名校励志英语演讲 07:给大学毕业生的几个忠告

 　　If the world continues on a business-as-usual path, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predicts that there is a fifty-fifty chance the temperature will exceed 5 degrees by the end of this century. This increase may not sound like much, but let me remind you that during the last ice age, the world was only 6 degrees colder. During this time, most of Canada and the United States down to Ohio and Pennsylvania were covered year round by a glacier¹. A world 5 degrees warmer will be very different. The change will be so rapid that many species, including Humans, will have a hard time adapting. I’ve been told for example, that, in a much warmer world, insects were bigger. I wonder if this thing buzzing around is a precursor².

　　联合国政府间气候变化专门委员会（IPCC）预测，如果全世界保持现在的经济模式不变，本世纪末气温5度的可能性是50%。这听起来好像不多，但是让我来提醒你，上一次的冰河期，地球的气温也仅仅下降了6度。那时，俄亥俄州和宾夕法尼亚州以下的大部分美国和加拿大的土地，都终年被冰川覆盖。气温 上升5度的地球，将是一个非常不同的地球。由于气候变化来得太快，包括人类在内的许多生物，都将很难适应。比如，有人告诉我，在更温暖的环境中，昆虫的个头将变大。我不知道现在身旁嗡嗡叫的这只大苍蝇，是不是就是前兆。

　　We also face the specter of nonlinear “tipping points” that may cause much more severe changes. An example of a tipping point is the thawing³ of the permafrost. The permafrost contains immense amounts of frozen organic matter that have been accumulating for millennia⁴. If the soil melts, microbes will spring to life and cause this debris⁵ to rot. The difference in biological activity below freezing and above freezing is something we are all familiar with. Frozen food remains⁶ edible⁷ for a very long time in the freezer, but once thawed⁸, it spoils quickly. How much methane⁹ and carbon dioxide might be released from the rotting permafrost? If even a fraction of the carbon is released, it could be greater than all the greenhouse gases we have released since the beginning of the industrial revolution. Once started, a runaway¹⁰ effect could occur.

　　我们还面临另一个威胁，那就是非线性的“气候引爆点”，这会带来许多更严重的变化。“气候引爆点”的一个例子就是永久冻土层的融化。永久冻土层经过千万年的累积形成，其中包含了巨量的冻僵的有机物。如果冻土融化，微生物就将广泛繁殖，使得冻土层中的有机物快速腐烂。冷冻后的生物和冷冻前的生物在生物学特性上的差异，我们都很熟悉。在冷库中，冷冻食品在经过长时间保存后，依然可以食用。但是，一旦解冻，食品很快就腐烂了。一个腐烂的永久冻土层，将释放出多少甲烷和二氧化碳？即使只有一部分的二氧化碳被释放出来，可能也比我们从工业革命开始释放出来的所有温室气体还要多。这种事情一旦发生，局势就失控了。

　　on Climate change, 政府间气候变化专门委员会，简称IPCC,是一个附属于联合国之下的跨政府组织、在1988年由世界气象组织、联合国环境署合作成立，专门负责研究由人类活动所造成的气候变迁。改委员会本身并不进行研究工作，其主要工作时发表和执行《联合国气候变化框架公约》有关的专题报告。

　　glacier

　　n. 冰河；冰川

　　eg. Rocks of assorted¹¹ sizes and shapes are embeded in the bottom of a glacier.

　　多种尺寸和形状的岩石都埋藏在冰川的底部。

　　buzz

　　n. vi. 发出嗡嗡声

　　eg. There was some little buzz of conversation going on among the people.

　　不时听得人群中有喁喁私语的声音。

　　percursor

　　n. 预兆

　　eg. Viewed as a precursor to a wider open data movement, it could be as important as any we have seen in the web era.

　　它被视为更宽泛的数据开放运动的先导，它将像我们在互联网时代看到的所有重要的事物一样重要。

　　specter

　　n. 幽灵，恐怖之物

　　eg. No man, if he be truthful¹², can say that the specter of war is banished¹³.

　　没有人，如果他是真诚的，能够说战争的幽灵已经被消除。

　　nonlinear

　　adj. 非线性的

　　eg. Snake is linear, but when it feeds back into itself it becomes the archetype of nonlinear being.

　　蛇是线性的，但当它回身咬住自己的时候，它就变成了非线性物体的原型。

　　thawing

　　n. 融解

　　eg. Frozen products should show no signs of thawing.

　　冷冻产品应显示没有解冻的迹象。

　　permafrost

　　n. 永久冻土

　　eg. Canadian researchers expressed serious concerns about the erosion of permafrost in the Arctic.

　　加拿大研究人员对北极地区永冻层的侵蚀表示严重关切。

　　immense

　　adj. 巨大的

　　eg. They plunged¹⁴ into their work with immense zeal¹⁵.

　　他们以极大的热情投入工作。

　　millennia

　　n. 千年期（millennium的复数）

　　eg.

　　These forests have reigned¹⁶ supreme¹⁷ for countless¹⁸ millennia.

　　这些森林生长繁茂已有千万年之久。

　　microbe

　　n. 细菌，微生物

　　eg. The experiments result is that the microbe play a part of the role of the promotion¹⁹ on form of the bronze disease.

　　实验结果表明：微生物在青铜腐蚀中起了促进作用。

　　debris

　　n. 碎片，残骸，（冰川积聚的的）碎石

　　eg. The debris has piled up against the wall.

　　那堵墙下瓦砾成堆。

　　edible

　　adj. 可食用的

　　eg. This week, the talk in the blogoma seems to be about all things edible.

　　这个星期，摩洛哥博客圈谈论的似乎是关于所有可食的东西。

　　methane

　　n. 甲烷

　　eg. Whatever oxidises the methane would itself get used up in the process, and so would also need to be replenished²⁰.

　　无论是什么物质氧化了甲烷，自身都会在这一过程中殆尽，因此也需要不断的被补充。

　　runaway

　　adj. 失控的；逃亡的

　　eg. Our June sale was a runaway success.

　　我们6月份的促销大获成功。

1 glacier   

n.冰川，冰河

参考例句：

• The glacier calved a large iceberg.冰河崩解而形成一个大冰山。
• The upper surface of glacier is riven by crevasses.冰川的上表面已裂成冰隙。

2 precursor   

n.先驱者；前辈；前任；预兆；先兆

参考例句：

• Error is often the precursor of what is correct.错误常常是正确的先导。
• He said that the deal should not be seen as a precursor to a merger.他说该笔交易不应该被看作是合并的前兆。

3 thawing   

n.熔化，融化v.（气候）解冻( thaw的现在分词 )；（态度、感情等）缓和；（冰、雪及冷冻食物）溶化；软化

参考例句：

• The ice is thawing. 冰在融化。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• It had been snowing and thawing and the streets were sloppy. 天一直在下雪，雪又一直在融化，街上泥泞不堪。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

4 millennia   

n.一千年，千禧年

参考例句：

• For two millennia, exogamy was a major transgression for Jews. 两千年来，异族通婚一直是犹太人的一大禁忌。
• In the course of millennia, the dinosaurs died out. 在几千年的时间里，恐龙逐渐死绝了。

5 debris   

n.瓦砾堆，废墟，碎片

参考例句：

• After the bombing there was a lot of debris everywhere.轰炸之后到处瓦砾成堆。
• Bacteria sticks to food debris in the teeth,causing decay.细菌附着在牙缝中的食物残渣上，导致蛀牙。

6 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

7 edible   

n.食品，食物；adj.可食用的

参考例句：

• Edible wild herbs kept us from dying of starvation.我们靠着野菜才没被饿死。
• This kind of mushroom is edible,but that kind is not.这种蘑菇吃得，那种吃不得。

8 thawed   

解冻

参考例句：

• The little girl's smile thawed the angry old man. 小姑娘的微笑使发怒的老头缓和下来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He thawed after sitting at a fire for a while. 在火堆旁坐了一会儿，他觉得暖和起来了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 methane   

n.甲烷，沼气

参考例句：

• The blast was caused by pockets of methane gas that ignited.爆炸是由数袋甲烷气体着火引起的。
• Methane may have extraterrestrial significance.甲烷具有星际意义。

10 runaway   

n.逃走的人，逃亡，亡命者；adj.逃亡的，逃走的

参考例句：

• The police have not found the runaway to date.警察迄今没抓到逃犯。
• He was praised for bringing up the runaway horse.他勒住了脱缰之马受到了表扬。

11 assorted   

adj.各种各样的，各色俱备的

参考例句：

• There's a bag of assorted sweets on the table.桌子上有一袋什锦糖果。
• He has always assorted with men of his age.他总是与和他年令相仿的人交往。

12 truthful   

adj.真实的，说实话的，诚实的

参考例句：

• You can count on him for a truthful report of the accident.你放心，他会对事故作出如实的报告的。
• I don't think you are being entirely truthful.我认为你并没全讲真话。

13 banished   

v.放逐，驱逐( banish的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was banished to Australia, where he died five years later. 他被流放到澳大利亚，五年后在那里去世。
• He was banished to an uninhabited island for a year. 他被放逐到一个无人居住的荒岛一年。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 plunged   

v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降

参考例句：

• The train derailed and plunged into the river. 火车脱轨栽进了河里。
• She lost her balance and plunged 100 feet to her death. 她没有站稳，从100英尺的高处跌下摔死了。

15 zeal   

n.热心，热情，热忱

参考例句：

• Revolutionary zeal caught them up,and they joined the army.革命热情激励他们，于是他们从军了。
• They worked with great zeal to finish the project.他们热情高涨地工作，以期完成这个项目。

16 reigned   

vi.当政，统治（reign的过去式形式）

参考例句：

• Silence reigned in the hall. 全场肃静。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Night was deep and dead silence reigned everywhere. 夜深人静，一片死寂。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

17 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

18 countless   

adj.无数的，多得不计其数的

参考例句：

• In the war countless innocent people lost their lives.在这场战争中无数无辜的人丧失了性命。
• I've told you countless times.我已经告诉你无数遍了。

19 promotion   

n.提升，晋级；促销，宣传

参考例句：

• The teacher conferred with the principal about Dick's promotion.教师与校长商谈了迪克的升级问题。
• The clerk was given a promotion and an increase in salary.那个职员升了级，加了薪。

20 replenished   

补充( replenish的过去式和过去分词 )； 重新装满

参考例句：

• She replenished her wardrobe. 她添置了衣服。
• She has replenished a leather [fur] coat recently. 她最近添置了一件皮袄。