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第512期: 清除污染的植物 Plants fighting pollution

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Hello. This is 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English. I’m Neil. And I’m Beth.

你好。这里是BBC英语六分钟。我是尼尔。我是贝丝。

Now, imagine a field polluted by spilled oil.

现在,想象一下被泄漏石油污染的田地。

Toxic waste has mixed into the water and chemical fumes have overtaken the air, leaving animals dead and the land unsafe for humans.

有毒废物混入水中,化学烟雾弥漫在空气中,这导致动物死亡,土地对人类来说不再安全。

Unfortunately, situations like this are common all over the world.

不幸的是,这样的情况在世界各地都很常见。

Cleaning up chemical pollution is dangerous and expensive, and mostly involves highly technological equipment.

清理化学污染既危险又昂贵,而且大多需要高科技设备。

But what if there was a more natural solution?

但如果有一个更自然的解决方案呢?

Recently, scientists have been developing a new technique for cleaning pollution: letting plants do the work instead.

最近,科学家们一直在开发一种清洁污染的新技术:让植物来做这项工作。

Yes, plants like water hyacinths have been used to clean rivers by sucking up oil spilled into the water, and researchers have successfully used fungi to breakdown plastic waste.

是的,像水葫芦这样的植物已经被用来清洁河流了,它可以吸收泄漏到水中的石油,并且研究人员已经成功地利用真菌来分解塑料垃圾。

In this programme, we’ll be hearing about plants that fight pollution, and of course, we’ll be learning some useful new vocabulary too.

在本期节目中,我们将会听到对抗污染的植物,当然,我们也会学习一些有用的新词汇。

Great, but first I have a question for you, Neil.

很好,但首先我有个问题要问你,尼尔。

One word we'll be hearing a lot in this programme is ‘phytoremediation’ – the technique that certain plants use to remove harmful chemicals from polluted environments.

在本期节目中,我们将经常听到一个词“植物修复”,即某些植物从污染环境中去除有害化学物质的技术。

But how do they do this?

但是它们是怎么做到的呢?

Is it by using: a) their leaves? b) their roots? or, c) their seeds?

是依靠a)它们的叶子? B)它们的根? 还是c)它们的种子?

I think some plants clean up pollution using their roots.

我认为有些植物会用它们的根来清理污染。

OK, Neil.

好的,尼尔。

We'll find out the correct answer later.

稍后我们会找到正确答案。

Phytoremediating plants are certainly needed in one of the most oil polluted places on Earth – the delta of the River Niger in Nigeria.

在地球上石油污染最严重的地区之一——尼日利亚的尼日尔河三角洲,修复性植物是必需的。

Ever since oil, known by the nickname, black gold, was discovered there in the 1950s, it's become central to Nigeria's economy.

自20世纪50年代人们在那里发现有“黑金”之称的石油以来,它就成为尼日利亚经济的核心。

But oil spills have devastated the region’s landscape, and there is mistrust between local communities and the multinational oil companies working there.

但石油泄漏已经破坏了该地区的景观,当地社区和在那里工作的跨国石油公司彼此之间也不信任。

Now one woman - and her plants – are trying to fix the problem.

现在,一位妇女和她的植物正试图解决这个问题。

Eucharia Nwaichi is a biochemist from the University of Port Harcourt in Nigeria.

尤查里亚·恩瓦伊奇是尼日利亚哈科特港大学的一名生物化学家。

She uses phytoremediation to clean and protect the region’s land and rivers.

她利用植物修复来清洁和保护该地区的土地和河流。

Discussing Eucharia’s work are, Georgina Rannard, from the BBC climate news team, and, Myra Anubi, presenter of BBC World Service programme, People Fixing the World:

讨论尤查里亚工作的有:来自BBC气候新闻团队的乔治娜·兰纳德,以及BBC全球服务节目《人类拯救世界》的主持人迈拉·阿努比:

Eucharia is a specialist in phytoremediation…

尤查里亚是植物修复方面的专家。

…that word again.

又是那个词。

It basically means plants being used to clean up contaminated environments, right?

它基本上意味着利用植物清理污染的环境,对吧?

Right, and when I met her recently in London she had just won the Maddox Prize.

是的,我最近在伦敦见到她时,她刚刚获得了马多克斯奖。

This is a prestigious award for scientists showing courage in the face of hostility.

这是一项享有盛誉的奖项,奖励那些在饱受争议时表现出勇气的科学家。

Now, the Niger Delta is a really dangerous and challenging place to work in, and despite personal risk to her safety, Eucharia has spent twenty years teaching communities there how these plants can suck up toxic oil from the ground and bring their land back to life.

现在,尼日尔三角洲是一个非常危险并且具有挑战性的地方,尽管她的个人安全存在风险,尤查里亚仍花了20年时间教授那里的社区,告诉他们这些植物是如何从地下吸收有毒石油,使他们的土地恢复生机的。

Eucharia’s work won her a prestigious scientific award.

尤查里亚的工作为她赢得了一个著名的科学奖。

Prestigious means admired and well respected.

久负盛名的意思是受人钦佩和尊敬。

The award recognised the personal risks Eucharia takes in her efforts to bring the land back to life.

该奖项认可了尤查里亚在努力使土地恢复生机中所承受的个人风险。

If you bring something back to life, you make it come alive again, or reanimate it, after it has died.

如果你使某物起死回生,意为你让它再次活跃起来,或者在它死了之后使它复活。

A big problem for climate scientists is being accepted and trusted by the people living in polluted places, but Eucharia has found a way to work with local communities.

气候科学家面临的一个大问题是如何被生活在污染地区的人们接受信任,但尤查里亚找到了一种与当地社区合作的方法。

Listen again to Georgina Rannard, of BBC World Service’s, People Fixing the World, who is followed by Eucharia Nwaichi herself…

再听一遍英国广播公司国际部《人们修复世界》节目的乔治娜·兰纳德的讲话,接下来是尤查里亚·恩瓦伊奇本人。

Her success often comes from getting communities who have deep mistrust of outsiders after broken promises from companies to clean up the oil spills.

她的成功往往来自于让那些对外界极度不信任的社区获得帮助,因为很多公司没有兑现清理漏油的承诺。

She gets them to trust her and then they take ownership for the restoration of their land… and I think Eucharia’s magic formula really relies on diplomacy, trust, and actually charisma which is a very important quality.

她获得了他们的信任,然后他们收回了土地的所有权……我认为尤查里亚的“神奇公式”实际上依赖于外交、信任和魅力,这是一个非常重要的品质。

We have a leadership structure… so you have the chief - like traditional ruler, you have the women leader, you have the youth leader, so you find out who those, and informed them of what you wanna do.

我们有一个领导结构,有酋长——就像传统的统治者,有妇女领袖,有青年领袖,所以你需要找到他们,告诉他们你想做什么。

Local people’s mistrust of big oil companies comes from their broken promises - times when they said they would definitely do something but then failed to.

当地人对大型石油公司的不信任来自于他们的失信——他们经常说一定会做些什么,但后来却没有做。

Eucharia, on the other hand, is trusted because she consults the community by speaking with local chiefs – the rulers, or highest ranking leaders of a tribe.

另一方面,尤查里亚备受信赖是因为她通过与当地酋长(统治者,或部落的最高级别领导人)交谈来咨询社区。

What's more, Eucharia has lots of charisma.

更重要的是,尤查里亚很有魅力。

This personal characteristic is the natural ability to attract, influence and inspire people.

这种个人特征是吸引、影响和激励他人的自然能力。

Taken together, these make Eucharia’s approach a magic formula - a combination of actions that is likely to result in success.

综上所述,这些因素使尤查里亚的方法成为了一个“神奇公式”——一系列行动的结合很可能导致成功。

It’s good to hear a positive environmental news story for once, isn’t it, Neil?

能听到一次积极的环境新闻真是太好了,不是吗,尼尔?

But what's the science behind what Eucharia is doing?

但尤查里亚的行为背后有什么科学依据呢?

How do plants clean up polluted environments?

植物如何净化被污染的环境?

To find that out I need to reveal the answer to my question…

为了找到答案,我需要揭示我问题的答案。

Right, you asked me how plants clean up pollution through phytoremediation.

对,你问我植物是如何通过植物修复法来清理污染的。

I said it was using their roots.

我说的是用它们的根。

And that was… the correct answer!

这就是正确答案!

OK, it's time to recap vocabulary we've learned from this programme, starting with the adjective prestigious, meaning admired and well respected.

好了,是时候回顾一下我们在节目中学到的词汇了,从形容词有声望的开始,它的意思是受人尊敬的。

If you bring something back to life you make it come alive again after being dead.

如果你让某物复活,你就是让它在死后又活了过来。

A broken promise is when you promise definitely to do something but then fail to do what you said you would.

食言是指你承诺一定要做某事,却没有做到。

A chief is the ruler of a tribe, or the most important, highest ranking leader of an organisation.

酋长是一个部落的统治者,或者是一个组织中最重要、级别最高的领导人。

Charisma is a special, natural ability to attract, influence and inspire people.

魅力是一种特殊的、天生的,吸引、影响和激励他人的能力。

And finally, the phrase a magic formula describes a combination of actions that is likely to result in success.

最后,短语“神奇公式”描述了可能导致成功的一系列行动。

Once again our six minutes are up! Bye for now! Goodbye!

我们的六分钟又到了! 再见了! 拜拜!

重点单词   查看全部解释    
ruler ['ru:lə]

想一想再看

n. 尺子,划线板
n. 统治者,支配者

 
diplomacy [di'pləuməsi]

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n. 外交

 
traditional [trə'diʃənəl]

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adj. 传统的

 
devastated ['devəsteitid]

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adj. 毁坏的;极为震惊的 v. 毁坏;摧毁(deva

 
solution [sə'lu:ʃən]

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n. 解答,解决办法,溶解,溶液

联想记忆
hostility [hɔs'tiliti]

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n. 敌意,敌对状态,公开战争

 
ownership ['əunəʃip]

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n. 所有权

 
community [kə'mju:niti]

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n. 社区,社会,团体,共同体,公众,[生]群落

联想记忆
quality ['kwɔliti]

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n. 品质,特质,才能
adj. 高品质的

 
presenter [pri'zentə]

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n. 主持人,提出者,呈献者,

 

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