VOA标准英语2009年-Cities and Suburbs Fastest Growing Pol

Fertilizers from lawns, oil from cars, pet waste and runoff from building sites move quickly over paved surfaces into storm drains - and eventually, into the Bay.

Rosanne Skirble | Washington, D.C. 30 November 2009

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A construction site along the Potomac River contributes to sediment¹ runoff into the waterway -Population in the region has more than doubled since 1950, growing from 8 to 17 million

Snow Hill is a sleepy town on the banks of the Pocomoke River on Maryland's eastern shore.  Bald cypress² trees and abundant fish and wildlife make the dark waters and wooded shores of the Pocomoke popular with boaters and hunters. Mayor Stephen Matthews moved to Snow Hill in 1991. The retired³ DC policeman inherited an aging sewer⁴ system badly in need of repair, he says, "but couldn't afford to build a new one."

Big storms overwhelm small town's sewer plant

Snow Hill, Md., mayor Stephen Matthews says an aging sewage treatment plant needs to be replaced to avoid sending nutrients⁵ into the Pocomoke River, a tributary⁶ of the Chesapeake Bay

A few years ago builders proposed a new development that would more than double the size of the town.  The company sweetened the deal with the promise of a new sewage treatment plant. But bad economic times killed the plan and today Snow Hill earns income to help pay its sewer bills by allowing neighboring communities to truck and dump contaminated landfill runoff and effluent from septic tanks in Snow Hill's waste water treatment plant.

Matthews says the deal comes with an environmental cost, especially after a big storm. "You get water, mixed with sewer waste and then all of a sudden, it's like a tsunami⁷ hitting the sewer plant," he says.  "It does reach some points where it comes in at such speeds that we have to open the flood gates and let it run [into the river]."

Two skimmer boats operated by the District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority remove 400 tons of trash each year from the Potomac and Anacostia rivers in Washington

Antiquated⁸ sewers⁹ are common across the region. From the cabin of his small boat in Washington, D.C., Ed Merrifield, president of the Potomac River Keeper environmental group, patrols the river for violations¹⁰ of federal and state laws.  He says rain water and sewage run through the same pipes and when it rains there's trouble. "It's a mess," he says. "You don't see the sewage directly, but you see everything that is still floating on top. And we have run tests here on the water quality, and it's terrible."

Washington D.C. metro¹¹ area storm runoff flows into the Potomac River

This combined sewer and storm water pipe is one of 53 along the Potomac River

Overflow¹² into the Potomac comes from 53 pipes that carry rain water and sewage.  The Washington Water and Sewer Authority serves two million people in Washington, D.C. and the Maryland and Virginia suburbs. Ordered by a court decree to fix the problem, the authority is building a 2.5 billion dollar subway-sized tunnel system to manage the storm water and sewage. The plan is expected to reduce storm overflow into the Potomac by 96 percent.

Simple solutions for urban water pollution

Seventeen million people live in the Bay watershed¹³.  According to the 2009 Chesapeake Bay Program Annual report, suburban¹⁴ and urban runoff is the fastest growing source of pollution. Fertilizers from lawns, oil from cars, pet waste and runoff from building sites move quickly over paved surfaces into storm drains - and eventually, into the Bay.

The garden and plantings at Bancroft Elementary School in Washington help prevent polluted runoff from the school yard and parking lot into Rock Creek¹⁵ across the street

The District Department of the Environment in Washington is addressing the problem through a number of initiatives.  George Hawkins, the department's director, cites the rain garden next to a playground of a local elementary school with its bushy shrubs¹⁶, shade trees, sunflowers, and a bounty¹⁷ of late summer vegetables as one example. "This area absorbs storm water. The storm water going into the ground here and not going into the stream, or into the storm system, he says. "It is filtered through these plants and roots so a lot of the pollutants¹⁸ have been removed."

River Smart homeowner Lesly Baesens put in native plants and trees, porous¹⁹ pavers and a rain barrel through a city grant

With a grant from the District's River Smart Home Program, city resident Lesly Baesens has transformed her property. Baesens planted native species that hold water, installed a rain barrel that collects water for garden use, and put in a porous sidewalk that allows water to seep²⁰ into the ground rather than flow to the street.  Even with all these amenities²¹, she says, she wants to do more.  "I want to get rid of most of our lawn because I feel like putting plants in is a lot more beneficial than the lawn. And I would much rather care for plants that will attract wildlife, butterflies [and] hummingbirds²²."

While Washington, D.C., constitutes only 1 percent of the watershed, George Hawkins says Chesapeake Bay friendly programs can work for residents and builders throughout the region. "This is a good business model as well as a good environmental model," he says.  Hawkins would like to see enforceable pollution standards in place for cities and suburbs across the region. He says urban areas as well as farms must be held accountable for the pollution they create.
 

1 sediment   

n.沉淀，沉渣，沉积(物)

参考例句：

• The sediment settled and the water was clear.杂质沉淀后，水变清了。
• Sediment begins to choke the channel's opening.沉积物开始淤塞河道口。

2 cypress   

n.柏树

参考例句：

• The towering pine and cypress trees defy frost and snow.松柏参天傲霜雪。
• The pine and the cypress remain green all the year round.苍松翠柏，常绿不凋。

3 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

4 sewer   

n.排水沟，下水道

参考例句：

• They are tearing up the street to repair a sewer. 他们正挖开马路修下水道。
• The boy kicked a stone into the sewer. 那个男孩把一石子踢进了下水道。

5 nutrients   

n.（食品或化学品）营养物，营养品( nutrient的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a lack of essential nutrients 基本营养的缺乏
• Nutrients are absorbed into the bloodstream. 营养素被吸收进血液。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 tributary   

n.支流；纳贡国；adj.附庸的；辅助的；支流的

参考例句：

• There was a tributary road near the end of the village.村的尽头有条岔道。
• As the largest tributary of Jinsha river,Yalong river is abundant in hydropower resources.雅砻江是金沙江的最大支流，水力资源十分丰富。

7 tsunami   

n.海啸

参考例句：

• Powerful quake sparks tsunami warning in Japan.大地震触发了日本的海啸预警。
• Coastlines all around the Indian Ocean inundated by a huge tsunami.大海啸把印度洋沿岸地区都淹没了。

8 antiquated   

adj.陈旧的，过时的

参考例句：

• Many factories are so antiquated they are not worth saving.很多工厂过于陈旧落后，已不值得挽救。
• A train of antiquated coaches was waiting for us at the siding.一列陈旧的火车在侧线上等着我们。

9 sewers   

n.阴沟，污水管，下水道( sewer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The sewers discharge out at sea. 下水道的污水排入海里。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Another municipal waste problem is street runoff into storm sewers. 有关都市废水的另外一个问题是进入雨水沟的街道雨水。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

10 violations   

违反( violation的名词复数 )； 冒犯； 违反（行为、事例）； 强奸

参考例句：

• This is one of the commonest traffic violations. 这是常见的违反交通规则之例。
• These violations of the code must cease forthwith. 这些违犯法规的行为必须立即停止。

11 metro   

n.地铁；adj.大都市的；(METRO)麦德隆(财富500强公司之一总部所在地德国，主要经营零售)

参考例句：

• Can you reach the park by metro?你可以乘地铁到达那个公园吗？
• The metro flood gate system is a disaster prevention equipment.地铁防淹门系统是一种防灾设备。

12 overflow   

v.(使)外溢，(使)溢出；溢出，流出，漫出

参考例句：

• The overflow from the bath ran on to the floor.浴缸里的水溢到了地板上。
• After a long period of rain,the river may overflow its banks.长时间的下雨天后，河水可能溢出岸来。

13 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。

14 suburban   

adj.城郊的，在郊区的

参考例句：

• Suburban shopping centers were springing up all over America. 效区的商业中心在美国如雨后春笋般地兴起。
• There's a lot of good things about suburban living.郊区生活是有许多优点。

15 creek   

n.小溪，小河，小湾

参考例句：

• He sprang through the creek.他跳过小河。
• People sunbathe in the nude on the rocks above the creek.人们在露出小溪的岩石上裸体晒日光浴。

16 shrubs   

灌木( shrub的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The gardener spent a complete morning in trimming those two shrubs. 园丁花了整个上午的时间修剪那两处灌木林。
• These shrubs will need more light to produce flowering shoots. 这些灌木需要更多的光照才能抽出开花的新枝。

17 bounty   

n.慷慨的赠予物，奖金；慷慨，大方；施与

参考例句：

• He is famous for his bounty to the poor.他因对穷人慷慨相助而出名。
• We received a bounty from the government.我们收到政府给予的一笔补助金。

18 pollutants   

污染物质（尤指工业废物）( pollutant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Pollutants are constantly being released into the atmosphere. 污染物质正在不断地被排放到大气中去。
• The 1987 Amendments limit 301(g) discharges to a few well-studied nonconventional pollutants. 1987年的修正案把第301条（g）的普通排放限制施加在一些认真研究过的几种非常规污染物上。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

19 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。

20 seep   

v.渗出，渗漏；n.渗漏，小泉，水（油）坑

参考例句：

• My anger began to seep away.我的怒火开始消下去了。
• If meteoric water does not evaporate or run overland,it may seep directly into the ground.如果雨水不从陆地蒸发和流走的话，就可能直接渗入地下。

21 amenities   

n.令人愉快的事物；礼仪；礼节；便利设施；礼仪( amenity的名词复数 )；便利设施；（环境等的）舒适；（性情等的）愉快

参考例句：

• The campsite is close to all local amenities. 营地紧靠当地所有的便利设施。
• Parks and a theatre are just some of the town's local amenities. 公园和戏院只是市镇娱乐设施的一部分。 来自《简明英汉词典》

22 hummingbirds   

n.蜂鸟( hummingbird的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Hummingbirds have discovered that nectar and pollen are very nutritious. 蜂鸟发现花蜜和花粉是很有营养的。
• Why do hummingbirds and gorillas both have backbones? 为什么蜂鸟和大猩猩都有脊骨？