托福閱讀材料之1/7人類相信世界末日將至

　　Nearly 15 percent of people worldwide believe the world will end during their lifetime and 10 percent think the Mayan calendar could signify it will happen in 2012, according to a new poll.

　　The end of the Mayan calendar, which spans about 5,125 years, on December 21, 2012 has sparked interpretations and suggestions that it marks the end of the world.

　　"Whether they think it will come to an end through the hands of God, or a natural disaster or a political event, whatever the reason, one in seven thinks the end of the world is coming," said Keren Gottfried, research manager at Ipsos Global Public Affairs which conducted the poll for Reuters.

　　"Perhaps it is because of the media attention coming from one interpretation of the Mayan prophecy that states the world 'ends' in our calendar year 2012," Gottfried said, adding that some Mayan scholars have disputed the interpretation.

　　Responses to the international poll of 16,262 people in more than 20 countries varied widely with only six percent of French residents believing in an impending Armageddon in their lifetime, compared to 22 percent in Turkey and the United States and slightly less in South Africa and Argentina.

　　But only seven percent in Belgium and eight percent in Great Britain feared an end to the world during their lives.

　　About one in 10 people globally also said they were experiencing fear or anxiety about the impending end of the world in 2012. The greatest numbers were in Russia and Poland, the fewest in Great Britain.

　　Gottfried also said that people with lower education or household income levels, as well as those under 35 years old, were more likely to believe in an apocalypse during their lifetime or in 2012, or have anxiety over the prospect.

　　"Perhaps those who are older have lived long enough to not be as concerned with what happens to their future," she explained.

　　Ipsos questioned people in China, Turkey, Russia, Mexico, South Korea, Japan, the United States, Argentina, Hungary, Poland, Sweden, France, Spain, Belgium, Canada, Australia, Italy, South Africa, Great Britain, Indonesia, Germany.

　　(Read by Nelly Min. Nelly Min is a journalist at the China Daily Website.)

　　根據(jù)一項新調(diào)查，全世界有近15%的人相信世界末日將在自己有生之年到來，10%的人認為瑪雅日歷預示著世界將在2012年終結(jié)。

　　跨越5125年的瑪雅日歷終止于2012年12月21日，這引發(fā)了各種關于世界末日的解讀和聯(lián)想。

　　益普索全球公共事務部為路透社開展了這一調(diào)查。該部門的調(diào)研主管凱倫·戈特弗里德說：“或是認為世界會在上帝手里終結(jié)，或是認為世界將因自然災害或政治事件毀滅，不論是何種原因，全球有七分之一的人認為世界末日即將來臨。”

　　戈特弗里德說：“也許是因為媒體高度關注對瑪雅預言的一種解讀，認為世界將在公歷2012年‘終結(jié)’。”她補充說，一些瑪雅學者對這種解讀提出了質(zhì)疑。

　　這一跨國調(diào)查涵蓋了20多個國家的16262個人，各國受訪者的應答有很大差別。只有6%的法國人認為有生之年將會見到世界末日，與此同時，有22%的土耳其人和美國人，以及比例略低的南非人和阿根廷人相信末日將至。

　　只有7%的比利時人和8%的英國人擔心世界會在自己有生之年終結(jié)。

　　此外，全球約有十分之一的人稱自己為2012年即將到來的世界末日而感到恐懼或焦慮。有這種擔憂的俄羅斯人和波蘭人最多，英國人最少。

　　戈特弗里德還說，教育程度或家庭收入低的人，以及那些35歲以下的人，更傾向于認為有生之年或2012年世界末日會來臨，更容易因“末日”將至感到焦慮。

　　她解釋說：“也許那些年紀較大的人活得夠久，因而對未來發(fā)生的事情不那么擔心。”

　　益普索公司調(diào)查了中國、土耳其、俄羅斯、墨西哥、韓國、日本、美國、阿根廷、匈牙利、波蘭、瑞典、法國、西班牙、比利時、加拿大、澳大利亞、意大利、南非、英國、印尼、德國的居民。