Overseas Chinese hold posters and China's national flags during a rally supporting 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and opposing "Tibet independence" separatist forces in Ottawa of Canada, April 13, 2008. Some 10,000 Chinese Canadians and Chinese students held a rally in Ottawa Sunday to voice anger at Tibetan separatists' violence in Lhasa and Western media's distorted coverage

　　春天正是沙尘暴肆虐之时。可怕的沙尘暴几乎成了大自然给我们的Irresistible Gift。面对沙尘暴的危害，北京将如何去做？

　　A massive sandstorm has enveloped most of northern China, covering the capital Beijing in a shroud of dense dust and reducing visibility to less than 50 meters in some areas. The storm is the strongest and most intense this spring, and hit China's north on March with fierce winds.

　　一场巨大的沙尘暴席卷了华北大部分地区，将首都北京埋在厚厚的沙尘中，某些地区的能见度甚至低于50米。envelope：包住，裹住；shroud：遮蔽物，罩。

　　Sandstorms are frequent in spring, triggered by sudden seasonal temperature changes. It covers the entire city with layers of sand, and air transportation has been affected in the storm-hit regions, which spread from the west to east of northern China including Gansu and Ningxia provinces as well as the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. Therefore, many people wonder how much worse the weather will become when the spring sandstorms sweep into the mainland one after another.

　　trigger：引发， 触发。

　　很多人担心当春季一场接一场的沙尘暴蔓延至内地后，天气将会糟糕成什么样子。sweep into：迅速蔓延到……。

　　In fact sandstorm has posed a serious threat to the air quality and environment. Sandstorms like these, which occurred in ancient times, are widely known among the herdsmen in Inner Mongolia as "Huang-mao-feng," meaning, "wind that carries yellow sand." In recent years, these sandstorms have occurred more frequently, at shorter intervals, and with greater intensity. A sandstorm on December 31st, 2000 was the first one to hit China in decades. Since then, there has been one every month. We cannot help but ask: is this a phenomenon purely powered by Mother Nature, an occurrence over which we have no control?

　　周期更短，强度更大。

　　我们不禁要问：沙尘暴是一种纯粹的大自然现象，是人类无法控制的事件吗？Mother Nature：指广义上的大自然；occurrence：发生的事情，事件。

　　The fact is that sandstorms are caused largely by human actions--mainly excessive herding and exploitation of the grasslands. Under normal conditions, Inner Mongolia provides grazing for up to some forty million sheep; yet, as many as seventy million sheep have been feeding on that area recently. Because of the increasing price of goats' wool, herdsmen in Inner Mongolia have been hustling to raise goats--a ruminant with a twenty-times greater potential than sheep to destroy the grasslands.

　　主要是过度放牧和对草原的过度开发引起的。exploitation：(对资源等的)开发，开采。

　　grazing：牧草，草场。

　　hustle：赶紧，奔忙(做某事)。

　　山羊是一种反刍动物，其对草原的破坏能力是绵羊的20倍。

　　In these times, desertification is a primary environmental concern. Unrestricted farming is believed to be the main cause of desertification. Serious destruction of vegetation, dating back from the Cultural Revolution in the 60's and 70's to as recently as two years ago, has prompted the ten-thousand-people-plant-trees activity, with an aim of reducing the incidence of sandstorms. However, such measures touch only the tip, but do not address the basis of the problem. No one ever bothers to care for the trees after planting them and so the survival rate of the trees is staggering low. This simply is not a viable method of resolving the problem.

　　desertification：(土壤)荒漠化，沙漠化。

　　这样的措施只不过是蜻蜓点水，并没有触及问题的根源。touch the tip：碰碰末(尖)端，意思是治表未治里。address：对付，处理。

　　staggering：令人惊愕的，使人束手无策的。

　　With the global climate constantly changing, sandstorms are expected to occur more frequently, and humanity will be forced to confront the delayed effects of having recklessly exploited the environment. It is only recently that some of us, who have been pursuing economic goals, have begun noticing the environmental backlash. Perhaps man, who is finally eating his own bitter fruits, will understand that economic development does not have to be at the expense of the environment. Instead, environmental preservation and economic development should go hand in hand. Take herding for example: enclosed herding is better than open herding for preserving vegetation, therefore, there are choices that could be made in this respect, with consideration for the preservation of the ecosystem.

　　直到近年来，我们中的一些人才在谋求经济利益的同时逐渐开始注意到环境的负面反应。backlash：强烈反应，强烈反对。

　　enclosed：用篱笆或围墙封起来的。

　　In the future, one of the most noticeable results of globalization will perhaps be environmental destruction. Desertification is not just happening in China, and the problem of sandstorms does not only occupy the minds of Chinese. The entire world is now being compelled to face the repercussions of over-use of the earth's natural resources, including land exploitation in the pursuit of economic prosperity. We are gradually discovering how closely linked is destruction of the environment in one region, to environmental concerns in other areas around the world.

　　repercussion：(多用复数)，尤指间接、深远、意料之外的反响，后果。

　　As to China, it needs to place more attention on environmental protection as a growing population and rapid urbanization threaten to wreak havoc on an already perilous ecological balance, Premier Zhu Rongji warned last year.

　　当人口增长和迅速城市化对已经很危险的生态平衡造成进一步的威胁时，我们必须把重点置于环境保护上来。wreak havoc：造成极大破坏。

　　China has launched a massive 700 billion-yuan ($84 billion) 5-year environmental protection plan to combat a worsening pollution problem. The plan details goals for pollution control that is wreaking havoc on cities and rural areas throughout the East Asian nation. It will focus on reducing air and water pollution, and cleaning up heavily polluted rivers, lakes and seas. It also focuses on greener construction and infrastructure projects.

　　detail：详述，细说。

　　更为环保的建筑工程与基础设施项目。

　　"Never has the Chinese government put the environment issue in such an important position. It is vital to stability and prosperity of our country and people," Xie Zhenhua, director of the State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA), said.

　　China hopes to have reduced the total amount of pollutants in the air, water and soil. International environmental protection bodies have welcomed the plan and said that it showed that China was beginning to face up to its ecological problem. Undoubtedly, both China and the world are looking forward to the clean sky and clear air.

　眼睛会说话。你知道这些眼神的含义吗？

　　gaze - means to direct your eyes towards something for a long time. 注视；凝视

　　stare - suggests to fix your eyes on somebody or something very deliberately. It can be impolite to stare at somebody. 盯着；目不转睛地看

　　peer - means to look very closely and suggests that it is difficult to see well. 窥视

　　gawk - is often used to show disapproval and means to look at someone or something in a foolish way especially with your mouth open. 呆呆地看着

　　glance - to take a quick look at something. 扫视；瞥一眼

　　peep - means to look at something very quickly, especially secretly or quietly. 偷看

　　inspect - means to examine something closely. 审查；审视

　　feast your eyes - to look at something because you are pleased to see it. 饱眼福

　　小礼仪：

　　在中国，如果两个陌生人相遇，比如两个人同坐一张桌子吃饭，一般两个人都会相互看一眼，而后或进行简单交流，或各自埋头吃饭。

　　The usual response is to behave in a friendly and natural manner, glancing at the other person, perhaps saying 'hello' and exchanging small talk or remaining silent.

　　最好不要故意装作看不到对方，因为这样你会给人局促不安的感觉，对方甚至会怀疑你心中有鬼。

　　If you try hard to avoid the other's glance or you look out of the window as if nobody sat nearby, you would appear so uneasy and so unnatural that you might lay yourself open to suspicion!

　　在聆听他人讲话的时候，你不必总是盯着讲话的人，但是如果说话的人在看你，你应该以自然的眼神回应对方。

　　To gaze intently may show your attentiveness, but is not that necessary. The best way is to look at him or her as naturally as he or she looks at you.

　　当众发言的时候，许多中国人羞于和听众进行眼神的交流，而是一直盯着讲话稿。

　　Some of them, perhaps because of nervousness, like to bury their nose in their manuscrīpt to read their speech all the time.

　　如果你发言的时候没有勇气看听众，那么你也无权要求你的听众会和你形成良好的互动。

　　Speaking in public is also a kind of two-way communication, which needs eye contact from both sides. The speaker will certainly feel embarrassed when he sees that his audience do not look at him. But if he doesn't look at his audience now and then, his audience also has the right not to listen to what he is saying.

　　在英国，眼神的运用会有不同的地方吗？

　　在英国，如果你路遇陌生人，你要做到既不盯着对方打量，也不完全忽视对方。这个尺度该怎么拿捏呢？

　　You may look at the approaching strangers until they are about eight feet away, then your glances must veer away as they pass.

　　当众发言的时候， 他们是不会把脑袋埋在稿子里面说话的。

　　A British lecturer should look at his audience now and then

　　城里人瞧不起农村人，农村人看不上城里人，城里人和农村人总是互相瞧不起。乡巴佬、土包子、官迷、大爷......这些个称呼都带有明显的贬义色彩。

　　美国的城里人和乡下人也会互起贬低对方的称呼。住在像纽约这种大城市的居民往往把乡下人看成是一些土里土气、脑子很简单，而且容易上当受骗的人。他们认为，乡下人只会跟猪和牛打交道，可是不善于和人打交道。这些城里人经常把乡下人称为：hick。Hick这个字和中文里的乡巴佬差不多。

　　例如：See that well-dressed man across the room? That's Mr. Green. When he came to New York 20 years ago, he was only a hick fresh out of the cornfields of Kansas. But he turned out to be a lot smarter than he looked; they say he made ten million dollars last year trading in the stock exchange.

　　你瞧屋子那边那个衣着很讲究的人。那是格林先生。二十年前他来纽约之前，只不过是勘萨斯州种玉米的乡巴佬。他当时虽然看起来不怎么样，但是脑子却非常灵活。他们说，去年他通过买进卖出 股票就赚了一千万美元。

　　又如：My roommate in my freshman year was a real hick. He came from a town so small it didn't have a stop light, a building with an elevator or a movie theater.

　　大学一年级时和我住一个房间的那个同学真是个乡巴佬。他的老家是一个非常小的镇，那里连红绿灯都没有，没有一个楼里有电梯的，甚至连电影院都没有。

　　美国农民的人数现在越来越少了。一百年前，美国有百分之四十二的人生活在农村。可是，随着城镇的发展和农业机械化，美国农民的人数现在已经下降到只占总人口的百分之二点二。在二十世纪，由于交通、收音机和电视的发展，城市和农村的区别已经在很大程度上消除了。可能正是因为这个原因，乡下人用来贬低城里人的名词很有限。他们常用的一个是：city slicker。Slick这个字的意思是很滑溜。所以，一个city slicker 也就是说话很圆滑，衣着很时髦，但是很可能是一个不老实、不可信任的家伙。

　　例如：Yep, I told Susie not to go out with any of them city slickers with their smooth talk and fancy clothes. If she has to go out, look for a farm boy. He may be a hick, but she can trust him a whole lot more.

　　是的，我告诉苏琦不要和那些圆嘴滑舌、衣着讲究的城里人出去玩。要是她一定要出去玩，找一个农村来的男孩。他也许是个乡巴佬，但至少是可以信得过的。

　　又如：Sure, a city slicker looks smart as long as he stays in a place like New York. But you put him down on a farm and he won't do much better than a newborn baby!

　　是的，一个油滑的城里人在像纽约这种地方看起来都很精明。但是，你要是把他送到农村去，他肯定什么也不会干，比一个新生婴儿好不了多少。

你瞧屋子那边那个衣着很讲究的人。那是格林先生。二十年前他来纽约之前，只不过是勘萨斯州种玉米的乡巴佬。他当时虽然看起来不怎么样，但是脑子却非常灵活。他们说，去年他通过买进卖出股票就赚了一千万美元。

 

又如：My roommate in my freshman year was a real hick. He came from a town so small it didn't have a stop light, a building with an elevator or a movie theater.

大学一年级时和我住一个房间的那个同学真是个乡巴佬。他的老家是一个非常小的镇，那里连红绿灯都没有，没有一个楼里有电梯的，甚至连电影院都没有。

 

美国农民的人数现在越来越少了。一百年前，美国有百分之四十二的人生活在农村。可是，随着城镇的发展和农业机械化，美国农民的人数现在已经下降到只占总人口的百分之二点二。在二十世纪，由于交通、收音机和电视的发展，城市和农村的区别已经在很大程度上消除了。可能正是因为这个原因，乡下人用来贬低城里人的名词很有限。他们常用的一个是：city slicker。Slick这个字的意思是很滑溜。所以，一个city slicker 也就是说话很圆滑，衣着很时髦，但是很可能是一个不老实、不可信任的家伙。

 

例如：Yep, I told Susie not to go out with any of them city slickers with their smooth talk and fancy clothes. If she has to go out, look for a farm boy. He may be a hick, but she can trust him a whole lot more.

是的，我告诉苏琦不要和那些圆嘴滑舌、衣着讲究的城里人出去玩。要是她一定要出去玩，找一个农村来的男孩。他也许是个乡巴佬，但至少是可以信得过的。

 

又如：Sure, a city slicker looks smart as long as he stays in a place like New York. But you put him down on a farm and he won't do much better than a newborn baby!

是的，一个油滑的城里人在像纽约这种地方看起来都很精明。但是，你要是把他送到农村去，他肯定什么也不会干，比一个新生婴儿好不了多少。