VOA标准英语2009年-Chesapeake Bay Restoration, One Stream

Volunteers, farmers and local government in Pennsylvania community work to clean up waterways.

Rosanne Skirble | Lititz, Pennsylvania 30 November 2009

Watch: Skirble report
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Lititz Run prior to restoration with eroded¹ stream banks and few shade trees, an unwelcome habitat for trout²

On a warm Sunday morning members from Lancaster Evangelical Free Church gather on the wooded banks of Lititz Run. Pastor³ Doug Winne stands knee-deep in the clear, slow-moving waters, conducting baptisms.

Margaret Thompson, age 10, is baptized in Lititz Run, across the street from Lancaster Evangelical Free Church

The spring-fed stream in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, begins its journey in downtown Lititz and weaves under highways, across cow pastures and cornfields carrying polluted runoff from farms, sewage treatment plants, construction sites, driveways, parking lots, and streets to the Chesapeake Bay on America's eastern coast.  

Lancaster County, Pennsylvania is growing, but so is pollution of its waterways

According to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation,  Lancaster County waterways have some of the highest pollution levels in the entire watershed⁴. Land is used intensively by farmers, manufacturers, tourists and the 500,000 residents who live in Lancaster County, which is the fastest growing county in the state.

Twelve years ago Lititz Run was in poor shape when a group of fishermen with the conservation group Trout Unlimited⁵ approached Warwick township manager Dan Zimmerman.  Zimmerman's jurisdiction⁶ includes Lititz Run. Back then, he says, Lititz Run had only a few scattered⁷ Sycamore trees, "There was no protection from the sun. You had erosion of the stream bank. You had the sewage treatment plant discharging into it." 

Local fisherman and commercial developers dive in to help clean stream project

Erosion control and plantings shade Lititz Run, allowing for deeper pools of cool water

The fishermen wanted their trout stream back. Zimmerman was faced with a triple challenge: manage growth, keep farms productive and protect the environment.  He says Lititz Run became the focal point for that effort.  "We put in a wetlands to treat storm water off the road. We shrank the width of this stream from 50 feet [15.2 meters] to its width about 15 feet [4.5 meters]," Zimmerman says. 

Volunteers built a trail system, farmers put conservation plans in place, and township headquarters became a center for residents to learn how to curb⁸ runoff from their lawns, driveways and streets.  Builders saw the projects as a way to promote business, so they installed grass buffers⁹ and porous¹⁰ pavement to absorb rainwater. "I have a lot of developers that exceed the requirements not because we force them, but because they see the whole big picture and want to become part of that and use it as a market tool," Zimmerman says.

Watershed Awareness¹¹ Day gives children hands-on environmental experience outside the classroom

Warwick Township has since doubled the size of its wetlands and lowered the water temperature so that it's cold enough for trout to thrive.  Zimmerman says the initial goal was to remove Lititz Run from the State's impaired¹² waters list. But now it's about much more.  Warwick Township put a value on a clean local environment. Their commitment could inspire others in the watershed to protect their community's natural assets, now and for generations to come.
 

1 eroded   

adj. 被侵蚀的，有蚀痕的 动词erode的过去式和过去分词形式

参考例句：

• The cliff face has been steadily eroded by the sea. 峭壁表面逐渐被海水侵蚀。
• The stream eroded a channel in the solid rock. 小溪在硬石中侵蚀成一条水道。

2 trout   

n.鳟鱼；鲑鱼(属)

参考例句：

• Thousands of young salmon and trout have been killed by the pollution.成千上万的鲑鱼和鳟鱼的鱼苗因污染而死亡。
• We hooked a trout and had it for breakfast.我们钓了一条鳟鱼，早饭时吃了。

3 pastor   

n.牧师，牧人

参考例句：

• He was the son of a poor pastor.他是一个穷牧师的儿子。
• We have no pastor at present:the church is run by five deacons.我们目前没有牧师：教会的事是由五位执事管理的。

4 watershed   

n.转折点，分水岭，分界线

参考例句：

• Our marriage was at a watershed.我们的婚姻到了一个转折关头。
• It forms the watershed between the two rivers.它成了两条河流的分水岭。

5 unlimited   

adj.无限的，不受控制的，无条件的

参考例句：

• They flew over the unlimited reaches of the Arctic.他们飞过了茫茫无边的北极上空。
• There is no safety in unlimited technological hubris.在技术方面自以为是会很危险。

6 jurisdiction   

n.司法权，审判权，管辖权，控制权

参考例句：

• It doesn't lie within my jurisdiction to set you free.我无权将你释放。
• Changzhou is under the jurisdiction of Jiangsu Province.常州隶属江苏省。

7 scattered   

adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的

参考例句：

• Gathering up his scattered papers,he pushed them into his case.他把散乱的文件收拾起来，塞进文件夹里。

8 curb   

n.场外证券市场，场外交易；vt.制止，抑制

参考例句：

• I could not curb my anger.我按捺不住我的愤怒。
• You must curb your daughter when you are in church.你在教堂时必须管住你的女儿。

9 buffers   

起缓冲作用的人（或物）( buffer的名词复数 )； 缓冲器； 减震器； 愚蠢老头

参考例句：

• To allocate and schedule the use of buffers. 分配和计划缓冲器的使用。
• Number of times the stream has paused due to insufficient stream buffers. 由于流缓冲区不足导致流程暂停的次数。

10 porous   

adj.可渗透的，多孔的

参考例句：

• He added sand to the soil to make it more porous.他往土里掺沙子以提高渗水性能。
• The shell has to be slightly porous to enable oxygen to pass in.外壳不得不有些细小的孔以便能使氧气通过。

11 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。

12 impaired   

adj.受损的；出毛病的；有（身体或智力）缺陷的v.损害，削弱( impair的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Much reading has impaired his vision. 大量读书损害了他的视力。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• His hearing is somewhat impaired. 他的听觉已受到一定程度的损害。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》