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Living or dying?
2019年度色“活珊瑚橙”背后的故事
When dictionaries around the world started announcing their "Word of the Year", 2018 looked like it would end on a depressing note. After all, "single-use" – Collins Dictionary's pick, "toxic" – the choice of Oxford Dictionary, and "misinformation", Dictionary.com's selection, are not exactly the most upbeat words in English.
当全球各类词典陆续发布各自评选出的“年度词”时，2018年的尾声似乎有些压抑。毕竟，《柯林斯词典》选出的年度词“一次性”，《牛津词典》选出的年度词“有毒”，字典网选出的年度词“假消息”在英文中的确都不是什么乐观的词。
But now we have "Living Coral", Pantone's 2019 Color of the Year, to save the day.
不过现在，潘通发布的2019年度色“活珊瑚橙”成功扭转了这一局面。
The Pantone Color Institute, based in the US, announced on Dec 6 that it had chosen this golden orange hue as its color of the year. In the words of the institute's press release, the color, "symbolizes our innate need for optimism and joyful pursuits".
12月6日，美国色彩机构潘通宣布将这种金橙色选为年度色。该机构发布新闻称，这一颜色“象征着我们对于乐观主义和追求快乐与生俱来的需求”。
It's true that there is something magical about orange. It conjures up the image of a sunrise or a warm campfire in the woods. It reminds us of what Russian painter Wassily Kandinsky (1866-1944) wrote in Concerning the Spiritual in Art: "Orange is like a man, convinced of his own powers."
橙色的确拥有某种魔力。它令人想起旭日东升或者林中温暖篝火的景象。它令人想起俄罗斯画家瓦西里·康定斯基在《艺术的精神性》一书中所写的一句话：“橙色就像一个对其力量深信不疑的人。”
However, to speak of human "powers" in the same breath as "Living Coral" might make us think. After all, the world's coral reefs are dying – thanks to human "powers".
然而，把人类的“力量”描述为“活珊瑚橙”这一颜色，或许会引发我们深思。毕竟，正是由于人类的“力量”，全球的珊瑚礁正濒临灭绝。
"The announcement comes at a time when rising water temperatures and human activities continue to harm coral reefs around the world," said VOA News. And with the end of the coral reefs "as living, breathing things" will come the end of the color.
“年度色的发布时间恰逢水温上升，人类活动正持续对全球珊瑚礁造成伤害之时，”美国之音新闻表示。而当鲜活的珊瑚礁灭绝时，这一颜色也会随之消失。
In other words, the color, which Pantone chose to set the tone for the coming year, no longer exists, at least naturally, in many parts of the world.
换言之，至少在自然界中，潘通所选的为来年奠定基调的这一颜色在全球多地不复存在。
"Perhaps in troubled times we crave the reassurance of a color that is warm, natural and solid," Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of Pantone, told The Guardian.
“在动荡的时代，我们或许会渴望由一种温暖、自然又可靠的颜色所带来的安全感，”潘通执行总监莉翠丝·艾斯曼在接受《卫报》采访时表示。
But we need more than just "reassurance" and "optimism". We need the resolve to make necessary changes, so that we can continue to see Living Coral in real coral reefs as well as on Pantone's color palette.
但我们所需的不仅仅是“安全感”和“乐观主义”。我们必须决心改变，才能在真正的珊瑚礁和潘通调色板中继续看见“活珊瑚橙”这一颜色。
Only then will we be able to say that Living Coral has truly "saved the day".
只有到那时，我们才能说“活珊瑚橙”真正“扭转了局面”。
