????◆导读
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如果有一个记录仪,可以像飞机的黑匣子一样,记录人类在地球上最后时刻的一言一行,这个黑匣子应该是什么样的?
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◆双语阅读
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in a remote part of australia, a steel?vault?about the size of a school bus will record the earth’s warming weather patterns. it will listen to what we say and do. it will create an archive that could be critical to piecing together the missteps, its creators say, should humanity be destroyed by climate change.
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在澳大利亚一个偏远的地方,一个校车大小的钢制保险库将记录地球气候变暖的模式。它会记录我们的一言一行。创造这个物件的人说,如果人类被气候变化摧毁,它将创建一个档案,这可能对于拼凑出人类所犯的错误来说至关重要。
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the vault, known as earth’s black box, will be constructed in tasmania, an australian island state off the south coast. it will operate much like a plane’s flight recorder, which records an aircraft’s final moments before crashing. but the makers of this new black box — including data researchers from the university of tasmania, artists and architects — say they hope it won’t have to be opened.
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这个被称为“地球黑匣子”的保险库将建在澳大利亚南海岸的岛州塔斯马尼亚。它类似于能记录下飞机坠毁之前的最后时刻的记录仪。但是这个新黑匣子的创造者——包括来自塔斯马尼亚大学的数据研究人员、艺术家和建筑师——表示,他们希望永远不用打开它。
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climate change is one of the gravest threats humanity faces, scientists say. it is?exacerbating?economic and health inequalities, increasing the frequency and intensity of natural disasters and, the united nations has warned, threatens the world’s food supply.?and so some?conceived of?a black box.
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科学家说,气候变化是人类面临的最严重的威胁之一。它加剧了经济和健康方面的不平等,增加了自然灾害的发生频率和强度,联合国警告,它还威胁到世界的粮食供应。所以,有人提出了黑匣子的想法。
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the project is not alone in its attempt to?jolt?human beings out of what the creators suggest is short-term thinking about global warming.?it is not the first to try to salvage pieces of human civilization for posterity. scientists have built repositories for everything from essential?food crops?to glacier ice to frozen animal embryos, some of them already extinct. others have tried to hide our nuclear waste so that future generations can avoid the deathly toxic material.
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这一项目并不是唯一一个致力于 助人类摆脱其主创者所谓的“对全球变暖的短视观点”作出的尝试。它并不是唯一一个这样的项目,也不是人类第一次试图为子孙后代抢救文明的碎片。科学家已经建起了储存库,储存了从基本的粮食作物到冰川冰、冷冻的动物胚胎(其中一些动物已经灭绝)在内的各种东西。还有一些人在努力将我们的核废料掩埋妥当,以便子孙后代避开这种致命有毒物质的伤害。
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the vault — a 33-foot-long box made of three-inch thick steel — is not expected to be completed until the middle of next year. but creators say they have already begun to gather information. eventually, the data will be stored on a giant, automated, solar-powered hard drive with a capacity to collect information for about 50 years.?tasmania was chosen for its relative geopolitical and environmental safety, and the?monolith?will be designed to be resilient against threats including?cyclones, earthquakes and, with its sloped walls, attacks by?vandals.
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这个10米长的保险库由7.5厘米厚的钢材制成,预计明年年中完工。但它的打造者表示,他们已经开始收集信息。最终,这些数据将存储在一个巨大的、自动化的、太阳能驱动的硬盘上,其信息收集能力可以维持50年左右。塔斯马尼亚因其在地缘政治和生态环境方面相对安全而被选中,这座庞然大物在设计上能够抵御飓风、地震等威胁,其倾斜的墙壁也有助于能承受破坏者的袭击。
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本文节选自:the new york times(纽约时报)
发布时间:2021.12.14
作者:livia albeck-ripka
原文标题:earth is getting a ‘black box’ to hold humans accountable for climate change
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◆词汇积累
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1.vault?
英[v??lt]美[v??lt]
n.(尤指银行的)金库,保险库;(教堂的)地下墓室;(坟地的)墓穴;拱顶;穹隆;
v.(用手支撑或撑杆)跳跃,腾跃;
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2.exacerbate
英[?ɡ?z?s?be?t]美[?ɡ?z?s?rbe?t]
vt.加剧;使恶化;使加重;
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3.jolt
英[d???lt]美[d?o?lt]
v.颠簸;(使)震动;使受到震惊(而采取行动);唤醒;使觉醒;
n.颠簸;震动;摇晃;一阵强烈的感情(尤指震惊或惊讶);
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4.monolith
英 [?m?n?l?θ]美 [?mɑ?n?l?θ]
n.(尤指古人凿成、表示某种宗教意义的)单块巨石,独石柱;(少有变化,不关心个人的)单一庞大的组织
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?5.cyclone
英 [?sa?kl??n]美 [?sa?klo?n]
n.气旋;旋风
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6.vandal
英 [?v?ndl]美 [?v?ndl]
n.故意破坏公物者
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◆词组搭配
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1.conceive of ?? 设想;构想
2.food crop 粮食作物;蔬菜作物
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◆写作句总结
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climate change is one of the gravest threats humanity faces, scientists say.
结构:sth.?is one of the gravest threats sb. faces
sth.是sb.面临的最严峻的威胁
例句:the exam is one of the gravest threats children face.????????