2025年考研英语一阅读 Text 2 原文翻译及答案解析

I was shocked to learn recently that some scientists want to scale back their research in an effort to decrease carbon emissions. The crisis is here, they said, and we need to cut back on our energy-intensive modelling. At the very least, we need to make our energy use far more sustainable.

最近得知一些科学家为了减少碳排放而想缩减研究，我感到震惊。他们说，危机已经来临，我们需要减少高能耗的建模工作。至少，我们需要让能源使用变得更加可持续。

It is unarguable that our laboratories, scientific instruments, rockets and satellites—the tools we scientists need to measure the planet's pulse—demand significant amounts of energy both in their construction and operation. And it is equally true that science's unrelenting appetite for information has caused a mushrooming of energy-intensive data centres around the world. According to the International Energy Agency, these buildings now consume about 1 per cent of the world's electricity.

无可争辩的是，我们的实验室、科学仪器、火箭和卫星——我们科学家测量地球脉搏所需的工具——在建造和运营过程中都需要大量能源。同样真实的是，科学对信息无止境的需求导致了全球范围内高能耗数据中心的激增。根据国际能源署的数据，这些建筑目前消耗了全球约1%的电力。

However, this is a price we must pay for understanding the world. How can we inform decision makers about the best ways to bring down carbon emissions if we can't track the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, where it's coming from and who's producing it? The carbon emissions from technological research are well spent: ultimately this research will safeguard the future of our planet.

然而，这是我们为理解世界所必须付出的代价。如果我们无法追踪大气中二氧化碳的数量、来源以及谁在排放，我们又如何告知决策者减少碳排放的最佳方法？技术研究产生的碳排放是值得的：最终，这项研究将保护我们星球的未来。

It can be hard for scientists to make the case because our work is complex, often takes place behind closed doors and does not always lend itself to easy interpretation or explanation. But demonstrating the efficacy of science will be crucial if we are to solve humanity's greatest challenges.

科学家可能很难证明这一点，因为我们的工作复杂，常常在幕后进行，并不总是易于解释或阐述。但如果我们想要解决人类最大的挑战，展示科学的有效性将至关重要。

Recognising the hope that science and engineering can bring was the impetus behind the creation of the Millennium Technology Prize, which is now entering its 20th year as a celebration of human ingenuity. One of the past winners, Professor Martin Green from the University of New South Wales, Australia, is the inventor of the Passivated Emitter and Rear Cell technology which is now found in most of the world's solar panels. Thanks to his invention, we have a real chance to decrease the world's carbon emissions.

认识到科学和工程所能带来的希望，是千禧技术奖创立的动力，该奖项现在已进入第20个年头，是对人类创造力的庆祝。过去的获奖者之一，澳大利亚新南威尔士大学的马丁·格林教授，是钝化发射极和背面电池技术的发明者，该技术现在应用于全球大部分太阳能电池板。多亏了他的发明，我们有了减少全球碳排放的真正机会。

Every day, scientists, technologists and engineers are discovering new ways to exploit renewable energy sources and develop techniques not just to use power more intelligently but to power our intelligence. A great example of this is Europe's largest supercomputer, LUMI in Finland, which is astonishingly carbon negative. Established in an old paper mill, it is powered by a nearby river and its remote heat warms the people who live in the surrounding town of Kajaani.

每天，科学家、技术人员和工程师都在发现新的方法来利用可再生能源，并开发技术，不仅要更智能地使用能源，还要为我们的智能提供动力。一个很好的例子是欧洲最大的超级计算机，芬兰的LUMI，它惊人的实现了碳负排放。它建在一家旧造纸厂内，由附近的河流供电，其远程热量为居住在周边卡亚尼镇的居民供暖。

If the world is to meet its net-zero ambitions, we must think hard about how we can deliver sustainable computing and deliver more LUMISs.

如果世界要实现其净零目标，我们必须认真思考如何实现可持续计算，并提供更多的LUMIS。