常春藤生活英語：改變世界的６度Ｃ

News about global warming is everywhere. There are a number of theories and ideas about this environmental crisis. Some of the information is true, some is false, and some is impossible to prove or disprove. Recently, Mark Lynas, a British scientist, released what might be the scariest news yet. He says if Earth warms up by just six degrees, our entire world could change. This could harm billions of people. It could also happen before the end of the century.

This month, National Geographic Channel looks at this theory in Six Degrees Could Change the World. According to the theory, a change of six degrees could cause major disasters. Numbers of wildfires and typhoons might increase around the world. Rivers and lakes might dry up in some places, and glaciers might melt. There is also evidence that this is already happening. In the UK, warmer weather is completely changing what farmers can grow. Storms in the US and fires in Australia have destroyed buildings and lives. Our world is definitely changing, and the results might be fatal.

全球暖化的新聞隨處都能聽到。有許多理論和想法都跟這個(gè)環(huán)保危機(jī)有關(guān)。這些信息有些是真的，有些是假的，有些則完全無法證實(shí)或反駁。英國科學(xué)家馬克?林納斯最近發(fā)布一則到目前為止，可能是最可怕的新聞。他說假如地球溫度再升高六度，整個(gè)世界或許都會改變。這可能危害到幾十億人。這個(gè)現(xiàn)象也可能在本世紀(jì)末之前發(fā)生。

本月份，國家地理頻道將在《改變世界的6度C》節(jié)目中探討這個(gè)理論。根據(jù)這個(gè)理論的說法，六度的氣溫變化會引起后果不堪設(shè)想的災(zāi)害。全球野火和臺風(fēng)的數(shù)量也許會增加。某些地方的河川跟湖泊可能干涸，冰河也可能溶化。也有證據(jù)指出這種現(xiàn)象已經(jīng)發(fā)生。在英國，較為溫暖的天氣正徹底改變農(nóng)夫可以種植的作物。美國的暴風(fēng)雨和澳洲的火災(zāi)則摧毀了無數(shù)的建筑物和生命。我們的世界的確正在改變，而其后果可能是毀滅性十足的。

Building Your Vocabulary

1.release　vt. 公開發(fā)表，發(fā)布

The film was released last month.

這部片于上個(gè)月上映。

2.harmvt. 危害，傷害

The dog hasn't harmed anyone.

這只狗不曾傷害任何人。

3.major　a. 嚴(yán)重的;重大的

If Ben's behavior doesn't change, he will face major punishments.

如果阿班的行為不改變，他會受到十分嚴(yán)重的懲罰。

4.fatal　a. 毀滅性的;致命的

Heart attacks could be fatal.

心臟病發(fā)作可能會致人于死。

Phrases for Learning

1.a number of...　　一些∕幾個(gè)……

A number of students are in the lab.

有一些學(xué)生在實(shí)驗(yàn)室里。

2.dry up　　干涸

The pond dried up because there wasn't any rain recently.

因?yàn)樽罱紱]下雨，所以池塘干涸了。

參考字詞

1.global warming　n. 全球暖化

2.theory　n. 理論;學(xué)說

3.crisis　n. 危機(jī)

4.disprove　vt. 反駁;證明……是錯(cuò)誤的

5.wildfire　n. 野火，大火災(zāi)

Tips In Use

...and some is impossible to prove...

(……有些則完全無法證實(shí)……)

1.本句中的 prove 當(dāng)不及物動詞用，表『證實(shí)』。

2.prove 亦可作不完全不及物動詞用，表『證明是、顯示』之意，等同于"turn out"，之后接 "to be + 名詞∕形容詞"作主詞補(bǔ)語，而"to be"可省略。

The news proved (to be) false.

=The news turned out (to be) false.

(這則消息證實(shí)是錯(cuò)誤的。)

3. prove 亦可作及物動詞用，表『證明、證實(shí)』，之后接名詞或名詞子句作受詞。

Scientists proved that coffee has bad effects on people.

(科學(xué)家證實(shí)咖啡對人們有不良影響。)