华盛顿邮报 加拿大野火失控 美国东海岸空气严重污染(2)

 

    And how bad is the air quality on the East Coast right now?

    现在美国东海岸的空气质量有多差?

    It's not good. I spoke¹ with Paul Billings at the American Lung Association, who has worked with air pollution for 30 years, who said that he's never seen anything like this.

    空气并不好。我采访了美国肺脏协会的保罗·比林斯，他从事空气污染方面的工作有30年了，他说他从未见过这样糟糕的情况。

    We have not experienced these kinds of levels in the East. And the reason is climate change.

    我们在东部没有经历过这样浓度的因气候变化造成的污染。

    We're seeing the impacts of climate change on the air quality that we're experiencing today.

    我们看到了气候变化对我们今天所体验的空气质量的影响。

    Yeah, depending on where you are, the air quality ranges from unhealthy for certain groups to really hazardous² for everyone.

    是的，空气质量如何取决于你所处的位置，空气质量从对某些特定人群不健康到对每个人都很危险变动。

    People in D.C. and Baltimore woke up to some of the worst air quality in years.

    华盛顿特区和巴尔的摩的人们一觉醒来，就感受到了多年来最糟糕的空气质量。

    In Philadelphia, they are experiencing some of the worst air quality that they've seen in more than two decades.

    费城的人们正经历着20多年来最糟糕的空气质量。

    On Wednesday, in upstate New York, we saw the air quality index readings of 460.

    周三，在纽约州北部，我们看到空气质量指数读数为460。

    So that's really high up the scale and it's really extreme. And that's something Paul Billings is concerned about.

    刻度尺都要爆了，到了极限。这正是保罗·比林斯所担心的。

    You don't want to inhale³ the byproducts of combustion⁴, whether it's from a cigarette, a wildfire, a diesel⁵ truck or a coal-fired power plant.

    你不想吸入燃烧的副产品，无论是来自香烟、野火、柴油卡车还是燃煤电厂。

    All of these sources can create pollution that harms the lungs. The levels we're seeing can really pose immediate⁶ threats to health.

    所有这些来源都会创造污染，危害肺部。我们看到的浓度确实会对健康构成直接威胁。

    Short-term effects include irritation⁷ for your nose, your eyes, your throat.

    短期影响包括刺激鼻子、眼睛和喉咙。

    Fine particulate⁸ matters are so tiny that when inhaled⁹, they go through your lungs and can enter the bloodstream. They can cause cardiovascular impacts, especially in the long term.

    细颗粒物非常微小，当吸入时，它们会穿过肺部进入血流。它们会对心血管造成影响，特别是会造成长期影响。

    We're talking about heart attacks and strokes. Long-term exposure can lead to lung cancer.

    我们说的是心脏病发作和中风。长期接触也会导致肺癌。

    One of my sources even talked about premature¹⁰ death. So it's very harmful on the body.

    我的一个消息人士甚至提及早逝。因此，这对身体非常有害。

    And again, I think you kind of see that with the experts suggesting not to be outside at all.

    又一次，我想你已经看到专家建议不要外出。

    And are there any groups that are more vulnerable to wildfire smoke than others?

    有没有哪个群体比其他群体更容易受到野火烟雾的影响?

    Certain groups are more vulnerable to wildfire smoke than others.

    某些群体比其他人更容易受到野火烟雾的影响。

    Sensitive groups, so people that have pre-existing conditions, especially respiratory issues like asthma¹¹.

    敏感人群，也就是指那些已身患疾病的人，尤其是呼吸系统疾病，比如哮喘。

    Older people with COPD or just other kind of underlying¹² issues are also at risk.

    患有慢性阻塞性肺病或其他潜在疾病的老年人也有风险。

    And children as well. You know, lung capacity is different and your lungs are still kind of developing when you're a child.

    儿童也会有风险。肺活量有差异，儿童的肺部还在发育中。

    I talked to one expert from the American Lung Association who talked about pregnant women also being at risk.

    我采访了美国肺脏协会的一位专家，他谈到孕妇也有风险。

1 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

2 hazardous   

adj.(有)危险的，冒险的；碰运气的

参考例句：

• These conditions are very hazardous for shipping.这些情况对航海非常不利。
• Everybody said that it was a hazardous investment.大家都说那是一次危险的投资。

3 inhale   

v.吸入(气体等)，吸(烟)

参考例句：

• Don't inhale dust into your lung.别把灰尘吸进肺里。
• They are pleased to not inhale second hand smoke.他们很高兴他们再也不会吸到二手烟了。

4 combustion   

n.燃烧；氧化；骚动

参考例句：

• We might be tempted to think of combustion.我们也许会联想到氧化。
• The smoke formed by their combustion is negligible.由它燃烧所生成的烟是可忽略的。

5 diesel   

n.柴油发动机，内燃机

参考例句：

• We experimented with diesel engines to drive the pumps.我们试着用柴油机来带动水泵。
• My tractor operates on diesel oil.我的那台拖拉机用柴油开动。

6 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

7 irritation   

n.激怒，恼怒，生气

参考例句：

• He could not hide his irritation that he had not been invited.他无法掩饰因未被邀请而生的气恼。
• Barbicane said nothing,but his silence covered serious irritation.巴比康什么也不说，但是他的沉默里潜伏着阴郁的怒火。

8 particulate   

adj.微小的；n.微粒，粒子

参考例句：

• A special group was organized to dig up the particulate of the case.成立了一个专门小组来查明该案件的各个细节。
• Lungs retain relatively insoluble particulate material.肺脏内留有不溶解的颗粒物质。

9 inhaled   

v.吸入( inhale的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. 她合上双眼，深深吸了一口气。
• Janet inhaled sharply when she saw him. 珍妮特看到他时猛地吸了口气。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 premature   

adj.比预期时间早的；不成熟的，仓促的

参考例句：

• It is yet premature to predict the possible outcome of the dialogue.预言这次对话可能有什么结果为时尚早。
• The premature baby is doing well.那个早产的婴儿很健康。

11 asthma   

n.气喘病，哮喘病

参考例句：

• I think he's having an asthma attack.我想他现在是哮喘病发作了。
• Its presence in allergic asthma is well known.它在过敏性气喘中的存在是大家很熟悉的。

12 underlying   

adj.在下面的，含蓄的，潜在的

参考例句：

• The underlying theme of the novel is very serious.小说隐含的主题是十分严肃的。
• This word has its underlying meaning.这个单词有它潜在的含义。