地道英语在线听-Carbon Footprint 碳足迹

How big is your carbon footprint?

Neil: This is Real English from BBC Learning¹ English. I'm Neil.

Lily: 大家好，我是杨莉。

Neil: This is the programme in which we look at words and phrases that you may not find in your dictionary.

Lily: 地道英语和大家一起学习现代英式英语中经常出现的流行词汇和实用表达。

Neil: Today we're looking at an expression which has become very popular over the last year.

Lily: What's that?

Neil: Carbon footprint.

Lily: Carbon footprint. What does it mean?

Neil: Well, let's start with the second word, footprint.

Lily: OK.

Neil: You know what happens when you walk on wet or muddy ground?

Lily: Oh yes. 从湿路或泥路上走过时会留下足迹 – footprint.

Neil: That's right. Well your carbon footprint is the impact² you make on the planet³ from your use of energy.

Lily: Carbon 碳. 碳足迹就是指一个人的能源意识和行为对自然界产生的影响。

 

 

Insert

A: I'm going on a weekend break to Barcelona tomorrow. I managed to get a really cheap flight.

B: Didn't you fly to Paris last month?

A: Yeah, that was a bargain too.

B: Don't you ever think about the environment? Your carbon footprint must be terrible!

Neil: He uses planes frequently, so he has a large carbon footprint. He uses a lot of energy which puts carbon into the environment.

Lily: 这位讲话的男子经常乘坐飞机旅行，那么他在这个世界上就留下了一个很大碳足迹。carbon footprint，因为汽油燃烧排放废气，污染环境。

Neil: So, lots of people want to reduce their carbon footprint.

Lily: What are you doing to reduce your carbon footprint, Neil?

Neil: Well, I only use my car for essential journeys and I've decided⁴ not to take short flights – I'll use the train instead.

Lily: Neil只是在必要时才开车，而且他还决定短途履行不坐飞机，只坐火车。

Neil: Well, that's all we have time for today.

 

Lily: You've been listening to Real English from BBC Learning English.

Neil: Join us again soon for more up-to-the-minute Real English. Bye.

Lily: See you next time.

 

1 learning   

n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词

参考例句：

• When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
• Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。

2 impact   

n.冲击，碰撞；影响；vt.装紧，压紧

参考例句：

• The computer had made a great impact on modern life.计算机对现代生活产生了巨大的影响.
• How will the war impact on such a poet?战争对这样一个诗人会产生什么影响？

3 planet   

n.行星

参考例句：

• Neptune is the furthest planet from the sun. 海王星是离太阳最远的行星。
• Rubbish, however, is only part of the problem of polluting our planet. 然而, 垃圾只是我们这个星球的污染问题的一个方面。

4 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。