The Economist October 30th 2021 《經濟學人》2021年10月30日刊
欄目：Leaders
標題：COP-out
https：//www。zhihu。com/video/1437559969457131520
第一段：
“The rain it
raineth
every day，” Feste tells the audience at the end of “Twelfth Night”。 And the COP it coppeth every year。
▶ raineth，來自古英語，字尾-eth為一般現在時第三人稱單數，相當於現在的“s”。The rain it raineth every day出自莎士比亞戲劇《第十二夜》（Twelfth Night）中Feste人物的臺詞。這裡作者巧妙模仿莎翁的句子寫出the COP it coppeth every year，非常幽默。標題為cop out，意思是逃避。
Since 1995 the countries
bound
by the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change have missed only one conference of the parties—when the pandemic struck in 2020。
▶ bind，動詞，表示約束；bound by表示受某事約束。bound，也可作形容詞，表示一定的，有義務的。
But the rise in the atmosphere’s greenhouse-gas content and the associated warming of the climate continues in spite of them—even when， as so often， they are
hyped
as the
world’s last chance。
▶ hype，動詞，表示誇大宣傳。
第二段：
The UNFCCC and its COPS， for all their
flaws
， play a crucial part in a process that is historic and vital： the removal of the fundamental limit on human
flourishing
imposed
by dependence on fossil fuels。
▶ flaw，名詞，表示缺陷，瑕疵。形容詞，flawless，表示無暇的，完美的。
▶ flourish，動詞，表示繁榮，興旺。近義詞有thrive，prosper。
▶ impose，動詞，表示強加。impose sth on sb，把。。。強加於某人。
第四段：
The dream of a planet of almost 8bn people all living in material comfort will be
unachievable
if it is based on an economy powered by coal， oil and natural gas。
▶ unachievable，形容詞，難以實現的。achievable，可實現的；achieve，動詞，實現、達到。舉例：accept，接受；acceptable，可接受的；unacceptable，不能接受的。rely，依靠，信賴；reliable，可靠的；unreliable，不可靠的。
The harms from the
cumulative
emissions of carbon dioxide would eventually
pile up
so rapidly that fossil fuel-fired development would stall。
▶ cumulative，形容詞，表示累積的。動詞，accumulate，聚集，累積。舉例：massive，巨大、大量的；amass，動詞，積聚。
▶ pile up，片語，堆積。pile還可以作名詞，表示堆；大量，piles of 。。。 表示大量的。
第五段：
If this comes in the fossil-fuelled manner of past decades they will have to bear the
mounting
costs of
adapting
to and living with floods， storms， heatwaves and droughts long before they get rich。
▶ mounting，形容詞，表示增加的，上升的。mount，動詞，可表示增加、上升。
▶ adapt，動詞，表示適應，片語adapt to sth表示適應某物。名詞，adaptation。易混詞：adept，熟練的，片語adept at表示擅長做。
第六段：
That requires Asian countries， in most of which emissions are still
surging
， to
forgo
much more
by way of
future emissions than the countries of the developed world， where emissions are already declining。
▶ surge，動詞，表示激增。
▶ forgo，動詞，表示放棄。
▶ by way of，片語，以某方式。
India is
vocal
in pointing to the unfairness of this， so far refusing to
embrace carbon neutrality.
▶ vocal，形容詞，直言不諱的。
▶ embrace，動詞，表示欣然接受。
▶ carbon neutrality，片語，碳中和。（解釋：是指國家、企業、產品、活動或個人在一定時間內直接或間接產生的二氧化碳或溫室氣體排放總量，透過使用低碳能源取代化石燃料、植樹造林、節能減排等形式，以抵消自身產生的二氧化碳或溫室氣體排放量，實現正負抵消，達到相對“零排放”。）
第七段：
All of them live in a
fractious
world where there is a
dearth
of leadership。
▶ fractious，形容詞，表示易怒的。近義詞：irritable。
▶ dearth，名詞，表示缺乏。常用片語a dearth of 。。。 （注意發音，ear這裡髮長音/əː/）
Though its capacity for action is great， its pledges thus far are more about
posturing
than substance。
▶ posture，動詞，擺姿態，裝模作樣。它也可作名詞，表示姿勢；立場。
The
multilateral
institutions created to spread the cost between countries equitably are weak and
hostage
to procedures based on consensus and
unanimity
。
▶ multilateral，形容詞，多邊的。multi-，字首，表示多的。如multinational，多國的，跨國的；multidisciplinary，多學科的。此外，bilateral，表示雙邊的；unilateral，單邊的。
▶ hostage，名詞，表示人質。這裡hostage to sth表示受制於。
▶ unanimity，名詞，表示一致。形容詞，unanimous，一致的。
第八段：
But until the arguments
sink in
， the wisest response is bold， prompt action from
willing
countries in Europe and elsewhere that others cannot frustrate。
▶ sink in，片語，表示被領會，理解。
▶ willing，形容詞，表示願意的，準備好的。
第九段：
America’s
45Q tax
incentives
for carbon capture could be expanded at home and copied by Europe。
▶ 45Q tax，美國頒佈的一項法案的一節，有關碳捕獲和扣押的稅收。
▶ incentive，名詞，優惠。本意指刺激。
第十段：
In the long term it is necessary that fossil fuels become increasingly expensive， but peaks and
volatility
are destructive。
▶ volatility，名詞，表示不穩定。形容詞，volatile，揮發的，不穩定的。
第十一段：
Anyone who dreams of a
reprieve
for fossil fuels must be disabused。
▶ reprieve，名詞，表示暫時解救。
But for them to
duck
the responsibility of planning a transition is rank
cowardice
。
▶ duck，動詞，表示迴避，躲避。
▶ cowardice，名詞，表示怯懦。coward，膽小鬼。
第十二段：
Some countries may one day seek to
ward off
disaster with solar
geoengineering
， which reduces the amount of
incoming
sunlight。
▶ ward off，片語，表示防止。
▶ geoengineering，地球工程學。字首geo-表示和地球有關的，如geochemistry，地球化學。
▶ incoming，形容詞，表示逼近的，即將到的。
第十三段：
Feste
laments
an unchanging world。
▶ lament，動詞，表示感到悲痛。
It is a
noble
future that the fossil-fuel age， despite its
illusory
plenty， could never have created。
▶ noble，形容詞，表示偉大的，高貴的。近義詞：grand，splendid，glorious。
▶ illusory，形容詞，表示虛幻的。名詞，illusion，幻想。
The hope it hopeth for ever。 ■
