假如地球只剩最后一小时

 　　What would you do in your last 60 minutes?An asteroid¹ is on a collision course with the earth and you have one hour left to live. What would you do in your last 60 minutes?

　　Not surprisingly, the majority of Britons questioned in a survey -- 54 percent -- said they would like to spend it either with or on the phone to their loved ones.

　　But the survey revealed a strong hedonistic streak² -- 13 percent would sit back, accept the inevitable³ and reach for a glass of champagne⁴.

　　Sex appealed to only nine percent while just three percent would turn to prayer.

　　Two percent intriguingly⁵ said they would reach for some fatty food while another two percent decided⁶, with just an hour's life to go, that it was time to start looting.

　　The survey was commissioned by Ziji Publishing to mark the release of "Cloud Cuckoo Land" by debut⁷ novelist Steven Sivell who "uses the classic premise⁸ of an impending⁹ meteorite¹⁰ collision as a metaphor¹¹ for threats to the human race."

　　如果一颗小行星即将与地球相撞，人类只能存活最后一小时，在这最后的60分钟里，你会做些什么呢？

　　不出所料，大多数受访的英国人（54%）说他们会与自己所爱的人在一起，或是给他们打电话。

　　同时，调查也显示了人们强烈的快乐主义倾向——13%的人说他们什么也不会做，只想喝杯香槟，等待最后时刻的到来。

　　只有9%的人表示会去做爱，而仅有3%的人称他们会在最后时刻去做祈祷。

　　有意思的是，2%的受访者说他们会去吃一些高脂肪的食物，另有2%的人决定在最后的一小时去抢劫。

　　该项由Ziji出版社委托开展的调查是为了庆祝小说家史蒂文?斯韦尔的处女作《阴云紧锁的孤岛》的出版。该科幻小说描写了“陨星撞击地球对人类构成的严重威胁”。

1 asteroid   

n.小行星；海盘车(动物)

参考例句：

• Astronomers have yet to witness an asteroid impact with another planet.天文学家还没有目击过小行星撞击其它行星。
• It's very unlikely that an asteroid will crash into Earth but the danger exists.小行星撞地球的可能性很小，但这样的危险还是存在的。

2 streak   

n.条理，斑纹，倾向，少许，痕迹；v.加条纹，变成条纹，奔驰，快速移动

参考例句：

• The Indians used to streak their faces with paint.印第安人过去常用颜料在脸上涂条纹。
• Why did you streak the tree?你为什么在树上刻条纹？

3 inevitable   

adj.不可避免的，必然发生的

参考例句：

• Mary was wearing her inevitable large hat.玛丽戴着她总是戴的那顶大帽子。
• The defeat had inevitable consequences for British policy.战败对英国政策不可避免地产生了影响。

4 champagne   

n.香槟酒；微黄色

参考例句：

• There were two glasses of champagne on the tray.托盘里有两杯香槟酒。
• They sat there swilling champagne.他们坐在那里大喝香槟酒。

5 intriguingly   

参考例句：

• Intriguingly, she gave to the music a developed although oddly malleable personality. 最神奇的是，她的音乐具有成熟却又很奇怪地极富可塑性。 来自互联网
• Intriguingly, the patients brains were riddled with tangles, but not amyloid plaques. 有趣的是，患者的大脑中充满了各缠结，但并没有粉斑。 来自互联网

6 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

7 debut   

n.首次演出，初次露面

参考例句：

• That same year he made his Broadway debut, playing a suave radio journalist.在那同一年里，他初次在百老汇登台，扮演一个温文而雅的电台记者。
• The actress made her debut in the new comedy.这位演员在那出新喜剧中首次登台演出。

8 premise   

n.前提；v.提论，预述

参考例句：

• Let me premise my argument with a bit of history.让我引述一些史实作为我立论的前提。
• We can deduce a conclusion from the premise.我们可以从这个前提推出结论。

9 impending   

a.imminent, about to come or happen

参考例句：

• Against a background of impending famine, heavy fighting took place. 即将发生饥荒之时，严重的战乱爆发了。
• The king convoke parliament to cope with the impending danger. 国王召开国会以应付迫近眉睫的危险。

10 meteorite   

n.陨石；流星

参考例句：

• The meteorite in Jilin Exhibition Hall is believed to be the largest in the world.吉林展览馆的陨石被认为是世界上最大的。
• The famous Murchison meteorite smashed into the Australian ground in 1969.1969年著名的默奇森陨石轰然坠落在澳大利亚。

11 metaphor   

n.隐喻，暗喻

参考例句：

• Using metaphor,we say that computers have senses and a memory.打个比方，我们可以说计算机有感觉和记忆力。
• In poetry the rose is often a metaphor for love.玫瑰在诗中通常作为爱的象征。