TED演讲:一项关于电动车的大胆计划(10)

 One car emits four tons. And actually 700 and change million cars today emit 2.8 billion tons of CO2. 一辆汽车排放4吨二氧化碳。现在的7亿辆汽车排放28亿吨二氧化碳。

That's, in the additive¹, about 25 percent of our problem. 那只是我们所有问题的百分之25。

Cars and trucks add up to about 25 percent of the world's CO2 emissions². 汽车跟卡车二氧化碳排放量占世界二氧化碳排放量的百分之25。

We have to come and attack this problem with a focus, with an effort that actually says, 我们得好好的解决这个问题，设定一个坚定的目标，用我们的毅力表态，

we're going to go to zero before the world ends. 在世界末日之前，我们的汽车将不再排放任何二氧化碳。

I actually shared that with some legislators here in the U.S. 事实上，我与部分美国立法委员分享了这个想法。

I shared it with a gentleman called Bobby Kennedy Jr., who is one of my idols³. 我跟Bobby Kennedy Junior分享了这个想法。他可是我其中的一位偶像。

And I told him one of the reasons that his uncle was remembered is because he said we're going to send a man to the moon, 我告诉他，他的叔叔被人们记得的其中一个重要的原因，是因为他说我们要把人类送上月球，

and we'll do it by the end of the decade. 我们将在这十年内达到这个目标。

We didn't say we're going to send a man 20 percent to the moon. 我们并不是说我们有百分之20的把握把人送到月球。

And there will be about a 20 percent chance we'll recover him. 尽管我们只有大概百分之20的把握能把这个人送回来。

He actually shared with me another story, which is from about 200 years ago. 他于是给我讲了一个200年前的故事。

200 years ago, in Parliament, in Great Britain, there was a long argument over economy versus⁴ morality. 200年前，在英国议会存在着一个悠久的争议，一个关于经济与道德的争议。

25 percent -- just like 25 percent emissions today comes from cars 百分之25，像我们今天所说的百分之25的汽车排放量，

25 percent of their energy for the entire industrial world in the U.K. came from a source of energy that was immoral⁵: human slaves.  支持英国整个工业世界的百分之25的能源，来自一个非常不道德的渠道：奴隶。

And there was an argument. Should we stop using slaves? And what would it do to our economy? 于是便有了如此的一个争议。我们应该停止使用奴隶吗？如果我们停止使用奴隶，那我们的经济将变成怎样？

And people said, "Well we need to take time to do it. Let's not do it immediately. 而且人们说，“那可得要花时间啊。”暂时先不要急。

Maybe we free the kids and keep the slaves. 我们可以先把奴隶的孩子释放，把奴隶留着。

And after a month of arguments they decided⁶ to stop slavery, 经过一个月的争论后，他们决定停止奴隶制，

and the industrial revolution started within less than one year. 工业革命在不到一个月内随之诞生。

And the U.K. had 100 years of economic growth. 英国因此获得100年的经济发展。

We have to make the right moral decision. We have to make it immediately. 我们得做出正确的道德选择。我们必须马上行动。

We need to have presidential leadership just like we had in Israel that said we will end oil. 我们需要总统的领导，就像我们在以色列宣誓我们将不再使用石油。

And we need to do it not within 20 years or 50 years, 我们需要在今天行动，不是在20年到50年之内，

but within this presidential term because if we don't, 而是在这个总统任期内，因为如果我们不采取行动，

we will lose our economy, right after we'd lost our morality. Thank you all very much. 我们将失去我们的经济，接着我们将失去我们的道德体系。谢谢大家。

1 additive   

adj.附加的；n.添加剂

参考例句：

• Colour is often an additive in foods.颜料经常是各种食物中的添加物。
• Strict safety tests are carried out on food additives.对食品添加剂进行了严格的安全检测。

2 emissions   

排放物( emission的名词复数 )； 散发物（尤指气体）

参考例句：

• Most scientists accept that climate change is linked to carbon emissions. 大多数科学家都相信气候变化与排放的含碳气体有关。
• Dangerous emissions radiate from plutonium. 危险的辐射物从钚放散出来。

3 idols   

偶像( idol的名词复数 )； 受崇拜的人或物； 受到热爱和崇拜的人或物； 神像

参考例句：

• The genii will give evidence against those who have worshipped idols. 魔怪将提供证据来反对那些崇拜偶像的人。 来自英汉非文学 - 文明史
• Teenagers are very sequacious and they often emulate the behavior of their idols. 青少年非常盲从，经常模仿他们的偶像的行为。

4 versus   

prep.以…为对手，对；与…相比之下

参考例句：

• The big match tonight is England versus Spain.今晚的大赛是英格兰对西班牙。
• The most exciting game was Harvard versus Yale.最富紧张刺激的球赛是哈佛队对耶鲁队。

5 immoral   

adj.不道德的，淫荡的，荒淫的，有伤风化的

参考例句：

• She was questioned about his immoral conduct toward her.她被询问过有关他对她的不道德行为的情况。
• It is my belief that nuclear weapons are immoral.我相信使核武器是不邪恶的。

6 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。