founded as a result of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment in June 1972 and has its headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya. UNEP also has six regional offices and various country offices.

2. Green Peace: a large international pressure group that aims to protect the environment. Its members are well known for protecting the environment. They often go out in small boats to stop people from killing whales or throwing poisonous material into the sea.

3. The Environmental Protection Agency: a US government organization that established rules and standards for protecting the environment, e.g. against pollution.

ⅱ. Earth Day

Earth Day is a day designed to inspire awareness and appreciation for the Earth's environment. It is on 22 April. It was founded by U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson (D-Wisconsin) as an environmental teach-in in 1970 and is celebrated in many countries every year. The first Earth Day was in 1970. Earth Day is similar to World Environment Day.

Ⅴ. Brainstorming(Directions): Work in groups and write down the words or phrases related to “environmental protection”, then group them by similarity.

Global Reading

Ⅰ. Part Division of the Text   

Ⅱ. Further Understanding

For Part 1

Read this part and make sentences with the same meaning as the text. Try to use the words or phrases given below.

For Part 2

Questions and Answers

1. What should spring be like? What does “a silent spring” mean?

(=Spring should be throbbing with life, full of birdsong. “A silent spring” means a lifeless spring. )

2. What do the roadsides look like now?

(=The roadsides are now lined with withered vegetation as though swept by fire.)   

3. The author mentioned a white granular powder that falls like snow. What do you guess it is?

(=Probably it is the remains of pesticides or other deadly chemicals.)

For Part 3 & 4

True or False  

1. White granular powder had fallen upon the roofs and the lawns, the fields and streams some weeks before.  (T)

2. The white granular powder was spread by people themselves. (F)

(=They were not the persons who spread the powder, but the ones who should be responsible for this consequence)

3. Actually, the misfortunes have happened somewhere in the world. (T)

4. People know clearly of what they should do nowadays.  (F)

(=Many people haven’t realized the great impact they had made on their surroundings.)