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JaredDiamond_2003-_文明社会为何走向崩溃_
I think all of us have been interested in, at one time or another, in the romantic mysteries of all those societies that collapsed , such as the classic Maya and the Yucatan, the Easter Islanders , 社会崩溃之谜,我相信各位都曾对此感过兴趣, 那些曾经存在,但后来崩溃的社会, 如玛雅文明,尤卡坦半岛上的古典玛雅文明,复活节岛文明,
at one time:曾经,一度;同时; romantic:adj.浪漫的;爱情的;n.浪漫的人;耽于幻想的人; collapsed:v.倒塌,坍塌;倒下,昏倒;坐下;(collapse的过去分词和过去式) classic:n.名著;优秀的典范;adj.最优秀的;第一流的;有代表性的;典型的; Islanders:n.岛上居民,岛民(尤指小岛上的);(islander的复数)
the Anasazi, Fertile Crescent society, Angor Wat, Great Zimbabwe and so on. And within the last decade or two, archaeologists have shown us that there were environmental problems underlying many of these past collapses . 阿纳萨齐文明,新月沃地文明,吴哥文明,大津巴布韦文明等等。 而在最近的10到20年里, 考古学家们向我们展示了导致这些社会崩溃的 鲜为人知的的环境原因。
Fertile:adj.富饶的,肥沃的;能生育的; Crescent:n.新月; adj.新月形的; vt.以新月形物装饰; Zimbabwe:n.津巴布韦(国家名,位于非洲); archaeologists:n.[古]考古学家(archaeologist的复数); underlying:adj.根本的; v.构成…的基础; (underlie的现在分词) collapses:v.(突然)倒塌,坍塌;昏倒;坐下;(collapse的第三人称单数)
But there were also plenty of places in the world where societies have been developing for thousands of years without any sign of a major collapse, such as Japan, Java, Tonga and Tikopea. So evidently , societies in some areas are more fragile than in other areas. 但是这个世界上还有很多地方, 都有着上千年的历史, 却从未有过彻底的崩溃。 譬如:日本、爪哇岛、汤加以及蒂科皮亚。显然, 与其他社会相比,有些社会更加脆弱一些。
evidently:adv.显然,明显地;清楚地; fragile:adj.脆的;易碎的;
How can we understand what makes some societies more fragile than other societies? The problem is obviously one relevant to our situation today, because today as well there are 我们该如何来理解这一点呢？ 显然,这个问题非常有现实意义。 因为于当下世界同样
relevant:adj.相关的;切题的;中肯的;有重大关系的;有意义的,目的明确的;
some societies that have already collapsed, such as Somalia and Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia. There are also societies today that may be close to collapse, such as Nepal, Indonesia and Columbia. 有一些已经崩溃了的社会,如:索马里、 卢旺达和前南斯拉夫。此外, 还有一些行将崩溃的社会,比如:尼泊尔、印度尼西亚、哥伦比亚。
Indonesia:n.印尼,印度尼西亚(东南亚岛国);
What about ourselves? 那么,美国是什么状况呢？
What is there that we can learn from the past that would help us avoid declining or collapsing in the way that so many past societies have? 历史上,有这么多的社会或者衰败、或者消亡, 以史为鉴,我们应当如何避免重蹈覆辙呢？
declining:v.减少;下降;衰弱;谢绝;婉言拒绝;(decline的现在分词) collapsing:v.倒塌,坍塌; (collapse的现在分词)
Obviously the answer to this question is not going to be a single factor . If anyone tells you that there is a single-factor explanation for societal collapses, you know right away that they're an idiot . This is a complex subject. 这个问题的答案显然得从多方面考虑, 如果有人告诉你:“这些社会会崩溃,只有一个方面的原因。” 那么你应该马上反应过来, 这人是个傻子。毕竟,这是个非常复杂的问题。
factor:n.因素;要素;[物]因数;代理人;v.做代理商;v.把…作为因素计入; societal:adj.社会的; right away:立刻; idiot:n.笨蛋,傻瓜;白痴; complex:adj.复杂的;合成的;n.复合体;综合设施;
But how can we make sense out of the complexities of this subject? 那么我们该如何来理清头绪呢？
make sense:有意义;讲得通;言之有理; complexities:n.复杂性(complexity的复数);错综复杂的事物;
In analyzing societal collapses, I've arrived at a five-point framework: a checklist of things that I go through and try to understand collapses. And I'll illustrate that five-point framework by the extinction of the Greenland Norse society. 在分析社会崩溃的过程中,我设计出了一个 “五点架构”:这其实是个清单,枚举了我为了解释社会崩溃之谜 而考虑的每一个因素。下面,我将通过分析格陵兰岛上的维京部落的消亡 来阐释这个“五点构架”。
analyzing:adj.分析的;v.分析(analyze的现在分词); checklist:n.清单;检查表;备忘录;目录册; illustrate:v.解释;加插图于;给(书等)做图表;表明…真实; extinction:n.绝种; Norse:adj.挪威的;挪威人的;斯堪的纳维亚语的;n.挪威人;挪威语;
This is a European society with literate records, so we know a good deal about the people and their motivation . 这是一个留有文字史料的欧洲社会, 所以我们可以充分理解那里的人和他们的动机。
literate:adj.受过教育的;精通文学的;n.学者; motivation:n.动机;积极性;推动;
In AD 984 Vikings went out to Greenland, settled Greenland and around 1450 they died out -- the society collapsed, and every one of them ended up dead. 公元984年,一群维京海盗登陆格林兰岛并随后定居下来。 到1450年,整个社会崩溃, 最终,他们灭绝了。
Vikings:n.维京人;北欧海盗(Viking的复数); settled:adj.稳定的; v.结束; (settle的过去分词和过去式)
Why did they all end up dead? Well, in my five-point framework, the first item on the framework is to look for human impacts on the environment: people inadvertently destroying the resource 他们怎么就全灭绝了呢？嗯,在我的“五点构架”中, 第一点是:人对环境的影响。 因为大意,人们毁掉了他们赖以生存的资源。
item:n.条款,项目;一则;一件商品(或物品);adj.又,同上; impacts:n.影响; v.有影响,有作用; inadvertently:adj.非故意地,无心地; resource:n.资源;资料;才智;财力;v.向…提供资金(或设备);
base on which they depend. And in the case of the Viking Norse, the Vikings inadvertently caused soil erosion and deforestation , which was a particular problem for them because they required forests to make charcoal , to make iron. 在这个具体的案例中, 维京人由于大意导致了土壤侵蚀和森林荒漠化, 而之所以造成了麻烦是因为 他们需要树木来制成木炭,再用木炭冶铁。
erosion:n.侵蚀,腐蚀; deforestation:n.采伐森林;森林开伐; charcoal:n.木炭; vt.用木炭画(过去式charcoaled,过去分词charcoaled,现在分词charcoaling,第三人称单数charcoals);
So they ended up an Iron Age European society virtually unable to make their own iron. A second item on my checklist is climate change. Climate can get warmer or colder or dryer or wetter. 因此虽然他们是铁器时代的欧洲社会,但当他们崩溃时, 他们已经不能冶炼铁器了。在清单上的第二点是: 气候变化:或变暖、或变冷、或变干、或变湿。
virtually:adv.事实上,几乎;实质上; dryer:n.烘干机;[助剂]干燥剂;
In the case of the Vikings in Greenland, the climate got colder in the late 1300s, and especially in the 1400s. But a cold climate isn't necessarily fatal , because the Inuit -- the Eskimos inhabiting 在这个案例中,14世纪晚期,尤其是15世纪, 气候变冷。但寒冷的气候并不是决定性的因素, 理由是当时爱斯基摩人同样住在格林兰岛上,
especially:adv.尤其;特别;格外;十分; necessarily:adv.必要地;必定地,必然地; fatal:adj.致命的;灾难性的;毁灭性的;导致失败的; Inuit:n.因纽特人(加拿大北部以及格陵兰和阿拉斯加部分地区的一个种族的人,有时误指西伯利亚及阿拉斯加南部和西部的人); Eskimos:n.爱斯基摩人(Eskimo的复数); inhabiting:vt.栖息;居住于;占据;vi.(古)居住;栖息;
Greenland at the same time -- did better rather than worse with cold climates. So why didn't the Greenland Norse as well? 面对变冷的气候,他们的表现就挺不错的。 那么,为什么维京人没能做到呢？
at the same time:同时;另一方面;与此同时;
The third thing on my checklist is relations with neighboring friendly societies that may prop up a society. And if that friendly support is pulled away, that may make a society 在我的清单上的第三点是: 与周边友邦的关系,这些友邦可以提供必要的援助。 而一旦这种来自友邦的援助终止,通常会使
neighboring:adj.邻近的;接壤的;v.邻近;使接近;位于…附近;(neighbor的现在分词) prop:n.道具;支柱;支持者;后盾;v.支撑;
more likely to collapse. In the case of the Greenland Norse they had trade with the mother country , with Norway, and that trade dwindled partly because Norway got weaker, partly because of sea ice between Greenland and Norway. 这个社会崩溃。在这个案例中, 他们一直在与母邦,挪威,进行贸易往来, 然而,一方面因为挪威逐渐衰弱, 一方面因为两地航道间的海水渐渐结冰,这种贸易与日俱减。
mother country:n.祖国;(控制别国的)母国; dwindled:vi.减少;变小;vt.使缩小,使减少;
The fourth item on my checklist is relations with hostile societies. 在我清单上的第四点是:与敌国的关系。
hostile:adj.敌意的; n.敌对分子;
In the case of Norse Greenland, the hostiles were the Inuit, the Eskimos sharing Greenland with whom the Norse got off to bad relationships. And we know that the Inuit killed Norse, and, probably of greater importance, 在这个案例中,他们的敌国是因纽特人 以及爱斯基摩人,他们与维京人是格林兰岛上的“室友”, 但他们并不遭维京人待见。而且我们知道, 他们有时会屠戮维京人,此外,可能更重要的是,
hostiles:adj.敌对的,敌方的;怀敌意的;n.敌对;
may have blocked access to the outer fjords on which the Norse depended for seals at a critical time of the year. 他们挡住了维京人到出海口的路, 而每年的特定季节,维京人是需要通过这个峡湾出海捕猎海豹的。
outer:adj.外面的,外部的;远离中心的;n.环外命中; fjords:n.[地理]峡湾(fjord的复数形式,等于fiords);海湾; critical:adj.鉴定的;[核]临界的;批评的,爱挑剔的;危险的;决定性的;评论的;
And then finally , the fifth item on my checklist is the political, economic , social and cultural factors in the society that make it more or less likely that the society will perceive and solve its 最后,在我的清单上的第五点: 一个社会的政治、经济、社会和文化因素, 这些因素能促使一个社会意识到并解决它所遇到的环境问题。
finally:adv.终于;最终;(用于列举)最后;彻底地; economic:adj.经济的,经济上的;经济学的; cultural:adj.与文化有关的;文化的;与艺术、文学、音乐等有关的; factors:n.因素(factor的复数); v.做代理商; more or less:或多或少; perceive:v.注意到;意识到;将…理解为;认为;
environmental problems. In the case of the Greenland Norse, cultural factors that made it difficult for them to solve their problems were their commitments to a 在这个案例中, 因为文化的原因,维京人很难解决遇到的问题,具体而言: 维京人是信仰基督教的,
commitments:n.承诺,保证;委托;承担义务;献身;(commitment的复数)
Christian society investing heavily in cathedrals , their being a competitive-ranked chiefly society and their scorn for the Inuit, from whom they refused to learn. So that's how the five-part framework is relevant to the collapse and eventual extinction of the Greenland Norse. 他们将大量的人力物力花费在建筑大教堂上;此外, 作为一个极其争强好胜的社会,他们瞧不起因纽特人, 因此他们拒绝师夷长技。综上,这就是“五点构架” 如何解释社会崩溃的以及格林兰岛上维京人消亡的原因。
investing:v.投资;投入(时间、精力等);(invest的现在分词) cathedrals:教堂; chiefly:adv.主要地;首先; scorn:n.轻蔑;嘲笑;藐视的对象;vt.轻蔑;藐视;不屑做;vi.表示轻蔑;表示鄙视; eventual:adj.最后的,结果的;可能的;终于的;
What about a society today? 那么当今的社会又是如何的呢？
For the past five years, I've been taking my wife and kids to 过去的5年里,我和我的家人造访了蒙大纳州的西南部,
Southwestern Montana , where I worked as a teenager on the hay harvest. And Montana at first sight seems like the most pristine environment in the United States. 在那里,每当干草收割时, 我像个年轻人一样干活。乍一看, 蒙大纳州貌似是全美境内环境最自然的州。
Montana:n.蒙大纳(美国州名); at first sight:乍一看;初看之下; pristine:adj.原始的,古时的;纯朴的;
But scratch the surface , and Montana suffers from serious problems. 但深入研究后,会发现其实它也面临着许多严重的问题。
scratch the surface:只做了肤浅的研究;不深刻,不周详;
Going through the same checklist: human environmental impacts. 同样用我的“五点架构”法来检验。第一点:人类对环境的影响。
Yes, acute in Montana. Toxic problems from mine waste have caused damage of billions of dollars. 是的,这种影响在蒙大纳州极为严重。 为解决废矿产生的有毒物质问题,已耗费了数十亿美元。
acute:adj.严重的,[医]急性的;敏锐的;激烈的;尖声的; Toxic:adj.有毒的;中毒的;
Problems from weeds , weed control, caused Montana nearly 200 million dollars a year. Montana's lost agricultural areas from salinization , problems of forest management , 而为了除去杂草,以及控制其扩散,蒙大纳州每年几乎都要花费 2亿美元。此外,蒙大纳州的可耕土壤面积还不断在减少, 原因包括:土壤盐碱化、森林管理失调
weeds:n.野草(weed的复数形式); v.清除(weed的第三人称单数形式); agricultural:adj.农业的;农艺的; salinization:n.盐化作用,盐碱化; management:n.管理;管理人员;管理部门;操纵;经营手段;
problems of forest fires. Second item on my checklist: climate change. Yes -- the climate in Montana is getting warmer and drier, but Montana agriculture depends especially on irrigation 以及森林大火问题等。接着考虑我的清单上的第二点: 气候变化:是的,蒙大纳州的气候逐渐变得更加干热, 蒙大纳州的农业主要是依靠雪水灌溉,
irrigation:n.灌溉;[临床]冲洗;冲洗法;
from the snow pack, and as the snow is melting , for example, as the glaciers in Glacier National Park are disappearing , that's bad news for Montana irrigation agriculture. 因为气候变暖,雪水渐渐消融,我们可以看到, 国家冰河公园的冰川正在逐渐消失, 这对蒙大纳州的农业来说,绝对是个十足的噩耗。
melting:adj.感人的;v.(使)熔化,融化;(melt的现在分词) glaciers:n.[地理][水文]冰川(glacier的复数);[地理][水文]冰河; National Park:n.国家公园; disappearing:v.消失;不复存在;灭绝;丢失(disappear的现在分词)
Third thing on my checklist: relations with friendlies that can sustain the society. In Montana today, more than half of the income of Montana is not earned within Montana, 我的清单上的第三点:与可以提供援助的友邻的关系。 在当今的蒙大纳州,居民收入的一半以上 都不是产生于州内,
sustain:v.支持;支撑;遭受;证实;
but it's derived from out of state: transfer payments from social security , investments and so on, which makes Montana vulnerable to the rest of the United States. 而是源自于州外,主要包括: 社会保险的款项转账,各界的投资等等。 这就使得蒙大纳州成为了美国最脆弱的州之一。
derived:adj.导出的;衍生的,派生的;v.得到;推断(derive的过去分词);由…而来; transfer:n.转移;调任;调离;[体]转会球员;v.调任;调走;转学;转移; payments:n.付款;支付;收款;款项;报答;(payment的复数) social security:n.社会保障金(政府定期向贫穷、失业、患病等人发放); investments:n.[经]投资,投资的财产;投资学;(investment的复数) vulnerable:adj.易受攻击的,易受…的攻击;易受伤害的;有弱点的;
Fourth: relations with hostiles. Montanans have the same problems as do all Americans in being sensitive to problems created by hostiles overseas , affecting our oil supplies, 第四点:与敌国的关系。这一点上,蒙大纳州面临的问题 与其他州一样,都受到海外反美势力的威胁, 在一些问题上尤为敏感:如干扰我们的石油供应,
sensitive:adj.敏感的;感觉的;易受影响的;n.敏感的人;有灵异能力的人; overseas:adv.在海外,海外;adj.海外的,国外的;
and terrorist attacks. And finally, last item on my checklist: question of how political, economic, social, cultural attitudes play into this. Montanans have long-held values which today seem to be getting in the way of their solving their own problems. 恐怖袭击等等。最后,在我清单上的最后一点: 一个社会的政治、经济、社会和文化因素如何来解决 其所遇到的问题。蒙大纳州一致奉行“长期持有”的观点 如今似乎正在妨碍他们解决所遇到的问题。
attitudes:n.态度,看法(attitude复数); in the way of:妨碍;关于…方面;
Long-held devotion to logging and to mines and to agriculture, and to no government regulation . Values that worked well in the past, but they don't seem to be working well today. “长期持有”的价值观致力于伐木、采矿以及种植、 以及非政府管理。这一价值观 在过去对他们经济发展的帮助成效显著,但如今却似乎难以奏效。
devotion:n.献身,奉献;忠诚;热爱; logging:n.伐木作业;v.把…载入正式记录;记录;采伐;(log的现在分词) regulation:n.规则;法规;控制;规章制度;adj.规定的;必须穿戴的;必须使用的;
So, I'm looking at these issues of collapses for a lot of past societies and for many present societies. 当我在思考社会崩溃的问题时, 不管是过去的或是当下的社会,
issues:n.重要议题;争论的问题;v.宣布;公布;发出;(issue的第三人称单数和复数)
Are there any general conclusions that arise ? 我不禁问自己,我能得到什么普适性的结论么？
conclusions:n.结论,总结;决定;(conclusion的复数) arise:v.出现;发生;产生;起身;
In a way, just like Tolstoy's statement about every unhappy marriage being different, every collapsed or endangered society is different -- they all have different details. But nevertheless , there are certain common threads that emerge from these comparisons of past societies that did or did not collapse 在某种程度上,正如托尔斯泰所言:不幸的家庭各有各的不幸。 同样的道理,每一个崩溃或者行将崩溃的社会都是不同的。 它们的崩溃各有各的原因。尽管如此, 我们还是可以得到一些共识的,通过对比 历史上那些崩溃了和没有崩溃的社会,
statement:n.声明;陈述,叙述;报表,清单; endangered:v.使遭危险;危及;危害;(endanger的过去分词和过去式) nevertheless:adv.然而,不过;虽然如此;conj.然而,不过; threads:n.线; v.穿(针); (thread的第三人称单数和复数) emerge:v.浮现;显现;暴露;露出真相; comparisons:n.比较;类似(comparison的复数形式);处于对比状态;
and threatened societies today. One interesting common thread has to do with, in many cases, the rapidity of collapse after a society reaches its peak . There are many societies 这些共识于今也有借鉴意义。在众多社会崩溃的案例中, 可以发现一个有趣的相似点:这个社会发展到其鼎盛时期, 突然急转直下,然后崩溃。历史上,许多社会的发展轨迹
rapidity:n.迅速,急速;速度;险峻; peak:n.高峰; v.达到高峰; adj.最高度的;
that don't wind down gradually , but they build up, get richer and more powerful, and then within a short time , within a few decades after their peak, they collapse. For example, 并不是逐渐衰弱然后消亡,而是国力逐渐强盛, 势力逐渐扩大,最后达到鼎盛期。突然,在一个极短的时间里, 如几十年间,他们就崩溃了。比如说,
wind down:n.逐渐减少; gradually:adv.渐渐地;逐步地; short time:adj.短暂的;快速的(shorttime的变形);
the classic lowland Maya of the Yucatan began to collapse in the early 800s, literally a few decades after the Maya were building their biggest monuments , and Maya population was greatest. 尤卡坦半岛的低地古典玛雅,他们崩溃于 9世纪早期,而正是在此之前的数十年,玛雅人 完成了他们最大的纪念碑,而且,人口数量也达到了史上最多。
lowland:n.低地;苏格兰低地;adj.低地的;苏格兰低地的; literally:adv.按字面:字面上:确实地: monuments:n.遗迹;纪念物;不朽的功业;有永久价值的作品(monument的复数形式);
Or again, the collapse of the Soviet Union took place within a couple of decades, maybe within a decade, of the time when the Soviet Union was at its greatest power. 同样的,苏联的崩溃亦然。 在苏联崩溃的前几十年,甚至可能仅仅在其前10年, 他们还处于史上最辉煌的时期。
Soviet:adj.苏维埃的;苏联的;n.苏维埃(前苏联的各级代表会议);苏联人;
An analogue would be the growth of bacteria in a petri dish . 有一个现象倒是与此种情形很相似:培养皿中细菌数量的增加曲线
analogue:n.类似物;类似情况;对等的人;adj.类似的;相似物的;模拟计算机的; bacteria:n.[微]细菌; petri dish:n.培养皿(作细菌培养等用的有盖玻璃碟);
These rapid collapses are especially likely where there's a mismatch between available resources and resource consumption , or a mismatch between economic outlays and economic potential . 这些社会之所以暴毙,极有可能是因为 他们能够获取的资源已无法满足他们的需求, 或者他们在经济上入不敷出。
mismatch:vt.使配错;n.错配;不协调; resources:n.[计][环境]资源; v.向…提供资金(resource的第三人称单数); consumption:n.消费;消耗;肺痨; outlays:n.花费;支出费用(outlay的复数形式);v.花费(outlay的第三人称单数); potential:n.潜能;可能性;[电]电势;adj.潜在的;可能的;势的;
In a petri dish, bacteria grow. Say they double every generation, and five generations before the end the petri dish is 15/16ths empty, and then the next generation's 3/4ths empty and the next generation 在培养皿中,细菌繁殖。每隔一代,数目翻倍, 只需五代,便告终结。起初,培养皿会有15/16的空白区域, 而一代之后,只剩下3/4的空间,再下一代,
half empty. Within one generation after the petri dish still being half empty, it is full. There's no more food and the bacteria have collapsed. 只有一半。当培养皿还有一半空间时,只需要再有一代, 培养皿就被占满了。因为没有了更多的食物来源,这个细菌社会于是崩溃。
So, this is a frequent theme that societies collapse very soon after reaching their peak in power. 由此可见,在短时间内, 一个社会由盛转衰继而消亡的现象是很常见的。
frequent:adj.频繁的;经常发生的;v.常到(某处);
What it means to put it mathematically is that if you're concerned about a society today, you should be looking not at the value of the mathematical function, the wealth itself, but you should 这个现象用数学思维可以这样理解:如果你要考虑一个当今的社会, 你最该关心的并不应该是这个数学函数的值, 具体而言,即一个社会的GDP;你应该留意的,
mathematically:adv.算术地,数学上地; concerned:adj.有关的;关心的;v.关心;与…有关;(concern的过去时和过去分词) wealth:n.财富;大量;富有;
be looking at the first derivative and the second derivatives of the function. That's one general theme. A second general theme is that there are many, often subtle environmental factors that make 应该是这个函数的一阶导以及二阶导。 以上便是得到的崩溃社会的共性之一。其二, 总是会有许多微妙的环境因素使得
derivatives:派生物; subtle:adj.微妙的;精细的;敏感的;狡猾的;稀薄的;
some societies more fragile than others, and many of those factors are not well understood. For example, why is it that in the Pacific, of those hundreds of Pacific islands, why did Easter Island end up as the most devastating case of complete deforestation? 一些社会较之其他更为脆弱,而这些环境因素 目前我们尚未能完全理解。比如说,为何在太平洋中, 在数以百计的岛屿中,只有复活节岛 因为彻底的森林荒漠化而完全荒芜继而消亡？
devastating:adj.毁灭性的; v.毁灭; (devastate的现在分词)
It turns out that there were about nine different environmental factors, some rather subtle ones, that were working against the Easter Islanders, and they involve fallout of volcanic tephra , 结论是这大约涉及到了9种不同的环境因子, 每一种都异常微妙,这些因子都给复活节岛带来了 消极的影响,这些因子涉及火山喷发产生的沉降物,
involve:v.包含;需要;牵涉;牵连;影响;(使)参加; fallout:n.原子尘;[核][环境]放射性尘埃;原子尘微粒回降;附带结果; volcanic:adj.火山的;猛烈的;易突然发作的;n.火山岩; tephra:n.火山灰;
latitude , rainfall . Perhaps the most subtle of them is that it turns out that a major input of nutrients which protects island environments in the Pacific is from the fallout of continental dust from central Asia. 所在地的纬度以及降雨量。也许这些因子中最微妙的一个, 是沉降在岛屿上的那些主要来自亚洲的大陆尘埃, 这些尘埃,附带着大量的营养物质, 而正是这些营养物质,保护着太平洋上这些岛屿的生态环境。
latitude:n.纬度;界限;活动范围; rainfall:n.降雨;降雨量; input:n.投入; v.把(数据等)输入计算机; nutrients:营养盐;[食品]营养素; continental:adj.大陆的;大陆性的;n.欧洲人;
Easter, of all Pacific islands, has the least input of dust from Asia restoring the fertility of its soils. But that's a factor that we didn't even appreciate until 1999. 在恢复土壤肥力的过程中,所有太平洋的岛屿都能从来自亚洲的大陆尘埃获利, 但唯有复活节岛,因为距离原因,获利最少。 这一现象,我们居然一直到1999年,才开始察觉。
restoring:adj.恢复的;v.恢复,重建;正在恢复;(restore的现在分词); fertility:n.多产;肥沃;[农经]生产力;丰饶; appreciate:v.欣赏;感激;感谢;理解;
So, some societies, for subtle environmental reasons, are more fragile than others. And then finally, another generalization . Because I'm now teaching a course 所以说,有一些社会,由于这些微妙的环境因子, 比其他社会更加脆弱。最后, 我将阐述第三个共识。 因为目前不才正执教于
generalization:n.概括;普遍化;一般化;
at UCLA, to UCLA undergraduates , on these collapses of societies. What really bugs my UCLA undergraduates students is, how on earth did these societies not see what they were doing? 加州大学洛杉矶分校,给那里的本科生们讲授关于社会崩溃的课程。 课堂上,最让我的这群学生们迷惑不解的事情是, 这些社会怎么就没有发现他们在自寻死路？
undergraduates:n.本科生,大学生; bugs:n.缺陷;虫子;窃听器;(bug的复数)v.窃听;使烦恼;(bug的第三人称单数)
How could the Easter Islanders have deforested their environment? 那些复活节岛上的居民怎么忍心砍尽森林,毁灭自己的家园？
deforested:vt.采伐森林(deforest过去式);
What did they say when they were cutting down the last palm tree? 当他们砍倒最后一刻棕榈树时,他们是什么感觉？
palm:n.手掌;手心;棕榈树;v.把…藏在手中(尤指玩戏法);
Didn't they see what they were doing? How could societies not perceive their impacts on the environments and stop in time? 难道他们不知道自己在干什么吗？ 那些社会怎么可能没有察觉到自己对环境的影响,进而悬崖勒马？
And I would expect that if our human civilization carries on, then maybe in the next century, people will be asking why on earth did these people today in the year 2003 not see the obvious things that they were doing and take corrective action? 我想,答案应该是这样的:假设我们的文明能够延续下去, 那么也许到了下一个世纪,那时的人们同样会好奇: 那帮生活在2003年的人怎么可能没有注意到 （注:2003年为此篇的演讲时间） 他们所犯下的如此明显的错误,他们怎么就不迷途知返？
civilization:n.文明;文明社会;文明世界;(特定时期和地区的)社会文明; obvious:adj.明显的;显著的;平淡无奇的; corrective:adj.矫正的;惩治的;n.矫正物;改善法;
It seems incredible in the past. In the future it'll seem incredible what we are doing today. And so I've been trying to develop a hierarchical set of considerations about why societies fail to solve their problems. 回顾历史,我们发现那帮人不可理喻。但在后人看来, 我们似乎同样也不可理喻。鉴于此, 我尝试着分析出了了几个理由 来解释为什么这些社会没能处理好他们面临的问题。
incredible:adj.难以置信的,惊人的; hierarchical:adj.分层的;等级体系的; considerations:n.考虑;注意事项(consideration的复数形式);体贴;
Why they fail to perceive the problems, or if they perceive them, why they fail to tackle them? Or, if they fail to tackle them, why do they fail to succeed in solving them? 为什么他们没有意识到问题的存在？或者意识到了, 却没能解决问题？或者,如果他们没能解决问题 （译者注:这句话可能是演讲人口误,符合逻辑的表达可能是 “如果他们起初能很好的处理这一问题”） 为什么他们没能将这种势头保持下去？
tackle:v.处理; n.用具;
I'll just mention two generalizations in this area. 就这一问题,我只简单的概括两点原因。
generalizations:n.概括;一般化(generalization的复数);
One blueprint for trouble, making collapse likely, is where there is a conflict of interest between the short-term interest of the decision-making elites and the long-term 一个可能导致社会崩溃的困境是:利益冲突 短期利益与长期利益的冲突。 这里是指决策制定者的短期利益与整个社会的长期利益相冲突,
blueprint:vt.计划;制成蓝图;n.蓝图,设计图;计划; conflict:n.冲突;矛盾;争执;抵触;v.抵触; short-term:adj.短期的; decision-making:n.决策; elites:n.精英(elite的复数); long-term:adj.长期的;从长远来看;
interest of the society as a whole , especially if the elites are able to insulate themselves from the consequences of their actions. Where what's good in the short run for the elite 尤其是当执行了这一不明智的政策后,社会整体利益受损时, 政策制定者们可以置身事外的情形下。 当某一决策可能最终造成整个社会的悲剧,但短期内政策制定者却可以从中获利时,
as a whole:总的来说; insulate:vt.隔离,使孤立;使绝缘,使隔热; consequences:n.后果,结果;影响(consequence的复数);
is bad for the society as a whole, there's a real risk of the elite doing things that would bring the society down in the long run . 他们极有可能鼠目寸光,推行这一极具风险的决策。 短视的主事者,就会把这个社会带向崩溃。
in the long run:长远;终究;
For example, among the Greenland Norse -- a competitive-rank society -- what the chiefs really wanted is more followers and more sheep and more resources 举例而言,在格林兰岛的维京人, 那是一个极其争强好胜的社会,那个社会的首领们最想要的, 是更多的子民,更多的羊群和更多的资源,多多益善,
to outcompete the neighboring chiefs. And that led the chiefs to do what's called flogging the land: overstocking the land, forcing tenant farmers into dependency . And that made the chiefs powerful in the short run, but led to the society's collapse in the long run. 直到这些的数量超过了相邻部落的首领。这一风气的驱使下, 首领们纷纷行动,后世称之为“刮地皮”:他们过度积压土地, 强迫土地租用人成为附庸。这些举措, 短期内是使首领们的势力大为增加, 但却为随后整个社会的崩溃埋下祸根。
flogging:n.鞭笞,棒打;v.鞭笞,棒打;出售(flog的现在分词) overstocking:n.过度放牧;过大放牧度;[畜牧]饲养过量;存货过多; tenant:n.房客;租户;佃户;v.(作为租赁者)居住; dependency:n.属国;从属;从属物;
Those same issues of conflicts of interest are acute in the United States today. Especially because the decision makers in the United States are frequently able to insulate themselves from consequences 这两种利益的冲突在今天的美国 同样非常剧烈。特别是考虑到 如今美国的政策制定者们通常 可以置身事外。不管外面世界因为他们制定的政策发生了什么,
conflicts:n.冲突; v.抵触; frequently:adv.频繁地,经常地;时常,屡次;
by living in gated compounds , by drinking bottled water and so on. And within the last couple of years, it's been obvious that the elite in the business world correctly perceive that they can advance their short-term interest by doing things that are good for them but bad for society as a whole, 他们都能安稳生活在有栅栏的院子里,喝着纯净水, 悠哉游哉,高枕无忧。在最近的10多年里, 很明显的事实是:那些商业世界的精英们, 察觉到了他们可以通过一些事情来短期获利, 尽管这些事情虽然可以给他们带来利益, 但终将给整个社会带来灾难。
compounds:n.混合物,化合物;大院(compound的复数形式);
such as draining a few billion dollars out of Enron and other businesses. They are quite correct that these things are good for them in the short term, although bad for society in the long term. 比如在伊朗问题上砸下数十亿美元, 或者类似的决策。这样的事情, 倒是的确对他们的短期利益很有帮助, 然而长远点看,这在未来将危害到整个社会。
draining:v.排空;(使)流光;放干;喝光;喝干;(drain的现在分词)
So, that's one general conclusion about why societies make bad decisions: conflicts of interest. 综上,这就是关于为何有的社会会做出 愚蠢决策的概括之一:利益冲突。
And the other generalization that I want to mention is that it's particularly hard for a society to make, quote , good decisions when there is a conflict involving 我要概括的第二点是, 就一个社会而言,有时的确很难制定出、或者照搬 一些恰当的决策,尤其是当涉及到
particularly:adv.特别地,独特地;详细地,具体地;明确地,细致地; quote:v.引用;报价;举例说明;开价;为(企业的股份)上市;n.引用; involving:v.包含;需要;牵涉;牵连;影响;(使)参加;(involve的现在分词)
strongly-held values that are good in many circumstances but are poor in other circumstances. For example, the Greenland Norse, in this difficult environment, were held together for four-and-a-half centuries by their shared commitment to religion 根深蒂固的价值观时。有时,这种坚定的价值观是必须的, 但有时,却也是不合时宜的。比如说, 格林兰岛上的维京人,早期,他们的生存环境极为恶劣, 之所以他们能相互扶持,顽强的持续4个半世纪, 那是因为他们有着共同的信仰,
circumstances:n.情况;环境;情形;(circumstance的复数)
and by their strong social cohesion . But those two things -- commitment to religion and strong social cohesion -- also made it difficult for them to change at the end and to learn from the Inuit. Or today, Australia. 以及巨大的凝聚力。但恰恰正是因为这两个原因: 宗教信仰以及社会凝聚力, 导致了他们最后很难去做出改变, 以及向因纽特人学习。另外一个例子:澳大利亚。
cohesion:n.凝聚;结合;[力]内聚力;
One of the things that enabled Australia to survive in this remote outpost of European civilization for 250 years has been their British identity . 澳大利亚之所以生存并能够持续发展, 即使它在地理位置上远离欧洲文明, 那是因为250年来,他们一直是大不列颠的属国。
enabled:v.使得;授予…权力;(enabled是enable的过去式) remote:adj.偏远的;偏僻的;遥远的;久远的; outpost:n.前哨;警戒部队;边区村落; identity:n.身份;同一性,一致;特性;恒等式;
But today, their commitment to a British identity is serving Australians poorly in their need to adapt to their situation in Asia. So it's particularly difficult 但如今,他们的这种身份, 却使得自己很难去适应他们在 亚洲的地位。因此,这的确是个艰难的转变过程:
adapt:vt.使适应;改编;vi.适应;
to change course when then the things that get you in trouble are the things that are also the source of your strength. 意识到那些给你带来麻烦的事情, 正是之前你力量的来源。
What's going to be the outcome today? 当今社会可能会走向何方呢？
outcome:n.结果,结局;成果;
Well, all of us know the dozen sorts of ticking time bombs going on in the modern world. Time bombs that have fuses of a few decades to -- all of them, not more than 50 years, 嗯,我们都知道,当今世界上,数十种可能导致社会崩溃的“定时炸弹” 正在滴答滴答的走着。这些“定时炸弹”大都是 最近数十年被“点燃”的,而最早的,不会超过50年。
fuses:n.[电]保险丝; v.熔化;
and any one of which can do us in. The time bombs of water, of soil, of climate change, invasive species , the photosynthetic ceiling, population problems, toxics , et cetera , et cetera -- 但其中每一个,都能让我们万劫不复。比方说:水资源、 土壤问题、气候变化、外来物种入侵、 光合上限问题、人口问题、有毒物质等等、等等。
invasive:adj.侵略性的;攻击性的; species:n.[生物]物种;种类; photosynthetic:adj.[生化]光合的;光合作用的; toxics:n.毒物(toxic的复数); et cetera:na.以及其他;
list about 12 of them. And while these time bombs -- none of them has a fuse beyond 50 years, and most of them have fuses of a few decades -- some of them in some places 一共有将近12个。如前所述,这些“定时炸弹” 几乎都是近50年以来才产生的,而且其中大多数 是近几十年才有的。有些地方
have much shorter fuses. At the rate at which we're going now, the Philippines will lose all its accessible loggable forest within five years. And the Solomon Islands are only one year away from losing their loggable forest, 甚至更近几年才有的。按照目前这个趋势, 菲律宾耗尽他们可供砍伐的森林, 只需要5年时间;而所罗门群岛, 只需要1年时间,
Philippines:n.菲律宾; accessible:adj.易接近的;可进入的;可理解的;
which is their major export . And that's going to be spectacular for the economy of the Solomons. People often ask me, 而木材,正是他们的主要出口物。这无疑对 所罗门群岛的经济是毁灭性的打击。人们常常问我,
export:n.出口;[无线电]呼叫;出口货;输出额;v.出口;排出;adj.输出的; spectacular:adj.壮观的;壮丽的;令人惊叹的;n.壮观的场面;精彩的表演; economy:n.经济;节约;理财;
Jared, what's the most important thing that we need to do about the world's environmental problems? 贾德,为了拯救地球,对于生态环境的恶化, 当务之急,我们最应该做的一件事情是什么？
And my answer is, the most important thing we need to do is to forget about there being any single thing that is the most important thing we need to do. 我的答案通常是:我们最应该做的一件事情是, 放弃这个天真的想法:认为我们只需要做好最应该做好的那一件事, 就可以把整个问题解决。
Instead there are a dozen things, any one of which could do us in. 毕竟我们面临着一打问题,而每一个,都是致命的。
And we've got to get them all right, because if we solve 11, we fail to solve the 12th, we're in trouble. For example, if we solve our problems of water and soil and population, but don't solve our problems of toxics, then we are in trouble. 我们必须将它们全部解决,要不然,就算我们成功解决了11个, 还剩下第12个,我们同样得完蛋。举例来说, 如果我们解决了水资源问题、土壤问题以及人口问题, 但没能解决有毒物质的问题,我们还是得陷入麻烦。
The fact is that our present course is a non-sustainable course, which means by definition that it can not be maintained . 事实上,我们现在正处于不稳定阶段, 这就是说,理论上讲,这种状态不可能长久的。
non-sustainable:不能持久的;不能持续的; definition:n.定义;清晰度;(尤指词典里的词或短语的)释义;解释; maintained:v.维持;维修;保养;固执己见;(maintain的过去式和过去分词)
And the outcome is going to get resolved within a few decades. 在未来的数十年间,这些问题终将被解决。
resolved:adj.下定决心; v.解决; (resolve的过去分词和过去式)
That means that those of us in this room who are less than 50 or 60 years old will see how these paradoxes are resolved, and those of us who are over the age of 60 may not see the resolution , but our children and grandchildren certainly will. 这就是说,现在正在观看我这个演讲的人中, 那些五六十岁以下的人,将有幸看到这些矛盾被解决, 而那些超过60岁的人,比如说我,可能就不能亲眼目睹了, 不过我们的孩子,或者孙子们肯定可以见证这一刻。
paradoxes:n.[数]悖论(paradox的复数); resolution:n.解决;分辨;解析;决议;
The resolution is going to achieve either of two forms: either we will resolve these non-sustainable time fuses in pleasant ways of our own choice by taking remedial action, or else these conflicts are going to get settled 这些问题将会可能有两种解决形式: 一种是:我们通过一些温和的方式来停止这一不稳定状态, 比如说主动采取一些矫正措施; 或者是,这些冲突会通过一些
remedial:adj.治疗的;补救的;矫正的;
in unpleasant ways not of our choice -- namely , by war, disease or starvation . But what's for sure is that our non-sustainable course will get resolved in one way or another 非我们意志所能改变的方式被解决,即战争、 疾病或者饥荒。可以肯定的是, 这一不稳定状态在未来数十年间会结束,通过这样或那样的方法。
unpleasant:adj.令人不快的;不舒服的;不客气的 namely:adv.也就是;即是;换句话说; disease:n.病,[医]疾病;弊病;vt.传染;使…有病; starvation:n.饿死;挨饿;绝食;
in a few decades. In other words, since the theme of this session is choices, we have a choice. Does that mean that we should get pessimistic and overwhelmed ? I draw the reverse conclusion. 换言之,既然这个系列的主题是 “选择”,我们还有得选。之前的分析是不是意味着 一切已经无济于事,我们只能悲观以对呢？我认为,恰恰相反。
session:n.会议;(法庭的)开庭;(议会等的)开会;学期;讲习会; pessimistic:adj.悲观的,厌世的;悲观主义的; overwhelmed:v.受打击,压倒;淹没;(overwhelm的过去分词和过去式) reverse:n.反面; v.颠倒; adj.相反的;
The big problems facing the world today are not at all things beyond our control. Our biggest threat is not an asteroid about to crash into us, something we can do nothing about. 当今世界面临着的那些大的问题一点都没有 超出我们的控制范围。毕竟,我们面对的最大威胁并不是 小行星撞地球,如果是那样,我们倒的确只能坐以待毙。
not at all:毫无;一点也不;不用谢; asteroid:n.[天]小行星;[无脊椎]海盘车;小游星;adj.星状的;
Instead, all the major threats facing us today are problems entirely of our own making. And since we made the problems, we can also solve the problems. That then means that it's entirely in our power to deal with these problems. 相反的,当今我们所面临的所有重大威胁, 其实都是自找的。既然我们能制造出这些问题, 我们其实也能解决这些问题。这就是说, 靠我们的力量,足以应付这些麻烦。
In particular , what can all of us do? For those of you who are interested in these choices, there are lots of things you can do. There's a lot that we don't understand, 具体而言,我们可以做些什么呢？ 对于那些相信“我们的选择可以改变未来”的人而言,你们能做的 有很多。有许多事情我们现在并不清楚,
In particular:尤其,特别;
and that we need to understand. And there's a lot that we already do understand, but aren't doing, and that we need to be doing. Thank you. 但这些事很重要,我们一定得弄清楚;还有许多事情, 虽然我们已经弄明白了,但还没有来得及着手去做, 时不待我,诸君共勉。谢谢!
(Applause) (掌声)