學英文網站推薦1：climate canary氣候金絲雀

​Canary /kəˈneəri/ in the (Coal) Mine
礦坑裏的金絲雀
在Cambridge第六冊的Reading Test 1裏，有一篇叫做”Climate Change and the Inuit”（氣候改變與因紐特人）的文章。文章裏有提到一段話：​

*mine在這裏是當名詞。礦坑裏的金絲雀 ’canary in the mine’ 在下方我貼出了英文跟中文的解釋。
*What's in store? 是英文的成語，意思是what's going to happen in the future?

What does it mean to be a "canary in a coal mine"?

Life for an actual canary in a coal mine could be described in three words: "short but meaningful." Early coal mines did not feature ventilation systems, so legend has it that miners would bring a caged canary into new coal seams. Canaries are especially sensitive to methaneand carbon monoxide, which made them ideal for detecting any dangerous gas build-ups. As long as the bird kept singing, the miners knew their air supply was safe. A dead canary signaled an immediate evacuation.

Even as gas detection technology improved, some mining companies still relied on the canary method well into the 20th century. Other animals were used occasionally, but only the canary had the ability to detect small concentrations of gas and react instinctively.

Today, the practice of using a bird to test the air supply has become part of coal mining lore, but the ideology behind it has become a popular expression. The phrase "living like a canary in a coal mine" often refers to serving as a warning to others. The actual canary had little control over its fate, but it continued to sing anyway. In one sense, living this way indicates a willingness to experience life's dangers without compromise. 
中文的資料
Source: 黃玟君專欄


climate canary 剛當選今年「美國方言協會」（American Dialect Society）的「最有用單字」，今天就讓我們好好介紹一下。

你或許會很狐疑，climate（氣候）與 canary（金絲雀）有啥關連？要知道它們的關係，就要從 canary in a coal mine（煤礦坑裡的金絲雀）的典故講起。原來 canary（金絲雀）對瓦斯十分敏感，只要礦坑內稍有一絲絲瓦斯，牠便會焦躁不安，甚至啼叫，讓礦工們及早撤出礦坑保全性命，因此以前礦工們都會在礦坑裡放金絲雀，當作早期示警的工具。

那什麼是 climate canary（氣候金絲雀）呢？大家都知道，global warming（全球暖化）一直是人類必須面對卻又不願面對的問題。climate canary 指的便是「一種物種，因環境因素而數量遽減，從而暗示著即將到來的、更大規模的環境災難」。有人說，最可能的 climate canary 是北極熊，因北極的海冰是牠們覓食、交配和生產的場所，而全球暖化使北極冰塊急速銷融，北極熊的生存因之受到威脅。也有人說，非洲人很可能是第一波因全球暖化而成為 climate canary 的人類。
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根據聯合國報告，全球暖化導致的海平面上升會使非洲許多沿海國家的基礎設施被摧毀，而本已拮据的糧食產量更會大降。 climate canary 除了可能是生物，也可能是一個足以觸發全球大災難的事件（就像金絲雀一啼叫，就知礦坑即將有大災難），例如有科學家認為冰河或南極大陸在可見的將來都可能是climate canary，因為這些地方只要有一次大面積的冰塊銷融或分解，都可能一發不可收拾，成為導致全球環境大災難的 tippingpoint（引爆點）！