霍金称：人类正面临世界末日

 　　The progress of science and technology is creating "new ways things can go wrong" for humanity, according to British theoretical physicist¹ and cosmologist Stephen Hawking².

　　英国理论物理学家和宇宙学家斯蒂芬·霍金称，科技的进步正为人类创造“新的歧途”。

　　The University of Cambridge professor points to nuclear war, global warming and genetically-engineered viruses as increasingly significant threats humankind will face in the future.

　　霍金指出，核战争、全球变暖、基因改造的病毒将会成为人类在未来面临的艰巨挑战。

　　"Although the chance of a disaster to planet Earth in a given year may be quite low, it adds up over time, and becomes a near certainty in the next thousand or ten thousand years," he told the BBC.

　　他告诉BBC的记者：“尽管在给定的年份里，地球发生灾难的几率非常之低。但是随着世界累积，在过千年或万年之后危机就会成为确定的事情。”

　　Fortunately, the future doesn’t have to be all doom³ and gloom.

　　幸运的是，未来并非完全凄惨无望。

　　"By that time we should have spread out into space, and to other stars, so a disaster on Earth would not mean the end of the human race," he said.

　　他说：“到那时我们应该已经走向宇宙，迁往其他星球。这样地球上的灾难就不会导致人类灭绝。”

　　Hawking says that we will not establish colonies away from Earth for at least the next 100 years, making this period especially critical, according to The Guardian⁴.

　　根据《卫报》，霍金称，至少在未来100年人类还无法在地球以外建立殖民地，而这段时间就至关重要。

　　"We are not going to stop making progress, or reverse it, so we have to recognize the dangers and control them," Hawking added. "I’m an optimist⁵, and I believe we can."

　　霍金补充道：“我们不会停止进步或者是倒退，所以我们必须意识到存在的危险并控制它们。”

　　Hawking made his comments in advance of this year’s Reith Lectures at the BBC, which he will deliver on Jan. 26 and Feb. 2. Those talks will focus on black holes.

　　霍金在今年的瑞思讲座前做出此番评论。他在1月26日和2月2日将出席瑞思讲座，谈话内容主要关于黑洞。

　　Last February, Hawking cautioned against the threat of aggression⁶, stating that: “It may have had survival advantage in caveman days, to get more food, territory or a partner with whom to reproduce, but now it threatens to destroy us all.” Hawking is also one of 1,000 individuals to recently sign an open letterwarning against the danger of building autonomous⁷ weapons.

　　去年二月，霍金就警告过侵略背后的威胁：“在石器时代，侵略也许能带来生存优势，帮助人们获得更多食物、领土或者是共同繁衍后代的伴侣。但是现在它有摧毁我们的威胁。”霍金也是签署警告建造自主武器危险性的公开信的1000人之一。

1 physicist   

n.物理学家，研究物理学的人

参考例句：

• He is a physicist of the first rank.他是一流的物理学家。
• The successful physicist never puts on airs.这位卓有成就的物理学家从不摆架子。

2 hawking   

利用鹰行猎

参考例句：

• He is hawking his goods everywhere. 他在到处兜售他的货物。
• We obtain the event horizon and the Hawking spectrumformula. 得到了黑洞的局部事件视界位置和Hawking温度以及Klein—Gordon粒子的Hawking辐射谱。

3 doom   

n.厄运，劫数；v.注定，命定

参考例句：

• The report on our economic situation is full of doom and gloom.这份关于我们经济状况的报告充满了令人绝望和沮丧的调子。
• The dictator met his doom after ten years of rule.独裁者统治了十年终于完蛋了。

4 guardian   

n.监护人；守卫者，保护者

参考例句：

• The form must be signed by the child's parents or guardian. 这张表格须由孩子的家长或监护人签字。
• The press is a guardian of the public weal. 报刊是公共福利的卫护者。

5 optimist   

n.乐观的人，乐观主义者

参考例句：

• We are optimist and realist.我们是乐观主义者，又是现实主义者。
• Peter,ever the optimist,said things were bound to improve.一向乐观的皮特说，事情必定是会好转的。

6 aggression   

n.进攻，侵略，侵犯，侵害

参考例句：

• So long as we are firmly united, we need fear no aggression.只要我们紧密地团结，就不必惧怕外来侵略。
• Her view is that aggression is part of human nature.她认为攻击性是人类本性的一部份。

7 autonomous   

adj.自治的；独立的

参考例句：

• They proudly declared themselves part of a new autonomous province.他们自豪地宣布成为新自治省的一部分。
• This is a matter that comes within the jurisdiction of the autonomous region.这件事是属于自治区权限以内的事务。