2007年VOA标准英语-Experts Warn Climate Change Could Hit World's P

By Teri Schultz
Brussels
06 April 2007

It took a contentious¹ all-night session to bridge gaps between scientists and policy-makers, but participants at a U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change conference in Brussels emerged with a document that warns of dire² consequences from global warming. Teri Schultz has the details for VOA from Brussels.The climate change panel's final report doesn't require governments to pass any laws, spend any money or take any action to combat global warming… but what scientists in the working group consider great progress is that now, the some 130 governments who approved the document agree, global warming is happening on every continent.

 

Martin Parry, left, presents report on climate change at EU Charlemagne building in Brussels, 06 Apr 2007

One of the co-authors of the International Panel on Climate Change report, Martin Parry, says this is a significant milestone³.

"That's an important conclusion really because for the first time, we're not arm-waving 'This might happen.' It's what we call empirical information on the ground - we can measure it," he said.

And what scientists have concluded is that the situation is worse than previously⁴ thought. Glaciers⁵ are melting, desert land is increasing and the world's temperature is gradually rising - most of which the IPCC panel attributes to carbon-dioxide emissions⁶ caused by humans - all of which can increase human suffering.

Poor populations, already fragile, will be the worst-affected, Martin Parry warns, especially in the areas of food supply and health.

"Any amount of warming is going to decrease yields and that is exactly what we don't want," he said. "We've got 500 million hungry people in the world today, according to the FAO, and those numbers are likely to increase as a result of climate change."

According to the report, rising temperatures also threaten up to 30 percent of the species around the world with an increased risk of extinction⁷.

Some scientists complained on the sidelines of the meeting that governments had been allowed to water down the scientific findings, but Parry says getting the policy-makers to sign on to the document is of vital importance.

"Painful it may be but it creates the intergovernmental agreed baseline of information," he said. "We may not be right at the frontiers but we consolidate⁸ what we truly know."

In May, the panel will produce a similar report on how humans can help to avert⁹ the worst effects of climate change.

1 contentious   

adj.好辩的，善争吵的

参考例句：

• She was really not of the contentious fighting sort.她委实不是好吵好闹的人。
• Since then they have tended to steer clear of contentious issues.从那时起，他们总想方设法避开有争议的问题。

2 dire   

adj.可怕的，悲惨的，阴惨的，极端的

参考例句：

• There were dire warnings about the dangers of watching too much TV.曾经有人就看电视太多的危害性提出严重警告。
• We were indeed in dire straits.But we pulled through.那时我们的困难真是大极了，但是我们渡过了困难。

3 milestone   

n.里程碑；划时代的事件

参考例句：

• The film proved to be a milestone in the history of cinema.事实证明这部影片是电影史上的一个里程碑。
• I think this is a very important milestone in the relations between our two countries.我认为这是我们两国关系中一个十分重要的里程碑。

4 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

5 glaciers   

冰河，冰川( glacier的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Glaciers gouged out valleys from the hills. 冰川把丘陵地带冲出一条条山谷。
• It has ice and snow glaciers, rainforests and beautiful mountains. 既有冰川，又有雨林和秀丽的山峰。 来自英语晨读30分（高一）

6 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。

7 extinction   

n.熄灭，消亡，消灭，灭绝，绝种

参考例句：

• The plant is now in danger of extinction.这种植物现在有绝种的危险。
• The island's way of life is doomed to extinction.这个岛上的生活方式注定要消失。

8 consolidate   

v.使加固，使加强；(把...)联为一体，合并

参考例句：

• The two banks will consolidate in July next year. 这两家银行明年7月将合并。
• The government hoped to consolidate ten states to form three new ones.政府希望把十个州合并成三个新的州。

9 avert   

v.防止，避免；转移(目光、注意力等)

参考例句：

• He managed to avert suspicion.他设法避嫌。
• I would do what I could to avert it.我会尽力去避免发生这种情况。