Let’s turn back time?
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BBC、New York Times報導：
The symbolic Doomsday Clock, which indicates how close our planet is to complete annihilation, is now only 100 seconds away from midnight. The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists (BAS) said that the change was made due to nuclear proliferation, failure to tackle climate change and “cyber-based disinformation”. The clock now stands at its closest to doomsday since it began ticking.
1. Doomsday Clock 末日時鐘
2. annihilation 滅絕
3. Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists (BAS) 原子科學家公報
4. nuclear proliferation 核擴散
5. cyber-based disinformation 基於網絡的虛假資訊
6. stand (v.) at （使）處於，進入（特定狀態或境況）
7. tick (v.) （鐘錶）發出滴答聲
* Doomsday Clock: https://bit.ly/2U6QcqP
象征世界末日的時鐘距離午夜僅剩100秒，它顯示我們的星球距離完全毀滅有多迫近。 原子科學家公報（BAS）表示，做出這一改變是由於核擴散、未能應對氣候變遷和“基於網絡的虛假資訊”。 自從時鐘開始滴答作響以來，現在是最接近世界末日的時刻。
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The Doomsday Clock is a potent symbol of scientific concerns about humanity’s possible annihilation. The idea began in 1947 to warn humanity of the dangers of nuclear war. The clock was first created by US scientists who worked on the Manhattan Project, which developed the world’s first nuclear weapon.
8. a potent symbol of 強而有力的象徵
9. nuclear war 核戰
10. humanity’s annihilation 人類滅絕
11. Manhattan Project 曼哈頓計畫
12. nuclear weapon 核武器
末日時鐘是從科學層面關注人類滅亡可能的強而有力的象徵。這個想法始於1947年，旨在警告人類核戰爭的危險。時鐘最初是由從事曼哈頓計劃的美國科學家創建的，該計劃開發了世界上第一個核武器。
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Georgetown University Professor Sharon Squassoni told reporters that the threat from nuclear weapons had increased, in part due to the collapse of the Iran nuclear deal, North Korean nuclear weapons development and continued proliferation from countries such as the US, China and Russia. She called the situation “dangerous” and demanding of an “urgent response”. The committee warned of another threat, particularly ahead of the US presidential election: “government-used cyber-enabled disinformation campaigns to sow distrust in institutions and among nations”.
13. in part 部分地；在一定程度上
14. the collapse of 崩潰，垮掉，失敗
15. Iran nuclear deal 伊朗核協議
16. ahead of 將來，未來，今後
17. presidential election 總統大選
18. cyber-enabled=web-enabled 可連上互聯網的；可以在互聯網上使用的
19. disinformation campaigns 虛假資訊活動
20. sow(v.) distrust 散播不信任
喬治城大學教授沙龍·斯卡索尼(Sharon Squassoni)告訴記者，來自核武的威脅有所增加，部分基於伊朗核協議的失敗、朝鮮核武器的發展以及美國、中國和俄羅斯等國家持續的(核)擴散。 她稱局勢為「危險」，並要求「緊急回應」。 該委員會警告了另一種威脅，尤其是在美國總統大選之前：「政府所用網絡虛假信息活動，以引起對機構和國家之間的不信任」。
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The clock does not lack for critics. For example, some say that warning people of danger actually induces political paralysis. Others question the judgments of the expert panel that oversees the clock — the bulletin’s science and security board — including the finding that the safest moment was in 1991, right after the Cold War had ended. Lawrence M. Krauss, a cosmologist at Arizona State University and a member of the board, acknowledged that in the “fake news” era, some critics were likely to accuse the scientists of having a political agenda. “People can say it’s a scam, but the point of this is to encourage public discussion,” he said. “What you’re trying to do is get people to act.” He said the clock “captures, for one day, deep existential threats, that for most of the rest of the year aren’t talked about.”
21. lack 缺乏
22. induce(v.) 導致
23. political paralysis 政治癱瘓狀態
24. expert panel 專家委員會
25. oversee(v.) 監督；監察；監管
26. security board 安全委員會
27. cosmologist 宇宙學專家
28. fake news era 假新聞時代
29. political agenda 政治目的
30. existential threats 生存威脅
*political paralysis: https://bit.ly/2U4w0FU
對末日時鐘持批評態度的不乏其人。比如，一些人認為，警告人們注意危險實際上會引發政治癱瘓。另一些人質疑管理它的專家委員會——即該公報的科學與安全委員會——的判斷，包括認為最安全的是1991冷戰剛結束時這個結論。亞利桑那州立大學(Arizona State University)的宇宙學專家，同時也是該委員會成員的勞倫斯·M·克勞斯(Lawrence M. Krauss)承認，在「假新聞」時代，一些批評人士可能會指責科學家有政治目的。「人們可以說這是騙人的，但這件事的意義就在於鼓勵公眾討論，」他說。「你努力在做的是讓人們行動起來。」他說，末日時鐘「在一天裡反映深層次的生存威脅，這些在一年中的其他大部分時候無人談及」。
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BBC完整報導：https://bbc.in/3024oVZ
New York Times 完整報導：https://nyti.ms/3cv6KiF
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