精彩对白：

Anheuser: You just said that, Mom. You just said that. You don't remember that you just said that? That's okay. Listen, Mom. I'll call you next week, same time. Okay? Take care now. Take care of yourself.

Adrian: Sir. I think you need to see this. I thought they'd give you an extra ticket, Sir.

Anheuser:They did. But my mother is almost 89. She's in a wheelchair. And she is easily confused. And I am confident that she'll want to meet her maker on her own terms. Okay?

Adrian: Yes, sir. Who are you bringing?

Anheuser: Nobody. My ex-wife said she never wanted to see me again. So be it. We could bring people that contribute.

Man on TV: ... has been damaged by a series of major earthquakes. The death toll is expected to be well over 2 million people. The devastation in Rio de Janeiro is beyond imagination. Two 8.5 tremors have left the people in the street fighting for resources. In the last hour we received this video from Globo News, Brazil. What's happening? My God! The statue of Christ is collapsing! Fear and chaos have spread throughout the globe. As in London, where the 30th Olympic Games has been suspended. Hundreds of thousands are marching towards 10 Downing Street demanding a lift of the information blackout proposed by the Prime Minister.

Adrian: Thousands of calls to the switchboard. We had to shut it down.

Man on TV: We're receiving reports from all across the globe. Millions of distraught masses are gathering in public places everywhere, converging in desperate  prayer. Preachers of many faiths have taken their message of the end of the world to the streets all over the U.S.

Anheuser: Repent. There is still time. Kind of gaulling when you realize the nutbags with the cardboard signs had it right the whole time.

Adrian: All these people out there, sir. Shouldn't we be issuing warnings now?

Anheuser: Only when the boarding process is complete.That's the plan. British Columbia 2010, remember?

Adrian: Sir, those plans were drawn up 2 years ago. Okay, everybody out. Come on, get out. Wasn't it also decided that people have the right to fight for their lives, best way they can?

Anheuser: After we get everyone on board, Adrian.

Adrian: I think that's wrong.

Anheuser: Want to tell everyone they're doomed? There'd be anarchy. You want to jeopardize the departure of the president? Our mission is to assure the continuity of our species. My question: Can I count on you? Can I? What?

Official: The Yellowstone Caldera has erupted, sir. The ash cloud will reach Washington in 7 hours.

Anheuser: We've got to get away. Where is the president, Sally?

Sally: Said he wanted to spend some time alone. I think he's at the chapel.

Anheuser: He's going to church now?

Sally: He's praying, sir. Which is not such a bad idea.

Anheuser: Mr. President. I need to get you on Air Force One immediately.

President: Give me a moment with Adrian.

Anheuser: No disrespect sir, we do not have time.

President: Make time. Did you ever meet my wife, Dorothy?

Adrian: No sir, I never had that honor.

President: She was in and out towards the end. The night before she passed on, she took my hand and told me: "I think you should have a lottery. Everyone should have a chance to go." Maybe that's what we should have done. I'll be the last president of the United States of America. Do you know how that feels, son?

Adrian: No one could have saved the country, sir. And I think, I think people have a right to know.

President: Don't worry, I'll take care of that. Go on now.

Adrian: Not without you, sir.

President: Get on that plane, son. It's a brave new world you head into. And a young scientist will be worth 20 old politicians.

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1. Meet one’s maker: 见上帝，去世。在这里， make就是指“上帝”。

虽然安豪塞先生看起来非常冷酷，常与阿德里安意见相左，但在关键时刻，他却放弃了自己的母亲，认为应该把生存的希望留给做出贡献的人。

2. on one's own terms：根据自己的主张。

而on speaking terms则是指“泛泛之交，仅仅相识而已”。

3. So be it：那就这样吧。

4. death toll：死亡人数。

例如：The death toll mounted to 100.（死亡人数上升至100人。）.

5. blackout：新闻封锁。

此外，blackout还可以表示“灯火管制”。例如：The streets were not lighted at night during the blackout.（灯火管制期间，夜晚街道没有照明。）

6. switchboard：电话总机。

7. distraught：心急如焚的；发狂的。

在这里，distraught masses是指“发狂的群众”。

8. repent：忏悔，后悔。例如：Bitterly did we repent our decision.（我们非常后悔做此决定。）

9. nutbag：An eccentric or odd person; Someone who is insane; A person who is obsessed with something（行为古怪的人，疯子）

10.doomed：命中注定的，天数已尽的。例如：The project is doomed to fail.（这计划注定要失败。）

11.anarchy：无政府状态，政治混乱。例如：It is said that the country is in anarchy.（据说那个国家处于无政府状态。）

12.make time: 挤时间，抽空。

13.pass on：去世，一种讳称。

[page]

1.数十万人冲进唐宁街10号，要求首相解除消息封锁。

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2.心急如焚的群众聚集在各地的公共场所。

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3.你想告诉每一个人，他们只能认命了？

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4.我们的任务是确保人类的延续。

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答案见下期

 《2012》精讲之三参考答案

1.Christians call it The Rapture, but the Mayans knew about it.

2.You'd have to keep a thing like this under wraps.

3.Somebody would blow the whistle.

4.He was one of my most avid listeners.

[page]

科学家将“世界末日时钟”拨慢一分钟

位于芝加哥大学的世界末日钟60多年来一直在试图表达科学家们的观点。美国东部时间本月14日早上10点，世界末日钟两年来首次被拨动，而这一次给人们带来的是一个好消息，科学家们经过讨论，将世界末日钟往回拨了一分钟，到23点54分的位置，这意味着科学家对人类的前景感到乐观。

Doomsday Clock to be moved for first time in two years

The timepiece in New York is supposed to represent how close humanity is to catastrophic destruction – represented by midnight.

Created by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists in 1947 - two years after the US dropped the first atomic bombs on Japan in World War II - it was first set at seven minutes to midnight.

Since then the Bulletin's scientific board, which includes Professor Stephen Hawking and 18 other Nobel laureates, has been changed 18 times.

The latest recorded time was two minutes to midnight in 1953 as the Cold War between the US and Soviet Union escalated. In 2007 it was wound on to five minutes to midnight, to reflect the failure to solve problems posed by nuclear weapons.

The clock's earliest setting was in 1991 when it was wound back to 17 minutes to midnight after the US and Soviet Union signed the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty.

On Friday the public will be able to watch the change for the first time via a live web feed.

It has not yet been revealed whether the clock is being moved closer to midnight or further away.

A spokesman for the BAS said: “Factors influencing the latest Doomsday Clock change include international negotiations on nuclear disarmament and nonproliferation, expansion of civilian nuclear power, the possibilities of nuclear terrorism, and climate change.” (Agencies)