双语:潘基文国际地球日致辞

 　　Message on International Mother Earth Day

　　联合国秘书长潘基文国际地球母亲日致辞

　　22 April, 2015

　　2015年4月22日

　　The word ‘mother’ holds great power.  It evokes¹ memories of the women who gave us life, nurtured² us as infants and helped mould us into who we are today.  The Earth is the ultimate mother – an astounding³ planet that has, since time immemorial, supported life in myriad⁴ forms.  As humans, we outgrow⁵ the need for constant maternal⁶ care.  But we can never outgrow our reliance on Mother Earth.  As long as we live, we need air, water, fertile soil and the countless⁷ other gifts this planet bestows⁸.

　　“母亲”一词蕴含着巨大的力量。它使我们联想到妇女，她们赋予我们生命，把我们从婴儿养育成人，并帮助塑造我们的人格。地球是终极的母亲，这个神奇的星球自远古以来就一直承载着万物。生而为人，我们长大以后就不再需要母亲的持续呵护，却永远不能摆脱对地球母亲的依赖。只要活着，我们就需要空气、水、肥沃的土壤以及这个星球赐予我们的万物。

　　This dependence⁹ makes it all the more astonishing that we have allowed rapid and often unwise human development to disrupt so many of the delicate systems that have functioned harmoniously¹⁰ for millennia¹¹.  We are increasingly aware of the damage our species has wrought¹² – the pollution, the dwindling¹³ resources, the species of flora¹⁴ and fauna¹⁵ forever gone, the rush towards tipping points that may alter the way our planet functions.  Even with this knowledge, we have yet to change our ways.

　　我们如此依赖，却又允许开展快速、并且经常不明智的人类开发活动，破坏这么多已经和谐运行了几千年的微妙系统，岂不更加令人吃惊？我们日益意识到我们这个物种已经造成的损害：污染、资源日益减少、永远消失的动植物物种，并且我们正在急速走向可能会改变我们这个星球运行方式的临界点。我们即便已经认识到这一点，却还没有改变我们的行为方式。

　　But we can change, and 2015 brings a critical opportunity to do just that.  This year, the world aims to finalize¹⁶ the post-2015 sustainable development agenda and reach a new and meaningful universal climate change agreement.  These processes have the potential to redefine our future for the better, by eradicating¹⁷ extreme poverty in all its forms and resetting¹⁸ our relationship with this planet and every living being it sustains.

　　但我们是可以改变的，2015年就是实现改变的一个关键机会。今年，全世界的目标是最后敲定2015年后可持续发展议程，并达成一个新的、有意义的普遍性气候变化协议。这些进程有可能通过消除各种形式的极端贫困，调整我们与这个星球及其维系的每一个生命的关系，从而重塑我们的未来，使之向更好的方向发展。

　　But the big decisions that lie ahead are not just for world leaders and policy-makers.  Today, on Mother Earth Day, I ask each one of us to be mindful of the impacts our choices have on this planet, and what those impacts will mean for future generations.  Not everyone is able to make sustainable choices, but for those who can, simple decisions such as switching to energy-efficient lighting¹⁹ or buying only what you will consume – when accumulated across billions of people – can transform our world.  The power to change begins with you.

　　但摆在面前的重大决定不仅要由世界各国的领导人和决策者做出。在今天的地球母亲日上，我要求我们每一个人都要注意到我们的选择对这个星球的影响，以及这些影响对子孙后代将意味着什么。不是每个人都能够做出可持续的选择，但对于那些能够做出这类选择的人而言，可以做出采用节能照明以及用多少就买多少等简单决定，数十亿人做出的这类决定累积起来，就足以改变我们的世界。改变产生的力量从你我开始。

　　As a global community, we have the opportunity to make 2015 a turning point in human history.  This can be the year our children and grandchildren will remember as when we chose to build a sustainable and resilient future – both for Mother Earth and all those that development has until now left behind.  Let us seize this historic opportunity together.

　　我们作为一个全球社会，有机会让2015年成为人类历史的转折点。我们要让子孙后代记住今年，因为我们在今年选择建设一个可持续、有复原力的未来，既要有利于地球母亲，也要有利于所有那些迄今为止在发展大潮中被拉下的人。让我们共同抓住这一历史机遇。

1 evokes   

产生，引起，唤起( evoke的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The film evokes chilling reminders of the war. 这部电影使人们回忆起战争的可怕场景。
• Each type evokes antibodies which protect against the homologous. 每一种类型都能产生抗同种病毒的抗体。

2 nurtured   

养育( nurture的过去式和过去分词 )； 培育； 滋长； 助长

参考例句：

• She is looking fondly at the plants he had nurtured. 她深情地看着他培育的植物。
• Any latter-day Einstein would still be spotted and nurtured. 任何一个未来的爱因斯坦都会被发现并受到培养。

3 astounding   

adj.使人震惊的vt.使震惊，使大吃一惊astound的现在分词)

参考例句：

• There was an astounding 20% increase in sales. 销售量惊人地增加了20%。
• The Chairman's remarks were so astounding that the audience listened to him with bated breath. 主席说的话令人吃惊，所以听众都屏息听他说。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 myriad   

adj.无数的；n.无数，极大数量

参考例句：

• They offered no solution for all our myriad problems.对于我们数不清的问题他们束手无策。
• I had three weeks to make a myriad of arrangements.我花了三个星期做大量准备工作。

5 outgrow   

vt.长大得使…不再适用；成长得不再要

参考例句：

• The little girl will outgrow her fear of pet animals.小女孩慢慢长大后就不会在怕宠物了。
• Children who walk in their sleep usually outgrow the habit.梦游的孩子通常在长大后这个习惯自然消失。

6 maternal   

adj.母亲的，母亲般的，母系的，母方的

参考例句：

• He is my maternal uncle.他是我舅舅。
• The sight of the hopeless little boy aroused her maternal instincts.那个绝望的小男孩的模样唤起了她的母性。

7 countless   

adj.无数的，多得不计其数的

参考例句：

• In the war countless innocent people lost their lives.在这场战争中无数无辜的人丧失了性命。
• I've told you countless times.我已经告诉你无数遍了。

8 bestows   

赠给，授予( bestow的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Second, Xie Lingyun bestows on basic subject and emotion connotation. 谢灵运赋的基本主题及情感内涵。
• And the frigid climate bestows Heilongjiang rich resources of ice and snow. 寒冷的气候赋予了其得天独厚的冰雪资源。

9 dependence   

n.依靠，依赖；信任，信赖；隶属

参考例句：

• Doctors keep trying to break her dependence of the drug.医生们尽力使她戒除毒瘾。
• He was freed from financial dependence on his parents.他在经济上摆脱了对父母的依赖。

10 harmoniously   

和谐地，调和地

参考例句：

• The president and Stevenson had worked harmoniously over the last eighteen months. 在过去一年半里，总统和史蒂文森一起工作是融洽的。
• China and India cannot really deal with each other harmoniously. 中国和印度这两只猛兽不可能真心实意地和谐相处。

11 millennia   

n.一千年，千禧年

参考例句：

• For two millennia, exogamy was a major transgression for Jews. 两千年来，异族通婚一直是犹太人的一大禁忌。
• In the course of millennia, the dinosaurs died out. 在几千年的时间里，恐龙逐渐死绝了。

12 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。

13 dwindling   

adj.逐渐减少的v.逐渐变少或变小( dwindle的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The number of wild animals on the earth is dwindling. 地球上野生动物的数量正日渐减少。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He is struggling to come to terms with his dwindling authority. 他正努力适应自己权力被削弱这一局面。 来自辞典例句

14 flora   

n.(某一地区的)植物群

参考例句：

• The subtropical island has a remarkably rich native flora.这个亚热带岛屿有相当丰富的乡土植物种类。
• All flora need water and light.一切草木都需要水和阳光。

15 fauna   

n.(一个地区或时代的)所有动物，动物区系

参考例句：

• This National Park is an area with unique fauna and flora.该国家公园区域内具有独特的动物种群和植物种群。
• Fauna is a biological notion means all the animal life in a particular region or period. 动物群是一个生物学的概念，指的是一个特定时期或者地区的所有动物。

16 finalize   

v.落实，定下来

参考例句：

• Let us finalize tonight.让我们今天晚上干完
• 。At the same time,industrial designers work with engineers to finalize components and assembly.同时，工业设计师和工程师一道来完成部件和组装部分的工作。

17 eradicating   

摧毁，完全根除( eradicate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Objective: To study the acute and chronic toxicity of Ten-flavor-acne eradicating-capsule. 目的：探讨复方中药合剂十味平痤胶囊的急性及慢性毒性。
• We are on the verge of eradicating polio in the world. 我们已在世界消除小儿？痹症的边缘了。

18 resetting   

v.重新安放或安置( reset的现在分词 )；重拨（测量仪器指针）；为（考试、测试等）出一套新题；重新安置，将…恢复原位

参考例句：

• Range represents the maximum strain which can be recorded without resetting or replacing the strain gage. 量程表示无需重调或重装应变计就能记录到的最大应变。 来自辞典例句
• Adding weight to the puddle jumper by resetting its inertial dampeners. 通过调节飞船的惯性装置来增加重量。 来自电影对白

19 lighting   

n.照明，光线的明暗，舞台灯光

参考例句：

• The gas lamp gradually lost ground to electric lighting.煤气灯逐渐为电灯所代替。
• The lighting in that restaurant is soft and romantic.那个餐馆照明柔和而且浪漫。