外刊阅读20241209|你这辈子用掉的电,恐怕只够这些人发几张照片

教育   2024-12-09 07:59   广东  

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上期划线句答案

It wasn’t, as a 2002 study suggested, that Dennis was more likely to be a dentist than the similarly common Jerry or Walter; it was that Dennis was more likely to be working, since the average Jerry or Walter was older at the time of the study, and therefore more likely to be retired. 

它并不像2002年的一项研究所指出的那样,名叫丹尼斯的人,比杰瑞或沃尔特等同为常见名的人更容易成为牙医;这其实是因为名叫丹尼斯的人通常更有可能处在工作年龄段,而名叫杰瑞和沃尔特的人在当时的平均年龄更大,因此更有可能已经退休。

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本期内容


双语阅读


Para.1


With other forms of consumption that are bad for the planet, we all understand that the main burden of responsibility falls on the big players—industry, government, the rich and powerful. But we also acknowledge that everyone else has a part to play too. I stop running the water while I’m brushing my teeth. I carry groceries in a burlap tote. I turn off the lights whenever I step out of my apartment, regardless of whether I’m leaving for five minutes or a week.



对于其他对地球有害的消费行为,我们都明白,主要的责任应由大企业、政府、富人和权势阶层来承担。但我们也意识到,其他人同样有责任承担一部分。我会在刷牙的时候关掉水龙头,我用麻布托特包购物,我每次离开公寓时都会关掉灯,不管是离开五分钟还是一周。

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1. burlaptote

粗麻布手提包

2. turn off

关闭;使不感兴趣;使厌烦

3. step out of 

走出;暂时离开;(仿佛)从(书、影视剧等)中走出来

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Para.2


Every time we make a new video or send an email, or post a photo of our latest meal, it’s like turning on a small light bulb that’ll never be turned off. This points to an uncomfortable, and eminently modern, question. “Everyone says it’s really bad to fly,” Tom Jackson, a professor at Loughborough University, in England, who studies the environmental impact of data, told me. “But also we’ve got to think about whether it’s really bad to carry on with our current digital practices.”



每次我们录一段视频、发一封电子邮件,或是分享一张最近吃的美食照片,就像是点亮了一枚永远不会熄灭的小灯泡。这引发了一个令人不安且具有现代感的问题。英国拉夫堡大学的教授、研究数据对环境影响的专家汤姆·杰克逊告诉我:“每个人都说坐飞机很不好,但我们也需要思考,继续保持我们目前的数字化行为习惯到底是不是同样很糟。”

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1. bulb

英/ bʌlb /美/ bʌlb /

n.电灯泡;(植物的)鳞茎,球茎;球状物

2. eminently

英/ ˈemɪnəntli /美/ ˈemɪnəntli /

adv.非常,特别,极其(含褒义);突出地;显著地

3. carry on

继续做,从事;坚持,不顾困难或挫折;行为或言谈愚蠢、兴奋或不当

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Para.3


As the harms of global data use and storage have grown, it was only a matter of time until digital environmentalism became a thing. In 2020, the BBC reported on “a growing number of eco-conscious consumers trying to reduce their environmental impact online and on their phones.” An infographic for aspiring digital environmentalists, from the carbon-credit company Climate Impact Partners, says that you shouldn’t play videos if you only need the audio, for example. You should unsubscribe from newsletters you don’t read. And whenever possible, you ought to go to websites directly instead of finding them via a search engine.



随着全球数据使用和存储带来的负面影响不断加剧,数字环境主义的兴起已成必然。2020年,BBC报道了“越来越多的有环保意识的消费者正在努力减少他们在网上和手机上产生的环境影响。”举例来说,来自碳信用公司气候影响伙伴向右已成为数字环保主义者的人提供的一张信息图表,如果你只需要听音频,就不要播放视频。你应该取消订阅那些不再阅读的新闻简报;而且尽量直接访问网站,而不是通过搜索引擎去寻找。

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1. infographic

n.信息图( information+graphic的组合。)

2. carbon-credit

碳信用

3. newsletter

英/ ˈnjuːzletə(r) /美/ ˈnuːzletər /

n.(机构定期寄发给成员的)通讯,简报

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Para.4


By my estimate, following a formula included in a recent research paper, storing my train video has created about 100 grams of CO2 over the past decade. At first blush, this is effectively nothing: less than one three-100ths of a percent of the yearly CO2 emissions from a pet cat. But data slough off us like skin cells. Last year, I sent 960 videos to the cloud. Because phones record videos in much higher quality these days, most of these clips are larger than that 15-second video from 2015. And like many other people, I have a sprawling digital footprint; many of my stored videos have been either sent to or received from at least one other person who is also storing them on one or two cloud platforms.



据我估计,按照最近一篇研究论文中的公式,把我的火车视频存储起来在过去十年中已经产生了大约100克二氧化碳。乍一看,这个量几乎微不足道:还不到养一只宠物猫一年的二氧化碳排放量的0.0033%。然而,数据像皮肤细胞一样不断脱落。去年,我上传了960个视频到云端。由于如今手机拍摄的视频质量大幅提升,这些视频大多比2015年的那段15秒视频要大。翻译划线句,在文末留言打卡,答案下期公布~

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1. blush

英/ blʌʃ /美/ blʌʃ /

v.(因感到难堪或羞愧而)脸红;惭愧,尴尬;使成红色

n.(因感到难堪或羞愧的)脸红;胭红,淡红色;<美> 胭脂;玫瑰红酒;<美>胭脂

2. slough off

蜕皮;脱落;摆脱

3. sprawl

英/ sprɔːl /美/ sprɔːl /

v.伸开四肢坐(或躺);蔓延

n.(城市)杂乱无序拓展的地区;四肢摊开的姿势;随意扩展,蔓延物

4. footprint

英/ ˈfʊtprɪnt /美/ ˈfʊtprɪnt /

n.脚印,足迹;占用空间;覆盖区

5. platform

英/ ˈplætfɔːm /美/ ˈplætfɔːrm /

n.平台;讲台,舞台;讲台上的人(the platform);(火车站的)月台;<英>(公共汽车上供乘客上下车的)踏脚台;发言机会,论坛;契机;(政党的)纲领;厚底鞋;计算机平台;(海上)钻井平台;(供人上下小船的)水上平台;(火箭或导弹的)卫星发射平台

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Para.5


And 100 grams is just a ballpark figure, anyway: The real number could be radically higher or lower depending on variables such as the type of server data the video is stored on. A major factor is where it’s being housed. Google Cloud storage in Ohio, for example, creates five times more emissions than it does in Oregon; whether the grid is powered by clean energy makes a huge difference. Emissions will also fluctuate according to how often data are accessed and distributed: In 2020, Rabih Bashroush, a professor at the University of East London, estimated that every time Cristiano Ronaldo posts a photo on Instagram, the energy that would be needed to show the image to each of his followers—190 million at the time—could power a household for five to six years.



而100克仅仅是一个大概数字,实际的排放量可能会因各种变量而大幅上升或下降,这些变量包括视频存储在什么类型的服务器上。一个关键因素是云存储的位置。例如,谷歌云存储在俄亥俄州所产生的排放量是俄勒冈州的五倍;而是否使用清洁能源供电,也会产生巨大的差异。排放量还会根据数据的访问和分发频率发生变化:2020年,东伦敦大学的教授拉比·巴什鲁什估算,每次克里斯蒂亚诺·罗纳尔多在Instagram上发布一张照片,为了把这张照片推送给他的1.9亿粉丝(当时),所需的能量足够为一个家庭提供五到六年的电力。

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1. ballpark

英/ ˈbɔːlpɑːk /美/ ˈbɔːlpɑːrk /

n.(美)棒球场;活动领域;可变通范围

adj.大约的

2. grid

英/ ɡrɪd /美/ ɡrɪd /

n.网格,方格;栅栏;输电网,电力网;赛车起跑线;美式橄榄球球场,橄榄球赛;(控制)栅极;计算机联网

v.使……构成网格状,布置成网格结构

3. fluctuate

英/ ˈflʌktʃueɪt /美/ ˈflʌktʃueɪt /

v.波动,起伏不定;使波动,使动摇

4. household

英/ ˈhaʊshəʊld /美/ ˈhaʊshoʊld /

n.家庭,一家人;家务;王室(the Household)

adj.家用的,家务的;全家人的;家喻户晓的;皇家的(Household)

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本文节选自:The Atlantic(大西洋月刊)

发布时间:2024.11

作者:Arthur Holland Michel

原文标题:Every Time You Post to Instagram, You’re Turning on a Light Bulb Forever



写作句总结

原句:As the harms of global data use and storage have grown, it was only a matter of time until digital environmentalism became a thing.

结构:As the [issue/problem] of [X] has [grown/increased], it was only a matter of time until [Y] became [Z].

例句:As the challenges of mental health in young people have increased, it was only a matter of time until schools began offering more comprehensive counseling services.


阅读理解题

Which of the following best reflects the author's attitude towards digital consumption?

A) Digital consumption is an unavoidable part of modern life, and individuals should not feel responsible for its impact.
B) The environmental impact of digital consumption is largely exaggerated and does not require serious consideration.
C) Although individual actions have a small impact, the cumulative effect of digital consumption is significant and should be addressed.
D) The primary responsibility for reducing digital consumption lies with governments and large corporations.

C

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全文概括

The text explores the environmental impact of digital activities, arguing that while large corporations bear the primary responsibility for carbon emissions, individual digital actions also contribute significantly. It highlights the surprisingly high carbon footprint of seemingly small digital actions like storing videos and posting photos, emphasizing the need for individual responsibility in digital environmentalism. The passage uses examples like video storage and social media posts to illustrate the scale of this largely overlooked problem. The author contends that the cumulative effect of billions of users' digital habits is substantial and warrants attention alongside other forms of consumption. Finally, it points out that the carbon footprint of digital actions varies based on factors like server location and energy source.


打卡作业

翻译文章中的划线句,文末留言打卡,下期推送会在文章开头处公布参考翻译答案,大家一起来学习英语吧~

翻译 | 大橙子

校对 | 慢慢

词汇词组 | 胖葛柔儿

划线句讲解 | 流木

写作句总结 | 大橙子

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