heatwave酷热期;热浪 all the more更加 the penny drops恍然大悟;终于明白;茅塞顿开(典出:老虎机要吃金属币才能运作) be/stand in awe of对?敬畏;对?望而生畏 round整数的;尾数是0(或5)的 air temperature气温 it is one thing to do A, (it’s quite)another to doB做A是一回事,做B又是另一回事了(强调B特别且难) jet-stream (地球高空的)急流,在地球上,指数条围绕地球的强而窄的高速气流带,集中在对流层顶,在中高纬西风带内或在低纬度地区都可出现。 the tropics(pl.)n.热带;热带地区 make things worse使事情恶化 built environment建成环境,是指为包括大型城市环境在内的人类活动而提供的人造环境。 to use sb/sth as an example以某人/某物为例 rail network铁路网络 come close to (doing) sth接近于... stress-free无压力/应力状态 -free后缀表示“无...的”如sugar-free无糖的 in the high/low 30s30大几(37、38、39等);30小几(31、32等) comfort zone舒适区,放松区 struggle to do sth费劲地做某事 as sb shows正如某人所显示的那样 as sb is showing某人现在就是活生生的例子 “Build Back Better” package是美国总统乔·拜登提出的一项预计7万亿美元的未来经济和基础设施一篮子计划。它将包括对基础设施的投资,预计将创造1000万个清洁能源工作岗位。支出还将包括用于住房、教育、经济公平和医疗保健的政府资金。(然而,该计划需要分阶段进行,而且在多次实行前都受到议员们的质疑,认为会引发赤字和通胀。) not least尤其 at source在源头 power-generating technology发电技术 energy-saving technology节能技术 the brown sort指brown energy,棕色能源,由污染能源产生的能源的术语(对比绿色能源)。
There comes a moment when the penny drops. And in Britain this week the sound of dropping pennies was loud. 人们都有认清现实的那一刻。而本周英国人颅内那个“顿悟”声势有点大。
Even in rich countries, governments struggle to commit the necessary resources, as America’s is showing with its beleaguered “Build Back Better” package. 即使在富裕国家,让政府投入必要的资源也绝非易事,这一点在美国处处受阻的“重建更好家园”(“Build Back Better”)计划中得到了充分体现。
Adaptation, to this and other manifestations of a changing climate, is a crucial spanner in the toolkit. But it does not absolve people from addressing the problem at source, by encouraging green power generating and energy-saving technologies and discouraging and decommissioning the “brown” sort. If the dropping pennies released by this summer’s heatwaves inspire action in that direction, the suffering and loss of life will not have been entirely in vain. 适应热浪及其它形式的气候变化,是妙方锦囊中的一大法宝。但“适应”本身并不能让人类从根源上解决气候问题。本质上讲,人们应通过鼓励绿色发电与节能技术,来打击并淘汰“棕色”能源。要是今夏热浪带来的“痛的领悟”能激发人产生正向转变,那么热浪带来的痛苦与生命的流逝也不算全都白受。