巧连神数68:2012真的是世界末日吗？

“IHC研究发现，2012年的灾难事件证据确凿，而且不可避免。我们相信其中一些事件将毁灭地球和大多数人类。我们94%确定这会发生。我们不能忽视2012年12月21日。”

This was part of message sent by the IHC - the Institute of Human Continuity. This international organisation informs people that the world is going to end in 2012. It has a website where people can learn more about the end of the world. People can even win the chance to be one of the lucky survivors.

这是IHC（人类延续研究所）向人们传递的部分信息。这个国际组织告诉人们，世界将在2012年结束。人们可以去该机构的网站了解更多关于世界末日的信息，甚至可能赢得成为末日幸存者的机会。

Does this sound frightening? Well do not worry. The message is just a joke. The Institute of Human Continuity is not real. It was created to excite people about a new film. The film is called 2012. It centres on a particular idea that the world could end in that year. Today's Spotlight looks at the idea behind this film. Why are some people expecting big things to happen in 2012? Is there any evidence for their claims?

这是不是危言耸听呢？不必杞人忧天了。这不过是个玩笑而已。这个人类延续研究所纯粹是子虚乌有。它只是电影公司为了推广那部电影《2012》捏造的。这部电影的中心论调就是2012是世界末日。今天的Spotlightj将会和大家一起探讨电影背后的观点。为什么有些人期待2012年有大事发生呢？他们这样声称有无证据呢？

The film 2012 will be released worldwide this coming November. The film is based on a theory that a number of serious events will happen in the year 2012 - and these events will destroy the Earth!

电影《2012》将在即将到来的11月全球上映。这部电影基于的理论认为，2010年将会发生一系列灾难事件，而这些事件将会毁灭地球。

This theory is not new. Many people have been discussing it on the internet for some time now. They believe that there is evidence that the world will end in 2012.

这种论调并不新鲜。现在许多人在网上对这个理论已经讨论过一段时间了。他们相信，有证据证明2012年是世界末日。

One of the main reasons for this concerns an ancient kingdom - the Mayan kingdom. The Mayans lived in Central America thousands of years ago. They understood more about the world and sky than most other people at the time. They studied the stars and planets. They also had a highly developed system of mathematics. But it is the Mayan calendar that is causing people to worry. The calendar was their system for measuring the beginning, length and order of years. And the last day in the Mayan calendar is the 21st of December 2012. Some people think this is a sign that the Mayans knew when the world would end.

古老的玛雅帝国是造成这种担忧的主要原因之一。数千年前，玛雅人生活在中美洲。玛雅人比他们那个时代的别的种族知道更多世界和天空的知识。他们研究各种星象。他们也拥有高度发达的数学系统。但是就是这些玛雅人的历法使人担忧。这个历法是玛雅人衡量年代开始、长度和次序的一套系统。而玛雅历法的最后一天就是2010年12月21日。许多人认为这标志玛雅人知道世界在什么时候结束。

So could the Mayans really have known when the world would end? Well, this is not the first time that people have tried to state when the end would come. For thousands of years, many different people have said that the world will end on a particular day. So far, they have all been wrong. Here are just a few of these false ideas.

难道玛雅人真的知道世界会在什么什么时候结束吗？其实，这已经不是第一次有人试图说明世界末日的来临了。几千年来，形形色色的人都曾说过世界会在某一天结束。而到目前为止，他们都错了。下面就是其中的一些错误观点。

In the year 1000 many people thought the world would end. People around Europe worried about this important date. The New Year celebrations for 1001 must have been extra big.

在公元1000年，许多人认为世界会结束。欧洲各地的人们曾十分担忧这个重要的一天。纽约市对公元1001年新年的庆祝应该非常隆重。

On the first of February 1524, thousands of people left their homes in London. They feared that a flood would start in the city and then destroy the whole world. In fact, it did not even rain in London on that day.

1524年2月1日，成千上万的人走出了自家房屋。他们害怕洪水袭击这个城市，然后毁灭整个世界。而事实上，伦敦那天连个雨点儿都没有。

In more recent times, some people thought the end could come in July 1999. The French writer Nostradamus wrote about this month hundreds of years ago. But he too was wrong.

在近代，有人认为1999年7月末日会来临。法国作家、占星师诺斯特拉德马斯几百年前在作品中曾经描述过。但是他也错了。

Many ideas about the end of the world are based on the Christian Bible. Parts of the Bible suggest what will happen soon before the end of the world. Some people claim that these events are already happening.

关于世界末日的许多观点源于《圣经》。《圣经》的一些内容暗示了世界末日之前会发生的一些事情。一些人认为这些事情目前正在发生。

The Bible says that the world will end when Jesus returns to Earth. But it does not say when this will be. It also says that no one will know exactly when he will return. So no one can claim that the Bible states when the world will end. But Christians do look forward to Jesus' return. They do not know when this will be. But they believe it is important to be ready for it.

《圣经》里说，当耶稣回到世上，世界将会结束。但是它并没有说这会发生在什么时候。它也说没有人知道耶稣具体会在哪一天回来。所以没有人可以声称《圣经》说过世界末日的时间。但是基督教徒确实期待耶稣回来。他们不知道耶稣什么时候回来，但他们相信，为这一天做好准备十分重要。

A number of people have created their own theories about the end of the world. Some ideas are more believable than others. One idea is that the Earth will pass through a particular area of space - our galaxy, the Milky Way. They say this will cause global problems that will destroy the world. Another idea is that the earth will turn upside down. So the North Pole will become the South Pole. Scientists have dismissed both these ideas.

关于世界末日，许多人创造了他们自己的理论。一些观点相较其他观点会更为可信。其中一个观点认为，地球会在太空中穿越过银河系。他们称这会导致全球性的问题，从而毁掉整个世界。另外一个观点认为，地球会上下颠倒，北极会变成南极。科学家们对这些观点都不屑一顾。

Other people think the end will come after another world war. However the most popular idea is that an unknown planet will hit the Earth. People call this planet ‘Nibiru' or ‘Planet X'. However, scientists say Planet X does not even exist. If it was going to hit the Earth in 2012, we would be able to see it in the night sky now. But we cannot.

另外一些人认为世界会在第三次世界大战中毁灭。然而最流行的观点是不明星球可能会撞击地球。人们称这个星球为“Nibiru”或“星球X”。然而科学家们认为这个“星球X”根本不存在。如果它将在2012年撞击地球的话，我们应该在夜空中可以看到。但是我们看不到。

There seems to be no reason to think that any of these terrible events will happen in 2012. But this has not stopped some people from worrying. David Morrison works for NASA. He says he gets lots of people asking about Nibiru and what could happen in 2012. He says,

看起来，2012会发生灾难性事件似乎毫无根据。但是这并不能一些人停止担忧。大卫 莫里森在美国国家宇航局工作，他称许多人问他关于“Nibiru”和2012会发生什么事情的问题。

‘Go to the NASA website. You will see many reports that show that the Nibiru/2012 story is a hoax - a lie. Scientists, inside and outside of NASA, see that the Nibiru theory is an attempt to frighten people. However, it takes interest away from the more important science concerns. These include global warming and loss of some kinds of plant and animal life. If you think clearly I am sure you can identify the lies. As we near 2012 it will be easier to see the lies.'

他都会说，“去国家宇航局的网站吧。你会发现许多关于Nibiru和2012的故事都不过是骗局而已。国家宇航局内外的科学家认为Nibiru理论不过是用来吓唬人的。但是一些重大的科学问题更让人关注。这包括全球变暖和动植物种群的灭绝。如果你认真思考，我确信你可以辨别谎言。2012越来越近，我们也越来越容易认清谎言。”

December 2012 is not very far away. As it gets nearer more and more people will be talking about the possible events of December 21st. But hopefully fewer and fewer people will believe they will happen. However for many, the 22nd of December 2012 may still seem extra special.