The Anthropocene epoch/'?p?k/: scientists declare dawn of human-influenced age
Experts say humanimpacton Earth soprofound/pr?'fa?nd/thatHolocene/'h?l?si:n/must give way to epoch defined by nuclear tests, plastic pollution anddomesticated/ d??m?st??ket?d/chicken
Anthropocene人類世
profound/pr?'fa?nd/
adj. 深厚的矾睦；意義深遠(yuǎn)的；淵博的
holocene/'h?l?si:n/
adj. 全新世的；全新統(tǒng)的
epoch/‘?p?k/
n. [地質(zhì)] 世奈泪；新紀(jì)元访圃；新時代救氯；時間上的一點
domesticated/ d??m?st??ket?d/
adj. 家養(yǎng)的吩坝；馴服的控轿；喜歡家庭生活的
Nuclear test explosion in Mururoa atoll, French Polynesia, in 1971. The official expert group says the Anthropocene should begin about 1950 and is likely to be defined by theradioactive/‘red?o'?kt?v/elementsdispersed/d?'sp?st/across Earth by nuclear bomb tests.
radioactive/‘red?o'?kt?v/
adj. [核] 放射性的凤瘦；有輻射的
dispersed/d?'sp?st/
adj. 散布的宿礁；被分散的；被驅(qū)散的
v. 分散蔬芥；傳播（disperse的過去分詞）
Humanity’s impact on the Earth is now so profound that a newgeological/d???'lɑd??kl/epoch – the Anthropocene – needs to be declared, according to an official expert group who presented the recommendation to theInternational Geological Congress in Cape Townon Monday.
geological/d???’lɑd??kl/
adj. 地質(zhì)的梆靖，地質(zhì)學(xué)的
The new epoch should begin about 1950, the experts said, and was likely to be defined by the radioactive elements dispersed across the planet by nuclear bomb tests, although an array of other signals, including plastic pollution,soot/s?t/frompower stations, concrete/'kɑ?krit/, and even the bones left by the globalproliferation/pr?u-,lif?’rei??n/of thedomestic/d?’m?st?k/chicken were now under consideration.
soot/s?t/from
n. 煤煙，煙灰
vt. 用煤煙熏黑笔诵；以煤煙弄臟
concrete/'kɑ?krit/,
adj. 混凝土的返吻；實在的，具體的乎婿；有形的
vi. 凝結(jié)
vt. 使凝固测僵；用混凝土修筑
n. 具體物；凝結(jié)物
proliferation/pr?u-,lif?’rei??n/
增殖，擴散捍靠；分芽繁殖
domestic/d?’m?st?k/
adj. 國內(nèi)的泡孩；家庭的存淫；馴養(yǎng)的囚戚；一心只管家務(wù)的
n. 國貨氮唯；傭人
The current epoch, the Holocene, is the 12,000 years of stableclimate/'kla?m?t/since the last ice age during which all human civilisation developed. But thestriking/‘stra?k??/acceleration/?k’s?l?’re??n/since the mid-20th century ofcarbon/‘kɑrb?n/dioxide/da?'ɑksa?d/emissions/?'m???n/and sea level rise, the global massextinctionof species, and the transformation of land bydeforestation/di:,f?ri’stei??n/and development mark the end of that slice of geological time, the experts argue. TheEarth is so profoundly changed that the Holocene must give way to the Anthropocene.
striking/‘stra?k??/
adj. 顯著的，突出的良风，驚人的谊迄；打擊的；罷工的
v. 打（strike的ing形式）
carbon/‘kɑrb?n/
n. [化學(xué)] 碳拖吼；碳棒鳞上；復(fù)寫紙
adj. 碳的；碳處理的
dioxide/da?'ɑksa?d/
n. 二氧化物
emissions/?’m???n/
n. （光吊档、熱等的）發(fā)射篙议，散發(fā)；噴射怠硼；發(fā)行
deforestation/di:,f?ri’stei??n/
n. 采伐森林鬼贱；森林開伐
“The significance of the Anthropocene is that it sets a differenttrajectory/tr?’d??kt?ri/for the Earth system, of which we of course are part,” said Prof Jan Zalasiewicz, a geologist/d ??? ɑl?d ??st/at the University of Leicester and chair of theWorking Group on the Anthropocene(WGA), which started work in 2009.
trajectory/tr?’d??kt?ri/
n. [物] 軌道，軌線香璃；[航][軍] 彈道
geologist/d ??? ɑl?d ??st/
地質(zhì)學(xué)家这难，地質(zhì)學(xué)者
“If our recommendation is accepted, the Anthropocene will have started just a little before I was born,” he said. “We have lived most of our lives in something called the Anthropocene and are justrealising/'r??la?z/the scale andpermanence/‘p?m?n?ns/of the change.”
realising/‘r??la?z/
vt. 認(rèn)識到，明白
permanence/‘p?m?n?ns/
n. 持久葡秒；永久
Prof Colin Waters, principal geologist at the British Geological Survey and WGAsecretary/'s?kr?'t?ri/, said: “Being able topinpoint/‘p?np??nt/an interval of time is saying something about how we have had an incredible impact on the environment of our planet. The concept of the Anthropocene manages to pull all these ideas of environmental/?n,va?r?n'm?ntl/change together.”
secretary/‘s?kr?’t?ri/
n. 秘書姻乓；書記；部長眯牧；大臣
pinpoint/‘p?np??nt/
vt. 查明蹋岩；精確地找到；準(zhǔn)確描述
adj. 精確的学少；詳盡的
n. 針尖剪个；精確位置；極小之物
High levels ofnitrogen/'na?tr?d??n/andphosphate/‘fɑsfet/in soils/s??l/, derived/d?'ra?v/from artificialfertilisers/'f?:tilais?/, could be taken as evidence/‘?v?d?ns/of theonset/'ɑns?t/of the Anthropocene.
nitrogen/‘na?tr?d??n/
n. [化學(xué)] 氮
phosphate/‘fɑsfet/
n. 磷酸鹽版确；皮膜化成
soils/s??l/
n. [土壤] 土壤扣囊；泥土；滋生地（soil的復(fù)數(shù)）
v. 弄臟绒疗；玷污侵歇；敗壞（soil的第三人稱單數(shù)）
derived/d?'ra?v/from
來源于
fertilisers/'f?:tilais?/化肥（等于fertilizer）
onset/‘ɑns?t/
開始，著手吓蘑；發(fā)作盒至；攻擊，進攻
Prof Chris Rapley, a climate scientist at University College London and former director of the Science Museum in London said: “The Anthropocene marks a new period in which ourcollective/k?'l?kt?v/activitiesdominate/'dɑm?net/theplanetary/'pl?n?t?ri/machinery/m?'?in?ri/.
collective/k?’l?kt?v/
adj. 集體的；共同的枷遂；集合的；集體主義的
n. 集團棋嘲；集合體酒唉；集合名詞
vt. 控制；支配沸移；占優(yōu)勢痪伦；在…中占主要地位
vi. 占優(yōu)勢；處于支配地位
planetary/‘pl?n?t?ri/
adj. 行星的
machinery/m?'?in?ri/.
n. 機械雹锣；機器网沾；機構(gòu)；機械裝置
“Since the planet is our life support system – we are essentially thecrew/kr?/of alargish/‘lɑrd???/spaceship–interference/??nt?’f?r?ns/with its functioning at this level and on this scale is highly significant. If you or I were crew on a smallerspacecraft/'speskr?ft/, it would be unthinkable/?n'θ??k?bl/tointerfere withthe systems that provide us with air, water,fodderand climate control.But the shift into the Anthropocene tells us that we are playing with fire, a potentially/p?'t?n??li/reckless/'r?kl?s/mode of behaviour which we are likely to come toregret/r?’ɡr?t/unless we get agrip/ɡr?p/on the situation.” Rapley is not part of the WGA.
crew/kr?/
n. 隊蕊爵，組辉哥；全體人員，全體船員
vi. 一起工作
vt. 使當(dāng)船員
largish/‘lɑrd???/
adj. 稍大的攒射；相當(dāng)大的
interference/??nt?’f?r?ns/
干擾醋旦，沖突；干涉
spacecraft/‘speskr?ft/
n. [航] 宇宙飛船会放，航天器
unthinkable/?n'θ??k?bl/
adj. 不能想象的饲齐；過分的
reckless/'r?kl?s/
adj. 魯莽的，不顧后果的咧最；粗心大意的
regret/r?’ɡr?t/
vt. 后悔捂人；惋惜；哀悼
grip/ɡr?p/
緊握矢沿；夾緊
Martin Rees, theastronomerroyal and former president of the Royal Society, said thatthe dawn of the Anthropocene was a significant moment. “The darkestprognosis/prɑg'nos?s/for the nextmillennium/m??l?ni?m/is thatbio/?ba?o/,cyber/‘sa?b?/or environmentalcatastrophes/k?'t?str?fi/couldforeclose/f?r'kloz/humanity’simmense/?'m?ns/potential, leaving adepleted/di'plitid/biosphere/'ba?osf?r/,” he said.
prognosis/prɑg’nos?s/
. [醫(yī)] 預(yù)后滥搭；預(yù)知
millennium/m??l?ni?m/
千年期，千禧年咨察；一千年论熙，千年紀(jì)念；太平盛世摄狱，黃金時代
cyber/‘sa?b?/
adj. 網(wǎng)絡(luò)的脓诡，計算機的
catastrophes/k?'t?str?fi/
大災(zāi)難；大禍媒役；慘敗
阻止祝谚；排除；取消抵押品贖回權(quán)
immense/?'m?ns/
adj. 巨大的酣衷，廣大的交惯；無邊無際的；非常好的
depleted/di’plitid/
adj. 耗盡的；廢棄的席爽；貧化的
biosphere/'ba?osf?r/,
生物圈
But Lord/l?rd/Rees added that there is also cause foroptimism/'ɑpt?m?z?m/. “Human societies could navigate/'n?v?'get/thesethreats/θret/, achieve asustainable/s?'sten?bl/future, andinaugurate/?'n?ɡj?ret/eras/'?r?/of post-human evolution even moremarvellous/'mɑ:vil?s/than what’s led to us. The dawn of the Anthropocene epoch would then mark a one-off/'w?n?f/transformation from a natural world to one where humansjumpstart?d??mp?stɑrt/the transition to electronic (and potentiallyimmortal/?'m?rtl/) entities/'?nt?ti/, thattranscend/tr?n's?nd/our limitations and eventually spread their influence/'?nflu?ns/far beyond the Earth.”
optimism/‘ɑpt?m?z?m/
n. 樂觀意荤；樂觀主義
navigate/'n?v?'get/
vt. 駕駛，操縱只锻；使通過玖像；航行于
threats/θret/
n. 威脅，風(fēng)險（threat的復(fù)數(shù)）
sustainable/s?'sten?bl/
adj. 可以忍受的齐饮；足可支撐的捐寥；養(yǎng)得起的；可持續(xù)的
inaugurate/?’n?ɡj?ret/
vt. 創(chuàng)新祖驱；開辟握恳；開創(chuàng)；舉行開幕典禮捺僻；舉行就職典禮
eras/'?r?/
n. 時代乡洼；年代；紀(jì)元
post-human 后人類
marvellous/'mɑ:vil?s/
adj. 不可思議的陵像；驚人的
one-off/‘w?n?f/
adj. 一次性的
immortal/?'m?rtl/
adj. 不朽的就珠；神仙的；長生的
entities/‘?nt?ti/
n. 實體醒颖；存在妻怎；本質(zhì)
transcend/tr?n's?nd/
vt. 勝過，超越
Theevidence of humanity’s impact on the planet is overwhelming/?ov??hw?lm??/, but the changes are very recent in geological terms, where an epoch usually spans tens of millions of years. “Onecriticism/'kr?t?'s?z?m/of the Anthropocene asgeologyis that it is very short,” said Zalasiewicz. “Our response is that many of the changes areirreversible./??r?'v?s?bl/”
criticism/‘kr?t?'s?z?m/
n. 批評泞歉；考證逼侦；苛求
irreversible./??r?’v?s?bl/
adj. 不可逆的；不能取消的腰耙；不能翻轉(zhuǎn)的
Human activity has left a permanent layer ofairborne/'?r'b?rn/particulates/p?'t?kj?,let/insediment/‘s?d?m?nt/andglacial’ɡle?l/ice.
airborne/‘?r'b?rn/
adj. [航] 空運的榛丢；空氣傳播的；風(fēng)媒的
particulates/p?'t?kj?,let/
adj. 微粒的
n. 微粒挺庞，微粒狀物質(zhì)
沉積晰赞；沉淀物
glacial’ɡle?l/
adj. 冰的；冰冷的选侨；冰河時代的
To define a new geological epoch, a signal must be found that occurs globally and will beincorporated/?n'k?rp?'ret?d/into deposits/d?'pɑz?t/in the future geological record. For example, theextinction/?k'st??k??n/of the dinosaurs/'da?n?'s?r/66m years ago at the end of theCretaceous/kr?'te??s/epoch is defined by a “golden spike” in sediments around the world of the metaliridium/?'r?d??m/, which wasdispersed/d?'sp?st/fromthemeteorite/'mit??'ra?t/that collided/k?’la?d/with Earth to end the dinosaur age.
incorporated/?n’k?rp?’ret?d/
合并掖鱼；包含；組成公司（incorporate的過去分詞）
incorporated into并入
deposits/d?'pɑz?t/
n. 存款援制；押金戏挡；訂金；保證金晨仑；沉淀物
Cretaceous/kr?'te??s/
adj. 白堊紀(jì)的褐墅；似白堊的
iridium/?'r?d??m/
n. [化學(xué)] 銥（Ir）
meteorite/'mit??'ra?t/
n. 隕星拆檬；流星
collided/k?’la?d/with
沖突,碰撞
For the Anthropocene, the best candidate for such a golden spike are radioactive elements from nuclear bomb tests, which were blown into thestratosphere/'str?t?sf?r/before settling down to Earth. “Theradionuclides/'red?o'nj?,kla?d/are probably thesharpest– they really come on with a bang,” said Zalasiewicz. “But we are spoiled/sp ??lt/for choice. There are so many signals.”
stratosphere/‘str?t?sf?r/
n. 同溫層；最上層妥凳；最高階段
radionuclides/'red?o'nj?,kla?d/
n. [核] 放射性核素
spoiled/sp ??lt/
adj. 被寵壞的
Other spikes being considered as evidence of the onset of the Anthropocene include the tough/t?f/, unburned/?n'b?:nd/carbon spheres emitted by power stations. “The Earth has been smoked, with signals very clearly around the world in the mid-20th century,” said Zalasiewicz.
tough/t?f/
adj. 艱苦的竟贯，困難的；堅強的逝钥，不屈不撓的澄耍；堅韌的，牢固的晌缘；強壯的，結(jié)實的
Another candidate to be considered as evidence of the Anthropocene is plastic/'pl?st?k/pollution.
plastic pollution塑料污染
Other candidates include plastic pollution,aluminium/??lj?'m?n??m/and concrete particles'pɑrt?kl/, and high levels ofnitrogen/'na?tr?d??n/andphosphate/'fɑsfet/in soils,derived fromartificial fertilisers. Although the world is currently seeing only the sixth mass extinction of species in the 700m-year history of complex life on Earth, this is unlikely to provide a useful golden spike as the animals are by definition very rare and rarely dispersed worldwide.
aluminium/??lj?’m?n??m/
adj. 鋁的
phosphate/'fɑsfet/
n. 磷酸鹽痢站；皮膜化成
In contrast/'kɑntr?st/, some species have with human help spread rapidly across the world. The domestic chicken is a seriouscontender/k?n’t?nd?/to be afossil'fɑsl/that defines the Anthropocene for future geologists. “Since the mid-20th century, it has become the world’s most common bird. It has beenfossilisedin thousands of landfill/'l?nd'f?l/sites and on street corners around the world,” said Zalasiewicz. “It is is also a much bigger bird with a differentskeleton/'sk?l?tn/than itsprewar/pri'w?r/ancestor.”
contender/k?n’t?nd?/
n. 競爭者磷箕；爭奪者
fossil'fɑsl/
n. 化石；僵化的事物阵难；頑固不化的人
landfill/'l?nd'f?l/垃圾填埋地岳枷；垃圾堆
The 35 scientists on the WGA – who voted 30 to threein favour/?fev?/offormally/‘f?rmli/designating/'d?z?ɡnet/the Anthropocene, with twoabstentions/?b'st?n??n/– will now spend the next two to three years determining which signals are the strongest and sharpest.Crucially/?kru??l?/, they must also decide a location which will define the start of the Anthropocene. Geological divisions are not defined by dates but by a specific/sp?'s?f?k/boundary between layers of rock/rɑk/or, in the case of the Holocene, a boundary between two ice layers in a core taken from Greenland and now stored in Denmark/?d?n?mɑrk/.
in favour of
支持，贊成
formally/‘f?rmli/
adv. 正式地呜叫；形式上
designating/'d?z?ɡnet/
vt. 指定空繁；指派；標(biāo)出朱庆；把…定名為
abstentions/?b'st?n??n/
n. 棄權(quán)盛泡；節(jié)制；戒絕
Crucially/?kru??l?/,
adv. 關(guān)鍵地娱颊；至關(guān)重要地
Denmark/?d?n?mɑrk/丹麥（歐洲國家）
The domestic chicken is a serious contender to be a fossil that defines the Anthropocene for future geologists.
The scientists are focusing on sites/sa?t/where annual layers are formed and are investigatingmudsedimentsoff the coast of Santa Barbara in California and the Ernesto cave in northern Italy, wherestalactites/st?'l?kta?t/andstalagmites/st?'l?ɡm(xù)a?t/accrete/??krit/annual rings. Lake sediments, ice cores from Antarctica,corals/'k?:r?l/, tree rings and even layers ofrubbish/‘r?b??/in landfill sites are also being considered.
sites/sa?t/. 網(wǎng)站（site的復(fù)數(shù)）傲诵；遺址，舉辦地點
stalactites/st?'l?kta?t/
n. [地質(zhì)] 鐘乳石
stalagmites/st?'l?ɡm(xù)a?t/
石筍箱硕；石筍狀
accrete/??krit/
vi. 合生拴竹；增大生長；依附
corals/'k?:r?l/,
[無脊椎] 珊瑚（coral的復(fù)數(shù)）
rubbish/‘r?b??/
n. 垃圾剧罩，廢物栓拜；廢話
Once the data has beenassembled/?'semb?ld/, it will be formally submitted to the stratigraphic/?str?ti’ɡr?fik/authorities/?:'θ?ritis/and the Anthropocene could be officially adopted/?'d?ptid/within a few years. “If we were very lucky and someone came forward with, say, a core from a classic example oflaminated/'l?m?net?d/sediments in a deepmarine/m?'rin/environment, I think three years is possiblyviable/?va??b?l/,” said Zalasiewicz.
stratigraphic/?str?ti’ɡr?fik/
adj. 地層的；地層學(xué)的
authorities/?:'θ?ritis/
n. 當(dāng)局惠昔，官方（authority的復(fù)數(shù)）
adopted/?'d?ptid/
adj. 被收養(yǎng)的幕与；被采用的
laminated/‘l?m?net?d/
adj. 層壓的；層積的舰罚；薄板狀的
marine/m?’rin/
adj. 船舶的纽门；海生的；海產(chǎn)的营罢；航海的赏陵，海運的
viable/?va??b?l/,
adj. 可行的饼齿；能養(yǎng)活的；能生育的
This would be lightning/'la?tn??/speed for such a geological decision, which in the past would have taken decades/'dekeid/and even centuries to make. The term Anthropocene wascoined/k??n/only in 2000, by the Nobel prize-winning scientist Paul Crutzen, who believes the name change isoverdue/'ov?'d?/. Hesaid in 2011: “This name change stresses theenormity/?'n?rm?ti/of humanity’s responsibility asstewards/'stju:?d/of the Earth.” Crutzen also identified in 2007 what he called the“great acceleration”of human impacts on the planet from the mid-20th century.
lightning/'la?tn??/
adj. 閃電的蝙搔；快速的
coined/k??n/
vt. 鑄造（貨幣）缕溉；杜撰，創(chuàng)造
overdue/'ov?'d?/.
adj. 過期的吃型；遲到的证鸥；未兌的
enormity/?'n?rm?ti/
n. 巨大；暴行勤晚；極惡
stewards/'stju:?d/
n. 干事枉层；管理員；服務(wù)員（steward的復(fù)數(shù)）
v. 管理赐写；當(dāng)管理員（steward的三單形式）
Despite the WGA’s expert recommendation, the declaration of the Anthropocene is not yet aforegone/'f?rɡ?n/conclusion. “Ourstratigraphiccolleagues are very protective/pr?’t?kt?v/of the geological time scale. They see it very rightly as the backbone/'b?k'bon/of geology and they do notamend/?'m?nd/it lightly/'la?tli/,” said Zalasiewicz. “But I think we can prepare a pretty good case.”
foregone/‘f?rɡ?n/
adj. 過去的鸟蜡；先前的；預(yù)知的挺邀；預(yù)先決定的
backbone/'b?k'bon/of
n. 支柱揉忘；主干網(wǎng)；決心端铛，毅力泣矛；脊椎
amend/?'m?nd/
vt. 修改；改善禾蚕，改進
lightly/'la?tli/
adv. 輕輕地您朽；輕松地；容易地夕膀；不費力地
Rapley also said there was a strong case: “It is highly appropriate that geologists should payformalattention to a change in the signal within sedimentary rock layers that will be clearly apparent to future generations of geologists for as long as they exist. The ‘great acceleration’constitutes/'kɑnst?tut/a strong, detectable andincontrovertible/??nkɑntr?’v?t?bl/signal.”
constitutes/‘kɑnst?tut/
vt. 組成虚倒，構(gòu)成；建立产舞；任命
incontrovertible/??nkɑntr?’v?t?bl/
adj. 無可爭議的魂奥；無疑的；明白的
Evidence of the Anthropocene
Human activity has:
Pushed extinction rates of animals and plants far above the long-term average. The Earth is on course to see 75% of species become extinct in the next few centuries if current trends continue.
Increased levels of climate-warming CO2 in the atmosphere/'?tm?sf?r/atthe fastest rate for 66m years, withfossil-fuelburning pushing levels from 280 parts per million before theindustrial revolutionto400ppm and rising today.
Put so much plastic in ourwaterways/'w?t?we/and oceans thatmicroplasticparticles are nowvirtually/?v?t?u?li/ubiquitous, and plastics will likely leave identifiable fossil records for future generations to discover.
waterways/‘w?t?we/
n. 航道易猫；水路耻煤；排水溝
virtually/?v?t?u?li/
adv. 事實上，幾乎准颓；實質(zhì)上
Doubled the nitrogen/'na?tr?d??n/and phosphorous音/‘fɑsf?r?s/in our soils in the past century with fertiliser/'f?:tilais?/use. This is likely to be the largest impact/?m'p?kt/on the nitrogen cycle in 2.5bn years.
Left a permanent layer of airborne particulates in sediment and glacial ice such as black carbon from fossil fuel burning.
