轻松背单词新浪微博 轻松背单词腾讯微博
轻松背单词微信服务号
当前位置:首页 -> 12级英语阅读 - > 放气球的危害
放气球的危害
添加时间:2018-02-25 19:38:50 浏览次数: 作者:未知
Tip:点击数字可快速查看单词解释  
  • Release a helium balloon on a bright, sunny day, watch it magically float up into the sky, and I dare you not to feel some variety of exhilaration, a sense of wonder, a longing1 for freedom, suspense2.... It's like a 21-gun salute3, but quieter. It's like a Chinese Sky Lantern ceremony, but for the daytime.People release big bunches of balloons for memorial services, grand openings, birthday parties and parades. It's just a Thing We Do, and it's fun. But it's really, really terrible for the environment.

    在一个阳光明媚的日子里,你放飞了一个氦气球,并看着它神奇地漂浮在天空中。我敢肯定,这时的你会感到一丝兴奋与惊喜,还有对自由的渴望。这就像观看21响礼炮一样,只是更安静。这也像中国人放飞孔明灯一样,只是在白天而已。人们会在纪念仪式、盛大开幕式、生日聚会和游行中放飞大量的气球。虽然这只是人们喜欢做的一件有趣的事,但是这对环境来说真的非常糟糕。

    When a balloon ascends4 into the heavens, it doesn't end up on Jupiter. You know this. Although a helium balloon can rise to altitudes of 8 kilometers into Earth's atmosphere, it's got to come back down eventually, and when it does, it wreaks5 some havoc6. That colorful little scrap7 of latex may end up living in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. It could get tangled8 up in the flippers of a sea turtle or be eaten by one who mistakes it for a jellyfish. Or a bighorn sheep could mistake it for forage9, or it might land in some farmer's pasture, where a cow chokes on the string. According to the US Fish and Wildlife Service, animals of the land, sea and air are equally susceptible10 to mistaking deflated11 balloons for food, or, arguably worse, getting tangled up and strangled by the ribbon attached to it.

    我们都知道,即使氦气球一直向上升,它最终也不会落到木星上去。尽管氦气球可以升到距地面8千米的高度,但它最终还是会回来的,一旦它降落了,就会造成一些破坏。那些五颜六色的乳胶碎片最终可能会掉在太平洋垃圾带,它们可能会缠住海龟的鳍状肢,或者被海龟当成水母给吃掉。它们落在陆地上时,大角羊可能会把它们误认为是饲料。它们落在农民的牧场时,气球上的丝带很可能会呛死一头牛。美国鱼类和野生动物管理局的数据显示,陆地、海洋和空中的动物都很容易把泄气的气球误认为是食物,更糟糕的是,它们都有可能被气球上的丝带缠住并勒死。

    And it's true, some balloons do break down eventually. A big part of the reason releasing balloons is permitted in so many places is that latex balloons are technically12 biodegradable — it takes one between six months and four years to break down completely, though they deteriorate13 in seawater more slowly than they do on land. Mylar balloons, on the other hand, are made out of NASA-grade nylon14 and are not biodegradable, so they can hang out in the environment indefinitely.

    诚然,有些气球最终会分解掉。许多地方之所以允许放飞气球,很大程度上是因为乳胶气球在技术上是可生物降解的。但是它们也需要长达6个月到4年的时间才能完全分解,而且它们在海水中的降解速度比在陆地上要慢很多。还有一种迈拉气球是由美国宇航局级别的尼龙制成的,不能生物降解,因此它们会一直存在于自然界中。

    So, if balloons in the environment are so bad, why isn't releasing them outlawed15? Well, in many areas, it is. And a few places in the UK and Australia have banned the release of balloons of all kinds. In the US, California, Connecticut, Florida, Tennessee and Virginia and some cities like Louisville, Kentucky, and Huntsville, Alabama have put the kibosh on balloon releases. But the thing about helium balloons is they don't care about our random16 geographic17 boundaries. They land wherever they want to land.

    既然停留在环境中的气球有这么多危害,为什么放飞它们不是违法的呢?其实在许多地方,放飞气球都是违法的。英国和澳大利亚的一些地方已经禁止各种气球的释放。在美国,加利福尼亚州、康涅狄格州、佛罗里达州、田纳西州和弗吉尼亚州,还有肯塔基州的路易斯维尔和阿拉巴马州的亨茨维尔等城市,都已经禁止放飞气球。但是氦气球的问题在于,它们才不管人类划定的地理边界。它们想在哪里降落,就在哪里降落。

    Hundreds of balloons drifting slowly into the wild blue yonder might give you the feels, but is a brief display of color and zero confetti cleanup at your party worth a bunch of dead birds and turtles and many beaches full of trash? Absolutely not. But, on a related note, the world may be running out of helium soon anyway — giving the turtles and the birds a reason to throw their own great big party, sans balloons.

    看着数以百计的气球慢慢地飘向远处的蓝色天空可能会让你心潮澎湃,然而只是为了欣赏一次转瞬即逝的多彩美景,或者为了不必清理派对留下的五彩纸屑,你就要让一群鸟儿和乌龟用生命来买单,让一片片沙滩堆满垃圾。这值得吗?当然不值得。而且,再这样下去,这个世界可能很快就会耗尽氦气——这反倒让海龟和鸟儿有理由开个大派对来庆祝,没有气球的那种。

    最后,不要错过一个重要的事实:

    Helium balloons can interfere18 with airplanes. In Singapore, you have to get permission from a government aviation regulation agency in order to release balloons.

    氦气球会干扰到飞机。在新加坡,你必须得到政府航空管制署的许可才能放飞气球。

     12级    英文科普 


    点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

    1 longing [ˈlɒŋɪŋ] 98bzd   第8级
    n.(for)渴望
    参考例句:
    • Hearing the tune again sent waves of longing through her. 再次听到那首曲子使她胸中充满了渴望。
    • His heart burned with longing for revenge. 他心中燃烧着急欲复仇的怒火。
    2 suspense [səˈspens] 9rJw3   第8级
    n.(对可能发生的事)紧张感,担心,挂虑
    参考例句:
    • The suspense was unbearable. 这样提心吊胆的状况实在叫人受不了。
    • The director used ingenious devices to keep the audience in suspense. 导演用巧妙手法引起观众的悬念。
    3 salute [səˈlu:t] rYzx4   第7级
    vi.行礼,致意,问候,放礼炮;vt.向…致意,迎接,赞扬;n.招呼,敬礼,礼炮
    参考例句:
    • Merchant ships salute each other by dipping the flag. 商船互相点旗致敬。
    • The Japanese women salute the people with formal bows in welcome. 这些日本妇女以正式的鞠躬向人们施礼以示欢迎。
    4 ascends [əˈsendz] 70c31d4ff86cb70873a6a196fadac6b8   第7级
    v.上升,攀登( ascend的第三人称单数 )
    参考例句:
    • The azygos vein ascends in the right paravertebral gutter. 奇静脉在右侧脊柱旁沟内上升。 来自辞典例句
    • The mortality curve ascends gradually to a plateau at age 65. 死亡曲线逐渐上升,到65岁时成平稳状态。 来自辞典例句
    5 wreaks [ri:ks] 66a0f4cdf269e584feb6697be93e2753   第10级
    诉诸(武力),施行(暴力),发(脾气)( wreak的第三人称单数 )
    参考例句:
    • Worshipping the sun wreaks havoc on skin. So does smoking. 过度晒太阳会毁掉好皮肤,吸烟也是如此。
    • His hard work wreaks havoc in his personal life. 他拼命工作破坏了他的私人生活。
    6 havoc [ˈhævək] 9eyxY   第8级
    n.大破坏,浩劫,大混乱,大杂乱
    参考例句:
    • The earthquake wreaked havoc on the city. 地震对这个城市造成了大破坏。
    • This concentration of airborne firepower wrought havoc with the enemy forces. 这次机载火力的集中攻击给敌军造成很大破坏。
    7 scrap [skræp] JDFzf   第7级
    n.碎片;废料;vt.废弃,报废;vi.吵架;adj.废弃的;零碎的
    参考例句:
    • A man comes round regularly collecting scrap. 有个男人定时来收废品。
    • Sell that car for scrap. 把那辆汽车当残品卖了吧。
    8 tangled ['tæŋɡld] e487ee1bc1477d6c2828d91e94c01c6e   第7级
    adj. 纠缠的,紊乱的 动词tangle的过去式和过去分词
    参考例句:
    • Your hair's so tangled that I can't comb it. 你的头发太乱了,我梳不动。
    • A movement caught his eye in the tangled undergrowth. 乱灌木丛里的晃动引起了他的注意。
    9 forage [ˈfɒrɪdʒ] QgyzP   第10级
    n.(牛马的)饲料,粮草;v.搜寻,翻寻
    参考例句:
    • They were forced to forage for clothing and fuel. 他们不得不去寻找衣服和燃料。
    • Now the nutritive value of the forage is reduced. 此时牧草的营养价值也下降了。
    10 susceptible [səˈseptəbl] 4rrw7   第7级
    adj.过敏的,敏感的;易动感情的,易受感动的
    参考例句:
    • Children are more susceptible than adults. 孩子比成人易受感动。
    • We are all susceptible to advertising. 我们都易受广告的影响。
    11 deflated [dɪf'leɪtɪd] deflated   第12级
    adj. 灰心丧气的
    参考例句:
    • I was quite deflated by her lack of interest in my suggestions. 他对我的建议兴趣不大,令我感到十分气馁。
    • He was deflated by the news. 这消息令他泄气。
    12 technically [ˈteknɪkli] wqYwV   第8级
    adv.专门地,技术上地
    参考例句:
    • Technically it is the most advanced equipment ever. 从技术上说,这是最先进的设备。
    • The tomato is technically a fruit, although it is eaten as a vegetable. 严格地说,西红柿是一种水果,尽管它是当作蔬菜吃的。
    13 deteriorate [dɪˈtɪəriəreɪt] Zm8zW   第7级
    vi.变坏;恶化;退化;vt.恶化
    参考例句:
    • Do you think relations between China and Japan will continue to deteriorate? 你认为中日关系会继续恶化吗?
    • He held that this would only cause the situation to deteriorate further. 他认为,这只会使局势更加恶化。
    14 nylon [ˈnaɪlɒn] DjPyO   第7级
    n.尼龙;尼龙长袜
    参考例句:
    • He dresses a nylon shirt. 他穿着一件尼龙衬衫。
    • How many products are made from nylon? 有多少种产品是由尼龙制造的?
    15 outlawed [] e2d1385a121c74347f32d0eb4aa15b54   第7级
    宣布…为不合法(outlaw的过去式与过去分词形式)
    参考例句:
    • Most states have outlawed the use of marijuana. 大多数州都宣布使用大麻为非法行为。
    • I hope the sale of tobacco will be outlawed someday. 我希望有朝一日烟草制品会禁止销售。
    16 random [ˈrændəm] HT9xd   第7级
    adj.随机的;任意的;n.偶然的(或随便的)行动
    参考例句:
    • The list is arranged in a random order. 名单排列不分先后。
    • On random inspection the meat was found to be bad. 经抽查,发现肉变质了。
    17 geographic [ˌdʒi:ə'ɡræfɪk] tgsxb   第7级
    adj.地理学的,地理的
    参考例句:
    • The city's success owes much to its geographic position. 这座城市的成功很大程度上归功于它的地理位置。 来自《简明英汉词典》
    • Environmental problems pay no heed to these geographic lines. 环境问题并不理会这些地理界限。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
    18 interfere [ˌɪntəˈfɪə(r)] b5lx0   第7级
    vi.(in)干涉,干预;(with)妨碍,打扰;vt.冲突;介入
    参考例句:
    • If we interfere, it may do more harm than good. 如果我们干预的话,可能弊多利少。
    • When others interfere in the affair, it always makes troubles. 别人一卷入这一事件,棘手的事情就来了。

    文章评论 共有评论 0查看全部

      会员登陆
      热门单词标签
    我的单词印象
    我的理解: