科学家们说，到2020年12月底，人造物体的总重量可能会超过生物的总重量。

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.

从塑料瓶、砖头到混凝土，人类为了建造房屋、道路和机器而生产的物体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.

与此同时，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减少。

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.

以色列魏茨曼科学研究所（Weizmann Institute of Sciences）的研究人员经计算得出，到今年年底，世界将到达一个转折点，即人造物体的总重量超过生物的总重量。

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

目前，混凝土、砖头、木头、金属和其它物体的重量超过一太吨（一百万兆吨）。

词汇表

bricks 砖，砖块
concrete 混凝土
weight 重量
living things 有生命的物体，生物
biomass 生物量
calculated 计算了
crossover point 转折点
human-made 人造的
outweighs 重量大于、超过
weighs in 重量为

阅读理解：请在读完上文后，回答下列问题。

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.