时代周刊:国际社会刚准备好直面气候问题 2020就来了(3)

We find ourselves on the brink¹ of climate catastrophe² in large part because of the decisions made during a past crisis.

我们发现，我们之所以已经逼近灾难边缘很大程度上都是我们在曾经的一次危机中所做的抉择导致的。

As the world came out of the Great Depression and World War II,

世界各国刚刚摆脱大萧条和二战，

the U.S. launched a rapid bid to remake the global economy— running on fossil fuels.

美国便迅速投入了重塑全球经济——用化石燃料——的行动。

In the first postwar years, Americans moved to suburbs and began driving gas-guzzling cars to work,

战后头几年，美国民众纷纷搬到郊区，开始开燃油汽车上班，

while the federal government built a highway system to connect the country for those vehicles.

为方便这些车辆通行，联邦政府建成了打通全国的高速公路网。

The single biggest line item in the Marshall Plan,

为给欧洲复苏提供资金支持，美国政府发起了马歇尔计划，

the U.S. government program that funded the European recovery, went to support oil,

该计划最大的行式项目就是支持石油行业的发展，

which ensured that the continent’s economy would also run on that fossil fuel.

这样一来，欧洲大陆的经济也离不开石油这种化石燃料了。

Meanwhile, plastic, an oil derivative³, became the go-to building block for consumer goods

与此同时，由于美国在二战期间逐渐积累起了足够的产能，

after the U.S. had developed production capacity for use in World War II.

石油衍生品——塑料也成了消费品的首选材料。

The underlying⁴ philosophy of economic development in this time period was a focus on gross national product,

这一时期的经济发展的基本理念就是注重国民生产总值（GNP），

a term developed by U.S. government economists⁵ during the Depression,

GNP是美国政府的经济学家在大萧条期间提出的一个术语，

which included consumption as a proxy⁶ for prosperity:

在该理念的框架下，消费就是繁荣的代表：

the more we consume, the better off we are, according to this model,

根据这一框架，我们消费的越多，我们的生活就越好，

which, in the postwar era, the U.S. assiduously spread abroad.

这也是战后美国一直孜孜不倦地向海外传播的一个理念。

The promise of endless growth also required an endless supply of oil to power factories, automobiles⁷ and jet planes.

永无止境的增长前景要求工厂、汽车和喷气式飞机都能永无止境地获取石油供应。

In 1945, President Franklin D. Roosevelt sealed a deal with Ibn Saud, the first King of Saudi Arabia,

于是，1945年，富兰克林·D·罗斯福总统与沙特阿拉伯第一任国王伊本·沙特签署了一项协议，

trading security for access to the country’s vast oil reserves.

以保障沙特的安全换取获得该国巨大的石油储备的机会。

Every U.S. President since, implicitly⁸ or explicitly⁹, has continued that exchange.

自那以后，每一位美国总统，无论含蓄还是明确，都延续了这一交易。

The coronavirus pandemic is the most significant disruption yet to the postwar fossil-fuel order.

新冠病毒大流行是迄今为止破坏战后化石燃料秩序破坏得最厉害的事件。

The global economy is expected to contract more than 5% this year, according to the International Monetary¹⁰ Fund (IMF).

据国际货币基金组织(IMF)透露，今年的全球经济预计会收缩5%以上。

This is a challenge so big that it has also created a once-in-a-life-time opportunity to change direction.

这一挑战堪称十分严峻，却也为我们创造了一个千载难逢的转型的机会。

This moment comes just in time.

这一刻来得正是时候。

In 2018, a landmark¹¹ report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the U.N.'s climate-science body,

2018年，联合国气候科学机构“政府间气候变化专门委员会”（IPCC）发布的里程碑式报告警告称，

warned that allowing the planet to warm any more than 2°C above preindustrial levels

任由地球温度上升幅度比工业化前水平高出2°C

would drive hundreds of millions of people into poverty,

不仅会使数亿人口陷入贫困，

destroy coral reefs and leave some countries unable to adapt.

还会破坏珊瑚礁，让一些国家无法适应新的高温。

1 brink   

n.(悬崖、河流等的)边缘，边沿

参考例句：

• The tree grew on the brink of the cliff.那棵树生长在峭壁的边缘。
• The two countries were poised on the brink of war.这两个国家处于交战的边缘。

2 catastrophe   

n.大灾难，大祸

参考例句：

• I owe it to you that I survived the catastrophe.亏得你我才大难不死。
• This is a catastrophe beyond human control.这是一场人类无法控制的灾难。

3 derivative   

n.派(衍)生物；adj.非独创性的，模仿他人的

参考例句：

• His paintings are really quite derivative.他的画实在没有创意。
• Derivative works are far more complicated.派生作品更加复杂。

4 underlying   

adj.在下面的，含蓄的，潜在的

参考例句：

• The underlying theme of the novel is very serious.小说隐含的主题是十分严肃的。
• This word has its underlying meaning.这个单词有它潜在的含义。

5 economists   

n.经济学家，经济专家( economist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The sudden rise in share prices has confounded economists. 股价的突然上涨使经济学家大惑不解。
• Foreign bankers and economists cautiously welcomed the minister's initiative. 外国银行家和经济学家对部长的倡议反应谨慎。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 proxy   

n.代理权，代表权；（对代理人的）委托书；代理人

参考例句：

• You may appoint a proxy to vote for you.你可以委托他人代你投票。
• We enclose a form of proxy for use at the Annual General Meeting.我们附上委任年度大会代表的表格。

7 automobiles   

n.汽车( automobile的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• When automobiles become popular,the use of the horse and buggy passed away. 汽车普及后，就不再使用马和马车了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Automobiles speed in an endless stream along the boulevard. 宽阔的林荫道上，汽车川流不息。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

8 implicitly   

adv. 含蓄地, 暗中地, 毫不保留地

参考例句：

• Many verbs and many words of other kinds are implicitly causal. 许多动词和许多其他类词都蕴涵着因果关系。
• I can trust Mr. Somerville implicitly, I suppose? 我想，我可以毫无保留地信任萨莫维尔先生吧？

9 explicitly   

ad.明确地，显然地

参考例句：

• The plan does not explicitly endorse the private ownership of land. 该计划没有明确地支持土地私有制。
• SARA amended section 113 to provide explicitly for a right to contribution. 《最高基金修正与再授权法案》修正了第123条，清楚地规定了分配权。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

10 monetary   

adj.货币的，钱的；通货的；金融的；财政的

参考例句：

• The monetary system of some countries used to be based on gold.过去有些国家的货币制度是金本位制的。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

11 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。