英语听力精选进阶版 14190

The world's brightest city

Summary

25 March 2013

A study this week has found that Hong Kong is one of the worst offenders¹ in the world for light pollution. Parts of the territory have been registered² as 1,200 times brighter than a normal dark sky. Researchers say light pollution can affect health.

Reporter:

Jennifer Pak

Report

This is the Central District and it's 11 o'clock at night time, but if I put on my sunglasses it wouldn't be too dark at all and that's because there are lights everywhere. There's a neon sign across the street at an old antique³ shop. It's closed but there are one, two, three signs lit up and it's the same thing all down the street.

Now, researchers say that these signs are contributing to what is known as light pollution - you can tell by looking up into the sky. Not a single star in sight. In fact, the sky is a light shade of grey because of the amount of light in this area. And this is affecting people's lives because above these businesses and signs are apartment blocks. So these neon lights are reflecting off of the windows and bouncing⁴ into people's homes.

Christine Siu lives near the area. She says sometimes the lights are so bright it makes it hard to fall asleep.

Well, researchers are asking businesses to dim⁵ their lights and to turn them off earlier in the evening. Except it's not going to be an easy thing to do. Hong Kong is a place where businesses can offer the same services or sell the same products side-by-side.

The only way they can distinguish⁶ themselves from their competitors are through these neon signs to grab⁷ customers' attention. The bigger, the brighter, the better. Hong Kong is known to be a place that never sleeps. Well, now it seems that's because they never allow the sky to go dark.

1 offenders   

n.冒犯者( offender的名词复数 )；犯规者；罪犯；妨害…的人（或事物）

参考例句：

• Long prison sentences can be a very effective deterrent for offenders. 判处长期徒刑可对违法者起到强有力的威慑作用。
• Purposeful work is an important part of the regime for young offenders. 使从事有意义的劳动是管理少年犯的重要方法。

2 registered   

adj.登记的，注册的

参考例句：

• Ships were registered abroad to circumvent employment and safety regulation. 船只在外国注册以逃避有关雇佣和安全的规定。
• In former times, only property owners could be registered as voters. 从前，只有有财产的人才能登记作选民。

3 antique   

adj.古时的，古代的；n.古物，古器，古玩

参考例句：

• The Sunday antique market is a happy hunting ground for collectors.周日的古董市场是收藏家的淘物乐园。
• I saw the vase in the window of an antique shop.我在一家古玩店的橱窗里看见了这个花瓶。

4 bouncing   

adj.精力充沛的；精神饱满的；活泼的vt.“bounce”的现在分词

参考例句：

• a bouncing baby boy 茁壮的男婴
• He kept bouncing up and down like a yo-yo . 他像个悠悠球似的蹦蹦跳跳。

5 dim   

adj.昏暗的；朦胧的；v.(使)暗淡，(使)模糊

参考例句：

• The light is too dim for me to read easily.光线太暗，我很难阅读。
• I was so tired that my eyesight grew dim.我太累了，眼睛有点发花。

6 distinguish   

vt.区别，辩明，识别，辨认出；vi.区别，辨别，识别

参考例句：

• It is not easy to distinguish cultured pearls from genuine pearls.辨别真正的珍珠与养殖的珍珠不容易。
• Some people find it difficult to distinguish right from wrong.一些人认为很难辨对与错。

7 grab   

vt./n.攫取，抓取；vi.攫取，抓住(at)

参考例句：

• It is rude to grab a seat.抢占座位是不礼貌的。
• The thief made a grab at my bag but I pushed him away.贼想抢我的手提包，但被我推开了。