About TED

TED is a nonpartisan nonprofit devoted to spreading ideas, usually in the form of short, powerful talks.

扎克老师发现，不少同学在写雅思作文的时候，常常会出现内容比较虚的情况。今天扎克老师就开一期连载专栏，通过各种有趣视频，来给大家的作文提供素材和词汇。

在雅思大作文中，环境类话题属于非常常见的一类，而全球暖化（global warming）这个观点，也是被运用得最多的一个之一。例如这两题：

Some people think that climate change could have a negative effect on business. Other people think that climate change could create more business opportunities. Discuss both views and give your own opinion.

Some people think that instead of preventing climate change, we need to find a way to live with it. Do you agree or disagree?

但是在当我们谈论到全球变暖/温室效应的时候，我们往往只能停留在空洞的理论部分，而不能真正说出它的影响。以下的视频，就是在谈论气温上升的具体影响。

(来源：Tedtalk <why is 1.5 degrees such a big deal>)

Why is 1.5 degrees such a big deal? Because to warm our entire planet up by 1.5 degrees Celsius requires a lot of heat.

为什么 1.5 摄氏度如此重要？因为要让我们的整个地球升温 1.5 摄氏度需要大量的热量。

All this extra heat melts glaciers, which raise sea levels.

所有这些额外的热量会融化冰川，使海平面上升。

If the ice sheets of Antarctica and Greenland melt completely, millions of people&39;s homes will be under water.

如果南极洲和格陵兰岛的 冰层完全融化，数百万人的家园将被淹没在水下。

The extra heat also intensifies weather, making wet places wetter, dry places drier and increasing the ferocity of storms.

额外的热量也加剧了天气的变化，使潮湿的地方更潮湿，干燥的地方更干燥， 并增加了风暴的强度。

That 1.5-degree increase also won&39;t be distributed evenly.

那 1.5 摄氏度的增幅也不会均匀分布。

The coldest nights in the Arctic might get 10 degrees warmer. The warmest days in Mumbai might get five degrees hotter.

北极最冷的夜晚可能会暖和 10 度，孟买最热的日子可能会再高 5 度。

Over the past 10,000 years, we&39;ve been lucky.

在过去的一万年里，我们很幸运。

Earth&39;s climate was stable and our civilizations flourished.

地球的气候是稳定的，而我们的文明也随之繁荣起来。

But as our climate gets more unstable, so will our economies and our societies.

但当我们的气候越来越不稳定，我们的经济和社会也会变得越来越不稳定。

We&39;ll all suffer, and the vulnerable will be hit hardest, unless we act now.

除非我们现在就采取行动，否则我们都将遭受痛苦，而弱势群体将受到最严重的打击。

扎克老师呼吁大家，在日常生活中，我们应该注意减少碳排放，出门尽量使用交通工具；节约用水，减少水资源的浪费；尽量不使用一次性制品，坚持垃圾分类等等。为了保护我们的地球，大家快行动起来吧～

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