【英语趣味课堂】欧洲的环境问题-The Environmental Problems in Europe

Christophe: OK, Aiste, we're going to talk about environmental issues in Europe. So, does Lithuania have environmental issues?

Aiste: Oh, actually were are facing kind of a big problem. The Baltic Sea that's besides Lithuania. You know three Baltic countries: Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, together with Scandinavian and Denmark are close to the Baltic Sea that's very isolated¹ and almost has no contact with the ocean and because of that it functions almost like a lake so it means the oxygen can't really get into it and there are a lot of algae² growing and the eutrophication and together pollution as well as nutrients³ increase due to the factories that are around the place where people live are causing a lot of problems in Baltic Sea.

 

Christophe: Eutrophication? What does that mean?

 

Aiste: Eutrophication is actually a process when due to the increase nitrates and other organic⁴ materials, a lot of algae starts growing in the sea, and therefore it deprives⁵ the sea of oxygen and once it deprives the seas of oxygen, no more fish can live in the sea and they start dying⁶ out. Therefore the sea smells with kind of sulphur⁷ - strange smell - and it's a huge problem because the biodiversity and the fish and the in the sea decreases.

 

Christophe: Wow! That sounds horrible.

 

Aiste: What about Belgium? Do you have any problems in Belgium do the environment?

 

Christophe: Well, first of all we have a lot of people living in a very small country. I think we have around four hundred people each square kilometer, so it means that there are too many people in my country. Everything is full of houses, so there's almost no forest any more. There's a real huge problem of deforestation. The second problem is that we have a lot of rivers that are polluted. We have many factories and they're polluting our rivers because we have a lot rivers in Belgium. Remember, it is raining there a lot of times and there just dumping⁹ all their stuff¹⁰ in the river so this causes rivers that have no fish anymore, or where children cannot swim in anymore, so that's a very, very huge problem in Belgium and we're trying to solve that now.

 

重点词汇：

 

Learn Vocabulary from the lesson

face a problem

 

 

We are facing kind of a big problem.

 

When we are facing a problem that means we have a problem we need to take care of. Notice the following:

 

The world is facing the big problem of global warming.

We are facing kind of a big problem. Our new English teacher speaks too fast.

function

 

 

 

It functions almost like a lake.

 

To function like something or someone means to work or perform the same as another thing or person. Here are two samples:

 

Most of the time our guest room functions as a storage room.

Good teachers often function as role models for younger kids.

due to

 

The pollution is due to the factories.

 

We use the phrase 'due to' when we want to give a reason why. It is similar in meaning to 'because'. Notice the samples:

 

Due to the rainy weather, we've been facing a horrible traffic problem.

The concert was cancelled due to low ticket sales.

organic materials

 

 

other organic materials

 

The phrase 'Organic materials' means natural materials. Here are two samples:

 

The experimental¹¹ house is built of organic materials.

The company uses 100% organic materials in their products.

die out

 

 

They start dying out.

 

When plants, animals or things die out, it means they begin to die in large numbers. Notice the sample sentences:

 

The art of cooking is dying out in many developed countries.

Due to close contact with Mekong fishermen, the Mekong dolphin has begun dying out.

dump⁸

 

 

Factories are dumping all their stuff in the river.

 

The word 'stuff' can mean anything, and we 'dump' things we don't want. Here, 'stuff' means chemicals  from factories that flow into the sea. Notice the samples:

 

After dinner, we dumped¹² all the dirty dishes in the sink and watched the game on TV.

He was so tired he dumped all his stuff on the floor and went to sleep.

1 isolated   

adj.与世隔绝的

参考例句：

• His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
• Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。

2 algae   

n.水藻，海藻

参考例句：

• Most algae live in water.多数藻类生长在水中。
• Algae grow and spread quickly in the lake.湖中水藻滋蔓。

3 nutrients   

n.（食品或化学品）营养物，营养品( nutrient的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a lack of essential nutrients 基本营养的缺乏
• Nutrients are absorbed into the bloodstream. 营养素被吸收进血液。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 organic   

adj.有机的，有机物的；有组织的

参考例句：

• Organic farming is expanding everywhere.有机农业正在各地迅速发展起来。
• The organic fertilizer shall keep the soil in good heart.这有机肥一定会使土壤保持肥沃。

5 deprives   

剥夺，夺去，使丧失( deprive的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• This is wasteful because it deprives the soil of valuable nutrients. 这是一种浪费，因为它夺走了土壤的有价值的养料。
• "Numerous facts prove that "Falun Gong"deprives innocent people of their lives and endangers social stability." 大量事实证明，"法轮功"残害生命、危害社会。 来自英汉 - 翻译样例 - 口语

6 dying   

adj.垂死的，临终的

参考例句：

• He was put in charge of the group by the dying leader.他被临终的领导人任命为集团负责人。
• She was shown into a small room,where there was a dying man.她被领进了一间小屋子，那里有一个垂死的人。

7 sulphur   

n.[化]硫，硫磺

参考例句：

• The water smacks of sulphur.这水有点儿硫磺味。
• At the same time a piece of sulphur slipped out of his hand.同时有一块硫磺从他手中滑下。

8 dump   

n.垃圾场；v.倾卸，切断电源，倾倒

参考例句：

• Where can I dump this rubbish?我将这些垃圾倒在什么地方？
• They wheeled the rubbish out to the dump.他们把垃圾用车运到垃圾场去。

9 dumping   

n.倾销v.倾倒( dump的现在分词 )；丢下；随便堆放；释放

参考例句：

• a ban on the dumping of radioactive waste at sea 禁止向海里倾倒放射性废物
• The dumping of foreign cotton blocked outlets for locally grown cotton. 外国棉花的倾销阻滞了当地生产的棉花的销路。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 stuff   

n.原料，材料，东西；vt.填满；吃饱

参考例句：

• We could supply you with the stuff in the raw tomorrow.明天我们可以供应你原材料。
• He is not the stuff.他不是这个材料。

11 experimental   

adj.实验的，用作实验的，根据实验的

参考例句：

• This trip will be only experimental.这次旅行只是试验性的。
• The experimental farm is near the waterpower station.实验农场靠近水电站。

12 dumped   

adj.废弃的v.倾倒( dump的过去式和过去分词 )；丢下；随便堆放；释放

参考例句：

• Too much toxic waste is being dumped at sea. 太多的有毒废料在向大海里倾倒。
• They dumped his belongings unceremoniously on the floor. 他们粗暴地把他的物品摔到地板上。