2024年12月六级第2套仔细阅读 Passage 1 原文翻译及答案解析

With population increases and global urbanisation ever accelerating, much attention is focused on the sustainability of our cities and scarce attention is paid to the countryside.

随着人口增长和全球城市化不断加速，人们关注城市的可持续性，却很少关注乡村。

Rural life is associated with closely-knit communities, sense of belonging, and a simple, tranquil life. Yet whilst some or all of these elements exist in the countryside, so do conservatism and a lack of employment opportunities. And it is mostly due to the latter that rural communities are suffering. Attracted by the improved economics of urban areas, country dwellers across the world are moving out, contributing to the excessive crowdedness of densely populated cities, and leaving the countryside in desolation.

乡村生活与紧密联系的社区、归属感和简单宁静的生活相关。然而，尽管乡村中存在这些元素的部分或全部，但也存在保守主义和就业机会的缺乏。正是由于后者，乡村社区正在遭受困境。受城市地区经济改善的吸引，世界各地的乡村居民正在迁出，导致人口密集城市的过度拥挤，并使乡村陷入荒凉。

So how can the countryside ensure its survival among these changes, or should it at all? Due to both the distance between residences and facilities and often intermittent public transport, those living in the countryside are heavier automobile users. Rural dwellers also use more energy maintaining their mostly detached buildings. We may be piled up like boxes in the city, but this brings energy efficiency that the countryside cannot match. Rural energy requirements result in higher carbon emissions per person than in the city, so it is actually irresponsible to endorse such a lifestyle choice.

那么，乡村如何能在这些变化中确保其生存，或者它应该生存吗？由于住宅和设施之间的距离以及公共交通的频繁中断，乡村居民更依赖汽车。乡村居民还需要更多能源来维护他们大多独立的建筑。在城市里，我们可能像盒子一样堆叠，但这带来了乡村无法匹配的能源效率。乡村的能源需求导致人均碳排放高于城市，因此支持这种生活方式实际上是不负责任的。

Protecting the countryside is a hot topic. Those who have made their fortunes in the city often buy second homes in the countryside, visiting intermittently for a sample of a supposedly simple life. The side-effect of this is that house prices are pushed up due to increased demand, leaving them unaffordable for local people. A solution has yet to be found for this challenge, for market forces are further forcing residents out of the countryside. For those who believe in rural preservation, this is deplorable.

保护乡村是一个热门话题。那些在城市中发财的人经常在乡村购买第二套住房，间歇性地访问以体验所谓的简单生活。这样做的副作用是，由于需求增加，房价被推高，使得当地人难以负担。这一挑战的解决方案尚未找到，因为市场力量进一步迫使居民离开乡村。对于那些相信乡村保护的人来说，这是令人遗憾的。

Whilst an idealised view of the countryside is common, the reality is that rural life has continuously evolved. Industrialisation brought an increase in divisions of labour, changing social links between rural people. The internet has introduced once foreign cultures into the countryside. Improved travel connections and affordability have made the world more accessible, creating a 'global village'. Considering these changes, surely an evolving countryside is inevitable.

尽管对乡村的理想化观点很常见，但现实是乡村生活一直在不断演变。工业化带来了劳动分工的增加，改变了乡村居民之间的社会联系。互联网将曾经陌生的文化引入了乡村。改善的旅行连接和可负担性使世界更加易于接触，创造了一个“地球村”。考虑到这些变化，一个不断演变的乡村无疑是不可避免的。

Perhaps the countryside should also prepare itself for massive population increases in the future. With cities across the world growing rapidly, how will the current urban generation respond to the inevitable social changes of mass urbanisation? Will the longing for a simpler life become stronger, fueling a rural renaissance?

也许乡村也应该为未来大规模人口增长做好准备。随着世界各地城市的快速发展，当前的城市一代将如何应对大规模城市化不可避免的社会变化？对简单生活的渴望会变得更强烈，从而推动乡村复兴吗？

As the world continues to urbanise, the voices calling for rural preservation may well grow louder. But change is inevitable. We know that the world is going to see new cities emerging from the dust and current cities growing into megacities, but the future of the countryside is less clear.

随着世界继续城市化，呼吁保护乡村的声音可能会越来越大。但变化是不可避免的。我们知道世界将看到新城市从尘埃中崛起，现有城市成长为特大城市，但乡村的未来则不那么清晰。