【英语趣味课堂】对环境的担忧-Green Concerns

Enam: Katia, what are the environmental problems in your country?

Katia: Well, I can think of three problems. One is water drought¹. The scarcity² of water. Second, we have a lot of air pollution, and third a lot of deforestation.

 

Enam: OK, so can you tell me about deforestation in your country?

 

Katia: Well, Mexico is big and we have areas that have a lot of trees, but unfortunately many factories have been moving into that area in particular and they take down the trees. That has been happening for so long that the areas have increased and because of that a lot of indigenous³ are displaced⁴ as well as a lot the animals have died or it has decreased so unfortunately that has been a big problem in certain parts of Mexico, but then of course there are some things that are being done. For example, the government has placed certain areas that are to remain untouched and also they are bringing more trees in certain areas and planting them and hopefully it will bring the green area back to where it was before.

 

Enam: Really, that's good. But how bad is the water scarcity problem?

 

Katia: Well, water scarcity I think is one of the major problems Mexico has. For example, I can just talk about Mexico city. Mexico City was built on top of a lake and we Mexicans have been using the water from the lake to supply out water needs but this has been going on for so long that we basically⁵ use all the water that was left and now we trying to figure out where to bring water from. This is a big problem that Mexico faces. We don't have many wells that we can get water from. And unfortunately also a big problem is with the piping system a lot of lakes and actually a big percentage of our water is lost through leaks. What is being done about that problem? Well, first, they're fixing the pipes. That's a basic way to start. Also, we are only allowed to use water certain days of the week to water our garden or wash our trees or wash our cars and so yeah, and I think the Mexicans are becoming more conscious on how to use water, so I think hopefully that will help with the water scarcity problem.

 

Enam: And what about air pollution?

 

Katia: Well, actually we also have the air pollution problem, and if you go to Mexico, if it's any day of the week, from Monday to Friday, it's very hard to see the sun. It's always very cloudy. Your skin becomes very dirty actually, and it's very hard to breathe because of the high contamination⁶. There are many cars: too many cars that is really hard to breathe, and you can tell that also by sun. Saturday and Sunday. you can actually see the sun because a lot of the people are not driving since it's the weekend, and also it was said that you could measure the pollution of Mexico City by counting how many dead birds you can find on the streets because of the high contamination, but yeah unfortunately a very bad situation however Mexico has put some rules that if you have a car, you can only drive on certain days of the week, and that anytime so hopefully that has ... that will help in the future to prevent much more contamination and of course there are other things that have been done. There are more parks to help with the pollution, but yeah, I think this is the main thing they have done regarding⁷ the transportation. Just preventing people from driving as much as they want.

 

重点词汇：

 

Learn Vocabulary from the lesson

scarcity

 

The scarcity of water is a concern.

 

We use the word 'scarcity' to talk about resources that are not easy to find or get. People usually want more than is available. Notice the following:

 

The scarcity of oil will become a major concern in the near future.

Northern Mexico is very dry so water scarcity is a big problem.

deforestation

 

Increased deforestation is seriously effecting wildlife.

 

Deforestation means the cutting down of trees and the destruction⁸ of forests by people. Here are two samples:

 

Environmentalists fear that deforestation will contribute to global warming.

Deforestation is destroying large areas of tropical⁹ rain forest.

indigenous people

 

A lot of indigenous people have been displaced.

 

'Indigenous people' are people who naturally exist in a place rather than arriving from another place. Notice the samples:

 

Mistakenly believing he had reached the Indies' Columbus called the indigenous people of the Americas 'Indians'.

Aborigines are Australia's indigenous people.

piping system

 

A big problem is with the piping system.

 

A piping system is how we bring water to cities, buildings and homes. Here are some samples:

 

The rusty¹⁰ old piping system made bottled drinking water a necessity¹¹.

Katia says the local government is fixing the leaky piping system in Mexico city.

conscious

 

People are becoming more environmentally conscious.

 

When we become more conscious of something we begin to notice and pay more attention. Note the sample sentences:

 

People are becoming more and more conscious of global warming.

Because of rising energy costs, I've become more conscious of leaving lights on in my home.

1 drought   

n.旱灾，干旱，久旱

参考例句：

• The plants are growing in again,despite the drought.尽管干旱，植物又长出来了。
• The ground is as hard as stone after the drought.长期干旱后土地硬得就像石头一样。

2 scarcity   

n.缺乏，不足，萧条

参考例句：

• The scarcity of skilled workers is worrying the government.熟练工人的缺乏困扰着政府。
• The scarcity of fruit was caused by the drought.水果供不应求是由于干旱造成的。

3 indigenous   

adj.土产的，土生土长的，本地的

参考例句：

• Each country has its own indigenous cultural tradition.每个国家都有自己本土的文化传统。
• Indians were the indigenous inhabitants of America.印第安人是美洲的土著居民。

4 displaced   

移动( displace的过去式和过去分词 )； 替换； 移走； 撤职

参考例句：

• Gradually factory workers have been displaced by machines. 工厂的工人已逐渐被机器取代。
• He was displaced by another young man. 他已被另一个年轻人顶替。

5 basically   

adv.基本上，从根本上说

参考例句：

• His heart is basically sound.他的心脏基本上健康。
• Basically I agree with your plan.我基本上同意你的计划。

6 contamination   

n.污染

参考例句：

• We must ensure our children against contamination by bad ideas. 我们必须保护我们的儿童不受坏思想的侵蚀。
• There is a danger of serious contamination from radioactive waste. 放射性废弃物有严重污染的危险。

7 regarding   

prep.关于，至于；就…而论，在…方面

参考例句：

• Regarding John,I will write to him at once.至于约翰，我将立即给他写信。
• Regarding these facts,a special committee is to be appointed.鉴于这些事实，必须成立一个专门委员会。

8 destruction   

n.破坏，毁灭，消灭

参考例句：

• The enemy bombs caused widespread destruction.敌人的炸弹造成大面积的破坏。
• Overconfidence was his destruction.自负是他垮台的原因。

9 tropical   

adj.热带的，热带的，炎热的

参考例句：

• You must grow these tropical flowers in a glasshouse.你必须把这些热带花卉种在温室里。
• This disease is widespread in tropical areas.这种疾病在热带地区蔓延很广。

10 rusty   

adj.生锈的；锈色的；荒废了的

参考例句：

• The lock on the door is rusty and won't open.门上的锁锈住了。
• I haven't practiced my French for months and it's getting rusty.几个月不用，我的法语又荒疏了。

11 necessity   

n.必要性，需要；必需品

参考例句：

• I look upon this as an absolute necessity.我认为这是绝对必要的。
• You must understand the necessity of education.你必须懂得教育的必要性。