轻松美语会话第3辑 环境与污染
to save theenvironment?
劳驾，女士，请你在这份拯救环境的请愿书上签个名好吗?
Grace:Save the
environment?What do you mean?Everthing seems to be good to
me.
拯救环境?什么意思?我觉得一切都很好呀。
Tim:You mean you don't
know?
就是说你还不知道?
Grace:Know about
what?
知道什么?
Tim:The environmental problems that we
face every day.
我们每天都要面对的环境问题。
Grace:We do?Like
what?
是吗?例如呢?
Tim:I'm surprised you don't know.There's
nuclear waste,for
one.
我很惊讶你居然不知道。放射性废弃物就是一例。
Grace:But don't we bury
that in the ground?It can't hurt us
there.
我们不是把它们埋到地下去了吗?它们伤害不到我们。
Tim:That's where
you're wrong.Toxic waste can enter the groundwater and spread to other
areas.
这就是你的错误所在。有毒的废弃物进入地下水，然后蔓延到其他地区。
And since
waste takes a long time to decay,it can cause thousands of years of ecological
damage.
而且，这些废弃物需要很长的时间才会腐烂，它们会导致几千年的生态破坏。
And that's
not all,there's also the problem of air
pollution.
还不止这些。它们还会带来空气污染的问题……
Grace:Ok,so I'm wrong
on that point,but I know that air pollution isn't a
problem.
好吧，这一点上我是错了，不过我知道空气污染不是一个问题
I read somewhere
that there's no proof for all that concern over greenhouse
gases.
我读到过一篇报导，说没有证据表明有必要为温室气体担心。
Tim:That's not true
either.They have new evidence that greenhouse gases are effecting our
environment,
那也不对。有新的证据表明，温室气体正在影响我们的环境，
and that all
world government will need to do something
soon.
世界各国的政府很快都得为此采取措施。
Grace:Ok,ok.It seems there's
not a lot I know about the environment.Maybe I should read more about how to
save the
planet.
好吧，好吧。看来，对于环境问题我确实知之甚少。也许我该多读一些拯救地球方面的书刊。
Karen:Hey
you,pick up that piece of
garbage!
喂，把垃圾捡起来!
Thatcher:Huh?Me?
啊?我吗?
Karen:Yeah
you,I just saw you throw a piece of garbage on the
ground.
就是你，我刚刚看到你把垃圾扔到地上，
Can't you read the "No
Littering"sign?
你没有看到那块“不许乱扔杂物”的告示牌吗?
It's a $ 500
penalty for littering,so go pick it up and put it in the garbage can over
there.
乱扔杂物要处以500美元的罚款，所以你还是把它捡起来，丢到那边的垃圾桶里去吧。
Thatcher:Why
should I do that?It's only a piece of garbage.Why should you
care?
我为什么要这么做?只是一块垃圾而已嘛，你干吗这么介意呢?
Karen:Because this
is a public place,and I want to spend my time here without having to look at
your
garbage.
因为这是公众场合，我不希望我在这里度过的时光有你的垃圾存在。
Thatcher:Listen,I
really don't know why you're making this into such a big
issue.
听着，我真不明白你为什么这么小题大做。
It's only a small piece of
garbage in a large space.
不过是一大片空地上的一小块垃圾嘛，
It's not
like there's garbage
everywhere.
又不是到处都是垃圾。
Besides,someone will come along
to clean it up at some time or
another.
再说，会有人不时地过来打扫的。
Karen:It's not the cleaner's
responsibility to pick up after lazy
people.
清洁工的责任并不是跟在懒人的后面捡垃圾。
It's part of your
responsibility to make sure that the place is neat for other
people.
你也有部分责任为别人保持一个清洁的环境。
If everyone thought like
you,there'd be garbage everywhere!The cleaners can't be
everywhere!
如果每个人都像你这么想，那么肯定到处都是垃圾了。而清洁工不可能到处都是!
Thatcher:Ok,whatever.See,I'm
putting it in the garbage
can.
好吧，不管怎么样，看着，我这就把它放进垃圾箱。
Karen:Hold on,that's a
recyclable item.You should put that in the recycle bin next to the
trashcan.
等等，这是可再利用的垃圾，你应该把它放到垃圾箱旁边的废物回收箱里。
Thatcher:Recycle
bin?Garbage is garbage!
废物回收箱!垃圾就是垃圾!
Karen:No it
isn't.There are many times we can take what we've used and reuse
it.
不，不是这样的，我们可以把用过的东西复使用很多次。
It saves on having to
use new materials,and it creates less
garbage.
这么做既能节省新的材料，又可以少产生垃圾。
Thatcher:Ok,ok.I'll do
whatever you want as long as you get off my
back.
好吧好吧，你要我做什么我就做什么，只要你别再来烦我。
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