Heat Economy and Ways to Dodge the Heat

　　With the current heat wave gripping many parts of China, people in some of the worst-affected cities of Shanghai and Hangzhou are scrambling¹ to try to find ways to 'beat the heat.'

 

　　CRI's Liu Min has more.

 

　　August 7th was the date marking the beginning of autumn on this year's Chinese calendar, but the temperatures on that day hit an all-time high of 40.8 degrees Celsius²; setting the record for the highest temperature in 140 years since the government began keeping records.

 

　　However, Hangzhou beat Shanghai with 41.2 degrees Celsius the following day. Among the top ten hottest cities across south China, seven of those cities are in Zhejiang province.

 

　　In such extreme weather, people are trying everything to escape the heat. Du Xiaobo is a local Hangzhou resident.

 

　　"There are some old air-raid shelters in Hangzhou, and they are open to local residents to dodge³ the heat. People also flock to the newly opened subway to get cool. The city forbids people to swim in the Xihu Lake, so some people would swim in the smaller ponds or rivers, and that's quite dangerous."

 

　　Du Xiaobo runs a silk factory in Hangzhou, but he says there is nothing for him to do at the moment at work.

 

　　"We have to ensure the local residents have enough electricity to use so we have to shut down the power at the factory every week. Given that I don't have anything to do with the short supply of power in my factory; I want to travel to northern China and enjoy a cooler climate."

 

　　In Shanghai, people can be found squeezed together in indoor swimming pools, while even more people can be found reading in libraries and shopping malls. The easiest way for them to stay cool is to stay at home with the air-conditioner running. But for those who have to go to work, the burning streets can't be avoided. Taxis are doing extremely well these days, and people have to use the mobile phone application designed for booking cabs in order to ensure that one will be available to pick them up. Inevitably⁴, the high temperatures are taking a toll⁵ on some businesses. Here is one Shanghai taxi driver talking about the effect that the weather has had on his own business.

 

　　"Lots of people want to pay more to have a cab picking them up during the morning and evening during rush hours. Even though it is forbidden by the rules, we can still make such money thanks to the high demand."

 

　　Supermarkets are also trying to make more profit from the 'heat economy'. In Hangzhou, supermarkets are offering cooking services to customers. But of course, customers need to choose the ingredients from the supermarkets and they also need to pay for the service fee. But compared to getting sweaty cooking at home, many are quite happy to see their meals prepared by a chef.

 

　　"It's more convenient! I can get full later and now I can just enjoy the coolness watching them cook."

 

　　Some street vendors⁶ only show up after 5 PM to protect the freshness of their fruit; marking a big time difference compared to their usual 10 AM start. Many of them roll up their shirts to cool their bellies⁷. While city residents continue to rack their brains on how to fight against the heat, forecasters say the mega city of Hangzhou will have to continue to suffer through the high temperatures until at least this weekend.

 

　　For CRI, I'm Liu Min.

1 scrambling   

v.快速爬行( scramble的现在分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞

参考例句：

• Scrambling up her hair, she darted out of the house. 她匆忙扎起头发，冲出房去。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• She is scrambling eggs. 她正在炒蛋。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 Celsius   

adj.摄氏温度计的，摄氏的

参考例句：

• The temperature tonight will fall to seven degrees Celsius.今晚气温将下降到七摄氏度。
• The maximum temperature in July may be 36 degrees Celsius.七月份最高温度可能达到36摄氏度。

3 dodge   

v.闪开，躲开，避开；n.妙计，诡计

参考例句：

• A dodge behind a tree kept her from being run over.她向树后一闪，才没被车从身上辗过。
• The dodge was coopered by the police.诡计被警察粉碎了。

4 inevitably   

adv.不可避免地；必然发生地

参考例句：

• In the way you go on,you are inevitably coming apart.照你们这样下去，毫无疑问是会散伙的。
• Technological changes will inevitably lead to unemployment.技术变革必然会导致失业。

5 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

6 vendors   

n.摊贩( vendor的名词复数 )；小贩；（房屋等的）卖主；卖方

参考例句：

• The vendors were gazundered at the last minute. 卖主在最后一刻被要求降低房价。
• At the same time, interface standards also benefIt'software vendors. 同时，界面标准也有利于软件开发商。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

7 bellies   

n.肚子( belly的名词复数 )；腹部；（物体的）圆形或凸起部份；腹部…形的

参考例句：

• They crawled along on their bellies. 他们匍匐前进。
• starving children with huge distended bellies 鼓着浮肿肚子的挨饿儿童