2020年高考英语外刊时事命题阅读理解：你有多久没植过树了？植树好处多Profitable planting

Profitable planting

你有多久没植过树了？植树好处多

I’m about to begin my fifth season of tree planting. Each year, around this time, I have mixed feelings about the job. Never have I loved a job so much while hating it with equal measure. Before a season, after living in the coziness of my home for the winter months, I begin to romanticize and crave (渴望) the challenges of life in the bush.

I mainly plant trees on the coast of British Columbia (英属哥伦比亚，加拿大西部之一省) and get paid between 25 and 45 cents a tree. The job can be profitable: It gives planters the opportunity to lead a roaming (漫游的) lifestyle, with a temporary obligation to spend a few months filling their bank accounts. But there are many challenges.

In the early hours of the morning, we join our teams and travel along rough (崎岖不平的) roads deep into the woodlands. During the ride, we prepare ourselves for the difficult challenges that lay ahead.

When stepping out of the trucks, often in the pouring rain, we’re faced with a steep chunk (块) of land that’s just been logged (砍伐). I step into the rain and fill my bags with hundreds of tiny trees. The conversations with my team become strategic with a few jokes to boost (改善) the mood. Seasoned tree-planters treat this more like a sport than a job, and competition fills the air.

Once our bags are full, we suppress (抑制) any reluctance and charge up that hillside. We jump from log to log, and if they roll out from under our feet, we grab (抓住) onto branches – or anything within reach – and swing (摇摆) around like monkeys. We push through stinging (带刺的) bushes. We stumble (跌跌撞撞) and fall constantly, always pushing ourselves to go faster among groups of insects that we often breathe in.

While tree planting, I am confronted with someone else; a self I thought I knew. It is a person I try to come to peace with on those hillsides, during those strange days of isolation (隔绝) and deep thinking.

Tree planting is a laboratory of self-examination and growth. You master your mind, confronting the worst and the best in your nature, pushing yourself as hard as you can. A new version (版本) of yourself awaits at the end of the experience.

（选自BBC）

1. What can we know from the first two paragraphs?

A. Tree planters can make a fortune from the job.

B. The author is mainly addicted to the roaming lifestyle.

C. Tree planting is a bittersweet job to the author.

D. The job is by no means tough to the author.

2. What do we know about tree planting?

A. Helping teammates is a very important part of the job.

B. The planters rarely talk to one another.

C. Planters enjoy climbing the hillside.

D. Planters are confronted with challenging conditions.

3. According to the author, what is the main advantage of tree planting?

A. It promotes harmony with nature.

B. It enables one to explore a new self.

C. It benefits your physical well-being.

D. It expands one’s social network.

译文：

我即将开始植树的第五个季节。每年大约这个时候，我对这份工作都有不同的感觉。我从来没有这么热爱过一份工作，却同样地讨厌它。一个季节之前，在冬季舒适的家中生活之后，我开始浪漫并渴望丛林生活的挑战。

我主要在英属哥伦比亚（加拿大不列颠哥伦比亚省）的海岸上种树，薪水为每棵树25至45美分。这项工作可能是有利可图的：它使种植者有机会过着漫游的生活方式，并且有暂时的义务要花几个月的时间来填补他们的银行帐户。但是有很多挑战。

在清晨，我们加入我们的团队，沿着崎岖不平的崎deep小路深入森林。在旅途中，我们为即将面临的艰巨挑战做好了准备。

当走出卡车时，经常在倾盆大雨中，我们面临着一块被砍伐的陡峭土地。我走进雨中，用几百棵小树装满了我的书包。与我的团队进行的对话变得具有战略意义，并开了些玩笑，以改善心情。经验丰富的树木种植者将其更像是一项运动而不是一项工作，而竞争充满了气氛。

装满行李后，我们会抑制任何不情愿的情绪，并在山坡上加油。我们从原木跳到另一原木，如果它们从脚下滑出，我们会抓住树枝或其他触手可及的东西，然后像猴子一样摇摆。我们穿过带刺的灌木丛。我们跌跌撞撞，跌倒不停，不断地推动自己在经常呼吸的昆虫群中走得更快。

植树时，我遇到了其他人。我以为我知道的自我。我是一个人，在那些孤独的日子和深思熟虑的日子里，我努力与那些山坡上的人们融洽相处。

植树是自我检查和生长的实验室。您掌握了自己的思想，面对着自然界中最坏的事情和最好的事情，尽自己最大的努力来推动自己。体验结束时，你正在等待自己的新版本。

语篇分析：

本文属于新课标“人与自然”主题语境下“人与动植物”范畴。作者每年都会参与植树，这份工作给他带来了收益，可过程中又有不少挑战。这一经历更带给了他宝贵的精神财富，发现了一个不一样的自己。

● 植树的收益可观，但依然存在颇多挑战

1. … after living in the coziness of my home …

coziness n. comfort 舒适，安逸，惬意 同根词：cozy adj. 舒适的

I enjoyed the warm coziness of my own bed after a long business trip.

2. The job can be profitable … with a temporary obligation to …

profitable adj. that makes or is likely to make money 有利润的，赢利的

用法：profitable还可以表示“有益的；有好处的”。

词缀：-able为形容词后缀，表示“可以被……的；有……能力的”，如：adjustable 可调节的；respectable _____；adaptable _____

同根词：profit n./v. 利润或获利；profitability n. 盈利能力，收益性

It is usually more profitable to sell direct to the public.

obligation n. If you have an obligation to do something, it is your duty to do that thing. 义务

同根词：oblige v. 要求，强制；obligatory adj. 义务的，必须的

常用搭配：without obligation 无义务地；legal obligations 法律义务

We have a moral obligation to protect the environment.

● 植树让人发现不一样的自己，是自我反省和成长的实验室

3. Seasoned tree-planters treat this more like a sport than a job ...

seasoned adj. having a lot of experience of a particular activity 富有经验的 用法：seasoned还有“风干的；调好味的”的意思。

同根词：season n. 季节 v. 给……调味，变干燥

The author is a seasoned academic.

4. … we suppress any reluctance and charge up that hillside.

reluctance n. unwillingness to do sth 不情愿，勉强

同根词：reluctant adj. 不情愿的，常用搭配为reluctant to do sth

His reluctance to do the job can be shown from his facial expression.

charge v. rush in a particular direction 向……方向冲去

用法：charge的常用意思还有“充电，收费，控诉”等，而且它还可以作名词。

常用搭配：charge for the repairs 修理费；charge sb with sth/doing sth 控诉某人（做了）某事；in charge of 负责，主管；in the charge of 在……负责之下

The children charged down the stairs.

5. While tree planting, I am confronted with someone else …

be confronted with have sth in front of you that you have to deal with or react to 面对（某事物）

Most people when confronted with a horse will pat it.

答案：

1-3 CDB

1. C。从第一段“The job can be profitable”和最后一句“But there are many challenges.”可知，植树虽然能获取收益，但是也有不少的挑战，所以是一份苦乐参半的工作，故答案为C。根据第一段“I mainly plant trees on the coast of British Columbiaand get paid between 25 and 45 cents a tree.”可知砍树虽然能获取收益，但是收入并不高，所以A不对，make a fortune意为“发财（make a large amount of money）”。

2. D。作者从第二段开始讲述了植树的全过程，并未提及在植树过程中需要帮助队友，所以A错误；在下车之后收集树苗时，才提到对话变得富有技巧并需要用笑话来提高情绪，在车上并未说明是不是有交流，所以B错误；倒数第三段“… suppress any reluctance …”表明大家并不开心，反而有些不情愿，所以C错误；从早起乘车沿着崎岖不平的路赶往林地，下车之后常常遭遇倾盆大雨，到带刺的灌木丛以及会被吸入鼻中的昆虫，都说明了条件的艰苦，所以答案为D。

3. B。从文章倒数第二段“While tree planting, I am confronted with someone else; a self I thought I knew.”以及最后一段的最后一句“A new version of yourself awaits at the end of the experience.”可以说明作者认为植树最佳益处在于可以探索新的自我，所以答案为B。

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