今日练习
RESIDENTS have found something else to blame for the toxic smog that envelops many Chinese cities for much of the year. Until recently the culprits that were usually fingered(pointed out) were the obvious ones: emissions from coal-fired power plants, exhaust fumes from cars and dust from building sites. This year, however, reports began to appear in state-run media that climate change is now reckoned to be a factor, too. Chinese scientists say that in eastern China global warming is resulting in less rain and wind to clear the pollutants. The government’s weather bureau illustrated its online account of the discovery with a picture of zombie-looking figures in hazmat suits(防护服) shrouded by haze.
中国许多城市一年大部分时间受雾霾影响，居民们找到了新的原因。在此之前，导致雾霾的原因都是显而易见的：煤电厂排放的废气、汽车尾气和建筑工地的扬尘。但是今年，国有媒体上刊登的报告显示气候变化也是原因之一。中国科学家认为全球气候变暖导致了华东地区降水变少，风力减弱，降低了清除污染物的能力。政府气象局在网上用一张图解释了这一发现。图中穿着防护服犹如僵尸的人被雾霾环绕。
Less than a decade ago China was dragging its feet, believing that the West was trying to use climate change as an excuse to impose policies that would harm China’s economy. In 2009 China’s intransigence(an unreasonable refusal to change your ideas or behaviour) was one of the main reasons why UN-led climate-change talks in Copenhagen failed to make much progress. But by the time of the UN’s climate-change conference in Paris in 2015, much had changed. Li Shuo, a Beijing-based policy adviser for Greenpeace, says China was one of the “major driving forces” behind the consensus that was forged at the meeting.
不到十年前，中国一直认为西方试图以气候变化为借口对中国强加政策，破坏中国经济发展，因此在这个问题上，中国一直拖拖拉拉，不肯采取行动。2009年，中国不愿意妥协也是在哥本哈根举行的联合国主导的气候变化谈判没能取得重大进展的主要原因之一。但到了2015年，在巴黎召开的联合国气候变化会议却发生了很大变化。北京绿色和平组织政策顾问李硕说中国是本次会议达成共识背后主要的推动力之一。
