双语有声阅读：摩天大楼与环境

Skyscrapers² and Environment

 

In the late 1960's,many people in North America turned their attention to environmental problems,and new steel-and-glass skyscrapers were widely criticized.Ecologists pointed³ out that a cluster of tall buildings in a city often overburdens public transportation and parking lot capacities.

 

Skyscrapers are also lavish⁴ consumers, and wasters, of electric power. In one recent year, the addition of 17 million square feet of skyscraper¹ office space in New York City raised the peak daily demand for electricity by 120, 000 kilowatts⁵ -- enough to supply the entire city of Albany, New York, for a day.

 

Glass-walled skyscrapers can be especially wasteful⁶. The heat loss (or gain) through a wall of half-inch plate glass is more than ten times that through a typical masonry⁷ wall filled with insulation⁸ board.To lessen⁹ the strain on heating and air-conditioning equipment,builders of skyscrapers have begun to use double-glazed panels of glass, and reflective glasses coated with silver or gold mirror films that reduce glare as well as heat gain. However,mirror-walled skyscrapers raise the temperature of the surrounding air and affect neighboring buildings.

 

Skyscrapers put a severe strain on a city's sanitation¹⁰ facilities, too. If fully¹¹ occupied, the two World Trade Center towers in New York City would alone generate 2.25 million gallons of raw sewage each year -- as much as a city the size of Stanford, Connecticut, which has a population of more than 109, 000.

 

摩天大楼与环境

 

60 年代后期，许多北美人把注意力转向了环境问题，那些崭新的玻璃钢摩天大楼受到了广泛的批评。 生态学家指出，城市中密集的高层建筑经常给公共交通与停车场的承载能力造成过重的负担。摩天大楼还是电能的过度消费者与浪费者。 最近的某一年，纽约市摩天写字楼 1，700 万英尺办公面积的增加使电能的最高日需求量提高了 120，000 千瓦。 这些电能足以供纽约的整个奥尔巴尼市使用一天。玻璃表面的摩天大楼特别地浪费。 通过半英寸的平板玻璃墙壁损失(或增加)的热量是典型的加入绝缘板的石墙所允许的热量损失(或增加)的十倍以上。 为了减轻取暖设备或空调设备的压力，摩天大楼的建造者们已经开始使用双面上釉的玻璃镶板和涂上了金色或银色反光薄膜的反光玻璃，来减少强光照射和热量的增加；但是，镜面的摩天大楼会提高周围空气的温度并会对附近的建筑物产生影响。摩天大楼也对城市的卫生设施造成了沉重的压力。 单单纽约市的二个世界贸易中心大楼如果完全被占满的话，每年就会产生 2，250，000 加仑的污水。 这相当于康涅狄格州的斯坦福市这样大的城市一年所产生的污水量，而康州的斯坦福市拥有 109，000 人口。

1 skyscraper   

n.摩天大楼

参考例句：

• The skyscraper towers into the clouds.那幢摩天大楼高耸入云。
• The skyscraper was wrapped in fog.摩天楼为雾所笼罩。

2 skyscrapers   

n.摩天大楼

参考例句：

• A lot of skyscrapers in Manhattan are rising up to the skies. 曼哈顿有许多摩天大楼耸入云霄。
• On all sides, skyscrapers rose like jagged teeth. 四周耸起的摩天大楼参差不齐。

3 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

4 lavish   

adj.无节制的；浪费的；vt.慷慨地给予，挥霍

参考例句：

• He despised people who were lavish with their praises.他看不起那些阿谀奉承的人。
• The sets and costumes are lavish.布景和服装极尽奢华。

5 kilowatts   

千瓦( kilowatt的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• It's about 500 kilowatts per hour on average. 年用电量平均为每小时500千瓦。 来自商贸英语会话
• We have an emergency-standby electric generator with a capacity of 300 kilowatts. 我们有一台三百千瓦的事故备用发电机。

6 wasteful   

adj.（造成）浪费的，挥霍的

参考例句：

• It is a shame to be so wasteful.这样浪费太可惜了。
• Duties have been reassigned to avoid wasteful duplication of work.为避免重复劳动浪费资源，任务已经重新分派。

7 masonry   

n.砖土建筑；砖石

参考例句：

• Masonry is a careful skill.砖石工艺是一种精心的技艺。
• The masonry of the old building began to crumble.旧楼房的砖石结构开始崩落。

8 insulation   

n.隔离；绝缘；隔热

参考例句：

• Please examine the insulation of the electric wires in my house.请检查一下我屋子里电线的绝缘情况。
• It is always difficult to assure good insulation between the electric leads.要保证两个电触头之间有良好的绝缘总是很困难的。

9 lessen   

vt.减少，减轻；缩小

参考例句：

• Regular exercise can help to lessen the pain.经常运动有助于减轻痛感。
• They've made great effort to lessen the noise of planes.他们尽力减小飞机的噪音。

10 sanitation   

n.公共卫生，环境卫生，卫生设备

参考例句：

• The location is exceptionally poor,viewed from the sanitation point.从卫生角度来看，这个地段非常糟糕。
• Many illnesses are the result,f inadequate sanitation.许多疾病都来源于不健全的卫生设施。

11 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。