研究生英语精读教程课文原文+翻译+短文unit5

The End Is Not at Hand

The environmental rhetoric overblown.

The planet will survive

Robert J. Samuelson

Whoever

coined

the

phrase

the

planet

is

a

public

relation

genius.

It

conveys

the

sense

of

impending

catastrophe

and high purpose that has wrapped environmentalism in an aura

of

moral

also

typifies

environmentalism's

rhetorical

excesses,

which,

in

any

other

context,

would

be

seen

as

wild

exaggeration or simple dishonesty.

无论是谁杜撰了“拯救地球

”这一说 法，他都是一位

公共关系方面的天才。这一说法既表达了对即将来临的灭顶

之灾的意识，也满怀着使环境保护论带有道义紧迫感这一大

的目标。同时这种 说法也表明环境保护论言过其实，这种夸

大在其他任何场合都会被视为是在危言耸听或愚 蠢的欺骗。

Up to a point, our environmental awareness has checked a

mindless enthusiasm for unrestrained economic have

sensibly

curbed

some

of

growth's

harmful

side

effects.

But

environmentalism

increasingly

resembles

a

holy

crusade

addicted to hype and ignorant of environmental ill

is

depicted

as

an

onrushing

calamity

that

—

if

not

stopped

will

end life as we know it.

就某种程 度而言，我们的环境意识遏制了对自由经济增

长所表现出的盲目热情。我们已明智地抑制 了增长中所出现

的一些有害的副作用，但是环境保护论却越来越像一场沉缅

于狂热的宣传与对历史一无所知的圣战。每一由环境问题引

发的不幸都被描绘 成一场势不可挡的灾难。这场灾难如不加

以制止，正像我们所知晓的那样，就会摧毁生命 。

Take

the

latest

scare:

the

greenhouse

effect.

We'

re

presented with the horrifying specter of a world that incinerates

now, or sizzle later. Food supplies will wither. Glaciers

will

melt. Coastal areas will flood. In fact, the probable losses

from any greenhouse warming are modest: 1 to 2 percent of our

economy's

output

by

the

year

2050,

estimates

economist

William loss seems even

smaller compared

with the

expected

growth

of

the

economy

(a

doubling)

over

the

same

period.

以最近出现的恐慌——温室效应——为例。展现在我们

面前的是 一个自我焚毁、可怕的幽灵般的世界。即刻行动，

否则世界将咝咝烧焦。食品供应即将枯 竭。冰川即将溶化。

沿海地区即将淹没。事实上，任何温室热效应可能造成的损

失都是有限的：经济学家威廉

·克莱恩估计，到

2050

年只

占我们经济产出的

1%

到

2%

。与预想的同期经济增长

(

翻

一番

)

相比，这一损失更显得微不足道。

No environmental problem threatens the

with

the

danger

of

a

nuclear

oil

spill

ever

caused

suffering on a par with today's civil war in Yugoslavia, which is

a minor episode in human misery. World War

Ⅱ

left more than

35 million dead. Cambodia's civil war resulted in 1 million to 3

million great scourges of humanity remain what they

have always been: war, natural disaster, oppressive government,

crushing

poverty

and

hate.

On

any

scale

of

tragedy,

environmental distress is a featherweight.

没有任何环境问题威胁这颗

“星球

”

， 任何环境问题

无法用核战争所带所来的危害来衡量。任何石油溢出造成的

危害也无法同今日南斯拉夫内战——它不过是人类苦难中

的一段小插曲——相比 拟。第二次世界大战导致

3 500

多万

人死亡。柬埔寨内战导致

100

至

300

万人死亡。人类的巨大

祸患一如既往：战争、自然灾害、 暴虐政府、极度的贫困与

仇恨。在悲剧的任何尺度上，环境问题造成的痛苦都轻如鸿

毛。

This is not an argument for indifference or inaction. It is an

argument for perspective and balance. You can believe (as I do)

that the possibility of greenhouse warming enhances an already

strong

case

for

an

energy

tax.A

tax

would

curb

ordinary

air

pollution, limit oil imports, cut the

budget deficit and promote

energy efficient investments that make economic sense.

这并非在为漠不关心或无动于衷进行辩解，这是在为 前

途和平衡而进行辩论。你可以相信

(

像我那样

)

，温室热效

应的可能性强化了已具说服力的征缴能源税的理由 。税收会

抑制通常的空气污染，限制石油进口，减少预算赤字并提高

具有经济意义的能效投入。

But it does not follow that anyone who disagrees with me

is

evil

or

even

the

greenhouse

effect,

for

instance,

there

‘

s ample scientific doubt over whether warming will occur

and, if so, how much. Moreover, the warming would occur over

decades.

People

and

businesses

could

adjust.

To

take

one

example: farmers could shift to more heat-resistant seeds.

但这并 非意味着同我观点相悖的人就是居心叵测，或甚

至是错误的。例如，就温室效应而言，热 效应是否会发生，

如果发生，

其程度如何，

对这类问题还存在大量的科学疑问。

此外，热效应的发生需几十年的时间。人与行业 可以进行调

整。举一例：农民可改用更为耐热的种子。

Unfortunately, the impulse of many environmentalists is to

vilify

and

simplify.

Critics

of

environmental

restrictions

are

portrayed as selfish and ignorant ay scenarios are

developed

to

prove

the

seriousness

of

environmental

dangers.

Cline

‘

s recent greenhouse study projected warming 250 years

into

the

future.

Guess

what,

it

increases

sharply.

This

is

an

absurd exercise akin to predicting life in 1992 at the time of the

French and Indian War (1754

～

1763).