TED演讲：宏观历史(9)

 　　So -- Here we are, back at the convention center. 那么，我们现在回到演讲厅。

　　We've been on a journey, a return journey, of 13.7 billion years. 我们已经在一个旅行、一个追溯137亿年的旅行中。

　　I hope you agree this is a powerful story. 我希望你认同这是一个震撼人心的故事。

　　And it's a story in which humans play an astonishing and creative role. But it also contains warnings. 同时这也是有关人类发挥惊人能力和创造性作用的故事。但是这同时也有警告。

　　Collective learning is a very, very powerful force, and it's not clear that we humans are in charge of it. 集体学习是一种十分，十分强大的力量，而且还不能确定它能否被我们人类控制。

　　I remember very vividly¹ as a child growing up in England, living through the Cuban Missile Crisis. 当我从小在英格兰长大，我对古巴导弹危机下的生活记忆犹新。

　　For a few days, the entire biosphere² seemed to be on the verge³ of destruction. 有几天，整个生物圈好像在毁灭的边缘。

　　And the same weapons are still here, and they are still armed. 同样的武器还是在那里，他们同样还是武装着。

　　If we avoid that trap, others are waiting for us. 如果我们避免那些陷阱，其他的还在等着我们。

　　We're burning fossil fuels at such a rate that we seem to be 我们如此快速地燃烧着石油，以至于我们似乎

　　undermining the Goldilocks conditions that made it possible for human civilizations to flourish over the last 10,000 years. 暗中在破坏让人类文明繁荣了一万年之久的黄金条件。

　　So what big history can do is show us the nature of our complexity⁴ and fragility and the dangers that face us, 因此宏观的历史能做的是展示给我们，我们自身复杂性和脆弱性的一面，以及我们面对的危机，

　　but it can also show us our power with collective learning. 但是它也展现给我们集体学习的力量。

　　And now, finally -- this is what I want. 现在，最后的，是我怎么想的。

　　I want my grandson, Daniel, and his friends and his generation, throughout the world, to know the story of big history, 我想我的孙子丹尼尔和他的朋友，他这代，遍布全球的一代，知道这个宏观的故事，

　　and to know it so well that they understand both the challenges that face us and the opportunities that face us. 以及它如此伟大，能让他们了解不仅仅是我们面临的挑战，同时也是我们面对的机遇。

　　And that's why a group of us are building a free, online syllabus⁵ in big history for high-school students throughout the world. 这也是为什么我们这一群人正在针对全世界高等教育的学生建立一个免费在线的宏观的历史教学纲要。

　　We believe that big history will be a vital intellectual tool for them, as Daniel and his generation 我们相信宏观历史在丹尼尔及他的同世代，

　　face the huge challenges and also the huge opportunities ahead of them at this threshold moment in the history of our beautiful planet. 面对挑战与无穷机会，面对下一个美丽地球上的进化门坎，会成为他们的一个智慧的工具。

　　I thank you for your attention. 谢谢你们的聆听。

1 vividly   

adv.清楚地，鲜明地，生动地

参考例句：

• The speaker pictured the suffering of the poor vividly.演讲者很生动地描述了穷人的生活。
• The characters in the book are vividly presented.这本书里的人物写得栩栩如生。

2 biosphere   

n.生命层，生物圈

参考例句：

• The entire biosphere was becoming more transparent.整个生物圈越来越透明。
• The impact of modern technology on the biosphere is evident worldwide.现代技术对生物圈的影响在全世界是明显的。

3 verge   

n.边，边缘；v.接近，濒临

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• She was on the verge of bursting into tears.她快要哭出来了。

4 complexity   

n.复杂(性)，复杂的事物

参考例句：

• Only now did he understand the full complexity of the problem.直到现在他才明白这一问题的全部复杂性。
• The complexity of the road map puzzled me.错综复杂的公路图把我搞糊涂了。

5 syllabus   

n.教学大纲，课程大纲

参考例句：

• Have you got next year's syllabus?你拿到明年的教学大纲了吗？
• We must try to diversify the syllabus to attract more students.我们应该使教学大纲内容多样化，可以多吸引学生。