纪录片《全球怪象》 第19期：最冷的冬天

But the intriguing¹ question

但更引人关注问题是

is the effect it might have been having on our winters.

这种气候对冬季可能产生的影响

As Christmas 2009 approached,

2009年圣诞将近时

Britain started to shiver.

英国开始瑟瑟发抖了

Yeah, it could be a record-breaking cold night tonight...

今晚可能迎来史无前例的低温

The cold went on, day after day.

寒冷日复一日

Temperatures are going to plunge² further as the day goes on...

气温将持续下降

It was the coldest winter for 30 years.

那是三十年来最寒冷的冬天

Just a year later, records were being broken again.

仅一年后 纪录再次被打破

December 2010 was the coldest

2010年12月

for over 100 years.

出现了百年来的最低温

Brought to a standstill as heavy snow continues to fall...

因持续大雪被迫关闭

The weather was so brutal³,

因天气过于恶劣

that Heathrow Airport was closed

希斯罗机场被迫关闭

at one of the busiest times of the year.

那时正值一年中的繁忙时期

The temperature's set to plummet⁴ even further...

气温将会继续下降

But how was this possible

全球并非变得更冷

when the world was supposed to be getting warmer, not colder?

而是越来越暖 为何会出现这种现象呢

1 intriguing   

adj.有趣的；迷人的v.搞阴谋诡计(intrigue的现在分词)；激起…的好奇心

参考例句：

• These discoveries raise intriguing questions. 这些发现带来了非常有趣的问题。
• It all sounds very intriguing. 这些听起来都很有趣。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 plunge   

v.跳入，(使)投入，(使)陷入；猛冲

参考例句：

• Test pool's water temperature before you plunge in.在你跳入之前你应该测试水温。
• That would plunge them in the broil of the two countries.那将会使他们陷入这两国的争斗之中。

3 brutal   

adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的

参考例句：

• She has to face the brutal reality.她不得不去面对冷酷的现实。
• They're brutal people behind their civilised veneer.他们表面上温文有礼，骨子里却是野蛮残忍。

4 plummet   

vi.(价格、水平等)骤然下跌；n.铅坠；重压物

参考例句：

• Mengniu and Yili have seen their shares plummet since the incident broke.自事件发生以来，蒙牛和伊利的股票大幅下跌。
• Even if rice prices were to plummet,other brakes on poverty alleviation remain.就算大米价格下跌，其它阻止导致贫困的因素仍然存在。