科學家們說，到2020年12月底，人造物體的總重量可能會超過生物的總重量。

From plastic bottles, to bricks and concrete – the weight of all the things humans produce to build homes, roads and machines has been doubling every twenty years.

從塑料瓶、磚頭到混凝土，人類為了建造房屋、道路和機器而生產的物體的重量每二十年翻一番。

At the same time, the weight of all living things, known as biomass, has been falling slightly, mainly due to the loss of forests.

與此同時，所有生物的重量，即生物量，都略有下降，其主要原因是森林的減少。

Researchers at the Weizmann Institute of Sciences in Israel have calculated that by the end of the year, the world will have reached a crossover point where human-made stuff outweighs that of living things.

以色列魏茨曼科學研究所（Weizmann Institute of Sciences）的研究人員經計算得出，到今年年底，世界將到達一個轉折點，即人造物體的總重量超過生物的總重量。

The amount of concrete, bricks, wood, metal and other objects weighs in at over a teratonne.

目前，混凝土、磚頭、木頭、金屬和其它物體的重量超過一太噸（一百萬兆噸）。

詞匯表

bricks 磚，磚塊
concrete 混凝土
weight 重量
living things 有生命的物體，生物
biomass 生物量
calculated 計算了
crossover point 轉折點
human-made 人造的
outweighs 重量大于、超過
weighs in 重量為

閱讀理解：請在讀完上文后，回答下列問題。

1. Name three things mentioned which are made by humans.

2. How often has the weight of all the things humans produce been doubling?

3. What is the weight of all living things known as?

4. According to the calculation of researchers, what will have happened by the end of 2020?

答案

1. Name three things mentioned which are made by humans.
Any three of the following: plastic bottles, bricks, concrete, homes, roads, machines, and some human-made building materials made from wood and metal.

2. How often has the weight of all the things humans produce been doubling?
It has been doubling every twenty years.

3. What is the weight of all living things known as?
It’s known as ‘biomass’.

4. According to the calculation of researchers, what will have happened by the end of 2020?
The world will have reached a crossover point where human-made stuff outweighs that of living things.