VOA常速英语2019--德国青少年要求政府对气候变化采取行动

Germany Responds to Youth Demands for Action on Climate Change

In late September, children and teenagers in Germany took the train to their country’s largest “Friday’s For Future” climate change protest.They wanted adults to follow their lead.We hope that politicians create more train connections rather than more flights.The young protesters are demanding less traffic on roads and fewer planes in the sky.I think it’s crazy how many people jump on a plane for short weekend trips. It’s just not necessary for two days. It releases so much co2.Ahead of the UN climate action summit in New York, German Chancellor¹ Angela Merkel announced plans to raise taxes on flights and cut taxes for train tickets.Her government also pledged to invest 1.1 billion dollars every year until 2030 to modernize² the train network, so we can cope with an expected increase in riders.Some of that money will be spent on zero-emissions battery-powered trains.They’ll replace diesel³ trains that release co2 and contribute to global warming.Battery trains are made by the Canadian base aerospace⁴ company Bombardier in a suburb of Berlin.Stephan von Mach, chief engineer of the battery train program says they’ll enter service next year.In the short term, we will be able to replace most of the diesel trains in Europe, because diesel trains in Europe are useless commuter⁵, original trains.So the ultimate goal will be to propel battery trains with renewable energy sources with solar or wind.The steel wheels on trains like this make trains 10 times more efficient than electric buses.A study by German train operator Deutsche Bahn found that trains have a drastically lower carbon footprint than planes, cars or buses.Yet many people are still flying short distances and that bothers young climate activists⁶ like Stella Mederake.But we have the problem in Germany that the prices for trains are much higher than for flying.So people also make short flies to get, for example, from Berlin to Munich although the train only takes four hours.German youth protesters say the government’s train investments are a good start, but do not go far enough.Chancellor Angela Merkel for her part has acknowledged this, saying her government’s plan would fall short of what she called quote “impatient young people’s expectations”.

九月下旬，德国的儿童和青少年乘坐火车前往国家大型“周五走向未来”气候变化抗议活动。他们想呼吁成年人跟随自己的脚步。我们希望相较于航空交通，政客能够打造更多的铁路交通。年轻的抗议者们要求减轻道路交通量，减少空中飞机飞行量。我认为这么多人坐飞机去享受周末短途旅行太疯狂了，那只有两天时间而已，实在没有必要，飞机会释放很多二氧化碳。在联合国气候行动峰会在纽约举办之前，德国总理安格拉·默克尔宣布了提高航班税收和削减火车票税收的计划。其政府还承诺在2030年之前每年投资十一亿美元来实现铁路网络现代化，这样就可以应付预期的乘客增加现象。其中一部分资金将用于零排放电池驱动的火车建设。它们将取代会释放二氧化碳并导致全球变暖的柴油火车。电池驱动列车由位于柏林郊区的加拿大基地航空公司Bombardier制造。电池驱动列车项目的总工程师斯蒂芬·冯·马赫表示，它们将于明年投入使用。在短期内，我们将能够取代欧洲的大多数柴油列车，因为欧洲的柴油列车是用处不大的通勤原始列车。最终的目标将是用太阳能或风能的可再生能源推动电池驱动列车。这种火车上的钢轮使火车的效率比电动公交车高十倍。火车运营商德国铁路公司的一项研究发现，火车的碳足迹比飞机、汽车或公共汽车要低得多。然而，许多人仍然选择短距离飞行，这困扰着像斯特拉·梅德拉克这样年轻的气候活动人士。但德国的问题是，火车的价格比飞机的价格高得多。因此，虽然火车只需要四个小时，但人们也会选择短途飞行，比如从柏林飞到慕尼黑。德国青年抗议者表示，政府对火车的投资是一个良好的开端，但还不够深入。德国总理安格拉·默克尔也承认了这一点，她表示，她领导的政府的计划将达不到这些“怀有热切期待的年轻人的期望”。

1 chancellor   

n.(英)大臣；法官；(德、奥)总理；大学校长

参考例句：

• They submitted their reports to the Chancellor yesterday.他们昨天向财政大臣递交了报告。
• He was regarded as the most successful Chancellor of modern times.他被认为是现代最成功的财政大臣。

2 modernize   

vt.使现代化，使适应现代的需要

参考例句：

• It was their manifest failure to modernize the country's industries.他们使国家进行工业现代化，明显失败了。
• There is a pressing need to modernise our electoral system.我们的选举制度迫切需要现代化。

3 diesel   

n.柴油发动机，内燃机

参考例句：

• We experimented with diesel engines to drive the pumps.我们试着用柴油机来带动水泵。
• My tractor operates on diesel oil.我的那台拖拉机用柴油开动。

4 aerospace   

adj.航空的，宇宙航行的

参考例句：

• The world's entire aerospace industry is feeling the chill winds of recession.全世界的航空航天工业都感受到了经济衰退的寒意。
• Edward Murphy was an aerospace engineer for the US Army.爱德华·墨菲是一名美军的航宇工程师。

5 commuter   

n.(尤指市郊之间)乘公交车辆上下班者

参考例句：

• Police cordoned off the road and diverted commuter traffic. 警察封锁了道路并分流交通。
• She accidentally stepped on his foot on a crowded commuter train. 她在拥挤的通勤列车上不小心踩到了他的脚。

6 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》