This green and blue planet spinning in space is under severe stress. If we
continue to exploit the planet at the present rate,human and animal life will be
threatened. Human pride will be followed by nature’s punishment. To save our earth
and ourselves,we need first develop an unbiased understanding of ourselves,nature
and life.
Everyone understands the meaning of the sentence“Man should respect animal life and
nature”. But the exact meaning of man,nature and animal life is not always clear.
Many refer to man and animals as if they were essentially different. I consider man
to be an animal and only differing in degree and not in kind from other animals.
Although I discuss in conventional terms human rights and animal rights as if they
were separate,strictly speaking,human rights should be considered a branch of animal
rights.
The word“nature”is one of the most complex words in the language,but it has
developed three main areas of meaning. These are,first,the essential quality and
character of something（as in human nature,or the nature of wood）;second,the
inherent force which influences the world（as in Mother Nature）;third,the entire
world itself. The last can be taken to include or to exclude human beings,as the
phrase man and the natural world implies.
I consider humans to be an integral part of nature, although they are also the
beings most capable of interfering with its processes.Unfortunately a central
driveof Western“man”has been to conquer“nature”, as if it were an object
separate from him.Hence it has become common to distinguish between what is
natural（existing without man’s interference）and artificial（manmade）.In this
way, natural growth is opposed to education, civilization to the natural state.For
manyurban people living permanently among concrete and glass, nature itself has
come to mean little more than the countryside.And this notion of opposition is
where the seed of potential destruction lies.
【題組】34). In the author’s opinion, the word“nature”indicates ______.
(A). a particular kind of thing
(B). the inherent force which influences the world
(C). the entire world itself including human beings
(D). the essential quality and character of something
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