Will humans become extinct?

 

 

BBC Learning English
6 Minute English
Will humans become extinct?
(Episode 200312 / 12 MAR 2020)

https://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/english/features/6-minute-english/ep-200312

BBC Learning English - 6 Minute English / Will humans become extinct?

 

 

pandemic
미국식 영국식  [pænˈdemɪk] 
1. 전국적인 유행병   2. → endemic, epidemic

we’ll be asking looking at some of the many dangers facing humanity, from climate change and global pandemics to asteroid impacts and nuclear war.

 

asteroid 
미국식 영국식 [ˈæstərɔɪd] 
소행성

we’ll be asking looking at some of the many dangers facing humanity, from climate change and global pandemics to asteroid impacts and nuclear war.

 

civilisation
미국식 [-ləˈz-] 영국식 [ˌsɪvəlaɪˈzeɪʃn]
1. 문명   2. 문명 (사회)   3. 전 세계 (사람들)

We’ll be finding out whether human civilisation can survive these risks and looking at some of the related vocabulary as well. 

 

exotic
미국식 [ɪɡˈzɑːtɪk] 발음듣기 영국식 [ɪɡˈzɒtɪk]
(특히 열대 지방에 있는) 외국의; 이국적인

I’ll guess the Galapagos, Neil, because I know many exotic animals live there. 

 

existential risks
dangers that threaten the continuation of human life on Earth

Lots of the existential risks-the worst possible things that could happen to humanity, such as nuclear war, global pandemics or rogue artificial intelligence, are human-made.

 

rogue 
미국식 [roʊɡ] 영국식 [rəʊɡ]
1. (행동은 못됐지만 해를 끼칠 정도는 아닌) 악당 (같은 녀석)   2. 사기꾼, 범죄자
rogue artificial intelligence,

Lots of the existential risks-the worst possible things that could happen to humanity, such as nuclear war, global pandemics or rogue artificial intelligence, are human-made.

 

catastrophic 
미국식 [kæ̀təstrɑ́fik(əl)] 영국식 [-strɔ́f-]
대변동[큰 재앙]의; 파멸의, 비극적인; 대단원의
These threats could have catastrophic consequences for human survival in the 21st century

apocalyptic 
미국식 [əˌpɑːk-] 영국식 [əˌpɒkəˈlɪptɪk]
1. 종말론적   2. 세상에 종말이 온 듯한

True, Sam, but what about individuals who actively work to bring about the end of the world -like apocalyptic terrorists, rampage shooters and fundamentalist cults like those who organised the poisonous gas attack on the Tokyo subway. 

 

the historical record
the collection of all written and recorded past events concerning the human race

We looked back throughout the historical record-all recorded human history, to see examples of threats which have wiped out, or killed millions of people in the past, including wars and plagues which spread epidemic diseases between populations.

 

wipes out
completely destroys leaving nothing remaining

We looked back throughout the historical record-all recorded human history, to see examples of threats which have wiped out, or killed millions of people in the past, including wars and plagues which spread epidemic diseases between populations.

 

plague
미국·영국 [pleɪɡ]
1.= bubonic plague   2.전염병   3.(한동안 고통문제로) 괴롭히다
infectious, epidemic disease

We looked back throughout the historical record-all recorded human history, to see examples of threats which have wiped out, or killed millions of people in the past, including wars and plagues which spread epidemic diseases between populations.

 

eruption
미국식 [irʌ́pʃən] 
1. (화산의) 폭발, 분화   2. (용암·간헐천 등의) 분출; (화산의) 분출물

in the Middle Ages, this was the Black Death -huge plaguethat covered Eurasia, while there was also dramatic global cooling at that time which many people think was related to volcanic eruptions and about a third of the global population died.

 

epidemic
미국·영국 [ˌepɪˈdemɪk]
1.유행병, 유행성 (전염병)   2.(흔히 나쁜 것의) 급속한 확산

We looked back throughout the historical record-all recorded human history, to see examples of threats which have wiped out, or killed millions of people in the past, including wars and plagues which spread epidemic diseases between populations.

 

rampage
1. (흔히 파괴 등을 저지르며 한동안 벌이는) 광란   2. 광란하듯 지나가다

True, Sam, but what about individuals who actively work to bring about the end of the world -like apocalyptic terrorists, rampage shooters and fundamentalist cults like those who organised the poisonous gas attack on the Tokyo subway. 

 

cult
미국·영국 [kʌlt]
1. (생활 방식태도사상 등에 대한) 추종   2. (기성 종교가 아닌 종교의) 광신적 종교 집단
True, Sam, but what about individuals who actively work to bring about the end of the world -like apocalyptic terrorists, rampage shooters and fundamentalist cults like those who organised the poisonous gas attack on the Tokyo subway. 


doomsday
미국식 영국식 [ˈduːmzdeɪ]
final day of the world’s existence; apocalypse
(기독교에서 말하는) 최후의 심판일

Those are people whowant to end human life on Earth and bring about Doomsday-another word for the final, apocalyptic day of the world’s existence.

 

catastrophic 
미국·영국 [kəˈtæstrəfi]
1. 참사, 재앙   2. (한 개인이나 단체의) 재앙

These threats could have catastrophic consequences for human survival in the 21st century

 

genuinely 
미국·영국 [dƷénjuinli]
진정으로, 성실하게; 순수하게

There are some ways that you could get to a nuclear war without really intending to, and probably the biggest example is if you have a false alarm that is mistaken as a nuclear attack, and there have been a number of, maybe even very serious false alarms, over the years, in which one side or the other genuinely believed that they were under nuclear attack, whenin fact they were not at all under nuclear attack. 

 

false alarm
warning given incorrectly so that people wrongly believe something dangerous is about to happen
(위험이 발생했다는, 또는 발생할 거라는) 거짓 경보

One such false alarm-an incorrect warning given so that people wrongly believe something dangerous is about to happen, came about in 1995, when the US sent missiles up into the Earth’s atmosphere to study the aurora borealis, the northern lights.

 

retaliate
미국식 영국식 [rɪˈtælieɪt] 
보복하다, 앙갚음하다

Soviet radars picked up the missiles, thinking they were nuclear warheads and almost retaliated. Nuclear Armageddon was only averted by the actions of one clear-thinking Russian general who decided not to push the red button

 

armageddon
미국식 [ˌɑːrm-] 영국식 [ˌɑːməˈɡedn]
1. 아마겟돈(지구 종말에 펼쳐지는 선과 악의 대결)   2. (지구 종말을 초래할 듯한) 대전쟁

Soviet radars picked up the missiles, thinking they were nuclear warheads and almost retaliated. Nuclear Armageddon was only averted by the actions of one clear-thinking Russian general who decided not to push the red button.

 

avert

미국식 [əˈvɜːrt] 영국식 [əˈvɜːt]
1. 방지하다, 피하다   2. (~에서) 눈을 돌리다

Soviet radars picked up the missiles, thinking they were nuclear warheads and almost retaliated. Nuclear Armageddon was only averted by the actions of one clear-thinking Russian general who decided not to push the red button.

 

phew
미국식 영국식 [fjuː]
후유, 휴(더울 때·지쳤을 때·안도감을 느낄 때 내는 소리)

Phew! A close shavethen! Well, Neil, all this doomongering has made me want to just give it all up and live on a desert island!

 

a close shave
큰일 날뻔했다, 아슬아슬했다.

Phew! A close shavethen! Well, Neil, all this doomongering has made me want to just give it all up and live on a desert island!

 

atom
원자

it’s not all doom and gloom! The same scientific intelligence which spilt the atom could also find solutions to our human-made problems inthe 21st century, don’t you think?