評論
打印
But, without even considering that threat, shouldn't it startle us that we have now put these c1ouds in the evening sky which glisten with a spectral light?
但是，即使不考慮那種威脅，單就我們現在把這些云放人夜空讓它像鬼火似地發出一閃一閃的亮光這一點而論，難道還不應該使我們大吃一驚嗎？
Or have our eyes adjusted so completely to the bright lights of civilization that we can't see these clouds for what they are-a physical manifestation of the violent collision between human civilization and the earth?
或者是我們的眼睛已經完全適應了這種象征著文明的亮光，以致看不到這些云的本質—人類文明與地球之間猛烈碰撞的具體表現？
Even though it is sometimes hard to see their meaning, we have by now all witnessed surprising experiences that signal the damage from our assault on the environment-whether it's the new frequency of days when the temperature exceeds 100 degrees, the new speed with which the sun burns our skin, or the new constancy of public debate over what to do with growing mountains of waste.
即使有時很難看清這些云的意義，但是到目前為止我們全都目睹了許多標志著我們對環境的攻擊給地球造成破壞的驚人情況—不論是氣溫超過100度的天氣的出現率比以前高、太陽燒灼我們皮膚的速度比以前快還是公眾就如何處理日益增多的堆積如山的垃圾這個問題進行的辯論比以前多。
But our response to these signals is puzzling. Why haven't we launched a massive effort to save our environment?
但是我們對這些標志著破壞地球的現象所作出的回應令人迷惑不解。為什么我們沒有 作出巨大努力來拯救我們的環境？
To come at the question another way: Why do some images startle us into immediate action and focus our attention on ways to respond effectively?
讓我們換一個方式來提這個問題：為什么有些景象使我們大吃一驚因而立即采取行動 并且集中注意力尋找作出有效回應的方式？
And why do other images, though sometimes equally dramatic, produce instead a kind of paralysis, focusing our attention not on ways to respond but rather on some convenient, less painful distraction?
而為什么另一些景象，雖然有時同樣引人注目，我們的回應卻是一種麻木不仁，不是集中注意力尋找作出回應的方式，而是集中注意力去干容易做的、不那么費力氣的別的什么事情？
Still, there are so many distressing images of environmental destruction that sometimes it seems impossible to know how to absorb or comprehend them.
然而，破壞環境的令人悲痛的景象是如此之多，以致有時人們似乎不可能知道如何接 受或理解它們。
Before considering the threats themselves, it may be helpful to classify them and thus begin to organize our thoughts and feelings so that we may be able to respond appropriately.
在考慮這些威脅本身之前先把它們分類，從而開始把我們的思想和感覺組織得有條有理，以便我們也許能夠作出適當的回應—這樣做也許是有益處的。
