TED演讲：舞者还是用PPT?(4)

 　　And this brings me to my modest proposal. I think that bad PowerPoint presentations are a serious threat to the global economy. 下面我就谈谈我的小小建议。我认为，用幻灯片做的那些糟糕的报告是全球经济的严重威胁。

　　Now it does depend on how you measure it, of course, but one estimate has put the drain at 250 million dollars per day.  当然，这要取决于你如何衡量这件事，但是一种估算是每天损失两亿五千万美元。

　　Now that assumes half-hour presentations for an average audience of four people with salaries of 35,000 dollars,  假设平均每四个人听半小时的报告，四人年薪共三万五千美元，

　　and it conservatively assumes that about a quarter of the presentations are a complete waste of time,  保守估计四分之一的报告纯属浪费时间，

　　and given that there are some apparently¹ 30 million PowerPoint presentations created every day,  而且如果每天约有三千万个用幻灯片做的报告，

　　that would indeed add up to an annual waste of 100 billion dollars.  那么，年损失金额将高达一千亿美元。

　　Of course, that's just the time we're losing sitting through presentations.  当然，这还只是我们浪费的时间，全程听完报告的时间。

　　There are other costs, because PowerPoint is a tool, and like any tool, it can and will be abused. 还有其他费用，因为幻灯片是一个工具，和其他工具一样，幻灯片可以也将会被人滥用。

　　To borrow a concept from my country's CIA, it helps you to soften² up your audience.  借用美国中央情报局的话说，这有助于软化你的观众。

　　It distracts them with pretty pictures, irrelevant³ data.  炫丽的图片，无关紧要的数据，让他们眼花缭乱。

　　It allows you to create the illusion of competence⁴, the illusion of simplicity⁵, and most destructively, the illusion of understanding. 有助于创造称职的假象，简明的假象，最要命地，理解的假象。

　　So now my country is 15 trillion dollars in debt. Our leaders are working tirelessly to try and find ways to save money.  现在美国欠有十五万亿债务。我们的领导人们正不辞辛劳地寻求省钱之道。

　　One idea is to drastically reduce public support for the arts.  一种办法是大规模削减对艺术的公共支持。

　　For example, our National Endowment for the Arts, with its $150 million budget,  比如，美国艺术捐赠基金会的预算为一亿五千万美元，

　　slashing⁶ that program would immediately reduce the national debt by about one one-thousandth of a percent.  砍掉这一项目将为国债削减约十万分之一。

　　One certainly can't argue with those numbers.  我们当然不能和这些数字争论。

　　However, once we eliminate public funding for the arts, there will be some drawbacks.  然而，一旦我们消除给艺术的资金支持，就会出现一些弊端。

　　The artists on the street will swell⁷ the ranks of the unemployed⁸.  街上流浪的艺术家会使失业率猛增。

　　Many will turn to drug abuse and prostitution, and that will inevitably⁹ lower property values in urban neighborhoods.  很多人转而会去吸毒、卖淫，这将不可避免地降低城区的房屋价值。

　　All of this could wipe out the savings¹⁰ we're hoping to make in the first place. 所有这些都将首先导致我们的储蓄挥霍殆尽。

1 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

2 soften   

v.(使)变柔软；(使)变柔和

参考例句：

• Plastics will soften when exposed to heat.塑料适当加热就可以软化。
• This special cream will help to soften up our skin.这种特殊的护肤霜有助于使皮肤变得柔软。

3 irrelevant   

adj.不恰当的，无关系的，不相干的

参考例句：

• That is completely irrelevant to the subject under discussion.这跟讨论的主题完全不相关。
• A question about arithmetic is irrelevant in a music lesson.在音乐课上，一个数学的问题是风马牛不相及的。

4 competence   

n.能力，胜任，称职

参考例句：

• This mess is a poor reflection on his competence.这种混乱情况说明他难当此任。
• These are matters within the competence of the court.这些是法院权限以内的事。

5 simplicity   

n.简单，简易；朴素；直率，单纯

参考例句：

• She dressed with elegant simplicity.她穿着朴素高雅。
• The beauty of this plan is its simplicity.简明扼要是这个计划的一大特点。

6 slashing   

adj.尖锐的；苛刻的；鲜明的；乱砍的v.挥砍( slash的现在分词 )；鞭打；割破；削减

参考例句：

• Slashing is the first process in which liquid treatment is involved. 浆纱是液处理的第一过程。 来自辞典例句
• He stopped slashing his horse. 他住了手，不去鞭打他的马了。 来自辞典例句

7 swell   

vi.膨胀，肿胀；增长，增强

参考例句：

• The waves had taken on a deep swell.海浪汹涌。
• His injured wrist began to swell.他那受伤的手腕开始肿了。

8 unemployed   

adj.失业的，没有工作的；未动用的，闲置的

参考例句：

• There are now over four million unemployed workers in this country.这个国家现有四百万失业人员。
• The unemployed hunger for jobs.失业者渴望得到工作。

9 inevitably   

adv.不可避免地；必然发生地

参考例句：

• In the way you go on,you are inevitably coming apart.照你们这样下去，毫无疑问是会散伙的。
• Technological changes will inevitably lead to unemployment.技术变革必然会导致失业。

10 savings   

n.存款，储蓄

参考例句：

• I can't afford the vacation,for it would eat up my savings.我度不起假，那样会把我的积蓄用光的。
• By this time he had used up all his savings.到这时，他的存款已全部用完。