VOA慢速英语2015 巴西为迎奥运清理河岸垃圾

AS IT IS 2015-04-18 Brazil Working to Clean Dirty Olympic Bay 巴西为迎奥运清理河岸垃圾

Around the world, people are excited for the 2016 Summer Olympic Games. The host city for the events is Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The city is known as Cidade Maravilhosa – the Marvelous¹ City – because of its beautiful landscapes.

But one body of water in Rio, Guanabara Bay, is not so marvelous. The bay is known for having very polluted waters. The area is filled with raw sewage and trash, from empty water bottles to household furniture floating in the waters.

Guanabara Bay is also the location of the sailing events for the 2016 Olympic Games.

Much of the sewage flowing into Guanabara Bay is untreated. City officials have said they would reduce the amount of raw sewage flowing into the bay by 80 percent before the 2016 Olympic Games begin. But officials noted² recently that they are not likely to meet that goal.

Recently, the Brazilian sailing and environmental organization Instituto Rumo Nautico refused an agreement to help clean the trash in Guanabara Bay. The Associated Press reported that the organization said the agreement presented “institutional risks.”

The organization would have received $6.3 million to help remove waste from the competition areas.  Workers would use what are called eco-boats to pick up floating trash.

Andre Correa is the environmental secretary for the state of Rio de Janeiro. He released³ a statement saying he was disappointed with the decision by Instituto Rumo Nautico.

"The priority⁴ now is to create an emergency plan to clean up the area where the Olympic sailing events will be held,” he said.

Cleaning up Guanabara Bay has been a goal of government officials for many years. But little progress has been made. Hundreds of millions of dollars have been spent on cleanup projects going back more than 20 years. Few observers⁵ believe the situation will improve before the 2016 Olympic Games.

Some famous sailors worry that competitors might become sick from the spray⁶ of the sewage-filled waters. They also worry about possible dangerous boat collisions⁷ with floating couches⁸ or refrigerators.

Officials in Rio say that the Olympic event route will be safe.

A test event is planned for August of this year.  Andre Correa says that “no effort will be spared and we'll join forces so that this year's test event takes place within the expected (water quality levels), as last year's did."

But environmentalists say that the test event last year happened during high tide. Many of the pollutants⁹ and garbage were pushed out of the competition path. If the event takes place during low tide, they say, there may be dangerous consequences.

Words in This Story

marvelous - adj. extremely good or enjoyable; wonderful?

environmentalist – n. a person who works¹⁰ to protect the natural world from pollution and other threats

high tide – n. the tide when the water is at its highest level

landscape – n. an area of land that has a particular quality or appearance

sewage – n. waste material such as human urine and feces that is carried away from homes and other buildings in a system of pipes

1 marvelous   

adj.奇迹般的，惊人的，了不起的

参考例句：

• It'seems to me a most marvelous book.这本书我觉得奥妙之至。
• I congratulate you on this marvelous opportunity.恭喜你获得这样一个极好的机会。

2 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

3 released   

v.释放( release的过去式和过去分词 )；放开；发布；发行

参考例句：

• He was released on bail pending committal proceedings. 他交保获释正在候审。
• With hindsight it is easy to say they should not have released him. 事后才说他们本不应该释放他，这倒容易。

4 priority   

n.优先处理的事，居先，优先（权）

参考例句：

• The development of the national economy is a top priority.发展国民经济是应予以最优先考虑的事。
• Things should be taken up in order of priority.办事应有个先后次序。

5 observers   

n.观察者( observer的名词复数 )；遵守者；观测者；目击者

参考例句：

• According to observers, the plane exploded shortly after take-off. 据目击者说，飞机起飞后不久就爆炸了。
• Some military observers fear the US could get entangled in another war. 一些军事观察家担心美国会卷入另一场战争。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 spray   

v.喷，(使)溅散；n.浪花，飞沫；喷雾

参考例句：

• The liquid came out of the bottle in a spray.液体从瓶子里呈雾状喷出。
• We were wet with the sea spray.我们被海水的浪花溅湿。

7 collisions   

碰撞( collision的名词复数 )； 冲突； （两人之间或对立意见、看法等之间的）冲突； 抵触

参考例句：

• The consequent collisions with state power weakened its impetus. 结果产生和国家权力机构的矛盾使其影响有所消弱。
• Two-dimensional collisions, both elastic and inelastic, may be demonstrated on this table. 在这个桌上，可以演示二维的弹性和非弹性碰撞。

8 couches   

n.长沙发椅( couch的名词复数 )；睡椅；（病人受检查时躺的）长榻；（尤指诊室内的）诊察台

参考例句：

• In the small room we disguise our beds as couches.during the day. 在这间小房间里，白天我们把床改作长椅用。 来自辞典例句
• The furniture was old and comfortable-leather couches, newspaper racks, priceless antique tables. 家具古老而舒适——有皮靠背椅，报纸架，无价的古董桌子。 来自辞典例句

9 pollutants   

污染物质（尤指工业废物）( pollutant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Pollutants are constantly being released into the atmosphere. 污染物质正在不断地被排放到大气中去。
• The 1987 Amendments limit 301(g) discharges to a few well-studied nonconventional pollutants. 1987年的修正案把第301条（g）的普通排放限制施加在一些认真研究过的几种非常规污染物上。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

10 works   

n.作品，著作；工厂，活动部件，机件

参考例句：

• We expect writers to produce more and better works.我们期望作家们写出更多更好的作品。
• The novel is regarded as one of the classic works.这篇小说被公认为是最优秀的作品之一。