宛如末日般的场景，
亚马逊森林大火已烧了快一个月
但全世界没人在乎。
“地球之肺”
亚马逊雨林
持续的
大火
点燃了众多神经。巴西政府面临极大压力。大火甚至还成为了G7峰会的一大议题。
表示亚马逊雨林要“
完犊子了
”，我们可以用
“
apocalyptic
”
这个词来描述事件的严重性：
apocalyptic
adj. /əˌpɒkəˈlɪptɪk/
1. describing very serious damage anddestruction in past or future events 描述（历史）大动乱的；
预示（未来）大灾变的
• an
apocalyptic
view ofhistory 对历史抱极其悲观的观点
•
apocalyptic
warnings ofthe end of society 对社会末日骇人听闻的预警
2. like the end of the world 似末世的；
像世界末日的
• an
apocalyptic
scene 末世景象
IN THE MIDDLE of the afternoon on August 19th South America's largest city went dark. Under a thick, black cloud at 3pm, the lights
flickered
on in São Paulo's skyscrapers; on the motorways brake lights started to glow in the city's
bumper-to-bumper
traffic, and many Paulistanos were worried.
1. flicker
：
(of light or a source of light) shine unsteadily
2. bumper-to-bumper
：
very close together, as cars in a traffic jam
Social-media users posted pictures of the gloom,
juxtaposing
the
dystopian
afternoon sky with fictional
apocalyptic
places such as Gotham City from "Batman", Mordor from "Lord of the Rings" and "the upside down" from "Stranger Things".
1. juxtapose
：
place or deal with close together for contrasting effect
2. dystopian
:
relating to or denoting an imagined state or society where there isgreat suffering or injustice
3. apocalyptic
：
describing or prophesying the complete destruction of the world
描述（历史）大动乱的；
预示（未来）大灾变的；
像世界末日的；
（完犊子了）
法国总统
马克隆
发在他的推特账号上发文，“
our house is burning
”，表达了对亚马逊雨林火灾的担忧，并表示将在G7峰会上首先讨论这个紧急情况，最后配上了
亚马逊雨林
大火的照片。
虽然被指出配图是来自2003年的某条新闻，但
亚马逊雨林
的生态情况确实不容乐观。
“如果你看腻了 IG 的假贴文，
这里则有欧美媒体完全忽视的真实新闻，
地球之肺正在着火，
连续十六天，媒体没报导，
气候行动者也无声无息，
他们都该检讨。”
超模 Amber Valletta 表示。
这是大量席卷社群平台上的画面，许多时尚人士（包括前维多利亚的秘密模特儿
Alessandra Ambrosio
和 Dior Men 创意总监
Kim Jones
）都分享了该贴文：
“如果你不是来自巴西，完全不知道这里发生什么事的话让我们告诉你，全世界最大的雨林正被祝融侵蚀，已超过 16 天了，而媒体完全不闻不问。”
慈善团体
Karmagawa
表示：“现在是拯救雨林避免破坏的重要时刻，媒体只会报导政治争议和负面新闻，但却不谈这个紧急议题，所以我们要靠自己的社群平台传递出去，他们就会被迫报导，世界就会知道发生了什么事！”
The Economist:
Darkness on the edge of town
Forest fires in the Amazon blacken the sun in São Paulo
——Brazil’s president, Jair Bolsonaro, blames environmentalists
“地球之肺”亚马逊雨林
大火
已经持续燃烧三周，让世人为之揪心不已。其实，这片丛林今年已经发生的火灾数量为
史上最多
，达到2013年的
两倍
。专家表示：原因一方面是气候变暖，另一方面是滥砍滥伐。同时，《经济学人》文章从另一个角度出发，揭秘亚马逊火灾发生的深层原因。
《经济学人》8月24日刊:
During the Amazon's dry season, it is common for farmers to set fires illegally to clear land. Brazil's
populist
president, Jair Bolsonaro, has encouraged them by weakening the agencies that enforce environmental regulations. He holds the view that protecting the forest
hinders
economic development. When asked about the fires, he
ludicrously
responded by accusing environmental NGOs of setting the fires themselves so as to make his government look bad, in
retaliation
for his cuts in their funding.
1. populis
t
：
a person, especially a politician, who strives to appeal to ordinary people who feel that their concerns are disregarded by established elite groups
2. hinder
：
make it difficult for (someone) todo something or for (something) to happen
3. ludicrously
：
in a way that is so foolish, unreasonable, or out of place as to be amusing
4. retaliation
：
the action of returning a military attack
巴西总统
雅伊尔·博索纳罗（
Jair Bolsonaro
）
Mr Bolsonaro argues that he is fighting an "information war" over the Amazon; he says he wants foreign governments and NGOs to stop
meddling
in Brazil. After INPE released data showing increasing
deforestation
in July, the president claimed the numbers were fake. He then
sacked
the head of the agency, Ricardo MagnusOsório Galvão, a well-respected physicist.
1. meddle
：
interfere in something that is notone's concern
干预；干涉；插手
2. deforestation
：
the action of clearing a wide areaof trees
毁林；滥伐森林；森林砍伐
3. sack
：
dismissal from employment, fire
解雇；炒鱿鱼；开除
拓展阅读：
BBC:
Amazon fires —
A new level of dismissal
Analysis by Daniel Gallas, BBC News, Sao Paulo
Brazilian presidents
shrugging off（对……不予理睬）
international concern about the Amazon is nothing new.
Others before Mr Bolsonaro have dismissed international NGOs and European leaders as foreign
meddlers（=busy body 爱管闲事的人）
into national affairs.
But Mr Bolsonaro has taken this to a new level by suggesting NGOs may be responsible for encouraging wildfires to
sabotage（蓄意破坏）
him.
His words may shock some international audiences, but they
ring true to（对……来说听上去是可靠的/真实的）
his supporters at home,where he remains a popular leader.
Surprisingly the one
reproving（责备的）
voice that could influence this debate is that of Brazilian farmers.
8月20日，世界气象组织发布了一张气体溶胶遥感图，图上很明显的可以看到，火灾释放的烟雾覆盖了巴西一半的地区，并且已经蔓延到了临近的秘鲁、玻利维亚和巴拉圭。
联合国秘书长
安东尼奥·古特雷斯
也表示：“全球正面临气候危机，我们承担不起（亚马逊雨林）这一氧气和生物多样性的主要来源受到更多伤害。”
