VOA慢速英语2021 全球变暖局面下个人可以做些什么？

Last week, the United Nations released a report that warned global warming will get worse in the coming years even if humans immediately stopped producing carbon gas. The UN chief described the report as a "code red for humanity¹."

联合国上周发表的一份报告警告称，即使人类立即停止产生二氧化碳，未来几年全球变暖也会变得更加严重。联合国秘书长将这份报告称为“向人类发出的红色警报。”

The report served as a notice for governments and lawmakers around the world to act. But many people are asking what they can do as individuals to make a difference.

该报告提醒世界各国政府和议员采取行动。但是很多人都在问，作为个人他们能够做些什么来改变现状。

Some people might think making a change to their lives would not make much of a difference, said Pim Nusselder. He is part of a Dutch group that asks people to make good choices every day when it comes to using energy, creating waste and buying things.

皮姆·努塞尔德表示，有些人可能认为改变他们的生活不会有太大效果。他是一家荷兰组织的成员，该组织要求人们每天在使用能源、制造垃圾和购买食物时做出正确选择。

Nusselder said people might think their individual choices would be like a single drop of water on a boiling surface.

努塞尔德说，人们可能认为他们的个人选择就像是杯水车薪。

But, Nusselder explained, if 17 million people do 10 good things, it would be like 170 million drops of water on the hot surface.

但是努塞尔德解释说，如果1700万人做10件有益的事情，那就是涓滴成河。

"That's how you extinguish² wildfires," Nusselder said.

努塞尔德表示：“这就是个人发挥的作用。”

The European Union issued a report this year that showed more people than ever are making choices to fight climate change. They are careful about the food they eat and how they get around, the report said.

欧盟今年发布的一份报告显示，越来越多人开始为应对气候变化做出选择。报告称，他们对食用的食物和出行方式都很注意。

Nusselder said he understands people may feel "a sense of hopelessness." But he said the problem becomes bigger, the longer people wait.

努塞尔德表示，他理解人们可能会有绝望感。但他表示问题越大，解决时间越长。

Lukas Janssens is one person working to help keep the planet cooler. He is an urban shepherd in Belgium. A shepherd is someone who takes care of sheep. Janssens said he wants his sheep to be useful.

卢卡斯·詹森斯致力于让地球更凉爽。他是比利时的一位城市牧羊人。牧羊人是指照管羊群的人士。詹森斯表示，他希望他的羊群有用。

So, he takes his group of 270 sheep to a cemetery³ – a place where dead people are buried. The sheep eat grass so that workers at the cemetery do not have to use machines to cut it.

于是，他带着他的270只羊去了一个墓地，也就是埋葬死者的地方。羊吃草，这样墓地工人就不必使用机器来割草了。

He knows that his business, called The Antwerp City Shepherd, will not prevent global warming.

他知道他的这家“安特卫普城市牧羊人”的公司无法阻止全球变暖。

"But it is another step to build a more ecological⁴ society," Janssens said.

詹森斯表示：“但是这是朝着建立一个更生态社会迈出的又一步。”

After the U.N. report, the question remains⁵: Will world leaders choose to protect the environment when they meet in Scotland in November?

在这份联合国报告发布之后，疑问仍然存在：世界领导人11月在苏格兰会面时会选择保护环境吗？

Nations are gathering⁶ to make decisions designed to keep warming from going more than 1.5 degrees Celsius⁷ above readings taken in the late 1800s. Right now, the temperature has increased 1.1 degrees.

各国将齐聚一堂，制定旨在防止气温比19世纪末读数超过1.5摄氏度的决定。目前气温已经上升了1.1摄氏度。

No matter what the world leaders do, there are a lot of ways individual people can make choices to protect the environment. People can change what they eat or travel without getting on an airplane, for example.

无论世界领导人怎么做，个人都可以通过多种方式来保护环境。例如，人们可以改变他们的饮食，或是不乘坐飞机出行。

Benjamin Clarysse is a bio-engineer who works with a number of environmental groups in northern Belgium. He knows not everyone can become an urban shepherd. But he is happy there are "a variety of initiatives⁸" that people can take.

班杰明·克莱利斯是一名生物工程师，他同比利时北部的多家环保组织合作。他知道不是每个人都可以变成城市牧羊人。但是他很高兴有采取各种各样的举措可供人们采纳。

However, he warns, political leaders still need to promise changes. They cannot just depend on citizens doing their part.

然而他警告说，政治领导人仍然需要承诺改变。他们不能仅仅依靠公民尽自己的一份力量。

"They cannot just say that everyone should just do a little bit of the work," Clarysse said. "Depending on just the goodwill⁹ of people won't get you there."

克莱利斯表示：“他们不能光说，每个人都应该做一些工作。仅仅靠人们的善念无法达成目标。”

1 humanity   

n.人类，[总称]人(性)，人道[pl.]人文学科

参考例句：

• Such an act is a disgrace to humanity.这种行为是人类的耻辱。
• We should treat animals with humanity.我们应该以仁慈之心对待动物。

2 extinguish   

v.压制，压抑，熄灭，扑灭（火）等

参考例句：

• You may extinguish a nation,but not the love of liberty.你可以消灭一个国家，但不能消灭对自由的热爱。
• It took about 50 minutes to extinguish the fire.大约花了50分钟才把火扑灭。

3 cemetery   

n.坟墓，墓地，坟场

参考例句：

• He was buried in the cemetery.他被葬在公墓。
• His remains were interred in the cemetery.他的遗体葬在墓地。

4 ecological   

adj.生态的，生态学的

参考例句：

• The region has been declared an ecological disaster zone.这个地区已经宣布为生态灾难区。
• Each animal has its ecological niche.每种动物都有自己的生态位.

5 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

6 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

7 Celsius   

adj.摄氏温度计的，摄氏的

参考例句：

• The temperature tonight will fall to seven degrees Celsius.今晚气温将下降到七摄氏度。
• The maximum temperature in July may be 36 degrees Celsius.七月份最高温度可能达到36摄氏度。

8 initiatives   

n.主动性( initiative的名词复数 )；主动的行动；初步；主动权

参考例句：

• Economic policy is liberalized to encourage initiatives in production. 放宽经济政策以鼓励生产的积极性。
• They are tireless in thinking up initiatives. 他们不厌其烦地想出种种采取主动行为的倡议。

9 goodwill   

n.善意，亲善，信誉，声誉

参考例句：

• His heart is full of goodwill to all men.他心里对所有人都充满着爱心。
• We paid ￡10,000 for the shop,and ￡2000 for its goodwill.我们用一万英镑买下了这家商店，两千英镑买下了它的信誉。