2022年12月六级第1套仔细阅读 Passage 2 原文翻译及答案解析

Degradation of the world's natural resources by humans is rapidly outpacing the planet's ability to absorb the damage, a recent UN environmental study has found. The study concludes that without radical action the level of prosperity that millions of people in the developed world count on will be impossible to maintain or extend to poorer countries.

最近一项联合国环境研究发现，人类对世界自然资源的退化速度正迅速超过地球吸收损害的能力。该研究得出结论，如果不采取激进行动，发达国家数百万人所依赖的繁荣水平将无法维持，也无法扩展到更贫穷的国家。

Water scarcity is the curse of some of the poorest regions on Earth, leaving developing countries increasingly unable to feed themselves, and causing hardship for millions of people. There appears little prospect of this desperate situation being remedied without radical action being taken. Water resources are under increasing threat from population growth, climate change, rapid urbanization, rising levels of consumption, and the degradation of lands that previously provided a natural replenishment (补充) of water resources.

水资源短缺是地球上一些最贫穷地区的诅咒，使发展中国家越来越无法养活自己，并给数百万人造成困难。如果不采取激进行动，这种绝望局面几乎没有改善的前景。水资源正受到人口增长、气候变化、快速城市化、消费水平上升以及曾经提供水资源自然补充的土地退化等日益严重的威胁。

The rate of damage to the natural environment was found to increase globally, despite concerted efforts to persuade governments to take measures to improve the condition. "If current trends continue, and the world fails to improve patterns of production and consumption, then the state of the world's environment will continue to decline," warned UN executive director Achim Steiner.

尽管协同努力说服各国政府采取措施改善状况，但自然环境受损的速度在全球范围内仍在增加。联合国执行主任阿希姆·施泰纳警告说：“如果当前趋势继续，世界未能改善生产和消费模式，那么世界环境的状况将继续恶化。”

He said the tools for improving the environment for millions of people existed in developed countries, but were in danger of not being used.

他说，改善数百万人环境的工具在发达国家已经存在，但面临不被使用的危险。

The study found that basic measures to tackle some of the key causes of environmental damage were still not being taken. These included measures to reduce air pollution, to control the damage to marine eco-systems, which can have a huge effect on fish stocks on which hundreds of millions of people depend; and to curb the degradation of land where modern agricultural methods were pursued without regard to the longer-term consequences.

研究发现，应对环境损害一些关键原因的基本措施仍未被采取。这些措施包括减少空气污染、控制对海洋生态系统的损害（这会对数亿人依赖的鱼类资源产生巨大影响）；以及遏制土地退化，在这些土地上，现代农业方法不顾长期后果地推行。

Despite the recent global agreement on cutting greenhouse gas emissions, global carbon output continues to rise. This will put a long-term strain on the ability of developing economics to feed their own people. Climate change is aggravated by the emissions of greenhouse gases from chemical and natural fertilisers used in agriculture which increased by more than a quarter between 2000 and 2010. Other problem areas identified in the report included glaciers, which provide vital water resources for millions of people, but which are shrinking as the climate warms.

尽管最近全球达成了削减温室气体排放的协议，全球碳排放量仍在上升。这将对发展中国家养活自己人民的能力造成长期压力。气候变化因农业中使用的化学和天然肥料排放的温室气体而加剧，这些排放在2000年至2010年间增加了四分之一以上。报告中确定的其他问题领域包括冰川，它们为数百万人提供重要水资源，但随着气候变暖正在缩小。

In rich countries, these problems have built up over decades and centuries while economic growth was pursued at the expense of the environment. Subsequent efforts to remedy the environment have met with partial success. But in developing countries, the path of future development has more potential to change, which has encouraged international institutions to devise more sustainable growth pathways that are supposed both to alleviate poverty and preserve the environment.

在富裕国家，这些问题在追求经济增长而牺牲环境的数十年和数百年间积累起来。随后补救环境的努力取得了部分成功。但在发展中国家，未来发展的道路更有改变的潜力，这鼓励国际机构设计更可持续的增长路径，旨在既减轻贫困又保护环境。