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This is 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English dot com.
这里是bbclearningenglish.com英语六分钟节目。
Rob: Hello I’m Rob. Welcome to 6 Minute English. I’m joined today by Finn. Hello Finn.
大家好，我是罗伯。欢迎收听六分钟英语。今天费恩和我一起的是费恩。你好，费恩。
Finn: Hello Rob.
你好，罗伯。
Rob:
In this programme we’re talking about a serious problem that has been
affecting some of the big cities in China: that’s air pollution.
本期节目，我们要讨论一个很严重的问题。这个问题一直困扰着中国的一些大城市。就是“空气污染”。
Finn:
Yes, or better known as smog. Smog is polluted air that is a mixture of
smoke and fog. I’ve experienced this in Shanghai and it’s not a nice
thing to breathe in.
是的，更常见的说法是“雾霾”。雾霾是由烟和雾混合而成的受污染的空气。我曾在上海亲身经历过，吸入雾霾可不是什么好事。
Rob:
It certainly isn’t good for your health. We’ll talk more about this
soon and explain some pollution-related vocabulary. But let’s start with
a question for you, Finn. According to research by the Word Health
Organisation, which country has the city with the world’s worst air
pollution? Is it: a) China b) India or c) Iran
这肯定对你的身体没好处。稍后我们就讨论一下，并且解释一些跟污染相关的词汇。但是，费恩，我要先问你一个问题。据世界卫生组织的研究，世界上空气污染最严重的城市在哪个国家？a）中国b)印度c）伊朗
Finn: Well, I think it definitely used to be China. I’m going to say it’s still China.
嗯，我觉得就过去而言肯定是中国。现在来说，我觉得还是中国。
Rob:
We’ll find out if you are right later on. Let’s talk more now about the
pollution problem which is choking – or making it difficult to breathe
in – many Chinese cities.
稍后我们就会知道你的回答是否正确。我们来讨论一下困扰中国很多城市的污染问题吧，污染让吸气都变得困难了。
Finn:
Pollution is a word that can describe anything that damages something
that is pure. So light pollution is when a pure dark sky is contaminated
– or spoiled by street lights and lights in the city.
污染这个词可以形容任何摧毁纯粹物质的事物。所以光学污染是指纯黑的夜空被街灯和城市的灯光污染或者侵扰。
Rob:
And noise pollution is when loud or annoying sounds like traffic noise
spoil a quiet and peaceful environment. But the smog affecting Chinese
cities is a form of air pollution – clean air has become dirty.
噪音污染是指诸如交通噪音之类的喧闹的或者惹人厌烦的声音破坏了安静平和的环境。但影响中国城市的雾霾是一种空气污染——洁净的空气变得肮脏。
Finn:
Yes. Well, smog used to be a problem in other world cities like London,
where a combination of fog and smoke from factories and trains
sometimes made the air quite dirty and dangerous.
是的，雾霾过去曾是一些其他世界城市的难题， 比如说伦敦。在那里工厂和火车所排放的烟雾混合物有时会让空气变得十分肮脏和危险。
Rob: Yes, sometimes the air was so dirty and so thick they described it as a ’pea-souper’ – meaning as thick as pea soup!
是的，有时空气太污浊厚重，以至于他们把空气形容成“豌豆汤”。意思就是像豌豆汤一样浓。
Finn:
A ’pea-souper’ – that’s good, isn’t it! In Los Angeles, fumes – that’s
the bad gases from car engines – and poor weather conditions used to
cause poor air quality. But now, new laws and a change in technology
mean the air in these cities is cleaner and safer. So, Rob, why is it
bad in China now?
“豌豆汤”-说得太好了，不是吗？在洛杉矶，尾气——从汽车发动机排出的有害气体——以及不好的气候条件过去常常导致空气质量差。但是现在，新的法律以及技术上的改变意味着这些城市的空气变得更加洁净和安全。所以，罗伯，为什么中国现在的情况不太妙？
Rob:
Well Finn, China is becoming more industrialised. That means more
factories are being built, and more electricity is needed, and that
often comes from coal-fired power stations. And of course, more people
are driving cars.
嗯，费恩，中国正变得更加工业化。这意味着需要建立更多的工厂，也就需要更多的电能，而电能常常由燃煤发电站提供。当然，开车的人也增加了。
Finn:
Yes they are. Well, at certain times last year, the air was so
poisonous in Shanghai that children were not allowed outside and schools
were closed.
是的。嗯，在去年的某些时候，上海的空气毒性很大，以至于孩子们都被禁止外出，学校也关闭了。
Rob:
Generally, the air is a threat to public health. It’s particularly bad
for people with asthma – and it could lead to lung cancer. In the
capital Beijing, pollution regularly goes over the safety limits set by
the World Health Organization (WHO). So what can be done?
总体而言，有毒空气危害着公众的健康。这对患有哮喘的人们尤其不利——这可能会导致肺癌。在首都北京，污染常常超过世界卫生组织所设定的安全标准。那么该做些什么呢？
Finn:
Well, the BBC’s David Shukman has been investigating the problem and
found that the Chinese authorities are spending 180 billion on cleaning
up the air. See if you can hear what the two main things are that
they’re trying to do in Beijing:
BBC的大卫·舒克曼一直在研究这个难题。他发现中国当局花费了1800亿治理空气污染。看看你是否能听出来当局在北京正在做的两件主要事情：
Well
first, they’re closing down any power stations within the city that
burn coal, that’s the biggest source of pollution; next they’re trying
to limit road traffic – greener cars will get priority. And officials
say they’re confident they can clean up.
首先，他们关闭了城市中所有的燃煤发电站。这是最大的污染源。然后他们尝试限制道路交通——环保汽车优先通行。官员们称他们对治理好空气非常自信。
Rob:
So the plan is to close down coal-fired power stations because they are
the source – or the place where most of the pollution comes from.
所以，计划就是关闭燃煤发电站，因为它们是污染源——或者说是大部分污染来源的场所。
Finn:
Yes, and the other plan is to limit – to set a maximum amount of –
traffic on the roads. Greener cars will be allowed on the roads first –
they will have priority.
是的，另外一个计划就是限制道路交通——设定交通数量最大值。环保汽车将允许优先上路——它们拥有优先权。
Rob:
Of course ’greener’ isn’t referring to the colour of the car, Finn –
it’s a term to describe something that causes less pollution and is
better for the environment.
当然，“绿色”不是指汽车的颜色，费恩。这是个术语，用来描述污染更少，更加环保的汽车。
Finn:
So these are the cars that use less fuel or might use cleaner fuel that
has less particles in it that usually make the air dirty. Officials
believe that this green technology will clean up the air.
所以这些汽车用的燃料更少，或者用更为洁净的燃料，这样的燃料中所含有的导致空气污染的微粒更少。官员们相信这种环保技术可以清洁空气。
Rob:
China is also going to use more renewable energy – this is power made
by natural materials that never get used up, such as wind and water.
This would reduce air pollution caused by burning coal.
中国也将使用更多的可再生能源。就是指由用之不竭的自然物质生成的能源，如风和水。这将会减少燃烧煤炭导致的空气污染。
Finn:
Yes, well of course, all these changes will take a long time. But Rob,
it’s time now for you to tell me the answer to today’s question.
是的，当然，这一切的变化都会花费很长时间。但是罗伯，现在你该告诉我今天所问问题的答案了。
Rob:
Yes, earlier I asked you, according to research by the Word Health
Organisation, which country has the city with the world’s worst air
pollution?
是的，之前我问你，根据世界卫生组织所做的研究，世界上污染最严重的城市在哪一个国家？
Finn: I thought it was a) China.
我认为是a）中国。
Rob: You did but the answer is Iran.
你是这么回答的，但答案是伊朗。
Finn: Is it now?! Which city?
现在是伊朗吗？！哪一个城市？
Rob: Apparently the city of Ahwaz. Now, before we go, Finn, could you remind us of some of the vocabulary that we’ve heard today?
明显是阿瓦兹。现在，在节目结束之前，费恩，你能帮我们回顾一下我们今天所听到的词汇吗？
Finn: OK. We had:
好的。我们听到了:
Rob: air pollution
空气污染
Finn: smog Choking
雾霾使窒息
Rob: contaminated
受污染的
Finn: pea-souper
豌豆汤
Rob: fumes industrialised
尾气工业化的
Finn: poisonous
有毒的
Rob: asthma
哮喘
Finn: greener
环保的
Rob: renewable
可再生的
Finn: energy
能源
Rob:
Well, that brings us to the end of today’s 6 Minute English. We hope
you’ve enjoyed today’s programme. Please join us again soon.
好了，今天的英语六分钟节目到这里就结束了。希望你们喜欢今天的节目。请记得收听我们下期的节目。
Finn: Please do.
一定要收听啊！
Rob: Bye bye.
再见！
Finn: Bye.
再见！
That was 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English dot com.
以上是bbclearningenglish.com英语六分钟节目。
