Seize the Moment
?the?Economist?2020.05.23?
But as we explain this?week,?the pandemic?both reveals the? size of the challenge ahead and also creates a unique?chance?to enact?government policies that steer the economy away from carbon at a lower financial, social and political cost than might otherwise have been the case.?Rock-bottom?energy prices make it easier to cut subsidies for fossil fuels and to introduce a tax on carbon.?The revenues from that tax over the next decade can help repair?battered?government finances. The businesses at the heart of the fossil-fuel economy—oil and gas firms, steel?producers, carmakers—are already going through the?agony?of shrinking their long-term capacity and employment. Getting economies in medically induced comas back on their feet is a circumstance?tailor-made?for investment in climate-friendly infrastructure that boosts growth and creates new jobs. Low interest rates make the bill smaller than ever.?
段落大意：這次疫情既揭露出了未來(lái)挑戰(zhàn)之大，同樣也創(chuàng)造了一次獨(dú)特的機(jī)遇腹尖×郑化石燃料經(jīng)濟(jì)遭遇危機(jī)，氣候友好型經(jīng)濟(jì)得到發(fā)展热幔。
單詞講解：
battered:?ADJ-GRADED Something that is battered is old and in poor condition because it has been used a lot. 破舊的乐设；陳舊的
eg: He drove up in a battered old car.
agony:??N-UNCOUNT Agony is great physical or mental pain. （肉體或精神的）極度痛苦，創(chuàng)痛
eg: She called out in agony.
tailor-made :?ADJ If something is tailor-made, it has been specially designed for a particular person or purpose. 專門制作的;定制的;特制的
eg: Each client's portfolio is tailor-made.
be tailor-made for：正好適合
可以同義替換suitable for
rock-bottom：ADJ [usually ADJ n] A rock-bottom price or level is a very low one, mainly in advertisements. (價(jià)格绎巨、水平)極低的近尚，非常低的 [approval]
eg：What they do offer is a good product at a rock-bottom price.
除此之外，該單詞還有名詞的意思
N-UNCOUNT If something has reached rock bottom, it is at such a low level that it cannot go any lower. 最低點(diǎn);最低水平;低谷
eg：Morale in the armed forces was at rock bottom.
寫作學(xué)習(xí)：Rock-bottom energy prices make it easier to cut subsidies for fossil fuels and to introduce a tax on carbon. sth. makes it adj. to do sth.
這是一個(gè)在英語(yǔ)中比較常見(jiàn)的結(jié)構(gòu)：make 跟形式賓語(yǔ)it+跟不定式to do.
Take carbon-pricing first.?Long cherished by economists, such schemes use the power of the market to incentivise consumers and firms to cut their emissions, thus ensuring that the shift from carbon happens in the most efficient way possible.?The timing is particularly?propitious?because such prices have the most immediate effects when they?tip?the balance between?two already available technologies. In the past it was possible to argue that, although prices might?entrench?an advantage for cleaner gas over dirtier coal, renewable technologies were too immature to benefit. But over the past decade the costs of wind and solar power have tumbled. A relatively small push from a carbon price could give renewables a decisive advantage—one which would become permanent as wider deployment made them cheaper still. There may never have been a time when carbon prices could achieve so much so quickly.
段落大意：過(guò)去场勤，新能源成本昂貴且盈利性不成熟戈锻。如今，這已不再是問(wèn)題和媳，新能源在碳定價(jià)的推動(dòng)下迎來(lái)了屬于自己的時(shí)機(jī)格遭。
單詞講解：
propitious：ADJ-GRADED If something is propitious, it is likely to lead to success. 順利的；有利的 [formal]
eg：They should wait for the most propitious moment between now and the next election.
tip：V-ERG If you tip an object or part of your body or if it tips, it moves into a sloping position with one end or side higher than the other. (使)傾斜;(使)斜側(cè)
eg：He leaned away from her, and she had to tip her head back to see him.
tip the balance：改變格局留瞳，扭變局勢(shì)
除此之外拒迅，該單詞還有名詞的意思
N-COUNT The tip of something long and narrow is the end of it. 末梢;尖端;頂端
eg：The sleeves covered his hands to the tips of his fingers.
entrench：VERB If something such as power, a custom, or an idea is entrenched, it is firmly established, so that it would be difficult to change it. 使（權(quán)力、習(xí)俗、觀念等）根深蒂固
eg：These dictators have entrenched themselves politically and are difficult to move.
寫作學(xué)習(xí)：Long cherished by economists, such schemes use the power of the market to incentivise consumers and firms to cut their emissions, thus ensuring that the shift from carbon happens in the most efficient way possible.
結(jié)構(gòu)多樣璧微。過(guò)去分詞cherished做伴隨狀語(yǔ)作箍，主句，thus +動(dòng)詞現(xiàn)在分詞表示結(jié)果前硫。
試比較：
Such schemes have been long cherished by economists and use the power of the market to incentivise consumers and firms to cut their emissions. Thus, it ensures that the shift from carbon happens in the most efficient way possible.
Carbon prices are not as popular with politicians as they are with economists, which is why too few of them exist. But even before covid-19 there were hints their time was coming. Europe is planning an expansion of its carbon-pricing scheme, the largest in the world; China is?instituting?a brand new one. Joe Biden, who backed carbon prices when he was vice-president, will?do so again in the coming election campaign—and at least some on the right will agree with that. The?proceeds?from a carbon tax could raise over 1% of GDP early on and would then?taper away?over several decades. This money could either be paid as a?dividend?to the public or, as is more likely now, help lower government debts,?which are already forecast to?reach an average of 122% of GDP?in the rich world this year, and will rise further if green investments are debt-financed.
段落大意：碳定價(jià)備受政治家歡迎胞得，但卻不入經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)家的“法眼”。碳定價(jià)在歐洲开瞭、中國(guó)和美國(guó)受到支持懒震。碳稅收益會(huì)減輕政府債務(wù)負(fù)擔(dān)。
單詞講解：
institute：VERB If you institute a system, rule, or course of action, you start it. 建立(體系等);制定(規(guī)章等);開始;開創(chuàng) [formal]
eg：We will institute a number of measures to better safeguard the public.
除本文所用的動(dòng)詞的意思外嗤详，institute還有名詞的意思：
N-COUNT; N-IN-NAMES An institute is an organization set up to do a particular type of work, especially research or teaching. You can also use institute to refer to the building the organization occupies. 機(jī)構(gòu);協(xié)會(huì);研究院;學(xué)院
eg：Directly in front of the institute is Kelly Ingram Park.
proceeds：N-PLURAL The proceeds of an event or activity are the money that has been obtained from it. （某個(gè)事件或活動(dòng)的）收入个扰，收益
eg：The proceeds from the concert will go towards famine relief.
除了本文中所用的名詞的意思外，proceed還有動(dòng)詞的意思
VERB?
1葱色、proceed to do 接下來(lái)做递宅；接著做（做不同的事）
? ? ?proceed with ?繼續(xù)進(jìn)行；繼續(xù)做 （做同一件事）
eg：He proceeded to tell me of my birth.
eg：The group proceeded with a march they knew would lead to bloodshed.
2苍狰、?If an activity, process, or event proceeds, it goes on and does not stop. （活動(dòng)办龄、過(guò)程或事件）繼續(xù)，持續(xù)淋昭，連續(xù)不斷
eg：The ideas were not new. Their development had proceeded steadily since the war.
3俐填、If you proceed in a particular direction, you go in that direction. （朝某個(gè)方向）前進(jìn)，行進(jìn) [formal]
eg：She climbed the steps and proceeded along the upstairs hallway.
taper ：V-ERG If something tapers, or if you taper it, it becomes gradually thinner at one end. (使)一端逐漸變細(xì);(使)變錐形 [Also VERB preposition]
eg：Taper the shape of your eyebrows towards the outer corners.
V-ERG If something tapers or is tapered, it gradually becomes reduced in amount, number, or size until it is greatly reduced. 逐漸減少;逐漸縮小 [Also VERB n PREPOSITION]
eg：There are signs that inflation is tapering.
本文應(yīng)該是第二個(gè)意思翔忽，taper away 逐漸減少
dividend:?N-COUNT A dividend is the part of a company's profits which is paid to people who have shares in the company. 紅利;股息;股利 [business]
eg: The first quarter dividend has been increased by nearly 4 per cent.
寫作學(xué)習(xí)：Carbon prices are not as popular with politicians as they are with economists.
簡(jiǎn)單比較級(jí)的復(fù)雜使用英融。as……as 是最簡(jiǎn)單的比較級(jí)結(jié)構(gòu)，普遍連接單個(gè)成份
（賓語(yǔ)或者表語(yǔ)）歇式。某些情況下驶悟，需要使用完整的結(jié)構(gòu)。
which?are already forecast to?reach an average of 122% of GDP?in the rich?world this year.
be forecast to?預(yù)見(jiàn)材失，預(yù)測(cè)痕鳍，表示將來(lái)可能會(huì)發(fā)生某事
=be predicted to
Carbon pricing is only part of the big-bang response now possible. By itself, it is unlikely to create a network of electric-vehicle charging-points, more nuclear power plants to underpin the cheap but intermittent electricity supplied by renewables, programmes to retrofit inefficient buildings and to develop technologies aimed at reducing emissions that cannot simply be electrified away, such as those from large aircraft and some farms. In these areas subsidies and direct government investment are needed to ensure that tomorrow’s consumers and firms have the technologies which carbon prices will encourage.
段落大意：現(xiàn)今，碳定價(jià)是應(yīng)對(duì)環(huán)境危機(jī)的唯一可能方案龙巨。但是碳定價(jià)本身無(wú)法實(shí)現(xiàn)笼呆。尤其是在機(jī)場(chǎng)和農(nóng)場(chǎng)，實(shí)現(xiàn)碳定價(jià)所需的技術(shù)旨别，還需要一定的政府補(bǔ)貼和投資抄邀。
單詞講解：
underpin: VERB If one thing underpins another, it helps the other thing to continue or succeed by supporting and strengthening it. 加強(qiáng)…的基礎(chǔ)；鞏固昼榛；支撐
eg: ...mystical themes that underpin all religions.?
intermittent:?ADJ-GRADED Something that is intermittent happens occasionally rather than continuously. 間歇的;斷斷續(xù)續(xù)的
eg:After three hours of intermittent rain, the game was abandoned.
retrofit:?VERB To retrofit a machine or a building means to put new parts or new equipment in it after it has been in use for some time, especially to improve its safety or make it work better. 對(duì)（機(jī)器）更新部件;對(duì)（建筑物）進(jìn)行翻新
eg: Much of this business involves retrofitting existing planes.?
長(zhǎng)句學(xué)習(xí)：By itself, it is unlikely to create a network of electric-vehicle charging-points, more nuclear power plants to underpin the cheap but intermittent electricity supplied by renewables programmes to retrofit inefficient buildings and to develop technologies aimed at reducing emissions that cannot simply be electrified away, such as those from large aircraft and some farms.
主句：it is unlikely to
目的狀語(yǔ)：to underpin the cheap but intermittent electricity
過(guò)去分詞做后置定語(yǔ)：supplied by renewables programmes
目的狀語(yǔ)：to retrofit inefficient buildings and to develop technologies
過(guò)去分詞做后置定語(yǔ)：aimed at reducing emissions
定語(yǔ)從句：that cannot simply be electrified away, such as those from large aircraft and some farms.
碳定價(jià)（Carbon Pricing）
碳定價(jià)是一種降低溫室氣體排放的工具，用來(lái)記錄溫室氣體排放的外部成本，即公共支付的排放成本胆屿。比如奥喻，農(nóng)作物受損成本、干旱和升溫帶來(lái)的醫(yī)療保健成本非迹、洪水帶來(lái)的財(cái)產(chǎn)損失及海平面上升產(chǎn)生的影響等环鲤，這些成本將通過(guò)對(duì)排放的二氧化碳定價(jià)的方式展現(xiàn)出來(lái)。
這種定價(jià)方式有助于將溫室氣體排放造成的損害轉(zhuǎn)移給那些對(duì)此負(fù)責(zé)的人憎兽，或可以減少二氧化碳排放的人冷离，如排放二氧化碳的工廠、企業(yè)等纯命。
碳定價(jià)不是決定誰(shuí)應(yīng)該在何處排放以及如何減少排放西剥，而是向排放者提供經(jīng)濟(jì)信號(hào)，并允許他們決定改變其活動(dòng)并降低其排放量亿汞，或繼續(xù)排放但同時(shí)為其排放量付錢瞭空。
通過(guò)這種方式，可以以最靈活疗我，成本最低的方式實(shí)現(xiàn)全球環(huán)境目標(biāo)咆畏。在溫室氣體排放中設(shè)定適當(dāng)?shù)膬r(jià)格對(duì)于在為清潔發(fā)展制定經(jīng)濟(jì)激勵(lì)措施時(shí)將氣候變化的外部成本內(nèi)部化具有根本意義。
