There was once a town in the heart of America where all life seemed to live in harmony with its surroundings. The town lay in the midst of a checkerboard of prosperous farms, with fields of grain and hillsides of orchards where, in spring, white clouds of bloom drifted above the green fields. In autumn, oak and maple and birch set up a blaze of colour that flamed and flickered across a backdrop of pines. Then foxes barked in the hills and deer silently crossed the fields, half hidden in the mists of the autumn mornings.
Along the roads, laurel, viburnum and alder, great ferns and wild flowers, delighted the traveller's eye through much of the year. Even in winter the roadsides were places of beauty, where countless birds came to feed on the berries and on the seed heads of the dried weeds rising above the snow. The countryside was, in fact, famous for the abundan
ce and variety of its bird life, and when the flood of migrants was pouring through in spring and autumn people travelled from great distances to observe them. Others came to fish the streams, which flowed clear and cold out of the hills and contained shady pools where trout lay. So it had been from the days many years ago when the first settlers raised their houses, sank their wells and built their barns.
Then a strange blight crept over the area and everything began to change. Some evil spell had settled on the community: mysterious maladies swept the flocks of chickens; the cattle and sheep sickened and died. Everywhere was a shadow of death. The farmers spoke of much illness among their families. In the town the doctors had become more and more puzzled by new kinds of sickness appearing among their patients. There had been several sudden and unexplained deaths not only among adults but even among children, who would be stricken suddenly while at play and die within a few hours.
There was a strange stillness. The birds, for example — where had they gone Many people spoke of them, puzzled and disturbed. The feeding stations in the backyards were deserted. The few birds seen anywhere were moribund; they trembled violently and could not fly. It was a spring without voices. On the mornings that had once throbbed with the dawn chorus of robins, catbirds, doves, jays, wrens, and scores of other bird voices there was now no sound; only silence lay over the fields and woods and marsh.
On the farms the hens brooded, but no chicks were hatched. The farmers complained that they were unable to raise any pigs — the litters were small and the young survived only a few days. The apple trees were coming into bloom but no bees droned among the blossoms, so there was no pollination and there would be no fruit.
The roadsides, once so attractive, were now lined with browned and withered vegetation as though swept by fire. These too, were silent, deserted by all living things. Even the streams were now lifeless. Anglers no longer visited them, for all the fish had died.
In the gutters under the eaves and between the shingles of the roofs, white granular powd
er still showed a few patches; some weeks before it had fallen like snow upon the roofs and the lawns, the fields and streams.
No witchcraft, no enemy action had silenced the rebirth of new life in this stricken world. The people had done it themselves.
This town does not actually exist, but it might easily have a thousand counterparts in America or elsewhere in the world. I know of no community that has experienced all the misfortunes I describe. Yet every one of these disasters has actually happened somewhere, and many real communities have already suffered a substantial number of them. A grim spectre has crept upon us almost unnoticed, and this imagined tragedy may easily become a stark reality we all shall know.
What has already silenced the voices of spring in countless towns in America? This book is an attempt to explain.
Form Silent Spring by Rachel Carson
高中/大学组题型解析与赛前准备
2014-12-18 连云港组委会 希望之星英语大赛连云港赛区
2015年中央电视台希望之星英语风采大赛
【高中/大学组题型解析】
A：Hey！This is me. （自我介绍）
pines
个性化自我介绍不得超过90秒，出声计时开始。参赛选手切记：不得在舞台上透露个人真实姓名、所在学校、指导老师、家庭住址等明显个人特性信息。温馨提示：出声计时开始，比赛现场不提供电源及任何辅助乐器或道具，可自行携带。也不提供任何播放设备及电脑投影，选手如有需要可以自备。
 
One Theme to select!
Sample Topics
1.What activity plays an important part in your life?
2.What is your main personal goal?
3.What do you like very much?
4.What do you hate or dislike?
5.What special skills do you have?
6.How is your daily life?
7.What is your hobby or interest in your spare time?
8.What distinguishes you from other people in class?
 
 
 
B: 即兴问答
想展现你清晰的思路和敏捷的答辩能力吗？想证明和发挥你最佳潜力和个人魅力吗？没错，你就是我们在寻的睿智之星！不过，友情提醒，在这个环节，没点真功夫可别想蒙住火眼金睛的评委老师啊！
考点一：时间只有短短90秒，其中包含了30秒的思考时间；
考点二：每人一题，读题后计时开始。
这些都是小菜一碟？你太牛了，来吧，让我们看看你有多棒！
高中、大学组 Topics:
Education
SNS (social networking site)
Career choice
Gap between the rich and the poor
Charity
Aging problem

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