2007年VOA标准英语-Atomic Scientists Warn World Moving Closer to N

By Stephanie Ho
Washington
17 January 2007
 
watch Doomsday Clock report

An international group of atomic scientists is warning of the dual¹ threats to the world posed by nuclear weapons and climate change.  VOA's Stephanie Ho reports from Washington.

Kennette Benedict, right, executive director of Bulletin of the Atomic Scientist, along with Lawrence Krauss, left, and Ambassador Thomas Pickering, unveils the 'Doomsday Clock'

Since 1947, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists has maintained the so-called Doomsday Clock. The symbolic³ timepiece measures how close mankind is to midnight, which represents total destruction of the Earth.

Kennette Benedict, the non-profit organization's executive director, announced that the minute hand on the Doomsday Clock is being moved forward two minutes, to five minutes before midnight.

"Not since the first atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, has the world faced such perilous⁴ choices," she said.  "North Korea's recent test of a nuclear weapon, Iran's nuclear ambitions, a renewed emphasis on the military utility of nuclear weapons, the failure to adequately secure nuclear materials, and the continued presence of some 26,000 nuclear weapons in the United States and Russia, are symptomatic of a failure to solve the problems posed by some the most destructive technology on Earth."

She said this time, nuclear annihilation is not the scientists' only concern.

"The dangers posed by climate change are nearly as dire² as those posed by nuclear weapons," she added.  "The effects may be less dramatic in the short term, than the destruction that could be wrought⁵ by nuclear explosions, but over the next three to four decades, climate change could cause irremediable harm to the habitats upon which human societies depend for survival."

At a joint⁶ news conference in Washington and London Wednesday, scientists said they have a responsibility to sound a public warning for people and governments around the world to change their ways.  This point was emphasized by British scientist Stephen Hawking⁷, who is paralyzed and speaks through a computer.

"As scientists, we understand the dangers of nuclear weapons and their devastating⁸ effects, and we are learning how human activities and technologies are affecting climate systems in ways that may forever change life on earth," he said.  "As citizens of the world, we have a duty to share that knowledge and alert the public to the unnecessary risk that we live with every day."

The minute hand on the Doomsday Clock was last changed in February 2002, when it was also symbolically⁹ moved closer to midnight following the September 11, 2001, terror attacks in the United States.

1 dual   

adj.双的；二重的，二元的

参考例句：

• The people's Republic of China does not recognize dual nationality for any Chinese national.中华人民共和国不承认中国公民具有双重国籍。
• He has dual role as composer and conductor.他兼作曲家及指挥的双重身分。

2 dire   

adj.可怕的，悲惨的，阴惨的，极端的

参考例句：

• There were dire warnings about the dangers of watching too much TV.曾经有人就看电视太多的危害性提出严重警告。
• We were indeed in dire straits.But we pulled through.那时我们的困难真是大极了，但是我们渡过了困难。

3 symbolic   

adj.象征性的，符号的，象征主义的

参考例句：

• It is symbolic of the fighting spirit of modern womanhood.它象征着现代妇女的战斗精神。
• The Christian ceremony of baptism is a symbolic act.基督教的洗礼仪式是一种象征性的做法。

4 perilous   

adj.危险的，冒险的

参考例句：

• The journey through the jungle was perilous.穿过丛林的旅行充满了危险。
• We have been carried in safety through a perilous crisis.历经一连串危机，我们如今已安然无恙。

5 wrought   

v.引起；以…原料制作；运转；adj.制造的

参考例句：

• Events in Paris wrought a change in British opinion towards France and Germany.巴黎发生的事件改变了英国对法国和德国的看法。
• It's a walking stick with a gold head wrought in the form of a flower.那是一个金质花形包头的拐杖。

6 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

7 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。

8 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。

9 symbolically   

ad.象征地，象征性地

参考例句：

• By wearing the ring on the third finger of the left hand, a married couple symbolically declares their eternal love for each other. 将婚戒戴在左手的第三只手指上，意味着夫妻双方象征性地宣告他们的爱情天长地久，他们定能白头偕老。
• Symbolically, he coughed to clear his throat. 周经理象征地咳一声无谓的嗽，清清嗓子。