常春藤解析英語 67 Human Footprint人類足跡

Human Footprint　人類足跡

by Matthew Brown

This month, National Geographic Channel presents a special variety of programs inspired by Earth Day. One of these programs, Human Footprint, looks at environmental issues from a fascinating perspective.Instead of focusing on the planet as a whole, it goes all the way down to the level of a single person.

Imagine that you could see in front of you all the milk you will drink in your entire life. Well, you'd be facing a whopping 15,951 pints of milk. That's a pretty serious job for a bunch of cows. And what if you could look at the amount of water you will have used by taking 7,163 baths, the average for a person over a lifetime? It would be almost one million liters of water. Now how about seeing all the medicine you will take in your life, all in one place? With about 30,000 pills, you could probably fill a pretty big medicine cabinet. Or maybe you'd like to stroll through a small forest made up of the 24 trees that will produce all the books and newspapers you'll ever read.

We've all heard facts and figures about how much energy a country uses, how much pollution a city will produce, and so on. But Human Footprint actually shows an individual's impact on the world in ways that will make you think about the way you live. The sight of the 74,802 cups of tea that an average person will drink is sure to make an impression. The program also looks at other interesting subjects aside from the environment. Did you know that the average total time spent watching television over a lifetime is 2,944 days—or 8 full years? While watching television or doing other things, you will blink your eyes about 415 million times. And you will experience about 104,390 dreams if you live up to 78.5 years old. Tune in to Human Footprint on NGC to find out more!

單字小鋪

1. footprint n. 腳印，足跡

2. fascinating a. 迷人的

3. pint n. 品脫(容量單位)

* 1 品脫美制約 0.47 公升，英制約 0.57 公升。

4. liter n. 公升(容量單位)

5. cabinet n. 櫥，柜

6. figure n. 數(shù)字

7. impact n. 影響(其后與介詞 on 并用)

詞組小鋪

1. focus on...　　將焦點放在……

2. a bunch of...　　很多的……

3. take medicine　　吃藥

4. tune in to...　　鎖定……(頻道)

精解字詞詞組

1. perspective n. 角度，觀點

from a/an...perspective/standpoint

從……的角度∕觀點來看

例: This problem needs to be looked at from a legal perspective.

(這個問題需要從法律的角度來看待。)

2. as a whole　　整體的，整個來看

* as a whole 常置于名詞后，以強調該名詞。

the society as a whole　　整個社會

= the whole society

the school as a whole　　整個學校

= the whole school

例: The performance as a whole was up to standard.

(那場表演整體來看已達到標準了。)

3. whopping a. 極大的

a whopping + 數(shù)字　　極大的……(數(shù)字)

例: A whopping 90% of our orders are for T-shirts.

(我們的訂單高達九成都要訂購 T 恤。)

4. What if...?　　要是……會怎樣∕怎么辦?

例: What if there is no more food left when we arrive?

(要是我們抵達后沒東西吃了怎么辦?)

5. fill vt. 填滿，裝滿

fill A with B　　將 A 裝滿 B，用 B 裝滿 A

例: He filled the bucket with water.

(他把桶子裝滿水。)

6. stroll vi. & n. 漫步，散步

take a stroll　　散步

= take a walk

= go for a stroll

= go for a walk

例: Every evening, the couple takes a stroll in the park.

(每天傍晚這對夫婦都會去公園散步。)

7. ..., and so on　　……等等

= ..., and so forth

= ..., and the like

= ..., etc.

例: Pollution is caused by cars, factories, and so on.

(汽車和工廠等制造了污染。)

8. impression n. 印象

make a good/bad impression on sb

在某人心中留下好印象∕壞印象

例: Larry made a good impression on the coach today.

(今天賴瑞在教練心中留下了好印象。)

9. aside from...　　除了……之外

= apart from...

例: Aside from being an excellent actor, Frank is also an accomplished singer.

(法蘭克除了是杰出的演員外，也是位了不起的歌手。)

10. blink vi. & n. 眨眼

in the blink of an eye　　一瞬間，一眨眼之間

例: It all happened in the blink of an eye.

(這一切都是在一瞬間發(fā)生的。)

11. be concerned with...　　關于……，與……有關;關心……

例: This book is concerned with the changes in Europe.

(這本書的內容是關于歐洲的改變。)

例: Mike is seldom concerned with/about others' feelings.

(麥克很少關心別人的感受。)

12. be worried about...　　擔憂∕擔心……

例: John is worried about the math test we have tomorrow.

(約翰很擔心我們明天的數(shù)學考試。)

中文翻譯

這個月，國家地理頻道將獻上一連串與地球日有關的特別節(jié)目。其中，《人類足跡》節(jié)目從一個很有意思的角度來看環(huán)境議題。這個節(jié)目并非著重在地球整體，而是將重點放在個人層面上。

想象你這輩子會喝下的所有牛奶都在你眼前。嗯，你將會面對 15,951 品脫牛奶的驚人畫面。這對一大群母牛來說可是個大工程呢。再來，如果你能夠看到每人一生平均泡 7,163 次澡所用掉的水，那又是什么光景呢?那可是將近 100 萬公升的水。現(xiàn)在再看看你這輩子會吃掉的藥丸都在同一個地方如何?你可能需要一個大藥柜才裝得下近三萬顆的藥丸呢。或許你想在一座有 24 棵樹的小森林中散步，這 24 棵樹就是生產你一生中所有閱讀的書與報紙的來源。

我們都曾經聽說許多事實與數(shù)據(jù)，說明一個國家能消耗多少能源，一座城市又制造了多少污染等等。但《人類足跡》實際呈現(xiàn)一個人對世界的影響，讓你重新思考自己的生活方式。親眼目睹一個人平均會喝下的 74,802 杯茶肯定讓人印象深刻。本節(jié)目也涵蓋環(huán)境之外的有趣主題。你知道每人一生平均花 2,944 天，也就是整整八年時間看電視嗎?看電視或做其它事情時，你眨眼的次數(shù)總共約 4 億 1 千 500 萬次。如果能活到 78.5 歲，你就會做 10 萬 4 千 390 次夢。鎖定國家地理頻道的《人類足跡》，知道更多有趣的事吧!

1. 《人類足跡》 節(jié)目有何不同?

(A) 它大部分都在談一大堆的食物和飲料。

(B) 它表示城市實際上沒有制造很多污染。

(C) 它是關于一個人而非大群體所造成的影響。

(D) 它是關于一個大量吃喝的人。

題解: 根據(jù)第一段，《人類足跡》節(jié)目并非著重在地球整體，而是將重點放在個人層面，故選 (C)。

2. 下列何者與第一段中的詞組 focusing on the planet as a whole 意思最相近?

(A) 在照片中或電視上秀出整個地球。

(B) 非常擔心地球。

(C) 主題是關于整個地球。

(D) 很努力試著保護地球。

題解: focusing on the planet as a whole 表『將焦點放在地球整體上』，意思最接近于 (C)，故選之。

3. 100 萬公升的水 _____。

(A) 大約是一個人一生中泡澡會用到的水量

(B) 任何人泡一次澡最多會用到的水量

(C) 比泡 7,163 次澡用到的水量多更多

(D) 你泡澡、飲用及刷牙會用到的水量

題解: 根據(jù)第二段，100 萬公升的水是每人一生平均泡 7,163 次澡所用掉的水量，可知應選 (A)。

4. 根據(jù)本文，收看這個節(jié)目可能會對你有何影響?

(A) 你再也不想看到這么多垃圾和廢物的畫面。

(B) 你會發(fā)現(xiàn)你在吃東西方面花了多少錢。

(C) 你會讀較少的書和報紙，也不會再喝牛奶。

(D) 你可能會思考自己的所作所為，而不只是整座城市或整個國家。

題解: 根據(jù)第三段，《人類足跡》實際呈現(xiàn)一個人對世界的影響，讓觀眾重新思考自己的生活方式，故選 (D)。

標準答案: 1. (C)　2. (C)　3. (A)　4. (D)