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Living or dying?
2019年度色“活珊瑚橙”背后的故事
When dictionaries around the world started announcing their "Word of the Year", 2018 looked like it would end on a depressing note. After all, "single-use" – Collins Dictionary's pick, "toxic" – the choice of Oxford Dictionary, and "misinformation", Dictionary.com's selection, are not exactly the most upbeat words in English.
當全球各類詞典陸續發布各自評選出的“年度詞”時，2018年的尾聲似乎有些壓抑。畢竟，《柯林斯詞典》選出的年度詞“一次性”，《牛津詞典》選出的年度詞“有毒”，字典網選出的年度詞“假消息”在英文中的確都不是什么樂觀的詞。
But now we have "Living Coral", Pantone's 2019 Color of the Year, to save the day.
不過現在，潘通發布的2019年度色“活珊瑚橙”成功扭轉了這一局面。
The Pantone Color Institute, based in the US, announced on Dec 6 that it had chosen this golden orange hue as its color of the year. In the words of the institute's press release, the color, "symbolizes our innate need for optimism and joyful pursuits".
12月6日，美國色彩機構潘通宣布將這種金橙色選為年度色。該機構發布新聞稱，這一顏色“象征著我們對于樂觀主義和追求快樂與生俱來的需求”。
It's true that there is something magical about orange. It conjures up the image of a sunrise or a warm campfire in the woods. It reminds us of what Russian painter Wassily Kandinsky (1866-1944) wrote in Concerning the Spiritual in Art: "Orange is like a man, convinced of his own powers."
橙色的確擁有某種魔力。它令人想起旭日東升或者林中溫暖篝火的景象。它令人想起俄羅斯畫家瓦西里·康定斯基在《藝術的精神性》一書中所寫的一句話：“橙色就像一個對其力量深信不疑的人?！?/div>
However, to speak of human "powers" in the same breath as "Living Coral" might make us think. After all, the world's coral reefs are dying – thanks to human "powers".
然而，把人類的“力量”描述為“活珊瑚橙”這一顏色，或許會引發我們深思。畢竟，正是由于人類的“力量”，全球的珊瑚礁正瀕臨滅絕。
"The announcement comes at a time when rising water temperatures and human activities continue to harm coral reefs around the world," said VOA News. And with the end of the coral reefs "as living, breathing things" will come the end of the color.
“年度色的發布時間恰逢水溫上升，人類活動正持續對全球珊瑚礁造成傷害之時，”美國之音新聞表示。而當鮮活的珊瑚礁滅絕時，這一顏色也會隨之消失。
In other words, the color, which Pantone chose to set the tone for the coming year, no longer exists, at least naturally, in many parts of the world.
換言之，至少在自然界中，潘通所選的為來年奠定基調的這一顏色在全球多地不復存在。
"Perhaps in troubled times we crave the reassurance of a color that is warm, natural and solid," Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of Pantone, told The Guardian.
“在動蕩的時代，我們或許會渴望由一種溫暖、自然又可靠的顏色所帶來的安全感，”潘通執行總監莉翠絲·艾斯曼在接受《衛報》采訪時表示。
But we need more than just "reassurance" and "optimism". We need the resolve to make necessary changes, so that we can continue to see Living Coral in real coral reefs as well as on Pantone's color palette.
但我們所需的不僅僅是“安全感”和“樂觀主義”。我們必須決心改變，才能在真正的珊瑚礁和潘通調色板中繼續看見“活珊瑚橙”這一顏色。
Only then will we be able to say that Living Coral has truly "saved the day".
只有到那時，我們才能說“活珊瑚橙”真正“扭轉了局面”。
