研究表明地球人口已超过地球容量

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🤔️小作业：

1. According to the article, what is implied about the role of fossil fuels in human population growth?

A. They have permanently eliminated the natural constraints on resource renewal.

B. Their use in shipping was the sole factor enabling rapid population expansion.

C. They have created an artificial buffer that masks the true regenerative limits of resources.

D. Their depletion is directly causing a decline in global population as predicted by the models.

无注释原文：

Earth's Population Has Surpassed The Planet's Capacity, Study Suggests

From: ScienceAlert

The human population has already grown too large and demanding for Earth to sustainably support at current consumption levels, a new study warns.

Based on more than two centuries of population data, a team led by Corey Bradshaw of Flinders University in Australia found humanity is living well beyond the bounds of what our planet can support long-term.

Ecologists describe the ability of an environment to sustain a species' population as its "carrying capacity". It's an estimate of the number of individuals from any given species that can survive long-term, based on the resources at hand and the rate at which those resources regenerate.

Our own species, Homo sapiens, is particularly good at pushing the limits of what that carrying capacity might be, with our penchant for finding technological solutions to overcome the natural limitations of resource renewal – especially by exploiting fossil fuels.

Interestingly, the term "carrying capacity" has its origins in the late 1800s shipping industry, when coal-powered ships were replacing those propelled by wind. It was first used to calculate the amount of cargo one of the new ships could carry, without displacing the essential coal and water needed to actually power the ship, or the crew necessary to operate it.

It was this transition to fossil fuels in shipping and other industries that fundamentally enabled rapid population growth in the 20th century – something we're all being reminded of as the US-Iran War sends the global fuel supply and the global populations that rely on it into shock. Earth's current population sits at roughly 8.3 billion.

"Today's economies, predicated on uninterrupted growth, apparently do not recognize the regenerative constraints of sustained population expansion, because fossil fuels artificially make up the difference," the team writes.

Bradshaw and team have created an evidence-based estimate of human carrying capacity, using models of ecological growth to track the changes in population size and growth rates across the past two centuries, globally and regionally.

They differentiate between the maximum carrying capacity – the theoretical, absolute limit, regardless of how much famine, disease, and war come with it – and the optimum carrying capacity, where the population size is both sustainable and meets a minimum standard of living.

"Earth cannot keep up with the way in which we are using resources. It cannot support even today's demand without major changes, with our findings showing that we are pushing the planet harder than it can possibly cope," Bradshaw says.

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注：完整题目见本文开头；中文文本为机器翻译，仅供参考

含注释全文：

Earth's Population Has Surpassed The Planet's Capacity, Study Suggests

From: ScienceAlert

The human population has already grown too large and demanding for Earth to sustainably support at current consumption levels, a new study warns.

一项新研究警告称，以当前的消费水平来看，人类人口已过于庞大、需求过高，地球无法持续承载。

sustainably /səˈsteɪ.nə.bli/ 1）表示“持续地，能保持地，能维持地”，英文解释为“in a way that can continue over a period of time”举个🌰：They were aiming for sustainably higher rates of pay for all their employees. 他们的目标是可以持续提高所有员工的工资水平。

2）表示“（对环境不造成损害或损害极小因而）可持续地”，英文解释为“in a way that causes little or no damage to the environment and therefore able to continue for a long time”举个🌰：The article is full of hints on how to live sustainably. 关于如何实现对环境影响极小的可持续生活，这篇文章里有很多提示。

Based on more than two centuries of population data, a team led by Corey Bradshaw of Flinders University in Australia found humanity is living well beyond the bounds of what our planet can support long-term.

根据两个多世纪的人口数据，澳大利亚弗林德斯大学科里·布拉德肖领导的研究团队发现，人类的生活方式已远超地球的长期承载极限。

表示“（法律或社会的）界限；限制；限定区域”，英文解释为“the accepted or furthest limits of sth; legal or social limits”举个🌰：The committee felt that newspaper coverage of the murder went beyond reasonable bounds. 委员会觉得报纸对谋杀案的报道超出了正常的范围。

out of bounds 1）表示“（球）在界外，在球场边线之外”，英文解释为“If a ball is out of bounds, it is not within the playing area.”举个🌰：His shot went out of bounds.他的球出界了。

2）表示“（某地）禁止入内”，英文解释为“If an area is out of bounds, people are not allowed to go there.”

Ecologists describe the ability of an environment to sustain a species' population as its "carrying capacity". It's an estimate of the number of individuals from any given species that can survive long-term, based on the resources at hand and the rate at which those resources regenerate.

生态学家将环境维持某个物种种群的能力称为“承载能力”。这是基于现有资源及其再生速率，估算一个物种能够长期存活的个体数量。

ecologist /iˈkɒl.ə.dʒɪst/ 表示“生态学家”，英文解释为“a person who studies the natural relationships between the air, land, water, animals, plants, etc.”

sustain /səˈsteɪn/ 1）表示“保持，维持，使持续，使继续”，英文解释为“to cause or allow something to continue for a period of time”举个🌰：The economy looks set to sustain its growth into next year. 看来经济的增长会持续到明年。

2）表示“经历，遭受（尤指破坏或损失）”，英文解释为“to suffer or experience, especially damage or loss”举个🌰：She sustained multiple injuries in the accident. 她在这次事故中多处受伤。

species /ˈspiː.ʃiːz/ 表示“（动植物的）种，物种”，英文解释为“a set of animals or plants in which the members have similar characteristics to each other and can breed with each other”举个🌰：Mountain gorillas are an endangered species. 山地大猩猩属于濒危物种。

Our own species, Homo sapiens, is particularly good at pushing the limits of what that carrying capacity might be, with our penchant for finding technological solutions to overcome the natural limitations of resource renewal – especially by exploiting fossil fuels.

我们人类（智人）尤其擅长突破承载能力的极限，因为我们热衷于寻找技术方案来克服资源再生的自然限制——尤其是通过利用化石燃料。

Homo sapiens /ˌhəʊ.məʊ ˈsæp.i.enz/ 表示“人类；智人”，英文解释为“modern humans considered together as a species”

Homo /ˈhəʊ.məʊ/ 表示“（生物属名）人属（包括现代人和其他已灭绝的人种）”，英文解释为“the genus (= biological group) that includes modern humans and other extinct human species”举个🌰：The tools might have been made by an as-yet-undiscovered early species of the genus Homo. 这些工具可能是由现在尚未发现的早期人类制造的。

penchant /ˈpen.tʃənt/ 表示“偏好，倾向，嗜好”，英文解释为“If someone has a penchant for something, they have a special liking for it or a tendency to do it.”如：a stylish woman with a penchant for dark glasses. 一位对墨镜有特别喜好的时髦女子。

exploit /ɪkˈsplɔɪt/ 1）表示“利用；剥削（…为自己谋利）”，英文解释为“to treat a person or situation as an opportunity to gain an advantage for yourself”举个🌰：He exploited his father's name to get himself a job. 他利用他父亲的名声为自己找到一份工作。

2）表示“开发，运用；利用；发挥”，英文解释为“to use sth well in order to gain as much from it as possible”举个🌰：She fully exploits the humour of her role in the play. 她在剧中把她那个角色的幽默发挥得淋漓尽致。

🎬电影《惊天魔盗团》（Now You See Me）中的台词提到：What I hate is people who exploit other people. 我只是讨厌那些利用别人的人。

fossil fuel /ˈfɒs.əl ˌfjʊəl/ 表示“矿物燃料”，英文解释为“fuels, such as gas, coal, and oil, that were formed underground from plant and animal remains millions of years ago”

Interestingly, the term "carrying capacity" has its origins in the late 1800s shipping industry, when coal-powered ships were replacing those propelled by wind. It was first used to calculate the amount of cargo one of the new ships could carry, without displacing the essential coal and water needed to actually power the ship, or the crew necessary to operate it.

有趣的是，“承载能力”一词源于19世纪末的航运业，当时燃煤船正取代帆船。它最初用于计算一艘新船在保证驱动所需的煤炭、水和操作船员的前提下，能运载多少货物。

displace /dɪˈspleɪs/ 表示“迫使…离开常居地（或原位）”，英文解释为“to force something out of its usual or original position”或者表示“占去（必需品或原有物品的位置）；挤掉”，英文解释为“to take the place of something essential or originally present, especially by filling the space or weight it would occupy”

It was this transition to fossil fuels in shipping and other industries that fundamentally enabled rapid population growth in the 20th century – something we're all being reminded of as the US-Iran War sends the global fuel supply and the global populations that rely on it into shock. Earth's current population sits at roughly 8.3 billion.

正是航运及其他行业转向化石燃料，从根本上推动了20世纪人口的快速增长——美伊战争导致全球燃料供应及依赖它的人口陷入动荡，这提醒了我们这一点。地球目前人口约为83亿。

"Today's economies, predicated on uninterrupted growth, apparently do not recognize the regenerative constraints of sustained population expansion, because fossil fuels artificially make up the difference," the team writes.

研究团队写道：“当今经济建立在持续增长的基础上，显然没有认识到持续人口扩张的再生限制，因为化石燃料人为地弥补了差距。”

predicate /ˈpred.ɪ.kət/ 表示“断言，断定，肯定”，英文解释为“to say that something is true”举个🌰：It would be unwise to predicate that the disease is caused by a virus before further tests have been carried out. 在进一步化验前就断言这种病由病毒引起是不明智的。

be predicated on something phrase Add to word list 表示“基于，取决于”，英文解释为“If an idea or argument is predicated on something, it depends on the existence or truth of this thing.”举个🌰：The sales forecast is predicated on the assumption that the economy will grow by four percent. 销售预测是基于经济将会增长4％这一假设之上的。

Bradshaw and team have created an evidence-based estimate of human carrying capacity, using models of ecological growth to track the changes in population size and growth rates across the past two centuries, globally and regionally.

布拉德肖及其团队利用生态增长模型，追踪了过去两个世纪全球及区域的人口规模和增长率变化，并基于此对人类承载能力做出了有据可循的估算。

They differentiate between the maximum carrying capacity – the theoretical, absolute limit, regardless of how much famine, disease, and war come with it – and the optimum carrying capacity, where the population size is both sustainable and meets a minimum standard of living.

他们将承载能力分为最大和最佳两种：最大承载能力是理论上的绝对上限，无论伴随多少饥荒、疾病与战争；最佳承载能力则是既能实现人口可持续，又能满足最低生活标准的规模。

famine /ˈfæm.ɪn/ 表示“饥荒；饥荒时期”，英文解释为“a situation in which there is not enough food for a great number of people, causing illness and death, or a particular period when this happens”

optimum /ˈɒp.tɪ.məm/ 表示“最优的，最佳的；优化的”，英文解释为“best； most likely to bring success or advantage”举个🌰：A mixture of selected funds is an optimum choice for future security and return on investment. 同时选择几种基金是确保未来投资安全和投资收益的最佳选择。

"Earth cannot keep up with the way in which we are using resources. It cannot support even today's demand without major changes, with our findings showing that we are pushing the planet harder than it can possibly cope," Bradshaw says.

布拉德肖表示：“地球无法跟上我们使用资源的方式。即使不做重大改变，它也无法支撑当前的需求，我们的研究结果表明，我们给地球施加的压力已超出其承受能力。”

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