VOA标准英语2009年-Growing Scientific Consensus on Climat

Causes and solutions remain in dispute

Michael Bowman | Washington, DC 01 December 2009

Droughts, floods, hurricanes, typhoons, retreating glaciers¹, and melting polar ice caps are just some of the occurrences scientists say are becoming more common and intense, or accelerating with alarming speed

This month's UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen comes amid growing scientific consensus² that global temperatures are rising, and that the warming trend is having a measurable impact on life on the planet. According to a 2007 UN intergovernmental panel report on climate change, 11 of the previous 12 years were the warmest on record. Although disagreements persist on the extent to which human activity is responsible for climate change, the Earth's warming no longer appears in doubt, and the long-term consequences look increasingly grim.

Searing droughts. Epic³ floods. Devastating⁴ hurricanes and typhoons. Retreating glaciers. Melting polar ice caps. These are just some of the occurrences scientists say are becoming more common and intense, or accelerating with alarming speed.

In Kenya, the lack of rain this year, decimated livestock⁵ and crops. "The drought has become unbearable," a farmer said. "There is no food, we have no water. It is like we have no tomorrow."

Elsewhere, too much water. Torrential rains in Brazil late last year left dozens dead and thousands homeless.  "My parents have been living here for 58 years, and never saw rain like this," flood victim Osnir Starke stated.

Even in regions long-accustomed to violent weather, such as the Philippines, the frequency and severity of massive storms is on the rise. Earlier this year, a series of cyclones⁸ devastated⁹ much of Bangladesh. "It will become impossible to live in this land, if cyclones keep battering¹⁰ us like this, one after the other. We are poor people, and after this third cyclone⁷, we have nothing left," cyclone victim Tajul Islam.

Are these disasters freak occurrences, or part of a pattern foreshadowing a bleak¹¹ future for man and animals? No one can say for sure, but some indicators¹² are plain to see. From Alaska to Switzerland to Argentina, glaciers that predate humanity are in rapid retreat. At both of the Earth's poles, ice is melting at what scientists say is an alarming rate, endangering numerous species. Over time, rising sea levels are projected to redraw the boundaries of Earth's terrain¹³, placing atolls and vast stretches of low-lying countries under water.

Debate continues as to whether human activity alone accounts for climate change, but most scientists list carbon emissions¹⁴ from fossil fuels as a major contributor. Whatever the causes, experts say, the costs of a warming planet will be high -- particularly for the world's poorest and most vulnerable.

"According to our estimation, 75 percent to 80 percent of the estimated damage will be borne by developing countries," World Bank Chief Economist¹⁵ Justin Lin said. "For the developing country, climate change is something they cannot ignore."

For years, people around the world have heard increasingly stark⁶ warnings from the scientific community about climate change, punctuated¹⁶ by a growing body of anecdotal evidence pointing to a warming planet and worrisome examples of the tragic¹⁷ consequences it could bring. But the warnings and recent events have yet to spark a coordinated¹⁸, worldwide effort to confront climate change, according to former U.S. Vice¹⁹ President Al Gore²⁰, who won the Nobel Peace Prize for his subsequent efforts to raise awareness²¹ about global warming.

"It is up to us to heed²² those warnings, to react to those warnings, and to take appropriate steps in order to prevent that damage," Mr. Gore said. "We have everything we need to act, except perhaps the political will."

That political will is sure to be put to the test in Copenhagen.

 

1 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）

2 consensus   

n.(意见等的)一致，一致同意，共识

参考例句：

• Can we reach a consensus on this issue?我们能在这个问题上取得一致意见吗？
• What is the consensus of opinion at the afternoon meeting?下午会议上一致的意见是什么？

3 epic   

n.史诗，叙事诗；adj.史诗般的，壮丽的

参考例句：

• I gave up my epic and wrote this little tale instead.我放弃了写叙事诗，而写了这个小故事。
• They held a banquet of epic proportions.他们举行了盛大的宴会。

4 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。

5 livestock   

n.家畜，牲畜

参考例句：

• Both men and livestock are flourishing.人畜两旺。
• The heavy rains and flooding killed scores of livestock.暴雨和大水淹死了许多牲口。

6 stark   

adj.荒凉的；严酷的；完全的；adv.完全地

参考例句：

• The young man is faced with a stark choice.这位年轻人面临严峻的抉择。
• He gave a stark denial to the rumor.他对谣言加以完全的否认。

7 cyclone   

n.旋风，龙卷风

参考例句：

• An exceptionally violent cyclone hit the town last night.昨晚异常猛烈的旋风吹袭了那个小镇。
• The cyclone brought misery to thousands of people.旋风给成千上万的人带来苦难。

8 cyclones   

n.气旋( cyclone的名词复数 )；旋风；飓风；暴风

参考例句：

• The pricipal objective in designing cyclones is to create a vortex. 设计旋风除尘器的主要目的在于造成涡旋运动。 来自辞典例句
• Middle-latitude cyclones originate at the popar front. 中纬度地区的气旋发源于极锋。 来自辞典例句

9 devastated   

v.彻底破坏( devastate的过去式和过去分词)；摧毁；毁灭；在感情上（精神上、财务上等）压垮adj.毁坏的；极为震惊的

参考例句：

• The bomb devastated much of the old part of the city. 这颗炸弹炸毁了旧城的一大片地方。
• His family is absolutely devastated. 他的一家感到极为震惊。

10 battering   

n.用坏，损坏v.连续猛击( batter的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The film took a battering from critics in the US. 该影片在美国遭遇到批评家的猛烈抨击。
• He kept battering away at the door. 他接连不断地砸门。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 bleak   

adj.(天气)阴冷的；凄凉的；暗淡的

参考例句：

• They showed me into a bleak waiting room.他们引我来到一间阴冷的会客室。
• The company's prospects look pretty bleak.这家公司的前景异常暗淡。

12 indicators   

（仪器上显示温度、压力、耗油量等的）指针( indicator的名词复数 )； 指示物； （车辆上的）转弯指示灯； 指示信号

参考例句：

• The economic indicators are better than expected. 经济指标比预期的好。
• It is still difficult to develop indicators for many concepts used in social science. 为社会科学领域的许多概念确立一个指标仍然很难。

13 terrain   

n.地面，地形，地图

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• He knows the terrain of this locality like the back of his hand.他对这一带的地形了如指掌。

14 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。

15 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

16 punctuated   

v.（在文字中）加标点符号，加标点( punctuate的过去式和过去分词 )；不时打断某事物

参考例句：

• Her speech was punctuated by bursts of applause. 她的讲演不时被阵阵掌声打断。
• The audience punctuated his speech by outbursts of applause. 听众不时以阵阵掌声打断他的讲话。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 tragic   

adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的

参考例句：

• The effect of the pollution on the beaches is absolutely tragic.污染海滩后果可悲。
• Charles was a man doomed to tragic issues.查理是个注定不得善终的人。

18 coordinated   

adj.协调的

参考例句：

• The sound has to be coordinated with the picture. 声音必须和画面协调一致。
• The numerous existing statutes are complicated and poorly coordinated. 目前繁多的法令既十分复杂又缺乏快调。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

19 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。

20 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。

21 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。

22 heed   

v.注意，留意；n.注意，留心

参考例句：

• You must take heed of what he has told.你要注意他所告诉的事。
• For the first time he had to pay heed to his appearance.这是他第一次非得注意自己的外表不可了。