译林版牛津高中英语(必修5):Unit2 The environment-Project(3)

Climate change and a low-carbon¹ life

气候变化与低碳生活

There is no doubt that the world climate has been changing in recent years.

毫无疑问，近年来世界气候一直都在变化着。

Many people blame this change on gases such as carbon dioxide².

很多人把这种变化归咎于诸如二氧化碳的气体。

Animals and humans produce carbon dioxide when they breathe.

动物和人类在呼吸时会释放二氧化碳。

However, many other human activities also let off carbon gases.

然而，很多其他的人类活动也会释放出碳气体。

Anytime something is burnt, carbon is put into the atmosphere.

无论什么时候何时燃烧物品，碳都会被释放到大气层。

Cars and other vehicles³ burn petrol in their engines, and electrical power plants most often burns fuels such as coal and oil in order to produce electricity.

汽车和其他交通工具的发动机燃烧汽油，电力型的工厂经常燃烧煤和油等燃料来发电。

Therefore, the more petrol and electricity we consume⁴, the more carbon we are letting off.

因此，我们消耗越多的汽油和电，释放的碳也就越多。

One thing we can all do to help solve this problem is to walk or use a bicycle when possible.

想要解决这个问题，我们都可以做到的一件事就是尽可能的步行或骑自行车。

Although we produce carbon when we breathe, the carbon we produce is much less than that produced by a car.

尽管我们呼吸时释放碳，但我们释放的碳量远不及一辆汽车所产生的含量。

Of course, there are times when we need to travel long distances.

当然，有时候我们需要走很长的距离。

In this case, public transport such as buses and the underground are always much better choices than a private car or a taxi.

遇到这样的情况，可以选择公共交通，比如公共汽车和地铁，这比选择私家车或打车好得多。

If you must drive a car, it is never good to travel alone--you should try to find other people to travel with you.

如果必须要开车的话，最好还是不要独自旅行—你应该找其他人一起旅游。

1 carbon   

n.碳元素

参考例句：

• Diamonds are pure carbon.钻石是纯净的碳。
• Carbon is an element,while carbon dioxide is a compound.碳是一种(化学)元素，而二氧化碳则是一种化合物。

2 dioxide   

n.二氧化物

参考例句：

• The oxygen and the carbon combine to form carbon dioxide.氧和碳化合，形成二氧化碳。
• Carbon dioxide is the largest contributor to the greenhouse effect.二氧化碳太多是道致温室效应的最主要原因。

3 vehicles   

n.运载工具；传播媒介；（为展露演员才华而）特意编写的一出戏（或电影等）；[画]展色剂；交通工具( vehicle的名词复数 )；车辆；传播媒介；手段

参考例句：

• There is not much clearance for vehicles passing under this bridge. 车辆在这座桥下通过时没有多少余隙。
• to carry out random spot checks on vehicles 对车辆进行抽检

4 consume   

vt.花费，消费；毁灭；vi.消费掉；枯萎

参考例句：

• They generally consume more power and take up more space,too.它们通常消耗更多的能量，并且占用更多的空间。
• The British consume a vast amount of tea each year.英国人每年消费大量的茶叶。