2020年经济学人 针叶换取水资源(1)

Killing¹ two birds with one stone is a desirable objective, but rarely an achievable one.

一石二鸟是一个令人向往的目标，但很难实现。

However, Dinesh Mohan of Nehru University, in Delhi,

然而，德里尼赫鲁大学的Dinesh Mohan认为

thinks he may have worked out how to do it in the case of a pair of local environmental problems.

他可能已经想出了解决当地两个环境问题的方法。

One is the risk of fire in the pine forests cloaking the foothills of the Himalaya.

一个是隐藏在喜马拉雅山山麓的松林火灾风险。

The other is pollution by heavy metals, particularly lead, of some of the country's water supply.

另一个是该国水源中的重金属污染问题，尤其是铅。

The fire risk comes from pines' needle-like leaves. These decay only slowly once shed,

火灾风险来自于松树针状的叶子。一旦脱落，这些叶子腐化进度缓慢，

and thus build up on the ground into thick, inflammable layers. Nor are they just a fire hazard.

因此在地面上形成了厚且易燃的树叶层。它们不仅仅是火灾隐患。

They also slow down the replenishment² of groundwater and make the soil more acidic than it otherwise would be,

它们还放慢了地下水补给的速度，使土壤酸性比正常情况下更强，

discouraging the growth of grass and other non-arboreal plants.

阻碍了草地和其他非树生植物的生长。

The pollution risk comes from lead derived³ from fuels, old water pipes and paint.

污染风险来自于燃料、旧水管和油气中的铅。

Heavy-metal pollution is by no means the only water-quality problem facing India, but it is one of the most pernicious.

重金属污染绝不是印度面临的唯一水质量问题，但却是最致命的问题之一。

Like many other countries, India has adopted the maximum level in drinking water for lead set by the World Health Organisation⁴ (WHO).

和很多其他国家一样，印度采用的是世界卫生组织（WHO）设定的饮用水铅含量上限。

This is ten micrograms per litre. In 2014 (the most recent year for which data are available)

即每升10微克。在2014年（这几年唯一公开的数据）

the country's Central Water Commission reported concentrations above this threshold at 47 of its 387 river-water-quality monitoring stations.

该国的中央水务委员会报告称，在其387个河流水质监测站中，有47个的浓度超过了这一阈值。

The simultaneous solution of the two problems, proposed by Dr Mohan in a paper in ACS Omega, is simple and elegant.

Mohan博士在《ACS Omega》的一篇论文中提到，同时解决这两个问题的方法，既简单又精妙。

It is to use the needles to clean up the water.

即利用针叶净化水源。

One way to extract heavy metals like lead from polluted water is to pass that water through charcoal⁵ filters.

从被污染的水中提取铅等重金属的一种方法是通过木炭过滤器。

Charcoal, or "biochar" as it is now fashionably known in environmental circles, is a porous⁶, amorphous⁷ material,

木炭，或现在环保圈中流行的称呼“生物炭”，是一种多孔无定形材料，

which thereby⁸ folds a large surface area into a small volume. It is composed partly of elemental carbon,

因此这种材料可以将大的比表面积折成小体积。它一部分是由元素碳组成，

but this is accompanied by lots of organic molecules⁹ such as fatty acids, phenols and quinones,

另一部分由很多有机分子，比如脂酸、酚类化合物和醌类

and also by salts of potassium, magnesium¹⁰ and calcium¹¹, all left behind from its previous existence as plant matter.

还有钾、镁和钙的盐类组成，这些都是之前作为植物时所保留下来的。

Many heavy-metal ions react enthusiastically with certain oxygen-containing groups of atoms that form parts of the organic molecules, and thus stick to them.

很多重金属和某些含氧原子群发生剧烈反应，这些原子形成了有机分子一部分，并粘附在有机分子上。

They also, through a process called ion exchange, swap¹² places with potassium, magnesium and calcium ions.

它们还通过离子交换，与钾离子、镁离子和钙离子交换位置。

1 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

2 replenishment   

n.补充(货物)

参考例句：

• Since the wartime population needed replenishment, pregnancies were a good sign. 最后一桩倒不失为好现象，战时人口正该补充。
• Natural replenishment of this vast supply of underground water occurs very slowly. 靠自然补充大量地下水是十分缓慢的。

3 derived   

vi.起源；由来；衍生；导出v.得到( derive的过去式和过去分词 )；（从…中）得到获得；源于；（从…中）提取

参考例句：

• Many English words are derived from Latin and Greek. 英语很多词源出于拉丁文和希腊文。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He derived his enthusiasm for literature from his father. 他对文学的爱好是受他父亲的影响。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 organisation   

n.组织，安排，团体，有机休

参考例句：

• The method of his organisation work is worth commending.他的组织工作的方法值得称道。
• His application for membership of the organisation was rejected.他想要加入该组织的申请遭到了拒绝。

5 charcoal   

n.炭，木炭，生物炭

参考例句：

• We need to get some more charcoal for the barbecue.我们烧烤需要更多的碳。
• Charcoal is used to filter water.木炭是用来过滤水的。

6 porous   

adj.可渗透的，多孔的

参考例句：

• He added sand to the soil to make it more porous.他往土里掺沙子以提高渗水性能。
• The shell has to be slightly porous to enable oxygen to pass in.外壳不得不有些细小的孔以便能使氧气通过。

7 amorphous   

adj.无定形的

参考例句：

• There was a weakening of the intermolecular bonds,primarily in the amorphous region of the polymer.分子间键合减弱，尤其在聚合物的无定形区内更为明显。
• It is an amorphous colorless or white powder.它是一种无定形的无色或白色粉末。

8 thereby   

adv.因此，从而

参考例句：

• I have never been to that city,,ereby I don't know much about it.我从未去过那座城市，因此对它不怎么熟悉。
• He became a British citizen,thereby gaining the right to vote.他成了英国公民，因而得到了投票权。

9 molecules   

分子( molecule的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The structure of molecules can be seen under an electron microscope. 分子的结构可在电子显微镜下观察到。
• Inside the reactor the large molecules are cracked into smaller molecules. 在反应堆里，大分子裂变为小分子。

10 magnesium   

n.镁

参考例句：

• Magnesium is the nutrient element in plant growth.镁是植物生长的营养要素。
• The water contains high amounts of magnesium.这水含有大量的镁。

11 calcium   

n.钙(化学符号Ca)

参考例句：

• We need calcium to make bones.我们需要钙来壮骨。
• Calcium is found most abundantly in milk.奶含钙最丰富。

12 swap   

n.交换；vt.交换，用...作交易

参考例句：

• I will swap you my bicycle for your radio.我想拿我的自行车换你的收音机。
• This comic was a swap that I got from Nick.这本漫画书是我从尼克那里换来的。