pbs高端访谈:阿尔·戈尔新书探讨科技,全球经济和美国民主

 　　JEFFREY BROWN:And now to our interview with former Vice¹ President Al Gore².

　　Since he conceded the 2000 presidential election, Mr. Gore's of course become best known for his advocacy on climate change issues, work that led to both a Nobel Prize and an Academy Award. Lately, his business and corporate³ connections have also been in the news, when he sold his cable channel, Current TV, to Al-Jazeera, the network owned by the government of Qatar in the Persian Gulf⁴.

　　Gore is back in print now with a new book titled "The Future: Six Drivers of Global Change," examining major shifts in science, technology, the global economy, and American democracy.

　　I spoke⁵ to him earlier today.

　　Al Gore, welcome.

　　2.jpgFORMER VICE PRESIDENT AL GORE, United States: Thank you.

　　JEFFREY BROWN:Now, you wrote that someone asked you years ago about the driving forces of the future. That's how this book started.

　　But I wonder, now that you're done ...

　　AL GORE:Yes.

　　JEFFREY BROWN:... what is it? What is this book? Is it a warning, a wakeup call? What are you trying to tell us about the future?

　　AL GORE:Well, I have always been fascinated with those who try to look over the horizon and see things that are coming at us.

　　And many of the changes now under way have arisen out of the still accelerating scientific and technological⁶ revolution and the hyper-growth that we have in the global civilization and economy in which we now live.

　　Years ago, C.P. Snow wrote a famous essay about the two cultures, saying that the culture in science and technology on the one hand was increasingly separate from popular culture. And I think that's true. And what I have done at times in my career is try to get these expert communities to exercise enough patience to repeat things in simple language, so that I can understand them, and then try to communicate them.

　　And I have done that in this book.

　　JEFFREY BROWN:Well, what's interesting, you have—you have—you tackle very big issues in technology and science and you tackle some very nitty-gritty issues of our time.

　　And I want to focus in on one of them, is the breakdown⁷ of politics.

　　AL GORE:Yes.

　　JEFFREY BROWN:Now, you write about—use the expression that democracy is being hacked⁸.

　　AL GORE:Has been hacked.

　　JEFFREY BROWN:You attribute this to an influence of big money.

　　AL GORE:Yes.

　　JEFFREY BROWN:What does that mean? We just had an election. Is the process tainted¹⁰?

　　AL GORE:Well, when you use the word taint⁹, it implies a lack of legitimacy¹¹. And I don't want to imply that.

　　I do think that it has been degraded and it has been partially¹², significantly captured. I first went to the Congress, the House ofRepresentatives, in the '70s, and I have watched the arc of this degradation¹³. And it is connected to the influence of big money.

　　It's also partly an outgrowth of a tectonic shift from the early days of our republic, when the printing press and the public square that was informed by the printing press has been replaced by television. Now Americans watch television five hours a day, those my age and older seven hours a day on average. Somebody is making up for us. But, as a result, the role of money has been greatly increased. So...

　　JEFFREY BROWN:But to what impact? To the sense that we can't pass legislation?

　　AL GORE:Correct.

　　JEFFREY BROWN:And affecting our elections as well?

　　AL GORE:For a free country to continue thriving, there have to be regular reforms, because any society, any economy that stays in place, you're going to see repeated attempts to exploit the openings for twisting policy to the advantage of those who already have wealth and power.

　　It's a common theme throughout human history.

　　AL GORE:And we have been less vulnerable to that because we have had a free flow of ideas, and people who, for whatever reason, feel that there need to be changes and reforms have had an avenue for convincing their elected representatives to bring about change.

　　They can't do that as much now. The Congress is virtually incapable¹⁴ of passing any reforms unless they first get permission from the powerful special interests who are most affected¹⁵ by the proposal.

　　JEFFREY BROWN:And that affects—for example, right now, we're in the midst of a gun control debate in this country.

　　AL GORE:Yes.

　　JEFFREY BROWN:And you don't think there's—do you think there's the possibility of passing some sort of comprehensive plan, the way the president put it out?

　　AL GORE:I hope that this is an exception. And there are exceptions.

　　But the gag point, if you will, the point, the threshold beyond which there is enough public outrage¹⁶ to capture the attention of the Congress, that threshold has been raised to a ridiculously high level. I'm hoping that we will be able to get reform in the gun laws.

　　But here's the simple mechanism¹⁷ at the heart of this. The way our founders¹⁸ designed American democracy, the role of the elected representatives was to go to Washington and immerse themselves in information and learn more, but always keep in mind, how is this going to affect my constituents¹⁹? What is in their best interests? Or, to put it another way, how are they going to react if I vote this way or make this speech?

　　Now, because representatives and senators spend five to six hours a day every day begging for money from wealthy interests and wealthy individuals to build up a war chest, so they can buy their television commercials, the next day, when they go to vote or make a speech, they think to themselves, how is this going to affect my fund-raising?

　　And so their constituents take a backseat, unless it is an exceptional situation, where the public is passionately²⁰ aroused.

　　JEFFREY BROWN:This—this money and influence question has been one that has been hitting you in the past few weeks since you sold Current TV to Al-Jazeera, Al-Jazeera owned by the government of Qatar, the royal family there. It gets its wealth from—from natural gas and oil, fossil fuels.

　　And what a lot of folks said—and you have been asked about in the last few days, I see—is this question of hypocrisy²¹. How can you, telling all of us that it's important to think about cutting back on our energy use, how can you sell to a company that really is backed by that very thing?

　　AL GORE:Well, I understand the charge.

　　I reject it and disagree with it, but for one simple reason. In doing diligence on what Al-Jazeera really is, you will find very clearly that it has long since established itself as a truly outstanding news gathering²² network.

　　And let me give you one example. Their coverage²³ of the climate crisis is the highest quality and most extensive of any television network. By contrast, we just went through here in the United States a long presidential campaign in a year that was the hottest in American history, with superstorm Sandy and 60 percent of the country in drought, and massive fires in the West, and $110 billion of climate disasters, and not one journalist asked any of the candidates in any of the debates a single question about climate.

　　JEFFREY BROWN:Well, you know, you wrote that, and I have heard you say that recently in interviews, but -- but, therefore, what? Because...

　　AL GORE:Therefore, we, in the United States ...

　　JEFFREY BROWN:No, but I'm ...

　　AL GORE:Yes.

　　JEFFREY BROWN:But I'm asking you, I can't get in the heads of the moderators who didn't ask—they—presumably, they had other things, important things to say.

　　AL GORE:Yes.

　　JEFFREY BROWN:Are you suggesting they didn't ask about climate change because they were influenced somehow by—by money or by big corporations? I mean, that's the, "Therefore, what?"AL GORE:I think that more diversity is a good thing, and fresh points of view articulated by people who are committed to excellence²⁴ in journalism²⁵ is a beneficial change in the American media landscape.

　　And a news organization that regularly and constantly explores this issue, by contrast to the way it has been ignored, up until superstorm Sandy has begun to bring about some change—but we have had a kind of odd silence about this issue.

　　And the United States is the only nation that can lead the world toward a solution on this issue. In any case, this organization has proven itself. It has a fantastic reputation. I'm proud of what Current TV was able to do. We had an excellent lineup of programming. But, as an independent in an age of conglomerates²⁶, without deep pockets, we faced a point, even though we were profitable each year, where we had to make a move.

　　And this organization, I think, is a very good addition to the U.S. television dial.

　　JEFFREY BROWN:Let me ask you, finally, you call yourself a recovering politician. Now, I'm not going to ask you if you're planning to reenter politics, because you're no doubt not going to tell me.

　　But I wonder how you see yourself, your role today. Do you think you have been more effective out of politics or in?

　　AL GORE:Well, I don't have the illusion that there's any position or role in the world with as much potential for bringing about change as that of president of the United States.

　　But that wasn't to be. And I found other ways to serve. And I have found a lot of good ways to make a positive difference. And I plan to continue doing that.

　　JEFFREY BROWN:All right.

　　We're going to continue this discussion online about climate change and other issues. And I hope our viewers will join us then. But, for now, the book is "The Future."Al Gore, thanks for talking to us.

　　AL GORE:Thank you.

1 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

2 gore   

n.凝血，血污；v.（动物）用角撞伤，用牙刺破；缝以补裆；顶

参考例句：

• The fox lay dying in a pool of gore.狐狸倒在血泊中奄奄一息。
• Carruthers had been gored by a rhinoceros.卡拉瑟斯被犀牛顶伤了。

3 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

4 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

5 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

6 technological   

adj.技术的；工艺的

参考例句：

• A successful company must keep up with the pace of technological change.一家成功的公司必须得跟上技术变革的步伐。
• Today,the pace of life is increasing with technological advancements.当今， 随着科技进步，生活节奏不断增快。

7 breakdown   

n.垮，衰竭；损坏，故障，倒塌

参考例句：

• She suffered a nervous breakdown.她患神经衰弱。
• The plane had a breakdown in the air,but it was fortunately removed by the ace pilot.飞机在空中发生了故障，但幸运的是被王牌驾驶员排除了。

8 hacked   

生气

参考例句：

• I hacked the dead branches off. 我把枯树枝砍掉了。
• I'm really hacked off. 我真是很恼火。

9 taint   

n.污点；感染；腐坏；v.使感染；污染

参考例句：

• Everything possible should be done to free them from the economic taint.应尽可能把他们从经济的腐蚀中解脱出来。
• Moral taint has spread among young people.道德的败坏在年轻人之间蔓延。

10 tainted   

adj.腐坏的；污染的；沾污的；感染的v.使变质( taint的过去式和过去分词 )；使污染；败坏；被污染，腐坏，败坏

参考例句：

• The administration was tainted with scandal. 丑闻使得政府声名狼藉。
• He was considered tainted by association with the corrupt regime. 他因与腐败政府有牵连而名誉受损。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 legitimacy   

n.合法，正当

参考例句：

• The newspaper was directly challenging the government's legitimacy.报纸直接质疑政府的合法性。
• Managing from the top down,we operate with full legitimacy.我们进行由上而下的管理有充分的合法性。

12 partially   

adv.部分地，从某些方面讲

参考例句：

• The door was partially concealed by the drapes.门有一部分被门帘遮住了。
• The police managed to restore calm and the curfew was partially lifted.警方设法恢复了平静，宵禁部分解除。

13 degradation   

n.降级；低落；退化；陵削；降解；衰变

参考例句：

• There are serious problems of land degradation in some arid zones.在一些干旱地带存在严重的土地退化问题。
• Gambling is always coupled with degradation.赌博总是与堕落相联系。

14 incapable   

adj.无能力的，不能做某事的

参考例句：

• He would be incapable of committing such a cruel deed.他不会做出这么残忍的事。
• Computers are incapable of creative thought.计算机不会创造性地思维。

15 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

16 outrage   

n.暴行，侮辱，愤怒；vt.凌辱，激怒

参考例句：

• When he heard the news he reacted with a sense of outrage.他得悉此事时义愤填膺。
• We should never forget the outrage committed by the Japanese invaders.我们永远都不应该忘记日本侵略者犯下的暴行。

17 mechanism   

n.机械装置；机构，结构

参考例句：

• The bones and muscles are parts of the mechanism of the body.骨骼和肌肉是人体的组成部件。
• The mechanism of the machine is very complicated.这台机器的结构是非常复杂的。

18 founders   

n.创始人( founder的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He was one of the founders of the university's medical faculty. 他是该大学医学院的创建人之一。 来自辞典例句
• The founders of our religion made this a cornerstone of morality. 我们宗教的创始人把这看作是道德的基石。 来自辞典例句

19 constituents   

n.选民( constituent的名词复数 )；成分；构成部分；要素

参考例句：

• She has the full support of her constituents. 她得到本区选民的全力支持。
• Hydrogen and oxygen are the constituents of water. 氢和氧是水的主要成分。 来自《简明英汉词典》

20 passionately   

ad.热烈地，激烈地

参考例句：

• She could hate as passionately as she could love. 她能恨得咬牙切齿，也能爱得一往情深。
• He was passionately addicted to pop music. 他酷爱流行音乐。

21 hypocrisy   

n.伪善，虚伪

参考例句：

• He railed against hypocrisy and greed.他痛斥伪善和贪婪的行为。
• He accused newspapers of hypocrisy in their treatment of the story.他指责了报纸在报道该新闻时的虚伪。

22 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

23 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

24 excellence   

n.优秀，杰出，(pl.)优点，美德

参考例句：

• His art has reached a high degree of excellence.他的艺术已达到炉火纯青的地步。
• My performance is far below excellence.我的表演离优秀还差得远呢。

25 journalism   

n.新闻工作，报业

参考例句：

• He's a teacher but he does some journalism on the side.他是教师，可还兼职做一些新闻工作。
• He had an aptitude for journalism.他有从事新闻工作的才能。

26 conglomerates   

n.（多种经营的）联合大企业( conglomerate的名词复数 )；砾岩；合成物；组合物

参考例句：

• At the surface, radioactivity of the conglomerates is locally as high as 30 X background. 在地表，砾岩的局部地段的放射性高达30倍本底值。 来自辞典例句
• The conglomerates failed to understand that books could not be sold like soap. 这些联合大企业不懂卖书不象卖肥皂那样。 来自辞典例句