2019年经济学人 气候变化的不确定性(2)

 

Building models is also made hard by lack of knowledge about the ways that carbon—

由于缺乏关于碳在环境中移动方式的知识，建立模型也很困难—

the central atom in molecules¹ of carbon dioxide and methane²,

碳是二氧化碳和甲烷分子中的中心原子，

the main heat-capturing greenhouse gases other than water vapour—moves through the environment.

是除了水蒸气外的主要吸热温室气体。

Understanding Earth's carbon cycles is crucial to understanding climate change.

了解地球碳循环是理解气候变化的关键。

But much of that element's movement is facilitated by living organisms,

但这些元素的大部分运动都是由活的生物体推动的

and these are even more difficult to understand than physical processes.

并且这些甚至比物理过程更难理解。

Plants absorb carbon from the air during photosynthesis³ and then return it during respiration⁴. Animals that eat those plants also respire.

在光合作用下，植物从空气中吸收碳，然后在呼吸过程中将其返回。吃这些植物的动物也呼吸。

Bacteria and fungi⁵ similarly break down dead plants and animals to pillage⁶ materials and energy from them,

细菌和真菌也会分解死去的动植物，从它们身上掠夺物质和能量

releasing carbon dioxide and methane into the atmosphere as they do so.

并在此过程中将二氧化碳和甲烷释放到大气中。

Some organic matter, nevertheless, gets buried rather than broken down, and is thus removed from climatic consideration.

然而一些有机物质会被掩埋而不是分解，因此要将它们从气候的考虑中移除

But, over time, this buried material is transformed by heat and pressure into oil, gas and coal—

但随时间消逝，这种掩埋材料通过加热和压力转化成石油、天然气和煤炭—

substances pertinent⁷ to the climate in the context of one particular biological agent, Homo sapiens.

在特殊的生物媒介—智人的背景下，这些物质和气候有关。

This species uses them to power its civilisation⁸,

这一物种利用它们强大了其文明，

taking mere⁹ decades to fill the air with carbon that took hundreds of millions of years to accumulate underground.

仅仅用了几十年就使空气充满了碳，而这些碳在地下积累了数亿年

Organic matter may also be trapped in ice: on land in areas of permafrost, and at the bottom of the sea in molecular¹⁰ structures called clathrates.

有机物质或许也被困在冰里：在陆地上的永久冻土地区，在海底被称为笼形化合物的分子结构中。

On top of all this, the oceans themselves contain vast amounts of dissolved carbon dioxide,

最重要的是，海洋本身含有大量的溶解二氧化碳，

and many sea creatures draw on that reserve to build themselves shells and carapaces¹¹ out of calcium¹² carbonate.

并且很多海洋生物利用这个保护区，用碳酸钙为自己建造贝壳和甲壳。

Not all of this material is recycled. Some ends up on the seabed and eventually turns into limestone¹³.

并不是所有这种物质都可回收。一些会沉入海床，最终变成石灰岩。

Changes in temperature are also a consideration.

温度变化也是一个考虑因素。

The relationship between warmth and carbon-dioxide concentration in the atmosphere is a two-way street.

气温和大气中二氧化碳浓度之间的关系是双向的。

Warm water holds less of the gas than cold water.

温水所含的气体比冷水少。

During past ice ages, oceans therefore drew carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere as they cooled, amplifying¹⁴ the process of cooling.

在过去的冰河时代，海洋在冷却过程中从大气中吸收二氧化碳，放大了冷却过程。

Today's warmer oceans still act in aggregate¹⁵ as sinks for CO2. The warmer they get, however, the less that will continue to be true.

如今更加温暖的海洋仍是二氧化碳的吸收池。然而，海洋变得越暖，这种情况越不可能持续下去。

1 molecules   

分子( molecule的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The structure of molecules can be seen under an electron microscope. 分子的结构可在电子显微镜下观察到。
• Inside the reactor the large molecules are cracked into smaller molecules. 在反应堆里，大分子裂变为小分子。

2 methane   

n.甲烷，沼气

参考例句：

• The blast was caused by pockets of methane gas that ignited.爆炸是由数袋甲烷气体着火引起的。
• Methane may have extraterrestrial significance.甲烷具有星际意义。

3 photosynthesis   

n.光合作用

参考例句：

• In apple trees photosynthesis occurs almost exclusively in the leaves.苹果树的光合作用几乎只发生在叶内。
• Chloroplasts are the structures in which photosynthesis happens.叶绿体就是光合作用发生的地方。

4 respiration   

n.呼吸作用；一次呼吸；植物光合作用

参考例句：

• They tried artificial respiration but it was of no avail.他们试做人工呼吸，可是无效。
• They made frequent checks on his respiration,pulse and blood.他们经常检查他的呼吸、脉搏和血液。

5 fungi   

n.真菌，霉菌

参考例句：

• Students practice to apply the study of genetics to multicellular plants and fungi.学生们练习把基因学应用到多细胞植物和真菌中。
• The lawn was covered with fungi.草地上到处都是蘑菇。

6 pillage   

v.抢劫；掠夺；n.抢劫，掠夺；掠夺物

参考例句：

• The invading troops were guilty of rape and pillage.侵略军犯了抢劫和强奸的罪。
• It was almost pillage.这简直是一场洗劫。

7 pertinent   

adj.恰当的；贴切的；中肯的；有关的；相干的

参考例句：

• The expert made some pertinent comments on the scheme.那专家对规划提出了一些中肯的意见。
• These should guide him to pertinent questions for further study.这些将有助于他进一步研究有关问题。

8 civilisation   

n.文明，文化，开化，教化

参考例句：

• Energy and ideas are the twin bases of our civilisation.能源和思想是我们文明的两大基石。
• This opera is one of the cultural totems of Western civilisation.这部歌剧是西方文明的文化标志物之一。

9 mere   

adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过

参考例句：

• That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
• It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。

10 molecular   

adj.分子的；克分子的

参考例句：

• The research will provide direct insight into molecular mechanisms.这项研究将使人能够直接地了解分子的机理。
• For the pressure to become zero, molecular bombardment must cease.当压强趋近于零时，分子的碰撞就停止了。

11 carapaces   

n.（龟、蟹等的）硬壳( carapace的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• In an increasingly callous world, we all exist with our own carapaces of scabbed-over sensibilities. 在一个日益麻木不仁的世界上，我们的知觉都已生了硬痂，我们都生活在自己的茧壳之中。 来自英汉文学 - 廊桥遗梦
• They molt carapaces, I molt old body. 他们换壳，我换身体。 来自互联网

12 calcium   

n.钙(化学符号Ca)

参考例句：

• We need calcium to make bones.我们需要钙来壮骨。
• Calcium is found most abundantly in milk.奶含钙最丰富。

13 limestone   

n.石灰石

参考例句：

• Limestone is often used in building construction.石灰岩常用于建筑。
• Cement is made from limestone.水泥是由石灰石制成的。

14 amplifying   

放大，扩大( amplify的现在分词 )； 增强； 详述

参考例句：

• Often they use borrowed funds, amplifying their gains and losses. 他们通常会用借贷的资金交易，从而放大收益或损失。
• An amplifying type (or analog) device, as opposed to digital device. 放大器类（或模拟）器件，相对于数字器件而言的。

15 aggregate   

adj.总计的，集合的；n.总数；v.合计；集合

参考例句：

• The football team had a low goal aggregate last season.这支足球队上个赛季的进球总数很少。
• The money collected will aggregate a thousand dollars.进帐总额将达一千美元。