What Will Really Happen the Day After Tomorrow? 「明天过后」之后呢？
- 详细资料
- 创建于 2004年9月27日
- 最后更新于 2024年5月25日
- 发布于 2011年7月23日
- 作者：Mike Lee
- 点击数：352
课文朗读
课文讲解
Talk of global warming is hardly new, but it is for Hollywood. Hollywood’s special-effects heavy blockbuster, The Day After Tomorrow, presents a high-octane interpretation of global warming. In the movie, an abrupt climate change plunges the Earth into a catastrophic new ice age. Though the scenario depicted in the movie is exaggerated, at its core is a kernel of truth.
谈论全球暖化几乎不是什么新鲜事了，但对好莱坞而言这议题仍很新鲜。「明天过后」是一部充斥着好莱坞特效的卖座巨片，它雷霆万钧地描述全球暖化的严重后果。这一部电影中，突如其来的气候转变使地球陷入了灾难性的新冰河时期。虽然情节太过夸大，但其核心却丝毫不假。
Most scientists believe that increased carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere combined with deforestation are causing global warming. In the past century, the average worldwide temperature has risen about 0.6 degrees Celsius and sea levels have risen 10 to 20 cm. Though these changes are expected to wreak mayhem over decades and centuries, not overnight, the danger is real.
大多数的科学家都相信大气中升高的二氧化碳含量和滥伐森林是导致全球暖化的原因。上一世纪，全球平均温度升高了摄氏0.6度，而且海平面上升了10至20公分。虽然一般认为这些改变所带来的灾难会发生在几世纪以后，不是一夕之间，但其危险是千真万确的。
Many governments appear to be taking global warming more seriously. The Kyoto Accord, signed in 2001, aims to reduce atmospheric levels of greenhouse gas. Scientists believe it is a tentative first step in the right direction.
很多国家显然比较严肃看待全球暖化的问题。2001年签订的京都协议目的在于降低大气中温室效应气体的含量，科学家们咸信该协议是朝正确方向迈进的试验性第一步。
Some environmentalists are concerned that Hollywood has hijacked a serious issue. As Janet Swain, a leading climate scientist said, “Climate change is already happening right now, not the day after tomorrow. “ But if Hollywood is raising awareness of this fact, perhaps its exaggerations should be forgiven.
有些环保人士担心好莱坞会把一个严肃的议题给娱乐化了。正如同顶尖的气象科学家珍妮史温所说：「气候变化此时此刻已经发生了，不是未来才会发生。」但是如果好莱坞让人们对这个事实有更深的体认，那我们大概就不用追究它过于夸张的剧情了。
Vocabulary
单词发音
blockbuster [ˋblɑk͵bʌstɚ] n.【非正式】轰动一时的电影[书籍]
high-octane [ˋhaɪˋɑkten] adj. 激动人心的; 扣人心弦的; 〔汽油〕高辛烷值的 high-powered; dynamic
abrupt [əˋbrʌpt] adj. 突然的；意外的
plunge [plʌndʒ]… into 使某人/某物陷入[遭受]某种情况
catastrophic [͵kætəˋstrɑfɪk] adj. 悲惨的,灾难的
kernel [ˋkɝn!] n.【喻】核心，要点
deforestation [͵difɔrəsˋteʃən] n. 砍伐森林
Celsius [ˋsɛlsɪəs] adj. 摄氏的
wreak [rik] v. 造成（破坏等）；施行（报复等）
mayhem [ˋmehɛm] n. 有意的破坏（或暴行）
accord [əˋkɔrd] n.（国家之间的）协议；条约
tentative [ˋtɛntətɪv] adj. 试验性的，尝试的
hijack [`haɪˏdʒæk] v. 操纵（会议等，以推销自己的意图）; 劫持〔飞机等〕
awareness [əˋwɛrnɪs] n. 意识
Sentence of the Day
“The ends justify the means.” -- traditional saying
为达目的，不择手段。
justify [ˋdʒʌstə͵faɪ] v. 证明……是正当的；为……辩护
课文讲解
Best friends Kirk and Tina are leaving a Manhattan movie theater after seeing The Day After Tomorrow: 寇克和他好友蒂娜在曼哈顿的一家电影院看完电影「明天过后」正要离开：
T: Wow, that movie really sent shivers down my spine! New York freezing overnight seems pretty unlikely, but it makes you think about the consequences of global warming.
哇，那部电影真让我吓出一身冷汗！一夜之间纽约就结冰了，这似乎不太可能，但是会让你好好思考全球暖化的后果。
K: I read in the science news that by 2050 more than a million species could become extinct because of global warming.
我有看过科学报导说，至2050年时可能会有一百多万的物种因为全球暖化而绝种。
T: There are tons of potential consequences. Rising ocean levels are slowly submerging much of Polynesia and other small islands worldwide. And low-lying countries, like Holland and Bangladesh, are in a similar bind.
还有很多可能的后果。海平面上升的结果会慢慢地把玻里尼西亚群岛的许多岛屿和世界上其他小岛淹没。而地处低洼的国家，像荷兰与孟加拉国国国国国都面临相同的困境。
K: On top of that, higher water levels mean more damage from less powerful storms. That’s a big deal for us in the Big Apple, too.
还有，海平面升高意谓着即使较小的暴风雨也将造成严重灾害。对我们纽约市民来说，那也是很不得了的。
T: It sure is. The saddest thing is that we here in the U.S. produce at least one-quarter of all greenhouse gases, but America has pulled out of the Kyoto Accord.
没错。最令人难过的是美国制造了全世界至少四分之一的温室效应体，但却不是京都协议的缔约国。
K: Well, private citizens like us can still do something. For example, we can take public transportation or ride a bicycle instead of driving a car.
嗯，像我们这种小市民还是能尽些绵薄之力。譬如说，我们可以搭乘大众运输交通工具，或是骑单车，而不要自己开车。
T: Let’s do our little part and take the subway home instead of a cab.
我们来尽点本分，搭地铁回家，不要坐计乘车。
K: As long as it’s air-conditioned. I’ve had enough warming for one day.
只要是有冷气的都行，我今天已经「暖化」够了。
－by Darshan Tyler
Vocabulary
单词发音
sent shivers down one’s spine 令…毛骨悚然
extinct [ɪkˋstɪŋkt] adj. 绝种的，灭绝的
ton [tʌn] n.【口】大量，许多[（+of）]
submerge [səbˋmɝdʒ] v. 淹没
Polynesia [͵pɑləˋniʒə] n. 玻里尼西亚（中太平洋的岛群）
low-lying [ˋloˋlaɪɪŋ] adj. 低的；低洼的
Bangladesh [ˋbæŋglə͵deʃ] n. 孟加拉国国国共和国
bind [baɪnd] n.【口】困境，尴尬处境 a difficult, restrictive, or unresolvable situation
on top of that 除此之外；最重要的是 in addition to the bad thing already mentioned
Big Apple【俚】纽约市
pull out 退出 to withdraw, as from a situation or commitment
cab [kæb] n. 出租车
Sentence of the Day
“Think globally, act locally.”
思想全球化，行动本土化。