在线英语听力室_免费在线英语听力学习网站

旱灾威胁加州，水政监察严格执法

California is going through a serious drought, and the state has drastically reduced supplies of water to its farmers. In big cities like Los Angeles, the impact is less severe but the city has strict conservation laws that limit water waste and enforces those laws by sending out officers into the streets to monitor compliance¹.

美国加利福尼亚州旱情严重，迫使州政府减少了农业用水供应。尽管洛杉矶等大城市所受的影响尚不严重，但当地居民必须严格遵守水资源保护的相关法律，限制用水浪费。

Rick Silva of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power cruises the neighborhoods of Los Angeles in search of tell-tale signs of illegal watering.

洛杉矶市水政局的席尔瓦正在社区街道巡视，看看有没有非法用水现象。

“Residential² fines start at $100, and commercial fines start at $200," said Silva.

水资源保护专员席尔瓦说：“居民非法用水的最低罚款100美元，商业最低200美元。”

Most who violate the city laws just get a warning, and advice on a strategy to reduce their water use.

大多数违犯者只是得到了警告和如何减少浪费的建议。

Houses with even street numbers can water Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday, those with odd numbers: Monday, Wednesday and Friday. No one can use irrigation systems between 9 am and 4 pm, or on Saturday.

住址编号为偶数的居民星期二、四、六可以用水浇灌，奇数居民的浇灌时间是星期一 、三、五。每天早9点到下午4点，还有周六，任何人不得浇灌。

Silva drives through the winding³ residential streets of the Hollywood Hills and sometimes pulls to the side of the road when he spots lawn sprinklers on, or water running down the street.

“We've been looking for run-off from lawns, people that are watering on the wrong days, and more just to get them on board that a lot of water is being used towards irrigation, and that there's also a lot of potential savings⁴ there," he said.

席尔瓦说：“我们要查看草坪用水是否过多，是否有人不按规定时间浇灌。我们更多的是想向他们宣传，大量水被用于灌溉，有很多方法可以节约用水。”

Farmers in California's Central Valley have seen dramatic reductions in their water allocations, which is threatening agriculture, one of the state's major industries. In Los Angeles, up to half the water is used for watering yards, and local officials say that is one area where the city can make reductions.

加州农民的用水配额被大幅削减，这威胁到加州的主要经济--农业。洛杉矶消费的水有一半以上是用于庭院浇灌，水政官员称这部分用水是可以减少的。

Silva says homeowners are responsive, once they learn the law.

“And we're hitting the numbers that we want to hit, so we're really emphasizing educating people to conserve⁵ more," he said.

The city also is urging homeowners to tear out their lawns and plant drought resistance plants.

市政府敦促人们用抗旱性植物来取代草坪。

“We will pay you to take out your grass. We'll pay you three dollars a square foot [0.09 square meter]," said Silva.

席尔瓦说：“我们提供补贴，来帮助铲除草坪。我们提供每平方英尺（0.09 平方米）3美元的补偿。”

Incentives⁶ have enticed⁷ some homeowners to put in plant varieties that are native to the temperate⁸ climate in Los Angeles, such as Cleveland Sage⁹, California Redbud, California Poppy or Deer Grass. Rick Silva notes that the city has installed a model landscape in a public park as an example of what can be done with native plants.

这项激励措施吸引一些人改种了适应当地气候的抗旱植物。政府也在城市公园设立了示范园区。

“You see, some of them are flowering now. It's pretty nice," he said.

席尔瓦说：“你看，有一些正开花呢，很漂亮。”

Homeowners who ignore the city's water restrictions¹⁰ will get an informational letter, or a formal warning, and finally a fine, if they don't cooperate.

现在还太早，我们不能打扰居民们。但是人们会收到说明材料、警告信，如果不合作，最后还会收到罚单。

Los Angeles reservoirs still have enough water, but reservoirs in other parts of the state are at levels far below normal. And the Sierra Nevada mountain snowpack, the source of much of the city's water, was 20 percent below normal when measured in May.

洛杉矶的水库目前还有足够的存水。但是加州其他地区的很多水库的蓄水量已经远远低于正常水平。今年5月，洛杉矶地区的主要水源、内华达山脉的积雪比正常水平低百分之20。

The drought is in its third year, and California officials will soon consider tough new penalties for those who waste water anywhere in the state. Under the draft regulations, water-wasting homeowners could be fined up to $500 a day.

这是加州连续第三年遭遇干旱。加州政府官员准备考虑实行新的严厉惩罚措施，杜绝州内任何水资源浪费现象。