中石化职称英语高级

5

．我们不应当回避这些问题，而是要正确面对它们。

< br>We

should

not

avoid

these

problems but face them instead.

There are many benefits to being happy. Happier people tend to be healthier, live longer and

eam

more. They also tend

to volunteer

more, be

better

at relationships and

smile more

of

w

hat psychologists call “Duchenne

happiness is contagious.

幸福有许多好处。越幸福的人往往越健康、越长寿、挣 的钱越

多。他们通常也会从事更多的志愿工作、更善于处理人际关系、发出更多心理学家 所

说的“杜兴微笑”

，即真诚的微笑。我们了解不深的是，为什 么幸福可以传染。

According

to

James

Fowler

and

Nicholas

Christakis,

authors

of

the

international

bestseller

Connected

,

people

surrounded

by

many

happy

friends,

family

members

and

neighbours who are central to their social network become significantly happier in the future.

More specificallyi they say we will become 25 per cent happier with our life if a friend who

lives within a mile of us becomes significantly happier with his or her life.

全球畅销书

《关

联》的作 者詹姆斯·福勒和尼古拉斯·克里斯塔基斯发现，如果你身边那些重要的人

际网络中有许 多幸福的朋友、家人与邻居，那么你将也会很幸福。他们表示，更准确

地说，如果居住在 离你

1

英里内的一个朋友生活幸福感得到显著提升，你的生活幸 福

感就会增加

25%

。

Similar effects are seen in co-resident spouses (8 per cent happier); siblings who live

within a mile of each other (14 per cent); and next-door neighbours (34 per cent). What this

implies is that the magnitude of happiness spread seems to depend more on frequent social

contact (due to physical proximity) than on deep social connections. Alas, for some reason

this doesn't translate to the workplace.

具有同样效果的还有同居配偶

< br>（幸福感提升

8%

）

、

居住在

1

英里之内的兄弟姐妹

< br>(14%)

和邻居

(34%)

。 这意味着，幸福传播的强度似乎更

取决于交往的频繁度（与地域邻近相关）

，

1

而不是社会关系的深度。可惜由于某种原

因，这并不适用于工作场合。

So,

why

is

happiness

contagious?

One

reason

may

be

that

happy

people

share

their

good fortune with their friends and family (for example, by being pragmatically helpful or

financially

generous).

Another

reason

could

be

that

happy

people

tend

to

change

their

behaviour for the better by being nicer or less hostile to those close to them. Or it could just

be that positive emotions are highly contagious.

那么，为什么幸福能够传染？一个 原因或许是，幸福的人会与亲朋好友分享好

运气（例如，提供实际的帮助，或在经济上慷 慨解囊）

。另一个原因可能是，幸福的人

往往会改善自己的行为 ，会对周围的人更加友好，或减少敌意。又或许只是因为正面

情绪具有高度传染性。

UNIT 2

City Design

城市设计

Text

When I'm being driven through a city from our hotel to a conference center, I couldn't

help but note the overwhelming presence of cars and parking lots. The world's cities are in

trouble. In hundreds of cities, the life of daily life is deteriorating. Breathing the air in some

cities

is

equivalent

to

smoking

two

packs

of

cigarettes

per

day.

The

number

of

hours

commuters

spend

going

nowhere

sitting

in

traffic-congested

streets

and

highways

climbs

higher each year, raising frustration levels.

当我从旅馆乘车穿行城市 前往会议中心时，

映

入眼帘的是无处不在的汽车和停车场。全世 界的城市都陷入了困境，数以百计的城市

日常生活的质量正在不断下降。在一些城市，每 天呼吸空气等于抽两包香烟。每天上

班族驱车时因街道和道路堵塞而寸步难行，耽搁的时 间逐年升高，郁闷也随之加深。

In response to these conditions, we are seeing the emergency of a new urbanism. In just

a few years,many cities banned the parking of cars on side walks, created or renovated more

parks,

introduced

a

highly

successful

bus-base

rapid

transit

system,

built

hundreds

of

kilometers

of

bicycle

paths and

pedestrian

streets, reduced

rush

hour

traffic, planted

more

trees

and

involved

local

citizens

directly

in

the

improvement

of

their

neighborhoods.

The

quality

of

urban

life

in

these

cities

has

been

greatly

enhanced

with

the

vision

of

a

city

designed

for

people.

针对上述情况，我们可以看到一种新城市主义 的理念正在兴起。

在短短的几年内，许多城市的人行道上不再允许停车，新建和改造了更 多的停车场，

建立了一套以公共汽车为基础的极为成功的快速运行系统，兴建了数百公里 的自行车

道和步行街，高峰时段的交通拥挤得以减缓，种植了更多的树木，并吸收当地市 民直

接参与社区的改善工作。城市设计以人为本的理念使这些城市的生活质量有了很大的

提高。

Now government planners everywhere are experimenting, seeking ways to design cities

for people not cars. Cars promise mobility. But in an urbanizing world there is an inherent

conflict

between

the

automobile

and

the

city.

After

a

point,

as

their

numbers

multiply,

automobiles provide not mobility but immobility.

< /p>

现在，各地政府的规划者们都在尝试

寻找为了人而不是为汽车设计 城市的方法。汽车应带给人们活动的便捷。但是在一个

不断城市化的世界里，存在着一个 根深蒂固的矛盾，即汽车与城市之间的矛盾。超过

一个临界点之后，随着汽车数量的累加 ，汽车提供的不再是便捷，而是停滞。

Based

on

this

perspective,

some

cities

in

industrial

and

developing

countries

alike will dramatically increase urban mobility by moving away from the car. Let me remind

you once more, cities are built for people, not for cars. A city full of cars is like what the

horrifying sci-fi depicted

---

all mechanism and no human. In order

to avoid this disaster,

we'd better start designing sustainable cities.

基于这个观点，

无 论在发达的工业国家还是

发展中国家，一些城市将会通过远离汽车来极大增加市区的通畅 。让我再次提醒你，

城市是为了人，不是为了汽车而建设的。挤满汽车的城市就像恐怖的 科幻小说里描绘

的

——

全是机械，没有 人性。为了避免这场灾难，我们最好开始设计可持续发展的城

市。

1.

What

means

of transportation

does

the

author

take

to the

conference center?

(He

takes) a bus.

2.

According to the first paragraph what is happening in cities where there are more

cars? Cars not only do harm to people's health but also cause heavy traffic jam.

3.

What

does

the

last

sentence

the

vision

of

a

city

designed

for

people

in

paragraph 2 mean? Design cities for

people not (for) cars.

4.

Why

is

there

an

inherent

conflict

between

the

automobile

and

the

city

in

urban

areas? Because

people

depend

largely on cars.

5.

How would a city look like if cars were everywhere? There would be all cars

(mechanism) no- human.

1

．

随着大 量市民被迫迁到遥远的郊外，

汽车的需求量正在飞涨。

The demand for cars

is soaring as growing numbers of citizens are pushed into distant suburbs.

2

．

生态城 市

(eco-city)

将把传统设计要素同最先进的绿色技术 相结合。

The eco-city

will combine elements of traditional design with the latest green technologies

3

．预计 到

2010

年将有一千辆燃料电池车

( fuel-cell

vehicles)

投入使用，而到

2012

年将增至一万辆。

One thousand fuel-cell vehicles will be estimated to put to use by 2010

and increase to 10,000 by 2012.

4

．

如今，

各地方政府几乎无一不在探讨有关生态农村、

生态城镇或生态城市计划

的话题。

These days, there is hardly a local government that does not talk about plans for an

eco- village, town or even city.

5

．

全世界大约一半的人口居住在城市，

所以 研究能缓解城市对环境影响的途径势

在必行。

It is fairly necessary to search for ways to reduce the environmental impact of cities

because around half of the world's population is now city- dwellers (is now living in cities).

Once at a supermarket, I read a thought-provoking sign at the check-out counter. It said

the store was using only plastic bags. The supermarket claimed that the energy and exhaust

fumes expelled to produce and transport the same number of paper bags outweighed the fact

that plastic wasn't biodegradable. Paper bags take up more space and require more trucks for

transport, so the store believed it was lessening its carbon footprint by using plastic. It got

me thinking further. Why not ask for plastic and bring your used plastic bags each time you

visit the grocery store? If you use them five or six times, or until they start falling apart, you

have

really

done

a

good

thing.

You

can

also

use

them

to

line

your

small

wastebaskets,

instead of purchasing plastic trash bags.

有一次在一家超市的收银处，我看到了一则发人深思的广告， 上面写着：本店只用

塑料袋。超市声称：事实上生产和运输同量纸袋所消耗的能源和所排 放的废气的危害

大大超过塑料袋不能进行生物降解的危害。而且纸袋占用的空间更大，需 要更多的卡

车运送。因此，超市认为使用塑料袋可以减少碳足迹。该告示促使我作了进一 步的思

考。为什么使用了塑料袋后，不能每次再去杂货店时带上重复使用呢？如果能用上 五

六次，或者用到破了为止，你岂不是做了一件大好事。你也可以把塑料袋铺在小垃圾< /p>

筐里盛垃圾，而不用再买垃圾专用塑料袋。

UNIT 3

Population

人口

A

very

important

world

problem

is

the

increasing

number

of

people

who

actually

inhabit

this planet. The

limited amount of land and

land

resources will soon be unable

to

support the huge population if it continues to grow at its present rate.

在我们这个星球上居

住的人越来越多，是一个很重 要的全球问题。如果继续按照现有的增长率发展下去，

那么有限的土地及土地资源很快不 能养活这么巨大的人口。

So why is this huge increase in population taking place? It is really due to the spread of

the knowledge and

practice

of what

is becoming known

as

Control

no

doubt heard of the term

recognizes the work of the doctors and scientists who now keep alive people who, not very

long ago, would have died of a variety of then incurable diseases. Through a wide variety of

technological innovations that

we have found ways to reduce the rate at which we die. However, this success is the very

cause

of

the

greatest

threat

to

mankind.

那么为什么会出现人口的大量增长呢？这的 确

是因为知识的广泛传播和众所周知的“死亡控制”的结果。毫无疑问，你肯定听到过< /p>

“生育控制”这个术语。

“死亡控制”是大不相同的。它承认了医 生和科学家的工作，

现在他们能够留住那些患有各种各样绝症的病人的生命。而这些绝症 在不久之前还是

不可治愈的。通过大范围的技术创新，其中包括耕作方法和对绝症的控制 ，我们已经

找到降低死亡率的方法。然而，正是这项成功给人类带来最大的威胁。

If

we

examine

the

amount

of

land

available

for

this

ever-increasing

population,

we

begin to see the problem. If everyone on the

planet had an equal share of land, we would

each have about 50,000 square meters. This figure seems to be quite encouraging until we

examine the amount of usable land we actually have. More than three- fifths of the world's

land cannot produce food.

如果计算一下维持不断增长的人口所需的土地量，我们就 能

意识到这个问题。如果这个星球上的每个人都平均分一块土地，我们每个人会拥有五< /p>

万平方米。这个数字看似相当振奋人心，而当我们计算一下每个人的实际可用耕地之

后，就知道情况不太乐观了。因为世界上超过

3/5

< br>的土地都不能生产粮食

Obviously, with so little land to support us, we should be taking great care not

to

reduce

it

further.

But

we

are

not!

Instead,

we

are

consuming

its

---its

nonrenewable fossil fuels and other mineral deposits that took millions of years to form but

which

are

now

being

destroyed

in

decades.

We

are

also

doing

the

same

with

other

vital

resources not usually thought of as being nonrenewable, such as fertile soils, groundwater

and the millions of other species that share the earth with us.

显然，能够养活我们的耕地

如此之少，

我们就应该想 方设法不要让耕地继续减少下去。

但是，我们并没有这样做！

反 而我们正在消耗它的“本钱”

——

其不可再生的化石燃料与其它 矿藏，它们是在几

百万年的时间里才形成的，然而现在，几十年内就会被消耗殆尽。我们 对待其它通常

不被看做是不可再生的重要自然资源也是如此，譬如肥沃的土地、地下水和 千百万与

我们共同居住在地球上的物种。

1. What can be learnt about the population growth at present? It continues to increase

/ grow at its present rate.

2. According to the article, what contributes to the population increase? Death Control

3. What

is the

doctors' job according to paragraph

2?

They

keep people

who

suffer

from incurable diseases alive.

4. Why isn't there enough land to support human beings? Because the world's land has

already been taken up / occupied by the ever-increasing population

5. In paragraph 4 the fertile soils are considered as ___. non-renewable

1

．亚洲大陆面积占世界陆地面积的

29%

Asia

makes

up

twenty-nine

per

cent

of

the

world's land area.

．

人口的增加使土地必须生产更多的粮食。

The increasing population makes it necessary

for the earth to produce more grain.

3

．

我们应该先进行抽 样调查再写报告。

We should conduct a sampling investigation before

we write the report.

4

．我承认我在工作中因缺乏经验犯过这样那 样的错误。

I

admit

that

due

to

lack

of

experience I have made mistakes of all kinds.

5

．

中国的现代化工业和商品经济的发展，

促进了职业流动和人口流动。< /p>

The development

of modern industry and commodity economy in China has promoted occupational (mobility)

and population mobility.

A

report,

based

on

United

Nations

projections

showing

slow,

steady

growth

of

economies and populations, suggests that by mid-century, humanity's demand on nature will

be twice the biosphere's productive capacity. At this level of ecological deficit, exhaustion of

ecological assets and large-scale ecosystem collapse will become real.

一份以联合国所作

的经济和人口缓 慢增长的预期为基础的报告显示，到本世纪中叶，人类对自然界的需

求将达到生态圈自身 生产能力的两倍。在这样的生态“赤字”水平下，生态资源的枯

竭和大规模的生态系统崩 溃将会成为事实。

Moving

towards

sustainability

depends

on

significant

action

now.

Population

size

changes slowly, and human-made capital ---

homes, cars, roads, factories, or power plants

--- can last for many decades. This implies that policy and investment decisions made today

will continue to determine our resource demand throughout much of the 21st century.

向可持续发展的转变取决于现在所 采取的重大行动。人口数量变化缓慢，而人

类创造的资本，如住宅、汽车、道路、工厂或 发电站等会持续几十年。这意味着，今

天所作的政策和投资决策将决定我们在

世纪的大部分时间里对资源的持续需求。

UNIT 4

Earthquake

地震

Earthquakes may be ranked as one of the most devastating force

known to

men; since records began to be written down, it has been estimated that earthquake- related

fatalities have numbered in millions and that earthquake-related destruction has been beyond

calculation.

The

greater

part

of

such

damage

and

loss

of

life

has

been

due

to

collapse

of

buildings and effects of rock slides, floods, fire, disease and other phenomena resulting from

earthquakes, rather than from the quakes themselves.

地震是人类所知的最具有破坏力的

自然灾害之一。自从有记载以来，估计由地震造成的 死亡达数百万以上，地震造成的

破坏更是不计其数。地震造成的破坏如此之大，死亡如此 之多，主要是由于地震引发

的建筑物倒塌、岩石崩落、洪水、火灾、疾病等现象造成的， 而不是由于地震本身。

The

great

majority

of

all

earthquakes

occur

in

two

specific

geographic

areas.

One

such area encompasses the Pacific Ocean and its contiguous land masses. The other extends

from the East Indians to the Atlas Mountains, including the Himalayas, Iran, Turkey and the

Alpine

regions.

They

may

happen

anywhere

at

any

time.

大多数地震发生在两个独特的

地理位置。一个是环太平洋地区及相邻的大 陆架，另一个是从印度东部延伸到阿特拉

斯山脉，其中包括喜马拉雅山、伊朗、土耳其和 阿尔卑斯地区。那里随时随地都可能

发生地震。

This element

of

the

unknown

has for

centuries

added

greatly

to the

dread

and

horror

surrounding

earthquakes,

but

in

recent

times

there

have

been

indications

that

earthquake prediction may be possible. By analyzing changes in animal behavior, pattems of

movements

in

the

earth's

crust,

variations

in the

force

of

gravity

and

the

earth's

magnetic

field and the frequency with which minor earth tremors are observed, scientists have shown

increasing

success

in

anticipating

when

and

where

earthquakes

will

strike.

As

a

result,

worldwide earthquake warning network is already in operation and has helped to prepare for

the vast destruction that might otherwise have been totally unexpected.

几个世纪以来，这

种对于地震的未知 性更大大地增加了地震的可怕和恐惧性。但近几年来已有迹象表明

地震预测是可能的。通 过分析动物行为的变化，地壳运动的方式，地球磁场和地心引

力的变化以及监测到的轻微 地震的频率，科学家在预测地震发生的时间和地点上已取

得了不断的成功。因此，世界性 地震预警网络已经运转，而且已经帮助人们对大范围

的破坏做好准备，而这些破坏也可能 是完全不能预料的。

It is doubtful that man will ever be able to control earthquakes and eliminate their

destructiveness

altogether,

but

as

how

and

why

earthquakes

happen

become

better

understood, man will become more and more able to deal with their potential

devastation

before it occurs.

人类是否能完全控制地 震并消除它的破坏力还未可知。但是，随着我

们对地震发生的方式和原因有了更多的了解 ，在地震发生之前，我们就能更好地应对

可能造成的破坏。

1.

What

are

the

causes

of

the

great

part

of

the

damage

and

loss

of

life?

Collapse

of

buildings

and

the

effects

of

rock

slides,

floods,

fire,

disease

and

other

phenomena

from

earthquakes.

2. Where are the two most active earthquake belts in the world? The area encompasses

the Pacific Ocean and its contiguous land masses, East Indians to the Atlas Mountains.

3. What fact does “element of the

unknown

the earthquakes can happen anywhere at any time.

4. What four ways are used to anticipate earthquake activity? a) analyzing changes in

animal behavior

b) patterns ofmovements in the earth's crust

c) variations in the force of gravity and the earth's magnetic field

d) observation of the frequency of minor earth tremors

5.

What

is

the

author's

attitude

toward

the

possibility

of

earthquake

predictions?

Earthquake prediction is becoming more and more possible

1

< br>．会议的准备工作正在顺利地进行着。

Preparations for the meeting are proceeding

smoothly.

2

．

科

技

发

展

在

解

决

老

问

题

< br>的

同

时

也

带

来

了

一

些

新

问

题

。

As

technological

advancement solves old problems, it also creates new ones.

3.

1 976

年唐山大地震是历史上最严重的自然灾害之一。

The

1976

earthquake

in

Tangshan was one of the greatest natural disasters in history.

4

．近几年来，中国、日本和美国对地震发生的时间、地点的预测取得了一定的进

步。

In

recent

years,

China,

Japan

and

the

U.S

have

made

certain

progress

in

forecasting

when and where earthquakes will occur.

5

．

地震能造成惨重的人员伤亡，

毁坏建筑物，

如大楼、

桥梁、

大坝等设施。

Eart hquakes

cause severe casualties and destroy constructions like buildings, dams and bridges.

Our weather surely is getting strange. There seem to be more tomadoes than in living

memory,

longer

droughts,

bigger

downpours

and

record

floods.

Unprecedented

fires

are

burning in some areas. Scientists tell us that for every one degree increase in temperature,

lightning

strikes

will

go

up

another

10%.

And

it

is

lightning,

after

all,

that

is

principally

responsible for igniting the conflagration in some areas today.

天气的确 越来越反常。在人

们记忆中，龙卷风似乎更加频繁、旱灾持续更久、暴雨更大、洪灾也创 下纪录、在一

些地区火灾史无前例。科学家告知我们，气温每升高一度，闪电数量就会增 加

10%

。

毕竟，在一些地区闪电至今 仍然是引起特大火灾的主要原因。

UNIT 5

The Aftermath of BP Gulf Oil Spill

英国石油公司墨西哥湾原油泄漏

In the aftermath of the BP oil spill, President Obama voiced the concerns of countless

scientists,

environmentalists,

and

Gulf

Coast

residents

when

he

declared,

dealing

with a massive and potentially unprecedented environmental disaster.

oil spill

---

210,000 gallons a

day

contaminating

the

Gulf

of

Mexico

---

has

many people

worried about the short and long-term environmental harm it is causing.

英国石油公司原

油泄漏事件之后，奥巴马总统的一次公开讲话表达出了无数科 学家、环保主义者以及

墨西哥湾居民的心声。

他在讲话中提到，

“我们正在应对的是一场巨大的、

史无前例的

< br>环境灾难”

。每天足足有

21

万 加仑的原油泄漏并污染着墨西哥湾，这使得很多人为这

次事件对环境所造成的短期和长期 的危害感到担忧。

The

oil

spill

could

severely

damage

fragile

ecosystems

for

years,

possibly

decades.

Beaches fouled by oil spills are very difficult to clean up. To make matters worse, the spill

threatens beaches just as shorebirds are nesting and sea turtles are coming ashore to lay their

eggs.

这次 原油泄漏事件对脆弱的生态系统带来的严重破坏会持续很多年，甚至数十

年。被石油污染 的海滩很难被清理干净。更糟糕的是，泄漏的石油对海滩造成污染的

时间正是海鸟筑巢和 海龟游到岸上孵蛋的季节。

Even

worse

is

the

effect

the

oil

spill

could

have

ive

salt

marshes

and

mangrove

coastlines,

which

would

be

practically

impossible

to

clean

and

that

some

fear

might be permanently destroyed. These wetlands are considered the nurseries for the fishing

and

seafood

industry

and

are

a

vital

habitat

and

breeding

ground

for

many

species

of

wildlife. Because they cover much more land area than beaches, the risk oftheir exposure to

damage is greatly increased.

还有更糟的事情，石油污染还可能影响敏感的湿地和红树

林海岸，而这将是几乎 不可能被清理干净的，有些人甚至担心这将是永久性的毁坏。

这些湿地是捕鱼业和水产品 工业的摇篮，也是多种野生动物的栖息地和繁殖地。由于

这些湿地面积远远大于海滩的面 积，所以它们面临破坏的风险就大大增加了。

Fully 98 percent of the fish and shellfish harvested in the Gulf of Mexico depend on

estuaries, which are coastal waters where freshwater from rivers and streams mix with sea

water. Estuaries are dependant on wetlands for their water quality and to provide a basis for

aquatic food chains. Many species depend on wetlands for food, shelter and breeding.

在墨

西哥湾捕获的鱼类和贝类中足有

98%

依靠河口生存，这些河口就是江河与海水汇合的

地方。而河口又依赖于湿地保证其水的质量并为水产品供应链提供基础。湿地是很多

< br>物种觅食、栖息和繁殖的场所。

The waters of the Gulf of Mexico are homes to hundreds of species of aquatic life. The

longer the oil fouls the water, the more polluted the food chain becomes, which could result

in large fish kills and seafood too contaminated for consumption.

墨西哥湾水域也是成 百

上千种水栖动物的家园。石油对海水造成污染的时间越长，水产品食物链被污染的程< /p>

度就会越大，这最终会造成大量的鱼类死亡以及水产品被严重污染而无法食用。

1.

In

the

first

sentence

Obama

voiced

the

concems

ofcountless

scientists...

what does the word

oice here means

2. How long could the damage to the ecosystem last? .The damage to the ecosystem could

last decades.

3.

How

important

are

the

wetlands

to

the

wildlife?

The

wetlands

are

a

vital

habitat

and

breeding ground for many species of wildlife.

4. Why are estuaries dependent on wetlands? Estuaries are dependant on wetlands for their

water quality and to provide a basis for aquatic food chains.

5. How will the oil spill affect the seafood in the Gulf of Mexico? Many fish will die and the

seafood will be too contaminated for consumption.

1

．如何 尽快处理墨西哥湾的原油泄漏是

BP

公司最为关注的问题。

How

to

urgently

deal with the oil spill at the Gulf of Mexico remains the biggest concern for BP.

2

．这起事故使环保人士对生态环境 有

了不小的担忧。

This

accident

has

many

environmentalists concerned about the damage it does to the ecosystem.

3

．原油泄漏不仅会污染海洋环境，更糟糕的是它还会给多种海洋生物带来很大的威

Oil spills do not just pollute the ocean, to make things worse, they pose great threat to

many species of aquatic life as well.

4

．

所有小动物都 要依靠妈妈给它们提供食物和保护。

All baby animals are dependent on

their mothers for food and protection.

5

．南极洲是多种企鹅的家。

Antarctica is the natural habitat for many species ofpenguins

An

oil

spill

is

the

accidental

petroleum

release

into

the

environment.

On

land,

oil

spills

are

usually

localized

and

thus

their

impact

can

be

eliminated

relatively

easily.

In

contrast,

marine

oil

spills

may

result

in

oil

pollution

over

large

areas

and

present

serious

environmental

hazards.

The

primary

source

of

accidental

oil

input

into

seas

is

associated

with

oil

transportation

by

tankers

and

pipelines

(about

70%),

whereas

the

contribution

of

offshore drilling and production activities is minimal (less than l%). Large and catastrophic

spills releasing more than 30,000 tons of oil are relatively rare events and their frequency in

recent decades has decreased perceptibly. Yet, such episodes have the potential to cause the

most serious ecological risk (primarily for sea birds and mammals) and result in long-term

environmental

disturbances

(mainly

in

coastal

zones)

and

economic

impact

on

coastal

activities (especially on fisheries and mariculture

海洋生物养殖

).

原油泄漏是指由于事

故导致石油泄漏到环境中的事件。在陆地上，由于原油泄漏发生在局部地区，因此其

< br>造成的影响相对来说容易清理。相比之下，海上原油泄漏会造成大范围的石油污染并

带来严重的环境危害。约有

70%

的海上原油泄漏事故的主要 原因与油轮和原油运输管

道有关，而海上钻井和采油活动引发的原油泄漏事件则占很小的 比例（在

1%

以下）

。

泄漏三万吨以上的重大灾难性原油泄漏事故并不多见，而且近几十年来这些重大事故

也在逐步减少。尽管如此，这类事故的发生依然会对生态系统，尤其是海鸟和哺乳动

物，造成最严重的危害，并且导致海岸地区长期环境失调，对海岸商业活动（如捕鱼

业和 海洋生物养殖业）带来经济损失。

Public concern over marine oil spills has been clearly augmented since 1967. More

recently,

the

highly

publicized

1989

spill

of

the

Exxon

Valdez

in

Prince

William

Sound,

Alaska

caused

unprecedented

damage

to

the

fragile

Arctic

system. Since

then, impressive

technical, political and legal experience in managing the problem has been gained in many

countries and at the intemational level, mainly through a number of Conventions initiated by

the

Intemational

Maritime

Organization

(IMO).

< br>公众对于海上原油泄漏事件的关注从

1967

年开始明显 上升。较近的一次原油泄漏事故，即众所周知的

1989

年埃克 森公司

“瓦尔德斯”号油轮在阿拉斯加州威廉王子湾搁浅事件。这次事故对脆弱的北冰洋 生

态系统造成了有史以来最为严重的破坏。从那之后，国际海事组织召开了众多会议，< /p>

帮助很多国家以及国际社会在处理这一问题上获得了很好的技术、政治和法律上的经

验。

UNIT 6

Green Computers

“绿色”电脑

Computer

manufacturers,

chipmakers

and

software

companies

are

developing

for

environmentally conscious

consumers. While

some

tech

companies

are

developing

more

energy-efficient

product

lines,

others

are

releasing

software

to

make

existing

computers

consume

less.

And

electronics

manufacturers

are

expanding_ways

to

make new computers out of recycled

materials, as well as encourage customers to recycle

old machines. Consumers may pay a slight premium for some eco-friendly electronics, but

many prices will be comparable with traditional offerings.

目前，电脑生产商、芯片制造

者和软件 公司都纷纷开发“绿色”产品来满足那些环保意识强烈的消费者的需求。一

些科技公司开 发了更节能的生产线，

还有一些公司推出了减少现有电脑耗电量的软件。

电子制造企业不断扩展工艺利用循环材料生产新电脑，

并鼓励消费者循环利用旧 电脑。

某些环保类电子产品可能需要消费者多花些钱，但仍有很多环保电脑的价格跟传统 电

脑差不多。

Several factors are pushing companies to be greener. Many want to stay ahead of

environmental legislation and to garner favor with green investors. And with energy prices

high, they are trying to appeal to people who are looking for ways to chip away at expenses.

有几大因素推动着电脑公司更注重环保。许多企 业希望走在环保法规的前面，赢得环

保投资者的支持。同时，随着能源价格上涨，他们正 尝试吸引那些设法节省费用的消

费者。

The

computer

industry

has

been

working

on

improving

energy

consumption

for

years. The newer focus has been on toxins and recycling. For example, Lenovo Group Ltd.

uses

10%

to

25%

recycled

plastics

harvested

from

water

bottles.

Last

month,

Intel

Corp.

introduced new chips that it says will speed up computing performance without sucking up

additional

power.

The

company

also

developed

technology,

called

Remote

Wake,

to

keep

computers in a low-energy mode until users need them for retrieving files over the Internet.

Hewlett-Packard

Co.

has

developed

a

new

feature

called

Auto-On

/

Auto-Off

that

puts

inactive printers into a sleep mode and can quickly power back up once they are used again.

This

feature

has

been

added

to

HP's

personal

desktop

laser

printers

in

2009.

Attention

to

manufacturing materials is a priority. HP introduced an ink-jet printer that is made of 83%

recycled plastics.

计算机工业多年来一直致力于减少能源消耗，

新焦点已经放到了 毒性

和循环利用上来了。例如，联想集团使用的塑料中有

10%

至

25%

是用回收的水瓶制造