Prince William, second in line to the British throne, gave his first TED Talk on Saturday to launch his Earthshot Prize, a competition that will award five £ 1 million prize money every year for the next decade to those who can come up with solutions to environmental problems.
Any person, group or organization around the world is qualified, and any suggestion is welcome, so long as it is applicable globally. It could be a new technology, a new approach, a new governmental policy or any other ideas toward five environmental goals -fixing the climate, purifying the air, protecting nature, cleaning oceans and handling waste.
"Earthshot" was inspired by John F. Kennedy's "Moonshot," an ambitious 1961 mission to get a man on the moon within a decade. The purpose of the prize is partly to arouse excitement and offer what Prince William called “a bit of catalyst, a bit of hope, a bit of positivity" at a time when the world needs. The money will come from donors around the world. The prize committee includes many celebrities.
Prince William has environmental activism in his blue blood. Both his grandfather, and his father Prince Charles were active environmentalists. Prince William acknowledged his heritage by saying he had always listened, learned and believed what they were saying about the environment. Besides speaking wise words, he also puts forward a good prize. Over a million pounds is significantly more than a Nobel Prize and should inspire some serious and creative thinking about the difficulties of Planet Earth. Unlike the Nobel Prize money, the Earthshot money is supposed to be spent on the winning project. “If we achieve these goals, by 2030 our lives won't be worse, and we won't have to sacrifice everything we enjoy. Instead, the way we live will be healthier, cleaner, smarter, and better for all of us," he said.
【小题1】What can be learned about The Earth shot Prize?| A．It will be awarded to Britons. |
| B．It aims to solve social problems. |
| C．It is named after a moon mission. |
| D．It offers £ 50 million in total. |
| A．a method to monitor sea levels |
| B．a new technology to forecast the weather |
| C．a new approach to recycling the waste |
| D．a local government policy to ban fishing |
| A．Encouragement. | B．Alarm. | C．Challenge. | D．Surprise. |
| A．Earthshot Prize equals Nobel Prize. |
| B．Planet Earth will be cleaned by 2030. |
| C．Prince William only talks the talk. |
| D．Prince William is influenced by his family. |
