Today we are facing the largest mass extinction since the dinosaurs died out 65 million years ago.
今時今刻，我們面臨六千五百萬年前恐龍絕跡以來最大的物種大滅絕。
It is in fact normal for plant and animal species to go extinct. Under normal conditions this occurs at a rate of about 5 species per year. However, scientists are estimating that currently we are losing species at a rate of 1000-10,000 times faster. Literallydozens of species are going extinct every single day. It is predicted that 30-50% of all species could be gone forever by 2050.
對動植物而言，絕種其實是很常見的。在一般情況之下，每年約有五種生物絕種。然而，科學家估計目前的物種以一千至一萬倍的速度在消失中。也就是說，每一天都有許多物種消失。我們預計，2050年以前就會有百分之三十到五十的物種完全絕跡。
The most alarming thing is that the more species that go extinct, the more other species that rely on those ones for food will follow suit. At the moment about one quarter of all species are endangered, and this number is only going to get higher.
最令人警覺的是，愈多的物種消失，就有愈多仰賴其維生的其他的物種會步入後塵。現今大約有四分之一的生物已經絕種，而這個數字只會更高。
So what is the cause of this disastrous situation? Well, to put it bluntly, it’s us. Clear-cutting the rainforest to make room for cattle farms, pumping garbage and polluted water into the sea, filling the atmosphere with CO2 from our cars and factories; these activities are all being done at the expense of our natural environment.
造成這樣的毀滅情形的原因為何？簡言之，就是我們人類。將雨林砍伐一空騰出空間飼養牛隻、將垃圾與污染用水倒進海洋、我們的車輛及工廠排放的二氧化碳充斥大氣層，這些動作的代價就是犧牲我們的自然環境。
While a small number of people, including many politicians, continue to deny global warming and all the changes it is causing, the evidence clearly indicates that we are getting dangerously close to, or have already reached, the point of no return.
同時間有一小群人，包括許多政客，持續地否認全球溫室效應與因此產生的所有變化，所有證據顯然地指出我們只差臨門一腳，或根本已經踏入了—無法補救的局面了。
Vocabulary 好字精選
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1. crisis (n) a time of intense danger or difficulty 危機
Mr. Carter seems to be going through a mid-life crisis. 卡特先生似乎在經歷中年危機。
2. literally (adv) to indicate/emphasize you mean something exactly/truly 照字面上來說
There were literally more than 100,000 people in the stadium. 體育館確實有超過十萬人。
3. endangered (adj) in danger of going extinct 絕種，絕跡
The giant panda is an endangered species.
大熊貓是瀕臨絕種的物種。
4. clear-cut (v) to cut down all the trees in an entire area 清除，清空，剷除
Clear-cutting the Amazon rainforest is going to negatively impact all of humankind.
砍伐亞馬遜雨林對全體人類有負面的影響。
5. cattle (n) cows 牛隻
The forest was cut down to make more room for a cattle farm. 森林被砍伐是為了要興建一座牛隻牧場。
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Phrases and Sentence Patterns句型解析
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1. The (most) adj thing is that… (sentence pattern) 也就是
The funny thing is that Mark forgot to button up his shirt before he gave the speech.
好笑的是Mark演講前忘記將襯衫的鈕扣扣上。
2. follow suit (phr) to do something in the same way or pattern 步入後塵；起而效尤
If a manager works hard, his employees will surely follow suit. 假如經理工作認真，他的員工絕對會起而效尤。
3. to put it bluntly/simply (phr) to indicate what follows is being said in a direct/simple way 簡而言之
To put it simply, I can’t live in this house any longer. 簡而言之，我無法再繼續住在這棟房子裡了。
4. to do A at the expense of B (sentence pattern) to indicate that doing A will negatively affect B A的代價就是B，犧牲B來進行A
Why do people continue to waste resources at the expense of our planet? 為何人們犧牲我們的地球繼續浪費資源呢？
5. point of no return (phr) 不能回頭，無法補救
After signing the contract, we were beyond the point of no return. We would have to finish the job.
簽下合約之後，我們就無法回頭。我們必須完成工作。
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