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

　　核心詞匯和超綱詞匯
　　(1)spike(n.)尖狀物，尖頭;鞋釘(v.)用尖物刺入(或扎破)
　　(2)cripple(v.)使殘廢，使跛，使成瘸子;嚴重損壞(或損害);(n.)傷殘人，殘疾人，有缺陷的人
　　(3)vandalize(v.)摧殘，破壞，任意破壞(公私財物，尤指文化藝術(shù)品)
　　(4)cell(n.)牢房;細胞;小隔室;電池;(尤指秘密的)政治小組，基層組織，如a terrorist ~(恐怖分子小組)
　　(5)along/on the lines按……方式
　　(6)denounce(v.)公開指責(zé)，公然抨擊，譴責(zé)
　　全文翻譯
　　對于駐愛達荷的希勒木材產(chǎn)品公司來說，伊斯蘭恐怖主義也許是遙遠的威脅。但是生態(tài)恐怖主義是確實存在的威脅。十一月份的時候，地下組織“地球解放陣線”警告說他已在內(nèi)茲佩爾塞國家森林的樹木中“釘了釘子”以抗議伐木行為。“釘釘子”包括在樹干中藏金屬棒，從而破壞鏈鋸并有可能傷到人。更多類似的攻擊還會發(fā)生。它們怎樣歸入美國對抗恐怖主義的戰(zhàn)斗中呢?
　　過去十年中，國家森林里的暴力事件(破壞工具、恐嚇人等)急劇增多。如今希勒在砍樹前仔細檢查每一棵樹，并一直使用金屬探測器檢查所有被加工的樹干。然而，內(nèi)茲佩爾塞國家森林服務(wù)中心的Ihor Mereszczak說，很難引起美國聯(lián)邦調(diào)查局的注意，調(diào)查也毫無進展。
　　 “地球解放陣線”只是地下激進環(huán)保主義組織中的一員。它的目的是讓那些根據(jù)它的標準破壞了環(huán)境的個人或組織在經(jīng)濟上盡可能蒙受巨大的損失。該組織雖然由匿名的小組組成，卻經(jīng)營著一個網(wǎng)站就如何用電子計時器縱火給予提示。比較近它還有了公共發(fā)言人。
　　 “地球解放陣線”和按同一種方式運行的“動物解放陣線”一起，估計在過去幾年中造成了多達四千五百萬元的損失。比如,1998年“地球解放陣線”在科羅拉多州的唯爾因抗議滑雪勝地的擴建威脅了山貓的居所而放火;今年初它在俄勒岡州又燒毀了一家伐木公司的辦公室;以及自九月十一日以來，它和同性質(zhì)的“動物解放陣線”一起，聲稱對以下事件負責(zé)：新墨西哥州一家靈長類動物研究中心的縱火事件，愛荷華州一家毛皮生產(chǎn)農(nóng)場的貂被放走事件，加利福尼亞州一個用來圈野馬的畜欄遭到燃燒彈攻擊事件。
　　他們是恐怖主義者嗎?這兩個團體拒絕被稱作“恐怖分子”，而且宣稱他們會采取一切措施來預(yù)防對動物(也包括人類)的傷害。但是今年初，聯(lián)邦調(diào)查局局長路易·弗里將兩個組織列為國內(nèi)比較活躍的恐怖主義組織。共和黨籍眾議員麥克伊尼斯所在區(qū)包括唯爾，認為遲早會有人受到傷害，現(xiàn)在他期望聯(lián)邦調(diào)查局局投入更多的資源。
　　麥克伊尼斯領(lǐng)導(dǎo)的“森林小組委員會”將在二月份召開生態(tài)恐怖主義的聽證會。但是，他已經(jīng)觸怒了一些主流的綠色組織，因為他要求它們公開譴責(zé)“地球解放陣線”和“動物解放陣線”的做法。比如，“綠色和平”組織宣稱它的反對是不言而明的，并對被要求表態(tài)表示氣憤。麥克伊尼斯先生仍然要求他們在11月1日給出回答，關(guān)于生態(tài)恐怖主義的戰(zhàn)斗有了一個開端。