美国国家公共电台 NPR Skipping School Around The World To Push For Action On Climate Change

 

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Students across the country are skipping school today to support efforts to combat climate change. It's being called a Youth Climate Strike, an extension of similar strikes around the world, calling for more action to address global warming. Here's NPR's Jeff Brady.

JEFF BRADY, BYLINE¹: In Denver, 12-year-old Haven² Coleman says her environmental activism began with a campaign to help manatees³.

HAVEN COLEMAN: And I ended up saving one manatee⁴. His name is Cheese. He's adorable. But - so I've always been passionate⁵ about fixing something when I see it's - something's wrong.

BRADY: On climate change, Coleman says, she was inspired by Greta Thunberg in Sweden. She skipped school to protest outside Parliament last summer. Coleman searched for other young activists⁶ interested in a similar school strike in the U.S. and found her first colleague in Minnesota.

HAVEN: I was like, OK, could you be a state lead over Instagram? And then she said, yeah, sure. And I was like, cool. And then we became co-directors.

BRADY: The campaign has grown. Now climate strikes are scheduled in all but a few states today. Among organizers' demands, they want Congress to pass the Green New Deal, which would speed the country's transition to carbon-free energy and remake the economy to spread wealth more evenly. Coleman says the campaign received some help from adults, but much of the preparation was done by young volunteers across the country.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: Maybe we want to go over this with a little bit more yellow.

BRADY: This group met last weekend in a Philadelphia rowhouse to paint a long cloth banner that reads, it's our future.

SABIRAH MAHMUD: We're doing our art build for the strike, so we're making banners. We're making posters and signs.

BRADY: Sixteen-year-old Sabirah Mahmud leads a team of about 20 people organizing the Philadelphia Youth Climate Strike. She has a personal motivation. Her family is from Bangladesh, where flooding is a big problem.

SABIRAH: So the thing is that, like, sea levels are rising. And Bangladesh is one of the countries that - where, like, climate change is really happening.

BRADY: Across the room at a kitchen table, Enya Xiang is writing a letter to her congresswoman. Xiang is a 16-year-old sophomore⁷ at a high school in the suburbs and has worked on logistics for the strike.

ENYA XIANG: I had to go down into the city to file the permits and figure out all the sound technology we need, figure out how to get microphones and all that. And dealing⁸ with adults is a little scary.

BRADY: Some adults are critical of the Youth Climate Strike, both its goals and methods.

SCOTT SEGAL: I do not like the symbolism of sacrificing education to make political points.

BRADY: Scott Segal is a partner with the law firm Bracewell, which represents energy companies. He welcomes these newcomers to the public policy arena⁹ but, just like some moderate Democrats¹⁰, says the Green New Deal is not realistic. And Segal says energy companies are doing a lot already.

SEGAL: Industry believes that policy to address global climate change is a 24-hour-a-day, 365-day-a-year job that they're already engaged in. And they're moving in that direction.

BRADY: But Haven Coleman says they're not moving fast enough. She says striking school is extreme, and it's done with a goal in mind.

HAVEN: To get the adults attention because you're not really listening to us now, so this is the radical¹¹ stuff that we need to do to get your attention.

BRADY: And if this strike doesn't accomplish that, Coleman says another is planned in May. Jeff Brady, NPR News, Philadelphia.

1 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

2 haven   

n.安全的地方，避难所，庇护所

参考例句：

• It's a real haven at the end of a busy working day.忙碌了一整天后，这真是一个安乐窝。
• The school library is a little haven of peace and quiet.学校的图书馆是一个和平且安静的小避风港。

3 manatees   

n.海牛（水生哺乳动物，体宽扁，尾圆，有鳃状肢）( manatee的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The manatees tamed quickly. 海牛很快地被驯服。 来自互联网
• Gentle and slow moving, manatees are said to be the mythical mermaids of sailors' imaginations. 海牛游动温和而缓慢，被认为是海员遐想中富有神秘色彩的美人鱼。 来自互联网

4 manatee   

n.海牛

参考例句：

• We watched dolphin,manatee,sea lion and whale shows.我们看了海豚、海牛、海狮和鲸的表演。
• One of the most extraordinary river creatures is Amazonian manatee.其中河里最特别的生物之一要数亚马孙海牛。

5 passionate   

adj.热情的，热烈的，激昂的，易动情的，易怒的，性情暴躁的

参考例句：

• He is said to be the most passionate man.据说他是最有激情的人。
• He is very passionate about the project.他对那个项目非常热心。

6 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 sophomore   

n.大学二年级生；adj.第二年的

参考例句：

• He is in his sophomore year.他在读二年级。
• I'm a college sophomore majoring in English.我是一名英语专业的大二学生。

8 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

9 arena   

n.竞技场，运动场所；竞争场所，舞台

参考例句：

• She entered the political arena at the age of 25. 她25岁进入政界。
• He had not an adequate arena for the exercise of his talents.他没有充分发挥其才能的场所。

10 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。