UK physicist Isaac Newton once said,“Nature is pleased with simplicity and nature is no dummy.” Indeed, Mother Nature can provide almost everything human beings need if we follow her rules. But if we break the rules, she is likely to be cruel and lash out at us.
英國物理學家艾薩克·牛頓曾說：“大自然喜歡簡單，大自然也不是傀儡?！钡拇_，如果我們遵循自然法則，大自然能為人類提供幾乎一切所需。但如果我們違背了規(guī)則，她就有可能殘忍地向我們發(fā)起猛攻。

The outbreak of the novel coronavirus pneumonia (NCP) in China and some other countries at the beginning of this year is an example. According to Xinhua News Agency, the new coronavirus is similar to a virus found in a bat in 2017 and probably has an intermediate host. It’s believed that the virus originated from the Huanan Seafood Market in Wuhan, Hubei province, where live wild animals were sold.
今年年初，在中國及一些國家爆發(fā)的新型冠狀病毒肺炎便是個例子。據(jù)新華社報道，這種新型冠狀病毒與2017年在蝙蝠身上發(fā)現(xiàn)的一種病毒相似，或許還存在著中間宿主。病毒被認為源于湖北武漢的華南海鮮市場，該市場有野生動物出售。

The Wall Street Journal reported that Dr Peter Daszak, president of the US based health organization EcoHealth Alliance, said, “This outbreak is a lesson for us. On a global scale, human population density, wildlife diversity, and land use change are what drive new pandemics.”
據(jù)《華爾街日報》報道，美國健康組織“生態(tài)健康聯(lián)盟”主席皮特·達薩克博士稱，“此次疫情爆發(fā)對我們而言是個教訓。在全球規(guī)模下，人口密度、野生生物多樣性以及土地使用的變化都導致了新流行病的產(chǎn)生。

In the ancient times, people needed to rely on nature to survive so they held it in awe. For example, the American Indians believed that humans are a part of nature and nature is a part of humans. Chinese ancients always pursued the harmony between nature and human beings.
在古代，人們需要依靠自然才能生存，對自然充滿敬畏。比如，美洲印第安人認為，人類是自然的一部分，而自然也是人類的一部分。中國古人也一向追求天人合一。

However, as human beings master more knowledge and make more advanced tools, people try to change and even conquer nature. They use more land to make buildings, genetically modify plants, capture some wild and odd animals to suit their own needs. In this process, humans gradually lose contact with nature and even throw it out of balance.
然而，隨著人類掌握了更多知識，制造出更先進的工具，人們便試圖改變，甚至征服自然。他們占用了更多土地建造高樓，改造植物的基因，獵捕奇異的野生動物從而滿足一己私欲。在這一過程中，人類漸漸失去了與自然的聯(lián)系，甚至令其失去平衡。

Although we don’t know for sure what first caused the NCP outbreak, Brian Lamacraft at Medium said it’s time for people to “reflect on our relationship with our planet” and “reconnect with this world and everything that we’ve been given”. After all, according to US poet Gary Snyder, “Nature is not the place to visit. It’s our home.”
盡管我們尚未查明新型冠狀病毒肺炎爆發(fā)的最初原因，但Medium網(wǎng)站的布萊恩·拉瑪克拉夫特認為，人們是時候“反思我們與地球的關(guān)系”并“與這個世界以及我們被賦予的一切重新建立起聯(lián)系”了。畢竟，美國詩人加里·斯奈德曾說道：“大自然不是旅游景點，而是我們的家?！?/span>

以上文章內(nèi)容選自《21世紀學生英文報高中版》，詳情請見《21世紀學生英文報高中版》高三707期