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       2020考研英语阅读水平想要提升较快，并不容易!需要2020考研者每天有良好的英语阅读习惯，久而久之慢慢进步!接下来，北京文都考研网为助力学子们备考英语，分享了考研英语双语经济学人:热浪袭人，供考生参考。

2020考研英语双语经济学人:热浪袭人

In recent days heatwaves have turned swathes of America and Europe into furnaces. Despite the accompanying blast of headlines, the implications of such extreme heat are often overlooked or underplayed. Spectacular images of hurricanes or floods grab attention more readily, yet heatwaves can cause more deaths.

近日，热浪来袭，美国和欧洲的大片地区都成了火炉。尽管随之而来的是铺天盖地的头条新闻，但这种极端高温的危害却往往被人们忽视或低估。景象壮观的飓风或洪水更容易吸引人们的注意，但热浪或许更为致命。

Heat is one of climate change’s deadliest manifestations. Sometimes its impact is unmistakable—a heatwave in Europe in 2003 is estimated to have claimed 70,000 lives. More often, though, heatwaves are treated like the two in the Netherlands in 2018.

高温是气候变化最致命的表征之一。其危害是毋庸置疑的——据估计，2003年欧洲的一场热浪夺走了7万人的生命。然而，在大多数情况下，人们对待热浪的态度就像2018年荷兰遭遇的两次热浪那样。

In just over three weeks, around 300 more people died than would normally be expected at that time of year. This was dismissed as a “minor rise” by officials. But had those people died in a flood, it would have been front-page news.

在短短三周多的时间里，死亡人数比正常情况下的预计人数多了300人。这一现象却被官员们轻描淡写地描述成了“小幅上升”。但如果这些人是死于一场洪灾，那肯定就能上新闻头条了。

The havoc caused by extreme heat does not get the attention it merits for several reasons. The deaths tend to be more widely dispersed and do not involve the devastation of property as do the ravages of wind and water.

极端高温所导致的危害没有得到应有的关注，其原因是多方面的。高温导致死亡的案例往往分布得很广，并且不像飓风和洪水那样会对房屋造成破坏。

Moreover, deaths are not usually directly attributable to heatstroke. Soaring temperatures just turn pre-existing conditions such as heart problems or lung disease lethal.

此外，中暑通常不是直接死因。持续升高的气温只会让既存疾病(例如心脏病或肺病)变得致命。

Heatwaves will inevitably attract more attention as they become more frequent. As greenhouse gases continue to accumulate in the atmosphere, not only will temperatures rise overall but extremes of heat will occur more frequently.

随着热浪天气的愈加频繁，它必将引发人们更多的关注。温室气体不断地在大气中积累，不仅气温会整体升高，极端高温天气也将愈加频繁。

Britain’s Met Office calculates that by the 2040s European summers as hot as that of 2003 could be commonplace, regardless of how fast emissions are reduced. Urbanisation intensifies the risk to health: cities are hotter places than the surrounding countryside, and more people are moving into them.

据英国气象局预计，到21世纪40年代，无论减排速度有多快，欧洲的夏天都会像2003年那样炎热，这种情况将会变得司空见惯。城市化了人们的健康风险：城市比周边的农村更热，但越来越多的人仍在迁往城市。

The good news is that most fatalities are avoidable, if three sets of measures are put in place. First, people must be made aware that extreme heat can kill and warning systems established.

是，只需采取三项措施就能避免大多数死亡事件的发生。首先，人们必须要有极端高温会致人死亡的意识，并建立一套预警机制。

Heatwaves can be predicted with reasonable accuracy, which means warnings can be given in advance advising people to stay indoors, seek cool areas and drink plenty of water.

热浪天气是能够在一定的准确度下预测的，这就意味着我们可以提前发出预警，建议人们待在室内、前往凉爽的地方，或大量饮水。

Smart use of social media can help. In 2017 a campaign on Facebook warning of the dangers of a heatwave in Dhaka, Bangladesh’s capital, reached 3.9m people, nearly half the city’s population.

善于利用社交媒体也将大有裨益。2017年，脸书上曾发起过一项警告孟加拉国首都达卡有热浪来袭的活动，最终有390万人(几乎占该市人口的一半)参与其中。

Second, cool shaded areas and fresh water should be made available. In poor places, air-conditioned community centres and schools can be kept open permanently (steamy nights that provide no relief from scorching days can also kill). In Cape Town, spray parks have been installed to help people cool down.

其次，政府应该提供纳凉之处，并供应淡水。在贫困地区，装有空调的社区中心和学校应该全天候开放(如果从酷热的白天到闷热的夜晚一直无法得到缓解，那么也会造成人员的死亡)。开普敦建起了喷雾公园来帮助人们降温。

Third, new buildings must be designed to be resilient to the threat of extreme heat and existing ones adapted. White walls, roofs or tarpaulins, and extra vegetation in cities, all of which help prevent heat from building up, can be provided fairly cheaply. A programme to install “cool roofs” and insulation in Philadelphia reduced maximum indoor temperatures by 1.3˚C.

最后，对新建筑应该进行抵御极端高温的设计，对老建筑也应该进行改造。将墙壁、屋顶和防水棚刷成白色，以及在城市里多种植被，这些都能有效地防止热量积聚，并且相对成本低廉。费城凭借一项屋顶隔热改造计划将室内最高温度降低了1.3℃。

 

【重难点词汇】

furnace ['fɝnɪs] n. 火炉，熔炉

manifestation ['mænəfɛ'steʃən] n. 表现;显示;示威运动

havoc ['hævək] n. 大破坏;浩劫;蹂躏 vt. 严重破坏 vi. 损毁

devastation [,devə'steɪʃn] n. 毁坏，荒废

heatstroke ['hitstrok] n. [中医] 中暑

fatality [fə'tæləti] n. 死亡;宿命;致命性;不幸;灾祸

resilient [rɪ'zɪlɪənt] adj. 弹回的，有弹力的

       以上是北京文都考研网给出的“2020考研英语双语经济学人:热浪袭人”，希望2020考研学子们，每天都能坚持抽出时间看经济学人文章，相信大家越努力，越幸运，加油!

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