生态环境恐怖主义

Islamic terrorism may be a distant threat for Shearer Lumber Products, a timber company based in Idaho. But eco-terrorism is a very real one. In November, the Earth Liberation Front (ELF), an underground organization, gave warning that it had“spiked”trees in the Nez Perce national forest to protest against logging. Spiking involves hiding metal bars in tree trunks, thereby potentially crippling chain saws and hurting people. More such attacks are expected. How do they fit into America’s war on terrorism?

The nation’s forests have seen a sharp increase in violent incidents—equipment vandalized, people intimidated—over the past ten years. Shearer now carefully inspects every tree before cutting and has been using metal detectors to check every trunk being processed. Yet Ihor Mereszczak, of the Nez Perce Forest Service, says it has been hard to get the FBI’s attention, and investigations have got nowhere.

The ELF is only one thread in a web of underground radical environmentalists. Its aim is to inflict as much financial pain as possible on organizations or people who, by its lights, are exploiting the environment. The ELF, though made up of anonymous cells, nonetheless operates a website offering tips on how to cause fires with electric timers. Until recently, it also had a public spokesman.

Together with the Animal Liberation Front (ALF), which operates along the same lines, the ELF is estimated to be responsible for over $45m-worth of damage in North America over the past few years. In 1998, it caused fires that did $12m-worth of damage in Vail, Colorado, to make the point that the ski resort’s expansion was threatening places where lynxes live. Earlier this year, the ELF burned down the offices of a lumber company in Oregon. Since September 11th, the ALF and ELF have claimed responsibility for starting a fire at a primate research center in New Mexico, releasing mink from an Iowa fur farm, and firebombing a federal corral for wild horses in California.

Are they terrorists? The two groups reject the label, claiming to take all precautions against harming “animals, whether humans or not”. But earlier this year Louis Freeh, the FBI’s boss, listed both organizations among the most active domestic terrorist groups. Scott McInnis, the Republican congressman whose district includes Vail, argues it is only a matter of time before somebody gets hurt, and he now expects the FBI to put in more resources.

The House subcommittee on forests, which Mr McInnis heads, will hold a hearing on eco-terrorism in February. But he has annoyed some mainstream green groups by asking them to denounce the ELF’s and ALF’s methods. Greenpeace, for instance, says that its disapproval is self-evident, and resents being asked to express it. Mr. McInnis still wants their answer by December 1st, but the war on eco-terrorism is off to a rocky start.

1. What did the ELF do to Shearer Lumber Products?

[A] Hurt its employees. [B] Crippled its equipments. [C] Hid metals in its trees. [D] Protested against its spiking.

2. We can infer from the passage that_____.

[A] Shearer has experienced many violent incidents [B] new tools have been used to investigate terrorists

[C] FBI has been active in the war on eco-terrorism [D] ELF openly declares its beliefs and ends

3. According to ELF, all of the following are environmentally harmful except_____.

[A] causing fire in the houses [B] expanding ski resort [C] doing research on animals [D] invading into animal habitats

4. It is true of radical environmentalists that they_____.

[A] aim at causing damage to companies [B] resort to violence to achieve their purpose

[C] will do no harm to real people [D] are divided on opinions about terrorism

5.The best title for the text may be_____ .

[A] The Green Threat [B] Protecting Forests [C] Earth’s Liberation [D] Terrorism Defeated

答案：1.C 2.D 3.A 4.B 5.A

核心词汇和超纲词汇

(1)spike(n.)尖状物，尖头;鞋钉(v.)用尖物刺入(或扎破)

(2)cripple(v.)使残废，使跛，使成瘸子;严重损坏(或损害);(n.)伤残人，残疾人，有缺陷的人

(3)vandalize(v.)摧残，破坏，任意破坏(公私财物，尤指文化艺术品)

(4)cell(n.)牢房;细胞;小隔室;电池;(尤指秘密的)政治小组，基层组织，如a terrorist ~(恐怖分子小组)

(5)along/on the lines按……方式

(6)denounce(v.)公开指责，公然抨击，谴责

全文翻译

对于驻爱达荷的希勒木材产品公司来说，伊斯兰恐怖主义也许是遥远的威胁。但是生态恐怖主义是确实存在的威胁。十一月份的时候，地下组织“地球解放阵线”警告说他已在内兹佩尔塞国家森林的树木中“钉了钉子”以抗议伐木行为。“钉钉子”包括在树干中藏金属棒，从而破坏链锯并有可能伤到人。更多类似的攻击还会发生。它们怎样归入美国对抗恐怖主义的战斗中呢?

过去十年中，国家森林里的暴力事件(破坏工具、恐吓人等)急剧增多。如今希勒在砍树前仔细检查每一棵树，并一直使用金属探测器检查所有被加工的树干。然而，内兹佩尔塞国家森林服务中心的Ihor Mereszczak说，很难引起美国联邦调查局的注意，调查也毫无进展。

“地球解放阵线”只是地下激进环保主义组织中的一员。它的目的是让那些根据它的标准破坏了环境的个人或组织在经济上尽可能蒙受巨大的损失。该组织虽然由匿名的小组组成，却经营着一个网站就如何用电子计时器纵火给予提示。最近它还有了公共发言人。

“地球解放阵线”和按同一种方式运行的“动物解放阵线”一起，估计在过去几年中造成了多达四千五百万元的损失。比如,1998年“地球解放阵线”在科罗拉多州的唯尔因抗议滑雪胜地的扩建威胁了山猫的居所而放火;今年初它在俄勒冈州又烧毁了一家伐木公司的办公室;以及自九月十一日以来，它和同性质的“动物解放阵线”一起，声称对以下事件负责：新墨西哥州一家灵长类动物研究中心的纵火事件，爱荷华州一家毛皮生产农场的貂被放走事件，加利福尼亚州一个用来圈野马的畜栏遭到燃烧弹攻击事件。

他们是恐怖主义者吗?这两个团体拒绝被称作“恐怖分子”，而且宣称他们会采取一切措施来预防对动物(也包括人类)的伤害。但是今年初，联邦调查局局长路易•弗里将两个组织列为国内最活跃的恐怖主义组织。共和党籍众议员麦克伊尼斯所在区包括唯尔，认为迟早会有人受到伤害，现在他期望联邦调查局局投入更多的资源。

麦克伊尼斯领导的“森林小组委员会”将在二月份召开生态恐怖主义的听证会。但是，他已经触怒了一些主流的绿色组织，因为他要求它们公开谴责“地球解放阵线”和“动物解放阵线”的做法。比如，“绿色和平”组织宣称它的反对是不言而明的，并对被要求表态表示气愤。麦克伊尼斯先生仍然要求他们在11月1日给出回答，关于生态恐怖主义的战斗有了一个开端。