万物简史 第227期:把铅撵出去(16)

 　　On its website, a history of the company makes no mention of lead—or indeed of Thomas Midgley—but simply refers to the original product as containing "a certain combination of chemicals."

　　在它的网站上，公司的历史没有提及铅──也没有提及乔治·米奇利──只是简单地提到原先的产品里含有“某种化学混合物”。

　　Ethyl no longer makes leaded gasoline, although, according to its 2001 company accounts, tetraethyl lead (or TEL as it calls it) still accounted for $25.1 million in sales in 2000 (out of overall sales of $795 million), up from $24.1 million in 1999, but down from $117 million in 1998. In its report the company stated its determination to "maximize the cash generated by TEL as its usage continues to phase down around the world." Ethyl markets TEL through an agreement with Associated Octel of England.

　　四乙公司不再生产含铅汽油，但据2001年的公司报表，2000年四乙铅的销售额仍达到2510万美元（它的全部销售额为79500万美元），比1999年的2410万美元略有增长，但低于1998年的11700万美元。公司在它的报告中说，它决心“使四乙铅产生的现金收入增加到最大程度，尽管全世界的使用量在不断下降”。四乙公司通过与英国奥克特尔联合公司的一项协议在全世界销售四乙铅。

　　铲除恶势力

　　As for the other scourge¹ left to us by Thomas Midgley, chlorofluorocarbons, they were banned in 1974 in the United States, but they are tenacious² little devils and any that you loosed into the atmosphere before then (in your deodorants³ or hair sprays, for instance) will almost certainly be around and devouring⁴ ozone⁵ long after you have shuffled⁶ off. Worse, we are still introducing huge amounts of CFCs into the atmosphere every year. According to Wayne Biddle, 60 million pounds of the stuff, worth $1.5 billion, still finds its way onto the market every year.

　　至于乔治·米奇利留给我们的另一个祸害含氯氟烃，美国在1974年已经禁止使用，但它是个顽固不化的小魔鬼，以前（比如从除臭剂或喷发定型剂）排放到大气的这种东西几乎肯定还在那里，等你我上了西天很久以后还会在吞食臭氧。更为糟糕的是，我们每年仍在向大气里排放大量含氯氟烃。韦恩·比德尔说，每年仍有2700万千克以上的这种东西在市场上销售，价值15亿美元。

1 scourge   

n.灾难，祸害；v.蹂躏

参考例句：

• Smallpox was once the scourge of the world.天花曾是世界的大患。
• The new boss was the scourge of the inefficient.新老板来了以后，不称职的人就遭殃了。

2 tenacious   

adj.顽强的，固执的，记忆力强的，粘的

参考例句：

• We must learn from the tenacious fighting spirit of Lu Xun.我们要学习鲁迅先生韧性的战斗精神。
• We should be tenacious of our rights.我们应坚决维护我们的权利。

3 deodorants   

n.（尤指去除体臭的）除臭剂( deodorant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The U.S. is already a mature market for its razors and deodorants. 美国已经是使它的刀片和除臭剂得到充分发展的市场了。 来自辞典例句
• Deodorants are available as aerosols or roll-ons. 除臭剂有喷雾装或滚抹装。 来自辞典例句

4 devouring   

吞没( devour的现在分词 )； 耗尽； 津津有味地看； 狼吞虎咽地吃光

参考例句：

• The hungry boy was devouring his dinner. 那饥饿的孩子狼吞虎咽地吃饭。
• He is devouring novel after novel. 他一味贪看小说。

5 ozone   

n.臭氧，新鲜空气

参考例句：

• The ozone layer is a protective layer around the planet Earth.臭氧层是地球的保护层。
• The capacity of ozone can adjust according of requirement.臭氧的产量可根据需要或调节。

6 shuffled   

v.洗（纸牌）( shuffle的过去式和过去分词 )；拖着脚步走；粗心地做；摆脱尘世的烦恼

参考例句：

• He shuffled across the room to the window. 他拖着脚走到房间那头的窗户跟前。
• Simon shuffled awkwardly towards them. 西蒙笨拙地拖着脚朝他们走去。 来自《简明英汉词典》