The best of times looks even better
我们生活在最好的时代
War. Famine. Poverty.
战争。饥荒。贫穷。
Infant mortality. Illiteracy. Crime.
婴儿死亡率。文盲率。犯罪率。
Imagine every category of human tragedy and vulnerability.
想象一下人类各式各样的悲剧和脆弱。
Then, realize there has never been a better time to be alive.
然后，就会意识到没有比现在更好的生存时代了。
All of these horrors are exerting the least amount of power over our species compared withanypoint in history. Indeed, even COVID-19 is a surmountable setback on what will remain an upward trajectory. And its impact, while severe, has been blunted by global progress achieved in recent years.
与历史上的任何时间点相比，今天所有这些灾殃对我们这个物种施加的影响最小。事实上，就连新冠肺炎疫情也将是 保持上扬的发展轨道上可以被克服的挫折，尽管其影响十分严 重，全球近年来取得的进步也已减缓其势头。
Across virtually all metrics, across our planet, life has on average been getting better and doing so faster than we could have reasonably expected, even several years ago — and, arguably, than most of us realize today.
在全球几乎所有指标上，平均生活水平都得到了改善，并且改善速度甚至比几年前我们可以合理预期的还要快——而且 可以说比我们大多数人今天意识到的还要好。 这是一年中的大事件。这是十年来的大事件。
It’s the big story of the year. It’s the big story of the decade. It’s the big story of the past few centuries.
这也是过去几个世纪以来的大事件。 中国为这一进步作出了巨大贡献，特别是自从改革开放以来。
And China has contributed much to this progress, especially since it initiated the reform and opening-up. The country was integral to the realization of the Millennium
Development Goals. The MDGs, agreed upon by all UN member states in September 2000, outlined targets across eight areas, including education, gender equality and maternal health, between 1990 and 2015.
这个国家对于实现联合国的“千年发展目标”至关 重要。 2000年9月，联合国所有成员国一致同意的“千年发展目标”概述了1990年至2015年之间八个领域的目标，包括教育、 性别平等和孕产妇保健等。
The World Bank credits China and India as the primary drivers that enabled the realization of the MDG target of halving global poverty before the deadline. And China is poised to help the world realize the UN’s successive 17 Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.
世界银行说，之所以能在截止日期前就实现“千年发展目标”中将全球贫困人口减半的目标，中国和印度功不可没。 中国也将帮助世界在2030年前实现联合国的其他17个可持 续发展目标。
So, if the world is, overall, the best it has ever been — and is still getting better — why haven’t we been celebrating? That’s in no small part because of media. But it’s not media’s fault, per se. As Harvard professor Steven Pinker points out: “It’s not the kind of development that you could learn about reading the papers … Because journalism covers what goes wrong, rather than what goes right, you could easily come away with the impression the world is getting worse and worse.”
因此，如果今天的世界是自古以来最好的，并且还在不断改善中，我们为什么不庆祝呢？
这在很大程度上是由于媒体的报道，但其实这件事并不是媒体的过错。 正如哈佛大学教授斯蒂芬·平克(Steven Pinker)指出的那 样：“这种发展不是看看报纸就能了解到的……新闻报道总是盯着哪儿又出了什么坏事，而不是发生了什么好事，这很容易让人
以为世界正变得越来越糟。”
That is, while it’s actually getting better and better, overall. Tragedies that don’t happen aren’t news, he explains. And common calamities aren’t reported like novel ones. For instance, people are far more likely to die from falling in their homes than from their homes falling on them in, say, an earthquake. But their deaths are far more likely to appear in the news if a temblor kills them, no matter the body count. One is enough.
换句话说，实际上世界正变得越来越好。平克解释说，没有发生的悲剧算不上新闻，常见的灾害也 不会像罕见的突发灾难那样被大肆报道。 例如，人们在自己家中摔倒致死的可能性，要远远高于 地震中被自家倒塌的房屋压死的可能性。但是，如果有人死于 地震，无论人数多少，哪怕只有一人遇难，这都极有可能成为新闻。
The cognitive scientist’s argument seems to me a worthwhile refutation of the concept that “dog bites man” isn’t news but “man bites dog” is. Also, there’s a lack of suddenness. Even rapid improvement is a gradual process. It lacks the abruptness of a tsunami, terror attack or fire, Pinker points out. That’s not to mention a pandemic.
在我看来，认知学家平克的论点非常有力地驳斥了那种认为“狗咬人不是新闻，而人咬狗才是新闻”的观点。 这个世界的变化发展并非一蹴而就。平克指出，即使是快速的发展，也只是一个渐进的过程，不会像海啸、恐怖袭击或大火那样突然发生。更比不上席卷全球的疫情。
Instead, advancements in life expectancy, education and security are incrementally unfolding developments best measured over long time scales. So, we have more reason than ever to rejoice at the present and anticipate the future with optimism, despite setbacks.
与此相反，预期寿命、教育和安全等方面的进步则是一种渐进式发展，需要在更长的时间段上加以衡量。 因此，尽管不断遇到挫折，我们比以往任何时候都更有理
由为现在感到高兴，并且乐观地展望未来。我们正在以前所未有的指数速度，克服几乎所有形式的人 为或自然的祸患。
We’re overcoming virtually all forms of evil, human and natural, at unprecedented and exponential rates. Things aren’t only better than they’ve ever been but also are continuing to get better as we spin around the sun. We are, as a planet, as a species, moving closer to heaven on Earth every moment — including this very instant.
我们围绕太阳旋转着，一切的一切不仅好于以往任何时候，而且还在不断改善。作为一个星球，作为一个物种，我们每时每刻都在更加靠 近地球上的天堂——包括这一刻。
What a time to be alive!
生活在这个时代多么美好！
The best of times, in fact.
事实上，这就是最好的时代。
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