VOA常速英语2016--应对气候变化以消除极端贫困

应对气候变化以消除极端贫困

Next an editorial reflecting the views of the United States government.

下面的社论反映了美国政府的观点。

Climate change is the defining issue of our time, because it affects nearly every aspect of human lives.Floods, droughts, heat waves and other types of extreme weather reduce harvests, threaten the lives and livelihoods¹ of those living on the margins², and have a disproportionate impact on the extreme poor.

气候变化是这个时代的关键问题，它影响到人类生活的几乎方方面面。洪灾、干旱、热浪等其他极端天气令作物减产，威胁到生活在边远地区的人们的生命和生活，对极端贫困人口造成极大的影响。

Because many of the poorest people live off the land, they are more susceptible³ to the impacts of extreme weather conditions.Climate change is expected to lead to increased frequency and intensity⁴ of extreme weather events, such as storms and droughts.Extreme weather events can have devastating⁵ effects on subsistence farmers.While no one event can be attributed to climate change, the East African drought of 2011-2012 contributed to a famine in Somalia, which contributed to the deaths of an estimated quarter of a million people.In Nepal, Pakistan, Bangladesh and some parts of South and East Asia,the combination of flooding caused by unusually heavy rains, poverty and low levels of development regularly brings hunger and death.

因为很多最贫困人口靠山吃山靠水吃水，他们就更容易受到极端气候的影响。气候变化将导致极端气候事件发生的频率和强度增加，这些极端气候包括风暴和干旱。极端气候事件对勉强糊口的农民造成极大的破坏。尽管没有哪个事件可归因于气候变化，2011-2012年间东非的旱灾导致索马里出现饥荒，据估计造成25万人死亡。在尼泊尔、巴基斯坦、孟加拉国和东南亚部分地区，罕见暴雨、贫困和低发展水平几个因素相结合，经常会造成饥饿和死亡。

 

Two years ago, President Barack Obama set a new goal for United States development policy,eradicating extreme poverty within one generation.In the recent past, that would have meant an extra push to deliver humanitarian⁶ aid,to produce more energy, and to increase educational opportunity for both children and adults.But now, the effort to eliminate extreme poverty must include programs that will help everyone,especially the extremely poor, prepare for the effects of climate change.

两年前，巴拉克·奥巴马总统提出了美国发展政策新目标，也就是在一代人的时间内消除极端贫困。就在不久前，这一目标还意味着大力提供人道主义援助，生产更多的能源，并为儿童和成年人提供更多教育机会。但是现在，消除极端贫困的工作必须包括能帮助到每个人的项目，尤其是帮助极端贫困者的项目，以及应对气候变化效应的项目。

1 livelihoods   

生计，谋生之道( livelihood的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• First came the earliest individualistic pioneers who depended on hunting and fishing for their livelihoods. 走在最前面的是早期的个人主义先驱者，他们靠狩猎捕鱼为生。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• With little influence over policies, their traditional livelihoods are threatened. 因为马赛族人对政策的影响力太小，他们的传统生计受到了威胁。

2 margins   

边( margin的名词复数 )； 利润； 页边空白； 差数

参考例句：

• They have always had to make do with relatively small profit margins. 他们不得不经常设法应付较少的利润额。
• To create more space between the navigation items, add left and right margins to the links. 在每个项目间留更多的空隙，加左或者右的margins来定义链接。

3 susceptible   

adj.过敏的，敏感的；易动感情的，易受感动的

参考例句：

• Children are more susceptible than adults.孩子比成人易受感动。
• We are all susceptible to advertising.我们都易受广告的影响。

4 intensity   

n.强烈，剧烈；强度；烈度

参考例句：

• I didn't realize the intensity of people's feelings on this issue.我没有意识到这一问题能引起群情激奋。
• The strike is growing in intensity.罢工日益加剧。

5 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。

6 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。