【雅思口语】上海世博会内幕故事
【时事聚焦】世界博览会第一次在中国举行，也是首次在一个发展中国家举办，因此发生在上海的2010世博会在人类历史上便具有了非同寻常的意义。下面的原版文章为我们提供了某种独特的观察视角，其略带辛辣的笔触也为大家翻开了一些鲜为人知的内幕故事。
China’s Gigantic Future: Inside the Shanghai World Expo
Billed as bigger than the Beijing Olympics, the latest and largest world’s fair doesn’t disappoint when it comes to scale, in every mind-boggling respect. The Shanghai World Expo 2010, which opened May 1, cost an estimated $55 billion (some sources say up to $95 billion) to get off the ground.
It sits on 2 square miles of prime Shanghai real estate, straddling the Huangpu River, making it the biggest world’s fair in the 159-year history of such events. More than 18,000 families and 270 factories were moved to make room for the expo, the construction of which stretched over seven years — all for an event lasting six months.
No Pavilion of the Future worth its salt would be complete without sci-fi space imagery. Here’s the official expo mascot, Haibao, clad in a space suit and breathing apparatus. The pavilion exhibits ideas about future cities, including one in space for Haibao to suit up in.
Britain’s Seed Cathedral: The United Kingdom scores the award for the coolest and weirdest pavilion, one that combines beauty with a hint of space-alien menace. This is not a Photoshop artifact, but what the building actually looks like. Called the Seed Cathedral, the pavilion is clad in 60,000 acrylic rods containing plant seeds collected during a biodiversity project. Like most other structures in the expo, the British pavilion will be torn down after the fair closes. That seems a terrible waste. Couldn’t these be left for future generations?
Greening of the Fair: The expo makes attempts to earn sustainability brownie points: Expo visitors are ferried around in electric buses running on supercapacitor engines, and buildings are cooled by gas-fueled air conditioning. Here, an overhead walkway runs for miles in the middle of the expo, with electric vehicles that ferry passengers around on it for 10 yuan (about $1.50).
On Guard: Shanghai and the expo itself are crawling with security staff. Police, army and civilians in uniform are everywhere. All are infallibly polite and helpful, but the heavy security presence can be unnerving.
Traditional Technology: It’s not all high-tech at the expo: Some traditional technologies are on display here, too. Sculptor James Rickard of the Maori Arts and Crafts Institute in Rotorua, New Zealand, carves a portal out of a tree trunk for his country’s pavilion at the expo.
Future Shanghai: The city of Shanghai will benefit for years from the expo, thanks to the billions spent on infrastructure: Six new subway lines were constructed, along with several roads and other civic works. And the city has been spruced up, even though some of the new stuff is already starting to look frayed in places, and is of dubious taste. Using reams of blinking LEDs for street lighting may save energy, but clashes horribly with the pretty architecture of old Shanghai.
【热点话题】分析认为，上海世博会无论在多大意义上获得成功，都将引发人们关于各类话题的诸多探讨及争议。
世博会 VS 奥运会同样由中国操办，2008的北京奥运会和2010的上海世博会实在是有太多的相似点。一是巨额的资金投入：The Shanghai World Expo 2010, which opened May 1, cost an estimated $55 billion to get off the ground. 光保守估计就要550亿美元才能使世博会初步运作起来。二是空前的规模：It sits on 2 square miles of prime Shanghai real estate, straddling the Huangpu River, making it the biggest world’s fair in the 159-year history of such events，两平方英里的占地面积，横跨黄浦江，堪称世博会159年历史上最大的一次。三是浩大的工程：More than 18,000 families and 270 factories were moved to make room for the expo, the construction of which stretched over seven years — all for an event lasting six months. 七年的建造时间，18,000户家庭及270家工厂的搬迁，仅仅为了6个月的盛会。
人类未来科技
为了展现人类科技的未来，很多展馆都呈现出一幅幅sci-fi space imagery，而世博会吉祥物海宝的造型更是充满了太空的色彩：The official expo mascot, Haibao, is clad in a space suit and breathing apparatus. 关于人类未来的发展方向，到底是在外太空寻求另一个可居住的星球（find another habitable planet in the universe），还是致力于把我们的地球变得更美好（make our Earth a better place for human living），这始终是一个饶有趣味的话题。
生物多样性
英国展馆之所以被称为Seed Cathedral，这和它宣传的生物多样性（biodiversity）理念密切相关。整个英国展馆用六万根含有植物种子的树脂棒（60,000 acrylic rods containing plant seeds）作为外包装，绝对可摘得最炫目、最诡异的奖项（scores the award for the coolest and weirdest pavilion）。作为雅思口语的一个重要话题，生物多样性是环境主题中必不可少的环节，而某地区动植物品种的数量恰好与人类活动成反比：The variety of animal and plant species has an inverse relationship with human activities in a particular area.
低碳行动
即使是在中国这样一个刚摆脱贫穷的发展中国家，低碳（low carbon footprint）也已经从前几年的喊口号，演变成今日的各种生活行动。在世博会园区内，游客们乘坐的是electric buses running on supercapacitor engines，很多建筑物则是cooled by gas-fueled air conditioning。如果上至政府，下到黎民百姓，都能切实履行自己的环保责任，我们每个人都将过一种low carbon living，整个国家也可实现low carbon economy的梦想。
传统手艺
科技的迅猛发展及工业化程度的提升，无可避免地带来traditional handicrafts的厄运，很多local craftsmen或失业、或转行、或后继无人，难道科技工业与文化传统之间非要上演一出你死我活的悲剧吗？！新西兰雕塑家James Rickard用自己从tree trunk中雕刻出来的wood carvings证明了传统技术的生存意义，也为我们的传统文化保护事业创出了典范。
【真题预测】轰轰烈烈的世博会给我们的雅思口语发展方向也带来了诸多启示，请看专家对此进行的真题预测：
Do you think international events that attract a lot of visitors are a good opportunity to raise people’s environmental awareness?
吸引众多游客的国际性活动（比如Olympic Games, World Expo, World Cup）是否可用来作为提升人们环保意识的一种契机？
Many people say that since the Earth is too crowded and the world population is still growing rapidly, we should find another planet for future generations. Would you agree or disagree with this opinion? Why?
由于地球越来越拥挤，因此有人提出应为我们的后代寻找另一个星球去居住。你是否认同这种观点？Low carbon is a very popular concept nowadays. What are the advantages and disadvantages of living a low carbon life?
“低碳”已成为当今的时尚概念，那么低碳生活究竟有什么好处和坏处呢？
What can be done to prevent many traditional handicrafts from disappearing in our modern society?
如何阻止传统手工艺在我们现代社会中销声匿迹的现象？
【惊世绝句】世博会引发的众多精彩话题为我们的雅思口语提供了丰富的谈话素材。下面的佳句不妨来学习一下：
Every individual’s carbon footprint, however small it is, can collectively make an impact on the environment.
每个人的“碳足迹”（即碳排放量），无论大小如何，都会对环境产生整体性的影响。
individual个人
carbon footprint碳足迹
make an impact on …对…造成影响
collectively集体性地、整体性地
Your lifestyle determines the amount of carbon dioxide emitted on a daily basis, which in turn contributes to the greenhouse gases that are causing global warming.
你的生活方式决定了你每天排放出的二氧化碳数量，而二氧化碳的排放导致了温室气体的上升，并引起全球变暖。
determine决定
emit排放
greenhouse gases温室气体
global warming全球变暖
Shadow puppetry, one of the oldest traditional handicrafts and performing arts in the world, appeared in China long before the invention of motion pictures and television.
皮影戏是世界上最古老的传统手工艺及表演艺术，早在电影及电视发明之前，它就起源于中国。
shadow puppetry皮影戏
performing arts表演艺术
invention发明
motion picture电影
As global population approaches 6 billion and beyond, national governments face the daunting task of creating 30 million additional jobs each year for the next fifty years.
当全球人口接近并渐渐超过60亿时，各国政府都面临着一个极为艰巨的任务 — 在未来的50年中每年创造出3000万个新的工作岗位。
approach接近
national governments各国政府
daunting task艰巨的任务
additional jobs新工作岗位
