The Earth Charter (EC) is an invaluable resource for Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), which outlines global values and principles for a sustainable peaceful earth. For these values and principles to be adopted and for action to be taken, however, people need to root them in their own context and local culture.
The Shangri-la Institute for Sustainable Communities (SISC) has been working with local communities in different parts of China to facilitate ESD by reconnecting with local culture and engaging with the principles of the Earth Charter. Through a range of project activities communities are engaged in cultural preservation and re-connection with local traditional culture. The Earth Charter can be used as a tool in this process. Assessment and evaluation of the principles outlined in the Earth Charter encourages communities to contemplate and confirm their traditional cultural values. By situating these individual or community values within the scope of global values for Sustainable Development (SD), communities assess the relevance of traditional knowledge, and consider how to update or adapt values and practices in order to live more sustainable lives.
The integration of local and global principles for sustainability into all aspects of education and learning is necessary if we are to make the changes needed for global sustainability. The learning should not just occur in schools, but in formal, non-formal and informal learning settings and should involve all sectors of society: teachers and community educators, community members, young people, governments, monasteries or other community organizations, businesses and corporations—all need to participate for the changes in thinking and action to be meaningful and effective at a local, regional and global level. This integration requires the facilitation of a learning process that develops the values, knowledge and skills needed for sustainable development. The learning needs to take a global perspective and also link to the local context so that localized and appropriate action can be taken on a global scale. By considering traditional Eastern cultural values, belief systems and traditional knowledge and combining these with global values, we can also find a new approach: one which balances the individualism, and rights based approach of the West, with the more collective mindset, and responsibilities based approach of Eastern philosophies and cultures.
In the face of the current global social and ecological crises caused by modernity, local culture and traditions offer inspiration for us to find solutions to many of the problems. Although this wisdom and philosophy was realized thousands of years ago, much remains relevant to the crisis the world faces today. The emphasis in traditional Chinese philosophy on harmony with nature, with our surroundings and within ourselves, our families, our communities and as one interconnected Earth, provides a useful way of understanding the worldview embedded in ESD and the Earth Charter. The emphasis on the collective and individual learning for the good of the collective, contrasts with the importance of the individual and emphasis on the self in modern society, and can be valuable to the implementation of the ESD and EC principles, which need a collective effort. By taking a balanced approach between the two worldviews, ESD can be facilitated. Individuals are given opportunities to fulfill their potential and nurture the knowledge, skills and values needed to become informed, responsible, active and capable citizens of the earth, whilst at the same time keeping a global perspective and contributing to collective learning and action.
Reconnecting with local culture not only allows people to better understand their heritage and where they come from, but also provides a basis for linking to the global community. By reconnecting with local culture and by learning about other cultures and traditions, the principles embedded in ESD and the EC can be strengthened, and methods for implementing these principles within the local and global context can be harnessed, providing spiritual and moral education for sustainable living.
1. When the writer discusses the “rooting of global values”, the writer is thinking that ________.
2. When the writer encourages communities to “confirm” and “reconnect” with their local traditional cultures, the writer is attempting to ________.
3.The writer believes that traditional Chinese culture is of great benefit to Education for Sustainable Development because ________.
4.The learning process of education for sustainable development involves ________.
5. The main thesis of this essay is that to succeed in Education for Sustainable Development, societies need to ________.
问题1选项
A.local communities should develop values to be applied not only to the community but to the world
B.the project and activities designed to educate for sustainable development should only consider local values
C.the project and activities designed to educate for sustainable development should only consider global values
D.when the community adopts international sustainable values, the community should customize and tailor them to their own needs
问题2选项
A.make local communities proud of their own culture when adopting international values
B.humiliate communities when adopting international values
C.engage in local sustainable activities that make the local communities proud of being part of the international community
D.all of the above
问题3选项
A.China has overcome many social and ecological crises in its long history through strong collective efforts
B.traditional Chinese culture has always been in harmony with nature by emphasizing the collective good
C.the Chinese society gives opportunities to thrive only when it benefits the collective good
D.the strong leadership of the traditional Chinese society ensures that everybody benefits from the development
问题4选项
A.religious institutions together with other institutions like governments, businesses organizations and schools
B.primarily the government with the support of civil society institutions
C.global principles of sustainable development applied to a local setting for the better resolution of local conflicts
D.all of the above
问题5选项
A.have an international approach to all their resolution efforts
B.strive to achieve a balanced approach to education by integrating Eastern and Western values in the learning process
C.eastern societies, like China, should continue to reconnect and open-up with the global communities in order to have a sustainable education system to become a developed country
D.eastern societies should reconnect better with their local cultures in order to have a sustainable education system and achieve development
第1题:D
第2题:A
第3题:B
第4题:A
第5题:B
第1题:
【选项释义】
When the writer discusses the “rooting of global values”, the writer is thinking that ________. 当作者讨论到“全球价值观的根基”时，作者认为________。
A. local communities should develop values to be applied not only to the community but to the world A. 当地社区应该形成不仅适用于本社区而且适用于世界的价值观
B. the project and activities designed to educate for sustainable development should only consider local values B. 旨在教育可持续发展的项目和活动应该只考虑当地的价值
C. the project and activities designed to educate for sustainable development should only consider global values C. 旨在教育可持续发展的项目和活动只应考虑全球价值
D. when the community adopts international sustainable values, the community should customize and tailor them to their own needs D. 当社区采用国际可持续发展的价值观时，社区应该根据自己的需要对其进行定制和调整
【考查点】事实细节题。
【解题思路】根据题干关键词rooting of global values可以定位到文章第一段第二句“要采纳这些价值观和原则（For these values and principles to be adopted）并采取行动，人们需要将其根植于自己的环境和当地文化中（root them in their own context and local culture）”，具体的做法在第三段倒数第二句“这种学习需要从全球角度出发，并结合当地情况（link to the local context），以便在全球范围内采取局部和适当的行动（localized and appropriate action）”，说明作者认为在采用国际可持续发展的价值观时，要结合当地情况来调整。因此D选项“当社区采用国际可持续发展的价值观时，社区应该根据自己的需要对其进行定制和调整”正确。
【干扰项排除】
A选项“当地社区应该形成不仅适用于本社区而且适用于世界的价值观”，B选项“旨在教育可持续发展的项目和活动应该只考虑当地的价值”和C选项“旨在教育可持续发展的项目和活动只应考虑全球价值”分别只提到了问题的一个方面，而应该要把当地价值和全球价值结合起来，属于以偏概全。
第2题:
【选项释义】
When the writer encourages communities to “confirm” and “reconnect” with their local traditional cultures, the writer is attempting to ________. 当作者鼓励社区“确认”和“重新连接”他们的当地传统文化时，作者试图________。
A. make local communities proud of their own culture when adopting international values A. 在采用国际价值观时，使当地社区为自己的文化感到自豪
B. humiliate communities when adopting international values B. 当采用国际价值观时，使社区感到羞耻
C. engage in local sustainable activities that make the local communities proud of being part of the international community C. 参与当地的可持续发展活动，使当地社区为成为国际社会的一部分而感到自豪
D. all of the above D. 以上都是
【考查点】推理判断题。
【解题思路】根据题干关键词confirm可以定位到文章第二段倒数第二句“鼓励各社区思考和确认其传统文化价值（confirm their traditional cultural values）”，根据题干关键词reconnect可以定位到文章第五段第一句“重新联系当地文化不仅可以让人们更好地了解他们的遗产和他们来自哪里（better understand their heritage and where they come from）”，这些做法都能让人们更了解当地文化，认识到传统文化的价值，从而对自己的文化感到自豪。因此A选项“在采用国际价值观时，使当地社区为自己的文化感到自豪”正确。
【干扰项排除】
B选项“当采用国际价值观时，使社区感到羞耻”，应该是让社区感到自豪而不是羞耻，属于反向干扰；
C选项“参与当地的可持续发展活动，使当地社区为成为国际社会的一部分而感到自豪”，应该是为自己当地的文化感到自豪而不是对成为国际社会的一部分而自豪，属于反向干扰；
D选项“以上都是”，以上包含错误选项，属于反向干扰。
第3题:
【选项释义】
The writer believes that traditional Chinese culture is of great benefit to Education for Sustainable Development because ________. 作者认为，中国传统文化对可持续发展教育有很大的好处，因为________。
A. China has overcome many social and ecological crises in its long history through strong collective efforts A. 中国在漫长的历史中通过强大的集体努力克服了许多社会和生态危机
B. traditional Chinese culture has always been in harmony with nature by emphasizing the collective good B. 中国传统文化一直通过强调集体利益而与自然和谐相处
C. the Chinese society gives opportunities to thrive only when it benefits the collective good C. 中国社会只有在有利于集体利益的情况下才会给人以发展的机会
D. the strong leadership of the traditional Chinese society ensures that everybody benefits from the development D. 中国传统社会的强大领导保证了每个人都能从发展中受益
【考查点】推理判断题。
【解题思路】根据题干关键词traditional Chinese culture可以定位到文章第四段第三句“中国传统哲学强调与自然、与我们周围的环境、与我们自身、与我们的家庭、与我们的社区以及作为一个相互联系的地球的和谐（harmony with nature）”和第四句“强调集体（emphasis on the collective）和个人为了集体的利益而学习，与现代社会中个人的重要性和对自我的强调形成对比，这对可持续发展教育和地球宪章原则的实施是有价值的（be valuable to the implementation of the ESD and EC principles）”，说明中国传统文化强调集体利益，与自然和谐相处，这有利于可持续发展教育。因此B选项“中国传统文化一直通过强调集体利益而与自然和谐相处”正确。
【干扰项排除】
A选项“中国在漫长的历史中通过强大的集体努力克服了许多社会和生态危机”，由第四段第一句“面对当前由现代性所引发的（caused by modernity）全球社会和生态危机”可知，这些社会和生态危机是现代产生的，而不是在历史中经历的，属于曲解原文；
C选项“中国社会只有在有利于集体利益的情况下才会给人以发展的机会”，虽然文章提到强调集体利益有利于促进人的发展，但不是只有在有利于集体利益的情况下人才会有发展机会，属于过度推断；
D选项“中国传统社会的坚强领导保证了每个人都能从发展中受益”，文中没有提及坚强领导，属于无中生有。
第4题:
【选项释义】
The learning process of education for sustainable development involves ________. 可持续发展教育的学习过程涉及________。
A. religious institutions together with other institutions like governments, businesses organizations and schools A. 宗教机构与政府、企业组织和学校等其他机构共同参与
B. primarily the government with the support of civil society institutions B. 主要是政府，并得到民间社会机构的支持
C. global principles of sustainable development applied to a local setting for the better resolution of local conflicts C. 将可持续发展的全球原则应用于当地环境，以更好地解决当地冲突
D. all of the above D. 以上都是
【考查点】事实细节题。
【解题思路】根据题干关键词learning process可以定位到文章第三段第二句“学习不应只在学校进行，而应在正式、非正规和非正式的学习环境中进行，并应涉及社会的各界（involve all sectors of society）：教师和社区教育者、社区成员、年轻人、政府、寺院或其他社区组织、企业和公司——所有这些都需要参与进来”，说明可持续发展教育的学习过程需要社会各界的共同参与。因此A选项“宗教机构与政府、企业组织和学校等其他机构共同参与”正确。
【干扰项排除】
B选项“主要是政府，并得到民间社会机构的支持”，文章说的是政府和民间社会机构共同参与，没有哪一方是更主要的，属于曲解原文；
C选项“将可持续发展的全球原则应用于当地环境，以更好地解决当地冲突”与可持续发展教育无关，属于出处错位；
D选项“以上都是”，以上包含错误选项，属于反向干扰。
第5题:
【选项释义】
The main thesis of this essay is that to succeed in Education for Sustainable Development, societies need to ________. 这篇文章的主要论点是：为了在可持续发展教育方面取得成功，社会需要________。
A. have an international approach to all their resolution efforts A. 在解决冲突的所有努力中采用国际方法
B. strive to achieve a balanced approach to education by integrating Eastern and Western values in the learning process B. 通过在学习过程中融合东方和西方的价值观，努力实现平衡的教育方法
C. eastern societies, like China, should continue to reconnect and open-up with the global communities in order to have a sustainable education system to become a developed country C. 东方社会，如中国，应继续与全球社会重新联系和开放，以便拥有一个可持续的教育系统，成为一个发达国家
D. eastern societies should reconnect better with their local cultures in order to have a sustainable education system and achieve development D. 东方社会应该更好地与当地文化重新联系，以便拥有一个可持续的教育系统并实现发展
【考查点】推理判断题。
【解题思路】根据关键词可以定位到文章第三段最后一句“我们也可以找到一种新的方法：一种平衡（balances）西方的个人主义和以权利为基础的方法，与东方哲学和文化更具集体意识和以责任为基础的方法”，说明为了在可持续发展教育方面取得成功，需要结合东西方的价值观，实现两者的平衡。因此B选项“通过在学习过程中融合东方和西方的价值观，努力实现平衡的教育方法”正确。
【干扰项排除】
A选项“在解决冲突的所有努力中采用国际方法”，C选项“东方社会，如中国，应继续与全球社会重新联系和开放，以便拥有一个可持续的教育系统，成为一个发达国家”和D选项“东方社会应该更好地与当地文化重新联系，以便拥有一个可持续的教育系统并实现发展”分别只说了问题的某一个方面，属于以偏概全。
