託福TPO20綜合寫作材料及範文

在美國，對森林大火採取的是不撲滅的策略，但是1988年燃燒了兩個月的黃石公園森林大火使很多人主張取消這種策略。下面的託福TPO20綜合寫作材料就這兩種觀點進行了陳述，歡迎閲讀!

The reading passage argues that the "let it burn" policy should be replaced by the policy of extinguishing forest fires as soon as they appeared. However, the professor raises serious counter arguments against the reading paragraph by providing three aspects as listed below:

First, according to the speaker, the natural forest fires are a cycle of creative even

they have a large scale of the damage, and after the fires, new plants which became more diverse than before existed in the Yellowstone. For example, some big plants were replaced by the small ones appeared in the Yellowstone due to the open and shaded lands. Another example is that it was a better place for certain seeds thanks to the high level of the heat. This point directly contradicts what the passage indicates.

Second, the reading passage states that the fire was a destruction of habitats and the disruption of the food chain. The professor, however, stated that the population had already recovered, and created some ideal habitats for the small animals such as rabbits and hares. Moreover, since the rabbits and hares began to live there, the predators who lived on them came to live in the Yellowstone, too. Therefore, certain food chain was stronger than before. This is another point where the listening opposes the reading passage.

Third, quite different from what had been stated in the reading passage, the lecturer said that the fire in 1988 was quite unusual and it did not happen every year. Moreover, the massive fire was caused by the low rain fall and the strong wind, which would not occur again. Besides, the victors still come back to the Yellowstone next year and each year after that. This point refutes the view stated in the reading passage.

In the United States, it had been common practice since the late 1960s not to suppress natural forest fires. The “let it burn” policy assumed that forest fires would burn themselves out quickly, without causing much damage. However, in the summer of 1988, forest fires in Yellowstone, the most famous national park in the country, burned for more than two months and spread over a huge area, encompassing more than 800,000 acres. Because of the large scale of the damage, many people called for replacing the “let it burn” policy with a policy of extinguishing forest fires

as soon as they appeared. Three kinds of damage caused by the “let it burn” policy were emphasized by critics of the policy.

在美國，從 1960 年代末開始就非常普遍地對森林大火採取不撲滅的策略。這種“隨它燃燒”的策略認為森林大火可以在不造成太多損失的情況下迅速燃燒完。 然後，1988 年發生在美國最出名的黃石國家公園的森林大火卻整整燃燒了兩個 月，蔓延了 80 萬英畝。鑑於這次造成的巨大損失，很多人主張取消“隨它燃燒” 的策略，轉而開始全力撲滅森林大火的策略。評論家們提供了三個由“隨它燃燒” 策略造成的損害來支持自己的觀點。

First, Yellowstone fires cause tremendous damage to the parks trees and other vegetation. When the fires finally died out, nearly one third of Yellowstone’s land had been scorched. Trees were charred and blackened from flames and smoke. Smaller plants were entirely incinerated. What had been a national treasure now seemed like a devastated wasteland.

首先，黃石大火給公園裏的樹木以及其他植物造成了巨大的損失。當火燃盡的時 候，黃石公園接近三分之一的面積已成焦土。火焰燒焦樹木，濃煙燻黑樹木。小 型植物則被徹底燒成灰燼。當看到寶貴的國家財富成為一片荒地的時候，會是何種感覺?

Second, the park wildlife was affected as well. Large animals like deer and elk were seen fleeing the fire. Many smaller species were probably unable to escape. There was also concern than the destruction of habitats and the disruption of food chains would make it impossible for the animals that survived the fire to return.

第二，公園的野生動物也遭到了傷害。像鹿或者麋鹿這些大型動物在火災中都逃 脱了，但是很多小型動物卻不能逃脱。同時，大火還破壞了動物的棲息地並打亂 了食物鏈，這使得當或在結束之後，逃離的動物也無法回來棲息於此。

Third, the fires compromised the value of the park as a tourist attraction, which in turn had negative consequences for the local economy. With several thousand

acres of the park engulfed in flames, the tourist season was cut short, and a large number of visitors decided to stay away. Of course, local businesses that depended on park visitors suffered as a result.

第三，火災會降低公園對遊客的吸引力，進而對當地的經濟造成不良的影響。由 於數千英畝的土地被火焰吞沒，旅遊旺季縮短了，而很多遊客都會選擇放棄遊覽 黃石公園。當地的經濟對於旅遊業依賴很大，自然會受到負面影響。

Actually, fires are natural part of ecological cycle and their role is not just destructive but also creative. That is why the “let it burn” policy is fundamentally a good one, even if it sometimes causes fires of the 1988 Yellowstone fire. Let’s look at what happened after 1988 fire.

事實上，森林大火是生態系統的組成部分，而且大火的角色不僅僅是破壞性的， 同時也是建設性的。這就是為什麼“隨它燃燒”政策基本上是正確的，儘管它導 致了 1988 年黃石大火。讓我們看看 1988 大火之後發生了什麼。

First, vegetation. As you might imagine, scorched areas were in time colonized by

new plants. As a matter of fact, the plants in Yellowstone became more diverse because the fire created an opportunity for certain plants that could not grow otherwise. For example, areas where the trees have been destroyed by the fire could now be taken over by smaller plants that needed open and shaded space to grow. And another example, seeds of certain plants species won’t germinate unless they’re exposed to very high levels of heat. So, those plants started appearing after the fire as well.

首先，對於植物來説。你們可以想到，那些燒焦的地方隨着時間的發展都會被新 的植物覆蓋。而且事實上，因為大火給一些本來難以生長的種類得以發芽，黃石 的植物因此變得更具多樣性。比如，原來長滿樹木的地方因為火災遭到破壞，但 現在那裏長滿了需要開闊而陰涼空間的'小型植物。另一個例子是，一些植物的種 子只有經受過非常高的温度之後才能夠發芽。所以，這些植物會在大火之後開始 生長。

It’s a similar story with the animals. Not only did their populations recover, but the fire also created new opportunities. For instance, the small plants that replaced trees after the fire created an ideal habitat for certain small animals like rabbits and hares. And when rabbits and hares started thriving, so did some predators that depended on them for food. So, certain food chains actually became stronger after the fire than they were before.

動物的情況也類似。不但動物的數量會逐步回覆，而且大火會給動物的生長帶來 新的機會。比如，那些在火災之後取代原有樹木的小型植物給一些小型動物提供 了極佳的棲息地，比如兔子。當兔子的數量開始變多，那麼以它們為食的捕食者 的數量也會增加。所以，大火過後，相應的食物鏈會變得比之前更加穩定。

And last, fires like 1988 Yellowstone fire would be a problem for tourism if they happened every year. But they don’t. It was a very unusual combination of factors

that year, low rainfall, unusually strong winds, accumulation of dry undergrowth that caused fire to be so massive. This combination has not occurred since and Yellowstone has not seen such a fire since 1988. Visitors came back to the park next year and each year after that.

最後，只要 1988 年的黃石大火不是每年都發生，那麼就不會對旅遊業造成巨大 問題。而事實上，也確實不會每年發生。大火的發生是在那一年諸多因素和偶然 的相互作用。比如，降水少、罕見的大風，以及乾燥的低層植被的聚集導致了那 次大火規模空前。但是這些因素沒有再次聚合，而黃石公園自1988年開始也沒有出現過這樣規模的火災。遊客在大火第二年的時候就會恢復，而且這種趨勢會保持下去。