Hundreds of scientists，writers and academics sounded a warning to humanity in an open letter published last December：Policymakers and the rest of us must engage openly with the risk of global collapse．Researchers in many areas have projected the widespread collapse as“a credible scenario（情景） this century”．
去年十二月，数百名科学家、作家和学者在一封公开信中向全人类发出警告：决策者和我们其他人必须公开讨论全球崩溃的风险。许多领域的研究人员预测，这一世纪全面崩溃是“一个可信的情景”。

A survey of scientists found that extreme weather events，food insecurity，and freshwater shortages might create global collapse．Of course，if you are a non-human species，collapse is well underway．
一项科学家调查发现，极端天气事件、食品不安全和淡水短缺可能导致全球崩溃。当然，如果你是一种非人类物种，那么崩溃早已在进行中。

The call for public engagement with the unthinkable is especially germane in this moment of still-uncontrolled pandemic and economic crises in the world’s most technologically advanced nations．Not very long ago，it was also unthinkable that a virus would shut down nations and that safety nets would be proven so disastrously lacking in flexibility．
对于不可想象的问题的公众参与呼声在目前这个仍然无法控制的大流行病和世界上最先进国家的经济危机中尤其重要。不久前，很难想象一个病毒会关闭国家，而安全网会被证明在灵活性上非常缺乏时。

The international scholars’ warning letter doesn’t say exactly what collapse will look like or when it might happen．Collapseology，the study of collapse，is more concerned with identifying trends and with them the dangers of everyday civilization．Among the signatories（签署者）of the warning was Bob Johnson，the originator of the“ecological footprint”concept，which measures the total amount of environmental input needed to maintain a given lifestyle．With the current footprint of humanity，“it seems that global collapse is certain to happen in some form，possibly within a decade，certainly within this century，”Johnson said in an email．
国际学者们的警告信没有确切表明崩溃将是什么样子，或者可能何时发生。崩溃学，即研究崩溃的学科，更关注于识别趋势和随之而来的文明危险。警告信签署者中包括“生态足迹”概念的发起人鲍勃·约翰逊，该概念衡量了维持特定生活方式所需的总环境投入量。“看起来，全球崩溃在某种形式上几乎是肯定会发生的，可能在十年内发生，但肯定会在本世纪内发生，”约翰逊在一封电子邮件中说道。

Only if we discuss the consequences of our biophysical limits, the December warning letter says，can we have the hope to reduce their“speed，severity and harm”．And yet messengers of the coming disturbance are likely to be ignored．We all want to hope things will turn out fine．As a poet wrote，
只有当我们讨论自身生物物理限制的后果时，才有希望减轻其“速度、严重性和危害”。然而，来自即将到来的干扰的信使很可能被忽视。我们都希望事情会好转。正如一位诗人所写：
Man is a victim of dope （麻醉品）
人是麻醉品的受害者
In the incurable form of hope．
在治不好的希望中

The hundreds of scholars who signed the letter are intent（执着） on quieting hope that ignores preparedness．“Let’s look directly into the issue of collapse，”hey say，“and deal with the terrible possibilities of what we see there to make the best of a troubling future．”
签署这封信的数百名学者致力于沉默那种忽视准备的希望，“让我们直面崩溃的问题”，他们说，“处理我们在那里看到的可怕可能性，以便在纠结的未来中尽力做到最好”。

1. What does the underlined word“germane”in Paragraph 3 probably mean？
   A. Scientific． B. Credible．
   C. Original． D. Relevant．
   答案：D

2. As for the public awareness of global collapse，the author is__．
   A. worried B. puzzled
   C. surprised D. scared
   答案：A

3. What can we learn from this passage？
   A. The signatories may change the biophysical limits．
   B. The author agrees with the message of the poem．
   C. The issue of collapse is being prioritized．
   D. The global collapse is well underway．
   答案：B