VOA常速英语2007年-British Leader Pledges to Lead World in Reducin

By Tom Rivers
London
17 November 2007

Reacting quickly to the latest UN climate change report, Prime Minister Gordon Brown is pledging that Britain will lead the world in reducing carbon emissions¹. For VOA, Tom Rivers reports from London.

In what is being described as a landmark² report, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) describes the impact of global warming in stark³ terms, saying it will affect both rich and poor in the coming decades.

The IPCC says that human activity is largely responsible for warming.  Its report says that as early as 2020, between 75 million and 250 million people in Africa will suffer from water shortages, main Asian urban centers will be at risk for flooding, and many species will disappear from Europe.

In London, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said the message is simple. The time to act is now.

"This is a wake up call for the whole world. Britain has led the way, the first climate change bill in history, now the rest of the world must follow," he said.  "And at Bali in the next few weeks we need a climate change agreement that is global, that is comprehensive, that is radical⁴ and meets our ambitions that we have a 50 percent cut in carbon emissions around the world and we will do even better than that."

The latest report will form the basis for policy makers⁵ when they meet next month in Bali, Indonesia.  The conference will aim to hammer out an agreement that succeeds the Kyoto Protocol⁶, due to expire in five years.

The U.N. says a new global plan must be in place by 2009 to ensure a smooth transition after Kyoto.

Addressing the tough domestic policy measures ahead, Prime Minister Brown said Britain is willing to take up the challenge.

"What we want is low carbon homes, low carbon businesses, low carbon buildings and we are already on the way to doing that," he added.  "But it is also a huge opportunity for Britain, because we can lead the world in environmentally-friendly industries and creating thousands of jobs for British people."

The IPCC report says while the planet will continue to warm in the near term, worst case scenarios⁷ can be avoided if political leaders act quickly, decisively and in concert now.

1 emissions   

排放物( emission的名词复数 )； 散发物（尤指气体）

参考例句：

• Most scientists accept that climate change is linked to carbon emissions. 大多数科学家都相信气候变化与排放的含碳气体有关。
• Dangerous emissions radiate from plutonium. 危险的辐射物从钚放散出来。

2 landmark   

n.陆标，划时代的事，地界标

参考例句：

• The Russian Revolution represents a landmark in world history.俄国革命是世界历史上的一个里程碑。
• The tower was once a landmark for ships.这座塔曾是船只的陆标。

3 stark   

adj.荒凉的；严酷的；完全的；adv.完全地

参考例句：

• The young man is faced with a stark choice.这位年轻人面临严峻的抉择。
• He gave a stark denial to the rumor.他对谣言加以完全的否认。

4 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

5 makers   

n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式）

参考例句：

• The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
• The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 protocol   

n.议定书，草约，会谈记录，外交礼节

参考例句：

• We must observe the correct protocol.我们必须遵守应有的礼仪。
• The statesmen signed a protocol.那些政治家签了议定书。

7 scenarios   

n.[意]情节；剧本；事态；脚本

参考例句：

• Further, graphite cores may be safer than non-graphite cores under some accident scenarios. 再者，根据一些事故解说，石墨堆芯可比非石墨堆芯更安全一些。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
• Again, scenarios should make it clear which modes are acceptable to users in various contexts. 同样，我们可以运用场景剧本来搞清楚在不同情境下哪些模式可被用户接受。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓