VOA常速英语2019--非洲非清洁能源影响居民健康（在线收听）

Patrick Mdluli developed lung problems shortly after he moved to South Africa’s coal mining heartland.

帕特里克有了肺病，但他还没搬到南非的采煤中心多久。

The mines, the dust, pollution. You go to the doctors. They ask you. They tell you the very same thing.

到处都是矿山、灰尘和污染。你去看医生的时候，医生问诊后，回复都是一样的。

Are you living next to a mine? Yes, I’m. Are you living next to a dumping site? Yes, I am.

你是不是住在矿山旁边？是的。你是不是住在垃圾场附近？是的。

South Africa’s coal industry is in Mdluli’s backyard.

南非的煤炭业就在帕特里克家后山。

This past farming area of South Africa last year earned an unfortunate distinction of having the world’s worst air quality, says Greenpeace.

南非的这片农业区去年不幸地获得了一个名号——全球空气质量最差的地方，绿色和平组织如是说道。

And it shows, says the head of one of Middleburg’s main clinics, children and adults are paying the ultimate price when we say ultimate price is the neural cognitive loss of neural cognitive development.

米德尔堡主要诊所的负责人表示，我们发现：孩子和成年人要为这一切买单。我们所说的“买单”是指丧失神经认知发展的神经认知。

Children’s infant mortality rate is higher in our area than other areas, adults heart attacks and respiratory disease much higher.

婴儿死亡率在我们地区要比其他地区更高，而且成年人患心脏病和呼吸病的比例也更高一些。

So people are paying with their lives across the board because of these pollutants in the air.

所以，总体而言，空气污染问题导致人们付出了损害生命的代价。

Doctor Tayob blames the coal mining industry and poor governance.

医生Tayob将这一切归罪于煤矿开采和治理不力。

Residents say the coal companies have done little to improve the community.

许多居民表示，煤炭公司为社群贡献寥寥。

One cannot be faulted in thinking is there some level of corruption operating this area as well with these big boys are getting away with murder literally literally getting...

完全可以这么想：这个地区存在某种程度的腐败，而且这些操控权力的大手谋害了他人的性命却可以逃之夭夭。

It’s just a reality. I mean I’d like somebody to to come up and dispute this fact and challenge me on there.

这就是现实，我倒希望有人站出来跟我争辩这不是现实，挑战我的说法。

VOA contacted three of the area’s larger coal mines for comment. None responded.

我台联系了该地区3家较为大型的煤矿，想听听他们的看法。但他们都拒绝回应。

Environmental activists Bafana Hlatshwayo is lobbying to shift to a cleaner resource ----the region’s abundant sunshine.

环境保护活动家Bafana Hlatshwayo正奔走呼号，倡导人们转向更为清洁的能源——该地区取之不尽的太阳能。

We’re not saying we want to close down the mines.

我们并不是倡导关闭所有煤矿。

We must go the renewable energy way, so when we talk about their energy renewable a way we are saying people will manufacture solar panels inside South Africa, and they are the ones who supposed to install the solar panels and the other ones who are supposed to maintain the solar panels.

而是想倡导我们必须选择清洁能源，这样一来，每当我们提到清洁能源是一种出路的时候，我们其实是在鼓动大家在南非制造太阳能电池板，告诉大家——他们中的一些人应该安装太阳能电池板；另一些人应该维护太阳能电池板。

But that is a faraway dream from Mlludi and his neighbors who complain unemployment is high and all of them including the children have health problems.

但这是一个遥远的梦想，对于帕特里克是如此。而且他的很多邻居都抱怨失业率居高不下。其中还有存在健康问题的孩子。

The area they say used to be beautiful.

在他们的口中，以前这个地方是很美丽的。

It’ s endless pollutant, now, booming.

而现在只有无尽的污染在不断的发酵。

It’s not the part anymore.

再也不是以前的样子了。

It’s an endless pollutant.

只有无尽的污染。

Coal powers the vast majority of South Africa’s power grid. It’s what keeps this country moving forward economically.

煤炭是南非电网的主要能源，保持着南非经济的增长。

But for communities like this that live in the shadow of coal mines and lack basic services like electricity and running water, sometimes that progress seems very far away.

但对于一些这样的社群来说，他们生活在煤矿的阴影之下，缺少基本服务，比如电、自来水，有时候，这种经济的进步看起来还是很遥远。