外刊英文读后感

第94届奥斯卡颁奖典礼上，颁奖人克里斯·洛克开了史皇妻子的玩笑，被史皇当场教做人。有意思的是，在这足以载入奥斯卡史册的一巴掌之后，奥斯卡的收视率逆势上涨。 近几年，奥斯卡收视率连年下滑，院线电影票房也越发不景气。是什么原因造成了这样的局面？看《洛杉矶时报》如何剖析。 本篇推送原文选自《洛杉矶时报》，译文为机器翻译基础上的调整。笔记由 知新共学外刊群（3月15日开始） 笔记大大Zoe制作。 We Aren't Just Watching the Decline of the Oscars. We're Watching the End of the Movies. 我们不只见证着奥斯卡的衰落，也在见证电影的终结。 Watch the Decline of the Oscars见证着奥斯卡的衰落 这里面我们可以提炼出句式： Watch the decline of... 见证...的衰落 Decline: [ Cusually sing.U ] ~ (in sth)~ (of sth) a continuous decrease in the number, value, quality, etc. of sth （数量、价值、质量等的）减少，下降，衰落，衰退 urban/economic decline 城市衰落；经济衰退 The Oscars are declining because the movies they were made to showcase have been slowly disappearing. Within the larger arc of Hollywood history, this is the time to call it: We aren't just watching the decline of the Oscars; we're watching the End of the Movies. 奥斯卡日渐式微，因为这些奖项设置的目的就是展示电影，而这些电影在逐渐消失。纵观更宏大的好莱坞电影史，现在是时候宣告终结了：我们不只是见证着奥斯卡的衰落，我们也在见证电影的终结。 Showcase 此处是用作动词：V-T If something is showcased, it is displayed or presented to its best advantage. 展示 Restored films are being showcased this month at a festival in Paris.本月的巴黎电影节将展映一些修复版的电影。the larger arc of Hollywood history更宏大的好莱坞电影史 Arc 弧，这里的取义是：(in a novel, play, or film) the development or resolution of the narrative or principal theme（小说、戏剧或电影）情节（或主题）的发展（或结局） His transformation provides the emotional arc of the story.他的转变为故事提供了情感发展轨迹。What happened was complicated in that many different forces were at work but simple in that they all had the same effect. The happiest of these changes was a creative breakthrough on television, which enabled small-screen entertainment to vie with the movies as a stage for high-level acting, writing and directing. 这种现象之所以复杂是因为有许多不同的因素共同作用；说简单也简单，因为这些因素的影响大同小异。在这些变化之中，尚且令人欣慰的就是电视节目的创造性突破：小屏幕上的视听娱乐，如今也能和电影一争高下，展示高水平的表演、剧本创作和导演水平。 第一句话乍看上去有点绕： What happened was complicated in that...but simple in that... In that这里引导原因状语从句，相当于for the reason that, because 来一个富有哲理的例句： Criticism and self-criticism is necessary in that it helps us correct our mistakes.批评与自我批评是必要的，因为它可以帮助我们纠正错误。 Its craft are unusual in that they are reusable, rather than disposable.它的火箭非同寻常，因为可以重复使用，而不是一次性的。Vie ：~ (with sb) (for sth) ( formal ) to compete strongly with sb in order to obtain or achieve sth 激烈竞争；争夺 a row of restaurants vying with each other for business 彼此争抢生意的一排饭馆But these productions are still a different kind of thing from The Movies as they were — because stories told for smaller screens cede certain artistic powers in advance. 但这些电视作品还是难以和过去的电影相提并论，因为那些为小屏幕而生的故事，在创作前期就要舍弃某些艺术表现力。 Cede : [ VN ] ~ sth (to sb) ( formal ) to give sb control of sth or give them power, a right, etc., especially unwillingly 割让；让给；转让 Only a short campaign took place in Puerto Rico, but after the war Spain ceded the island to America. 波多黎各岛仅经历了一场短暂的战斗，但大战后西班牙把该岛割让给了美国。 此处言下之意是“为了适应小屏幕而舍弃了部分艺术表现力”First, they cede the expansive powers inherent in the scale of the moviegoing experience. Not just larger-than-life acting but also the immersive elements of the cinematic arts, from cinematography to music and sound editing, which inherently matter less when experienced on smaller screens and may get less attention when those smaller screens are understood to be their primary destination. 首先被放弃的，是在影院观影体验中自带的张力：不仅是高于生活的表演，而且还有电影艺术里的沉浸式元素，包括电影摄影技术以及音乐、声音剪辑等等；而对于小屏幕观影体验而言，这些元素原本就没那么重要，而且如果某些电影一开始就打算在小屏幕放映，那么人们也就不会太关注这些元素。 [语法] 本段第二句话其实只是一个短语，没有完整的主谓宾： Not just larger-than-life acting but also the immersive elements of the cinematic arts（主干主语）, from cinematography to music and sound editing（插入语）, which（定从） inherently matter（定从谓语1） less（状语） when experienced on smaller screens（条件状语从句） and （并列连词）may get（定从谓语2） less attention （定从宾语）when those smaller screens are understood to be their primary destination（条件状语从句）. 所以这部分的主要成分只是： Not just larger-than-life acting but also the immersive elements of the cinematic arts. 定从的部分我们重点看下： Which inherently matter less  which的先行词就是前面的所有部分，也就是舍弃的具体内容： 这些元素原本就没那么重要 什么情况下没那么重要？—— when experienced on smaller screens.对于小屏幕观影体验而言 and may get less attention还可能得不到太多的关注，换个说法就是：人们不会在这些方面花那么多的心思 这又是什么情况下呢？—— when those smaller screens are understood to be their primary destination某些电影最初就被设计为在小屏幕放映的时候 Inherent :~ (in sb/sth) that is a basic or permanent part of sb/sth and that cannot be removed 固有的；内在的 an inherent weakness in the design of the machine 机器设计中的内在缺陷 cinematic  /ˌsɪnəˈmætɪk/  arts电影艺术Second, the serial television that dominates our era also cedes the power achieved in condensation. This is the alchemy that you get when you're forced to tell an entire story in one go, when the artistic exertions of an entire team are distilled into under three hours of cinema, when there's no promise of a second season or multiepisode arc to develop your ideas and you have to say whatever you want to say right here and now. 其次，主导着我们这个时代的电视连续剧也舍弃了电影所具有的凝练。这就像是电影制作中的一种“炼金术”：你不得不一口气讲完一个完整的故事；整个团队的艺术探索都被浓缩到一部不足三小时的影片中；而且不一定有机会以第二季或多剧集的形式去展开呈现你的构想，因此你必须就在此时此刻说出所有要表达的想法。 the power achieved in condensation 凝练力 condensation  /ˌkɒndenˈseɪʃn/ :[ U ] drops of water that form on a cold surface when warm water vapour becomes cool 凝结的水珠 *这里是修辞手法了Alchemy 炼金术，这里指：( literary ) a mysterious power or magic that can change things （改变事物的）神秘力量，魔力[语法] 又来一个大长句： This（主干主语） is（主干系动词） the alchemy（主干表语） that （定从，先行词alchemy）you（定从主语） get（定从谓语） when you're forced to tell an entire story in one go（时间状语从句）, when the artistic exertions of an entire team are distilled into under three hours of cinema（时间状语从句, when there's no promise of a second season or multiepisode arc to develop your ideas and you have to say whatever you want to say right here and now（时间状语从句. 主干很简单： This is the alchemy.3 个并列的时间状语从句分别看下： when you're forced to tell an entire story in one go 不得不一口气讲完整个故事in one go 一口气，一下子 Go : ( BrE ) [C] ( NAmE BrE also try ) an attempt at doing sth （做某事的）尝试，一番努力 It took three goes to get it right. 试了三次才把它弄好。 I doubt if he'll listen to advice from me, but I'll give it a go (= I'll try but I don't think I will succeed) . 我怀疑他是不是会听我劝，不过我想试试看。when the artistic exertions of an entire team（从句主语） are distilled （从句谓语）into under three hours of cinema 整个团队的艺术探索都要浓缩到不到三小时的电影里 Exertion :[U] ( also ex·er·tions [ pl. ] ) physical or mental effort; the act of making an effort 努力；尽力；费力 He needed to relax after the exertions of a busy day at work. 他忙碌工作了一天后需要休息。 Distil :~ sth (from/into sth) ( formal ) to get the essential meaning or ideas from thoughts, information, experiences, etc. 吸取…的精华；提炼；浓缩 The notes I made on my travels were distilled into a book. 我的旅行笔记精选汇编成了一本书。 Promise :[ Using. ] ~ of sth a sign, or a reason for hope that sth may happen, especially sth good 吉兆；迹象 The day dawned bright and clear, with the promise of warm, sunny weather.拂晓时晴空万里，预示着温暖晴朗的天气。Even if the End of the Movies cannot be commercially or technologically reversed, there is cultural life after this kind of death. It's just up to us, now, to decide how abundant it will be. 尽管电影的终结不能通过商业或技术手段得以逆转，但在其消亡之后，我们对文化生活的需求依然存在。而未来这种生活能有多丰富，当下就取决于我们。 Abundant :( formal ) existing in large quantities; more than enough 大量的；丰盛的；充裕的 Fish are abundant in the lake. 湖里鱼很多。Reverse : [ VN ] to change sth completely so that it is the opposite of what it was before 颠倒；彻底转变；使完全相反 to reverse a procedure/process/trend 彻底改变程序╱过程╱趋势[翻译技巧] 常见的英语副词翻译方法 为使译文通畅，意思连贯， 可把英文的一个副词译成句子，使原文的一个句子分译成两个或两个以上的句子 ，比如： The Chinese seemed justifiably proud of their economic achievements. 中国人似乎为他们在经济上取得的成就而自豪，这是合乎情理的。 如果副词在句中作插入语，试着前置。 比如： Telecommunications means, simply, communication from a distance. 简单说来，电讯就是远距离通讯。 如果英文的副词在汉语中找不到对等的副词，可以试着转换词性。 比如： They have not done so well ideologically.他们没有做好思想工作。 The attractive force between the molecules is negilibly small. 分子间的吸引力可以小到忽略不计。 翻译成 “在……上”、“在……方面”、“以……的方式” ，比如： What he asserts is only theoretically true.他的提法只是在理论上能成立。 Even if the End of the Movies cannot be commercially or technologically reversed, there is cultural life after this kind of death.尽管电影的终结不能通过商业或技术手段得以逆转，但在其消亡之后，我们对文化生活的需求依然存在。 本文完。

How to fix the world's energy emergency without wrecking the climate 如何在不破坏气候的情况下解决全球能源危机 This year's energy shock is the most serious since the Middle Eastern oil crises of 1973 and 1979. Like those calamities, it promises to inflict short-term pain and in the longer term to transform the energy industry. The pain is all but guaranteed: owing to high fuel and power prices, most countries are facing soggy growth, inflation, squeezed living standards and a savage political backlash.今年爆发的能源危机是自1973和1979年中东石油危机以来最为严重的一次。与上述两次石油危机一样，本轮能源危机在短期内会带来经济阵痛，从长期来看将使能源产业发生变革。短期阵痛无可避免：由于燃料和能源价格高企，很多国家都面临着经济增长停滞，通货膨胀攀升，生活水平下降，以及严重的政治反弹。But the long-run consequences are far from preordained. If governments respond ineptly, they could trigger a relapse towards fossil fuels that makes it even harder to stabilise the climate. Instead they must follow a perilous path that combines security of energy supply with climate security.但长期后果却绝非在所难免。政府如应对拙劣，则有可能会导致向化石能源倒退，要稳定气候将难上加难。相反，政府必须走一条既能保障能源供给安全又能实现气候安全的艰险之路。In Europe what was long imagined as a nightmare of freezing midwinter nights has instead erupted as a midsummer fever dream. A hearwave forced Spanish gas demand to near-record highs, even as, on June 14th, Russia began to lower the flow of gas along the Nord Stream 1 pipeline to Western Europe,sending prices soaring by 50% and raising fears that rationing may be introduced later this year.在欧洲，长期以来人们想象中的噩梦场景是天寒地冻的隆冬夜晚，现在却被仲夏高温热浪的噩梦所侵袭。热浪侵袭迫使西班牙天然气需求暴涨至接近历史最高水平，在此之际，6月14日俄罗斯却开始削减北溪1号管道向西方的天然气供应，刺激天然气价格飙升50%，人们也日益担心今年晚些时候恐要实行能源定额供给。Elsewhere, Americans are paying $5 for a gallon of petrol(€1.25 a litre), fuelling the inflation that opinion polls say it their biggest worry and President Joe Biden's worst headache. Australia's power market has failed. Everywhere you look there are shortages and fragility.再看其他地区，美国的石油价格已涨至5美元一加仑（合1.25欧元每升），进一步推高了通胀，民调显示这是人们最大的担忧，也是拜登总统最头痛的问题；澳大利亚的电力市场已经崩溃。放眼全球，到处都遭受着短缺和脆弱。Energy shocks can become political catastrophes. Perhaps a third of the rich world's inflation of 8% is explained by soaring fuel and power costs. Households struggling to pay bills are angry, leading to policies aimed at insulating them and boosting fossil-fuel production, however dirty.能源危机有可能会演变成政治灾难。发达国家8%的通胀率中有三分之一是由燃料及动力成本飙升造成的。普通家庭难以维持生计，怨声载道，迫使政府采取政策平息民怨，增加肮脏化石燃料的生产。Mr Biden, who came to power promising a green revolution, plans to suspend petrol taxes and visit Saudi Arabia to ask it to pump more oil. Europe has emergency windfall levies, subsidies, price caps and more. In Germany, as air-conditioners whine, coal-fired power plants are being taken out of mothballs. (...) and India state-run mining firms that the climate-conscious hoped were on a fast track to extinction are digging up record amounts of coals.拜登上台时承诺要发起一场绿色革命，现在却计划暂停征收燃油税，并将访问沙特阿拉伯，游说其增加石油产量。欧洲采取紧急额外征税、补贴、限价及其他措施。由于空调使用量大增，德国正重启燃煤电厂。环保主义者心心念念希望能快速关停的(...)和印度的国有矿企，产煤量创下历史新高。This improvised chaos is understandable but potentially disastrous, because it could stall the clean-energy transition. Public handouts and tax-breaks for fossil fuels will be hard to withdraw. Dirty new power plants and oil-and gasfields with 30-to 40-year lifespans would give their owners more reason to resist fossil-fuel phase-outs. That is why, even as they firefight, governments must focus on tackling the fundamental problems confronting the energy industry.煤炭复兴临时搅局，虽有情可原但恐会造成灾难性后果，因为它或会延迟清洁能源转型。一旦对化石能源提供公共拨款和税收减免，将很难撤销。新建”肮脏“燃煤电厂和油气田的生命周期为30到40年，这就让其所有者更有理由抵制对化石燃料进行逐步淘汰。这就是为何政府即使采取救急措施，也必须关注于解决能源产业所面临的基础问题。One priority is finding a way to ramp up fossil-fuel projects, especially relatively clean natural gas, that have an artificially truncated lifespan of 15-20 years so as to align them with the goal of dramatically cutting emissions by 2050. In particular Europe and Asia, which must wean themselves off Russian gas and coal respectively, have too little liquefied natural gas(LNG) capacity.一个当务之急是想办法增加使用寿命人为截短到15到20年的化石燃料项目，特别是相对清洁的天然气项目，以符合2025年大幅减排的目标。尤其是必须分别摆脱对俄罗斯天然气和石油依赖的欧洲和亚洲，液化天然气接收设施却非常有限。The trick is to get business to back schemes designed to be shortlived. One option is for governments and energy grids to offer guaranteed contracts over this period that provide an adequate return on the understanding that capacity will be shut down early. Another is to pledge eventual state support to make these projects cleaner, for example through carbon capture and storage.解决办法是鼓励企业投资针对短期设计的项目。一种做法是以提前关停生产为条件，政府和能源电网与企业签定保障性合同以保障其获得足够利润。另一种做法是政府承诺最终给予支持对这些项目进行环保改造，比如采取碳捕获与存储的途径。This does not mean easing up on the drive towards renewables-the most successful part, to date, of the world's generally poor response to the climate crisis. Every extra kilowatt-hour from the sun fed into Europe's electricity grids is one fewer that comes down a Russian pipeline. Governments must improve the reach, capacity and storage capabilities of their grids and remove the obstacles that continue to make it harder to add renewable capacity than it should be. The design of power grids and markets is squarely a matter for governments and they are too often trapped in 20th-century thinking.这并不意味着放松推动可再生能源转型，迄今为止总体而言全球对气候危机反应不够积极，可再生能源转型算是其中最积极的响应对策。每多一千瓦时太阳能进入欧洲电网，就等于减少了一千瓦时俄罗斯通过管道输送的天然气。政府必须提高电网的覆盖范围、容量和存储量，并消除障碍把可再生能源发电容量接入电网，这本不该如此困难。电网和市场设计完全是政府的责任，但政府却常常陷于20世纪的旧思维之中。As our Technology Quarterly reports, 21st-century thinking turns on new ways to provide smart, resilient grids with the zero-carbon "firm" power that makes dependence on renewables safe and effective. Hydrogen stripped from water with renewable electricity, or from natural gas with steam in facilities that store the emissions, may be crucial here. So, in many places, may nuclear power. Climate-conscious atomic enthusiasts often focus on whizzy but unproven small-scale nuclear plants. What matters more is to improve the building of big ones.正如我们的科技季刊所报道的，21世纪思维会寻求新方法，打造智能坚韧的电网，提供零碳”稳定“电力，安全高效使用可再生能源。利用可再生电力从水中提炼氢，或在碳存储设施中利用蒸汽从天然气中提炼氢，也许是关键所在。在很多地方开发核能也会起到重要作用。有环保意识的原子能爱好者往往关注于新式但未经检验的小型核电站。更重要的是如何改进大型核电站的修建。Where there is strong and co-ordinatd anti-nuclear opinion, governments must win support by showing that there are better safeguards against accidents (see Culture section) and new ways to store waste, as our report from Finland explains(see Science & technology section). Politicaians need to tell voters that their desire for an energy transition that eschews both fossil fuels and nuclear power is a dangerous illusion.在公众一致强烈反对核能的国家，政府务必要赢得民众支持，途径是向民众展示，如我们关于芬兰的报道所解释的（请看科学与技术专栏），有更好的安全措施预防事故发生，有新的方法存储核废料。政客需要告知选民，希望同时放弃化石燃料和核能而实现能源转型只是个危险的幻想。The last necessity is to make the industry predictable. That may sound strange given that 20th-century energy markets coped with wars, coups, revolutions, booming Chinese demand and new technology. But the climate transition has added an extra layer of uncertainty even as it simultaneously requires a massive increase in investment. In order to reach net-zero emissions by 2050, annual investment needs to double to $5trn a year, according to the International Energy Agency. The risk is that this latest crisis, and the chaotic government response to it, make investors warier instead.最后是有必要实现能源产业的可预测。考虑到20世纪能源市场应对了战争、政变、革命、中国需求激增及新科技出现，这么说听起来很奇怪。虽然实现气候转型需要大幅增加投资，但同时气候转型也额外添加了一丝不确定性。据国际能源组织预测，为了在2050年实现净零排放，每年的投资额需加倍至5万亿美元。风险在于，最新的这场能源危机以及政府应对上的混乱无序，反而会让投资者更为谨慎。Spurring investment means eschewing gimmicks including greenwashing, protectionist plans to build domestic green supply chains, and silly prohibitions by banks on gas projects. Instead it will require steadily extending measures with more certainty about which energy sources can be used and for how long.刺激投资意味着不要耍花招，比如漂绿、建立国内绿色供应链等保护主义方案，以及愚蠢地禁止银行投资天然气项目等。相反，刺激投资需要稳步扩大推行能够提高关于可用能源来源及使用寿命确定性的措施。That means enhanced disclosure so that firms understand the externalities they create, an expansion of carbon prices so that they have a sense of the cost of pollution, and regulations that mandate the phasing out of dirty technologies. The great energy shock of 2022 is calamity. But it could also be the moment when better government policy triggers the investment needed to resolve the conflict between having a safer supply of energy and a safer climate.这意味着加强信息披露，使企业了解自己创造的外部因素；扩大碳价应用范围，使企业污染成本；制定规章，强制逐步淘汰肮脏技术。2022年的能源危机是灾难性的，但它也可能是一个让政府制定出更好政策以鼓励投资的时机，解决能源供应安全与气候安全的冲突离不开投资。