外刊逐句精读｜2021下半年合集｜《经济学人》《卫报》《金融时报》《新科学...
Regulators want firms to own up to climate risks
▲ regulator n. 监管机构：遇到「监管机构」时，不必每次都处理成regulatory body，regulator同样是非常常见的替换词；
▲ own up to sth./doing sth. 承担责任、坦白；
He was too frightened to own up to his mistake.他吓得不敢认错。
That is good news for investors. And for the planet地球🌐?
America’s main financial regulator is taking an interest in climate change—and wants everyone to know. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has created a task-force to examine environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues, appointed任命 a climate tsar and said it will “enhance its focus” on climate related disclosures for listed firms.
▲ take an interest in sth. 对某事感兴趣；
▲ Securities and Exchange Commission 美国证券交易委员会：即美国的证监会，是美国监管证券市场最重要的机构；
▲ task-force n. 特别工作组；
▲ environmental, social and governance 环境、社会、治理：目前投资界的热门概念，简称ESG，具体内容可以回顾视频；
▲ climate tsar n. 气候顾问：大写时，Tsar指的是俄国的「沙皇」，演变到现在，tsar已经有了新的含义，即解决某个领域问题的「权威人士、特使」，比如drug tsar就是「反毒特使」；
▲ disclosure n. 披露；
▲ listed firm n. 上市公司；
It looks poised to introduce, among other things, 插入语，可不看rules forcing firms to reveal how climate change or efforts to fight it may affect their business. 引用各种规定，
▲ be poised to do sth. 准备好做......
Kate is poised to become the highest-paid supermodel in the fashion world.
凯特决心成为时装界最高薪的超模。
▲ reveal v. 揭示；
Since September regulators in Britain, New Zealand and Switzerland have said they plan to make such climate-related disclosures mandatory. So, too, have stock exchanges in Hong Kong, London and South Korea. The EU may follow suit.
▲ mandatory adj. 义务的、强制的；
▲ stock exchange n. 证券交易所；
▲ follow suit 照着做
段落大意：
美国金融监管机构带头关注气候变化问题，并要求企业披露气候相关信息。世界其他地区的监管机构也采取了类似行动。
第2段
The flurry of rulemaking stems from a concern that climate change poses a threat to financial stability. Whether this is true or not is hard to say. The data are shoddy and climate-risk reporting is largely voluntary. Firms tend to cherry pick the most flattering numbers and methodologies. The reporting seldom reveals anything about a firm's risk in the future—which is where the financial threats from climate change mostly reside.
▲ flurry of sth. 一阵（忙乱）；
▲ stem from 根源是...；
▲ pose a threat to 对...构成威胁；
▲ shoddy adj. 粗制滥造的；
▲ voluntary adj. 自愿的；
▲ cherry-pick v. 筛选、精选；
▲ flattering adj. 使人显得漂亮的；
▲ methodology n. 方法；
▲ reside v. 存在于
段落大意：
新政源于对气候变化会带来的风险的担忧，然而现有的气候风险披露大都是自愿性的，且真实性不足。
第3段
Many watchdogs are pinning their hopes on the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), set up in 2015 by the Financial Stability Board (FSB), a global group of regulators.
▲ watchdog n. 检查人员/机构；
▲ pin one's hopes on sb./sth. n. 将希望寄托于...；
▲ Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosure (TCFD) 实施气候相关财务披露工作组：即前文出现的task force的具体名字；
▲ Financial Stability Board n. 金融稳定理事会：顾名思义，该理事会主要职责是维持世界金融体系的稳定性，上文出现的TCFD就是由该理事会于2015年创立；
The TCFD has recommended a reporting standard made up of 11 broad categories, from carbon footprints to climate-risk management.
▲ carbon footprint n. 碳足迹；
Regulators like it because it focuses on material risks rather than environmental impacts, and because it asks for information about firms’ future plans. That includes “scenario analysis”, in which a company’s strategy is tested against potential futures, such as a hotter world or higher carbon prices.
▲ material adj. 重要的、重大的：派生词为materiality「重要性」；
▲ scenario n. 情景；
▲ carbon price n. 碳价格：与之相关的词还包括carbon credit「碳信用额度」和carbon pricing「碳定价」，具体概念可以观看视频回顾
段落大意：
TCFD为很多机构提供了披露标准，该标准披露范围全面，更融入了对重大风险和未来风险的分析。
第四段
These qualities also appeal to financiers. Financial firms make up almost half of the 1,800 or so companies that back the TCFD‘s recommendations.
▲ financier n. 金融家；
▲ financial firm n. 金融机构：non-financial firm则是「非金融机构」；
▲ back n. 支持；
Together they hold assets worth over $150trn and include the world’s ten biggest asset managers and eight of its ten biggest banks.
▲ asset management n. 资产管理：文中出现的asset manager则是「资产管理公司」，每个公司管理的资产规模则是asset under management「资产管理规模」，简称AUM；
Their clients and regulators are egging them on to adopt the standard, so the financial firms in turn are prodding companies to do so, too, causing an uptick in its use.
▲ egg sb. on 鼓动、怂恿：
He hit the boy as his friends egged him on.
他在朋友的煽动下打了那个男孩。
▲ prod v. 督促、鼓励：常用搭配为prod sb. into (doing) sth.「鼓励某人做某件事情」；
▲ uptick n. 小幅提升
段落大意：
金融机构积极支持TCFD标准，并鼓励更多企业采用。
第5段
Not all companies are happy about this. It means compliance with one more ESG measure, and a tricky one at that.
▲ compliance n. 遵从：常用介词搭配为compliance with sth.「遵从某事」；
▲ tricky adj. 棘手的；
▲ at that 还、而且：
It’s a new idea, and a good one, at that.
这是个新主意，还是个好主意。
Many bosses claim their firms lack the expertise to do climate-based scenario analysis (the TCFD’s recent 133-page how-to guide may help).
Only 7% of big firms disclose such exercises, according to a review of 1,700-odd companies by the TCFD. Those that do often use different scenarios, making their efforts hard to compare.
▲ expertise adj. 专门知识：常用搭配为expertise in sth.「在...领域的专业知识」；
▲ how-to guide n. 操作指南；
▲ review n. 审查、回顾；
▲ X-odd （数字）X 多一点点
段落大意：
企业采用现状：很多企业不乐意采用TCFD标准，且已采用的企业难以进行横向对比。
第6段
Another problem is that disclosures may scare off investors. This, of course, is the point. But until reporting is mandatory for everyone, firms risk being punished for being early adopters.
▲ scare sb. off 把人吓跑；
▲ risk doing sth. 冒险做某事；
▲ punish v. 惩罚；
That is the evidence from France, which made climate-risk disclosures obligatory for asset managers, insurers and pension funds in 2016. A study by its central bank compared those firms with French banks and non-French financial firms. It found that the firms which had to disclose climate risks held 40% fewer bonds, stocks and other securities in fossil fuel firms by value than those that did not have to disclose risks.
▲ obligatory adj. 强制的、必须的
▲ insurer n. 保险公司；
▲ pension fund n. 养老基金；
▲ bond n. 债券；
▲ stock n. 股票；
▲ securities n. 证券（一般为复数）：前文出现的债券、股票就是两种常见的证券
段落大意：
另一重对披露的担忧：会吓跑投资者。
第7段
Such a shift may drive up capital costs for polluting projects and lead to fewer emissions. But more climate disclosure will not by itself cut carbon, notes Remco Fischer of the UN Environment Programme. Regulatory climate risk can, in theory, be mitigated by moving carbon-heavy assets somewhere with laxer environmental rules.
▲ capital cost n. 资本成本；
▲ emission n. 排放；
▲ UN Environment Programme 联合国环境署；
▲ mitigate v. 缓和；
▲ carbon-heavy adj. 碳密集的：近义词为carbon-intensive；
▲ lax adj. 不严格的、松懈的；
And sophisticated risk assessments do not always result in decarbonisation. Last year AGL Energy, an Australian utility, published an analysis of scenarios. The one it has chosen to follow involves keeping one of its coal-fired power stations open until 2048.
▲ sophisticated adj. 复杂的；
▲ assessment n. 评估；
▲ decarbonisation n. 脱碳：前缀de-表「除掉」，如defrost「除霜」；
▲ utility n. 公共事业（公司）；
▲ coal-fired adj. 烧煤的；
▲ power station n. 发电站
段落大意：
进行更多披露可能会带来减排，但不能想当然：公司有可能把重污染资产转移到监管松懈的地方，而且哪怕发布了详尽报告也不代表会主动减排。
文章结构
思考题参考答案
1. 监管机构、投资者和企业对气候信息披露的态度分别是什么？
监管机构：
美国、英国、瑞士等发达国家的监管机构规定金融机构和企业需披露其气候相关风险信息，委托FSB制定了TCFD。
投资者：
积极支持TCFD，鼓励企业积极披露信息，减少投资重污染企业。
企业：
响应不积极，部分企业表示不具备相关知识，仅有的报告标准不统一，且进行了详细披露也不等于决心减排。
2. 气候信息披露相关词汇：
机构：
SEC, FSB, TCFD, regulator
相关组织：
asset manager, insurer, pension fund, bank, financial firms
披露：
climate-related disclosure, disclose, climate risk reporting, climate-based scenario analysis
第1段
Cooking outside can be one of the joys of summer, but, like conducting an experiment outside the lab, it is harder to control all the variables – even if the weather is on your side.
▲ fire up sth. 启动（机器、设备）；
▲ barbecue n. 烧烤；烤架：此外，barbecue也可以作动词，指「用烤架来烧烤」；
▲ joy n. 乐事；
▲ variable n. 变量：实验中的control variable就是「控制变量」；
▲ be on one's side 支持某人：这里的side原意是「一方、一派」，派生出的含义take sides「站队、表明立场」
段落大意：
引子：户外烧烤就像户外实验一样，即便天气如你所愿，（天气支持你）变量却更难控制。
第2段
A key question is which fuel to use. Charcoal is made by slowly burning wood in low-oxygen conditions. This drives off most of the water and other volatile compounds until the remainder – about 25 percent of the original weight – is almost pure carbon, （although some unburnt wood may remain in larger pieces of lumpwood charcoal.）让步状语
▲ fuel n. 燃料；
▲ charcoal n. 木炭；
▲ oxygen n. 氧气：文中的low-oxygen「低氧的」；
▲ drive sb./sth. off 赶走某人/某物；
▲ volatile adj. 易挥发的：在金融市场相关的文章中，volatile一般作「波动的」，本质上都是由于volatile源自拉丁语的「飞」，衍生自拉丁语的西班牙语中也有该词volar「飞」；
▲ compound n. 化合物；
▲ remainder n. 剩余物、剩余部分：注意与reminder「起提醒作用的事物」区分，可以结合remain「剩余」和remind「提醒」两个动词记忆；
▲ carbon n. 碳；
▲ lumpwood charcoal n. 木炭块：也作lump charcoal
段落大意：
1.引出烧烤燃料很重要；
2.简述木炭的制作过程。
第3段
You can also use charcoal briquettes. These are made from sawdust and wood scraps that are burned in the same way as when making charcoal, then crushed砸碎 and mixed with additives to bind the contents, help with ignition or promote steady burning, before being moulded into uniform shapes. Because these shapes are uniform, they usually hold their heat longer than lumpwood charcoal.
▲ charcoal briquette n. 木炭球、木炭团；
▲ sawdust n. 锯末；
▲ scrap n. 碎片：文中的wood scrap就是「木屑」；
▲ additive n. 添加剂；
▲ bind v. 粘合；
▲ ignition n. 点燃：动词形态即后文出现的ignite「点燃」，相对light，是更正式的用词；
▲ mould v. 使...成型、浇铸：美式英语写法为mold；
▲ uniform adj. 单一的、一致的；
▲ hold v. 保持...在同一水平
段落大意：
1.简述木炭团的制作过程；
2.木炭团的一大特性——比木炭块的燃烧时间更持久。
For both fuels, the quickest, easiest way to light them is to use a chimney starter, a metal tube with two cavities. You put paper in the bottom one and charcoal in the top, then light the paper. The burning paper sucks in oxygen and ignites the coals, creating an updraft that allows heat to build quickly, so the coals are ready for cooking in about 15 minutes.
▲ light v. 点燃；
▲ chimney starter n. 烟囱启动器：具体工作原理及图片可以参考原文及视频讲解；
▲ cavity n. 洞；蛀牙洞：当然，在文中指的是烟囱启动器上下的两个洞；
▲ suck v. 吮吸：常常搭配各类介词和副词表示吮吸的具体方式，文中的suck in即「吸入」；
▲ updraft n. 上升气流：反义词为downdraft「下降气流」，这个词中的draft/draught含义为「穿堂风」；
▲ build v. 逐渐增强；
段落大意：
1.引出点燃木炭的好工具——烟囱启动器；
2.简述烟囱启动器的工作原理。
第5段
Charcoal burns hotter than wood and produces very little smoke. This means that it contributes very little flavour味道 to whatever is cooked on it.
▲ contribute sth. to sth. 将...添加到...;
段落大意：
木炭的燃烧产生的烟很少，因而对烧烤的味道影响很小。
The smoky taste 烟熏口味we associate with barbecues mostly comes from fat and juices that drip from the food onto the hot coals. These drips ignite and produce smoke containing flavourful aromatic compounds that are deposited on the food’s surface. Some cooks like to add wood chips on top of the coals to add extra smoky aromas.
▲ associate with 将...与...联想起来；
▲ drip v. 滴下；
▲ flavourful adj. 浓郁可口的；
▲ aromatic adj. 芳香的、有香味的：名词形态为aroma「芳香、香味」；
▲ be deposited 沉积、淤积；
▲ chip n. 碎屑：wood chip「木屑」同前文的wood scrap；
段落大意：
解释烧烤中的烟熏口味的成因，因此一些厨师也会用这个原理来增加烧烤本身的香味。
Since charcoal isn’t a significant source of flavour, you might prefer the convenience of a gas barbecue, which is quick to light and easier to control. Gas is also much more efficient to produce and cook with: the carbon footprint of gas grilling is estimated to be about a third that of charcoal – though it comes from a non-renewable source.
▲ gas barbecue 天然气烧烤；
▲ carbon footprint n. 碳足迹：过去的视频精讲中多次出现过的词汇，可以点击这里查看往期内容回顾；
▲ grill n. 烧烤：和barbecue类似，本意是「烤架」，此外，grill也可作动词，表「烧烤」这个动作；
▲ non-renewable adj. 非可再生的
段落大意：
相较于木炭烧烤，天然气更方便、烧烤效率更高、碳排放量也更少。
第8段
The other factor that makes barbecued food taste different to food cooked in your kitchen is heat. Glowing coals exceed 1000°C and give off considerable infrared radiation. This searing heat drives the Maillard reaction, which transforms sugars and amino acids into hundreds of delicious flavour compounds. But it can also result in food that is charred on the outside and cold in the middle.
▲ barbecued adj. 烧烤的；
▲ glow v. 发光；
▲ give off 释放、散发；
▲ infrared radiation 红外辐射；
▲ searing adj. 灼人的：来自动词sear「灼烧」；
▲ Maillard reaction 美拉德反应；
▲ amino acid n. 氨基酸
▲ char v. 烧焦
段落大意：
烧烤的温度同样影响食物的味道，超过1000摄氏度的高温产生的美拉德反应让烧烤更加美味。不过可能会导致烧烤外焦内凉。
第9段
The best way to avoid the latter两种情况中出现的后者 is to pile coals on one side of the grill. You can then move food from the hot area to a cooler part if the outside is charring too quickly. I would also recommend buying a cooking thermometer, which makes it easy to tell when meat is done all the way through.
▲ thermometer n. 温度计
段落大意：
烧烤小妙招：1.烤架设置半热半凉；2. 购置一个烹饪温度计
文章结构
思考题参考答案
1. 文中提到了哪些影响烧烤的因素？
• 燃料（fuel）：
木炭块（lumpwoodcharcoal）
木炭团（charcoalbriquette）
天然气（gas）
• 温度（heat）
关于不同因素的具体影响方式，可以参阅文章结构部分，再找到各个段落，查找具体内容。
2. 能积累到哪些烧烤的主题词汇
• 各种烧、烤：
barbecue, grill, sear, burn, ignite
• 三大燃料：
lump/lumpwood charcoal, charcoal briquette, gas
• 化学相关：
compound, Maillard reaction, additive, amino acid, oxygen, aroma, infrared radiation
标题+第1段
The Guardian view on the heat dome: burning through烧穿 the models Politicians must respond to the latest warnings that climate science has underestimated risks.
Last week’s shockingly high temperatures in the northwestern US and Canada were – and are – very frightening. Heat and the fires it caused killed hundreds of people, and are estimated to have killed a billion sea creatures.
Daily temperature records were smashed by more than 5C (9F) in some places. In Lytton, British Columbia, the heat reached 49.6C (121F).
The wildfires that consumed the town produced their own thunderstorms, alongside thousands of lightning strikes.
▲ heat dome n. 热穹、热穹顶：一种气候现象：具体成因请参照视频中解释；
▲ underestimated adj. 低估的：前缀under-即「在...之下」；
▲ shockingly adv. 骇人地；
▲ sea creature n. 海洋生物；*************
▲ smash v. 打破：文中的smash a record就是其常用搭配，含义为「打破纪录」；
▲ Celsius n./adj. 摄氏度：注意，在读英语里的温度时，应把Celsius置于degree之后，如5C就应该读作5 degrees Celsius；
▲ Fahrenheit n./adj. 华氏度：用法同Celsius；
▲ wildfire n. 山火、野火；
▲ consume v. 彻底烧毁；消耗
▲ thunderstorm n. 雷暴；
▲ lightning strike n. 雷击
段落大意：
引子：北美遭遇高温灾害，人员动物伤亡惨重、高温屡创纪录、极端天气频繁。
第2段
An initial study shows human activity made this heat dome – in which（定从） a ridge of high pressure acts as a lid preventing warm air from escaping （插入语）– at least 150 times more likely.
The World Weather Attribution Group of scientists（主语）, who use computer climate models to assess global heating trends and extreme weather, have warned that last week exceeded even their worst-case scenarios.
While（让步，时间） it has long been recognised that the climate system has thresholds or tipping points beyond which humans stand to lose control of what happens, scientists did not hide their alarm that a usually cool part of the Pacific northwest had been turned into a furnace. One climatologist said the prospect opened up by the heat dome “blows my mind”.
▲ initial adj. 最初的；
▲ ridge of high pressure n. 高压脊；
▲ lid n. 盖子；
▲ World Weather Attribution 世界天气归因组织；
▲ climate model n. 气候模型；
▲ extreme weather 极端天气；
▲ worst-case scenario 最坏情况：反义词为best-case scenario「最佳情况」；
▲ threshold n. 门槛、阈值；
▲ tipping point n. 爆发点；
▲ stand to do sth. 很可能会做某事；
▲ alarm n. 惊恐：熟词僻义
Scientists have said there is no cause for alarm.
科学家说了不必惊慌。
▲ furnace n. 熔炉；
▲ threshold n. 门槛、阈值；
▲ climatologist n. 气候学家：派生自climatology「气候学」；
▲ prospect n. 前景、设想；
▲ open sth. up 使...成为可能；
▲ blow one's mind 令某人兴奋、吃惊：派生形容词是mind-blowing「令人震惊的」
The disturbing signs of climate disruption are not limited to north America. Pakistan and Siberia have also had record-breaking high temperatures within the last few weeks, as have Moscow, Helsinki and Estonia. In Madagascar, the worst drought in 40 years has left a million people facing food shortages. The climate author David Wallace-Wells suggested that current conditions should be regarded as heralding a “permanent emergency”永久的紧急状况. With policymakers struggling to absorb the very serious implications for human societies of current models, it is frankly difficult to take in the suggestion that these models may underestimate the threat. The prospect of the jet stream becoming locked, and weather systems such as tropical storms ceasing to move in the way to which we are accustomed, carries nightmarish possibilities. More hot weather is on its way to California, with the bulk of the wildfire season ahead.
▲ disturbing adj. 令人不安的；
▲ disruption n. 混乱；
▲ record-breaking adj. 破纪录的；
▲ drought n. 干旱；
▲ food shortages n. 粮食短缺；
▲ herald v. 预示；
These talks could herald a new era of peace.
这些谈判可能预示着新的和平时代的来临。
▲ implication n. 可能的影响：作该含义时，常作复数；
▲ jet stream n. （地球高空）高速气流；
▲ weather system n. 天气系统；
▲ tropical storm 热带风暴；
▲ cease to do sth. 停止做某事；
▲ be accustomed to sth. 习惯某事；
▲ nightmarish adj. 噩梦般的；
▲ the bulk of 主体、大部分
段落大意：
气候混乱席卷全球，人类可能低估了气候威胁的严重性，如果这种趋势持续下去，将带来可怕后果。
第4段
wildfires, lightning strikes, drought, food shortages
If there is anything positive to be taken from this new information, and reports of the suffering and destruction caused by the heat, it can only be that it intensifies the pressure on policymakers to act. On Wednesday, the Switzerland-based（位于...） Financial Stability Board issued a warning in advance of a G20 meeting in Venice（威尼斯） this weekend. It urged finance ministers and central banks中央银行 to take more notice of “far-reaching” climate impacts.
Just how far-reaching these impacts（这些影响能有多深远） will be depends on decisions taken by governments in the next months and years.
So far, binding commitments（具有约束力的承诺） to make the cuts in carbon emissions（减排） that are needed to avoid temperature rises above 2C are notable by their absence. With every worrying piece of climate news, the stakes ahead of November’s Cop26 conference keep growing.
▲ intensify v. 加剧；
▲ Financial Stability Board (FSB) n. 金融稳定理事会；
▲ finance minister n. 财政部长；
▲ take notice of 注意；
▲ far-reaching adj. 影响深远的；
▲ binding adj. 具有约束力的；
▲ notable adj. 值得注意的；
▲ absense n. 缺席；
▲ stake n. 风险：high stake就是「高风险」：
Climbing is a dangerous sport and the stakes are high.
爬山是一项危险的运动，风险很大。
▲ Cop26 n. 第26届联合国气候变化大会：缩写自26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties
段落大意：
气候灾难能给决策者施压，一些国际机构也敦促各国重视气候问题，但各国至今未有约束性承诺。
第5段
Environmentalists used to shake their heads when highly unusual weather（高度异常的天气） was reported in terms（用...说法） that ignored climate change’s contribution. Now, thanks to attribution science, the link is firmly made. To avoid future heat domes, countries including the US and Canada must stop pumping so much energy（温室气体，热量） into the climate system.
▲ environmentalist n. 环保主义者；
▲ terms n. 措辞、说法；
▲ attribution n. 归因：补充一点背景知识，文中提到的attribution science「归因科学」就是将观察到的异常气候情况（山火、风暴）与人类活动放在一起看待，来观察人类活动是否与这些异常气候情况相关；
▲ pump v. （用泵）输送
段落大意：
得益于归因科学，极端天气和气候变化之间的联系加强，各国应该积极减排。
文章结构
1. 导致加拿大持续高温的气候现象是什么？原理又是什么？
就是文中反复提到的热穹（heat dome）现象，文中将其定义为：
a ridge of high pressure acts as a lid preventing warm air from escaping
「一种像盖子一样阻止暖空气外逃的高压脊」。
2. 能积累到哪些地理和气候相关词汇？？
地理：
heat dome, a ridge of high pressure, jet stream, tropical storm, thunderstorm
气候变化：
extreme weather, climate system, permanent emergency, far-reaching climate impacts, carbon emissions
