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  3. 　　　　　 The Environment in Perspective: Is Everything Getting Steadily Worse? Much of the discussion of environmental pr

　　　　　 The Environment in Perspective: Is Everything Getting Steadily Worse? Much of the discussion of environmental pr

admin2011-01-23  61
问题     　　　　　     The Environment in Perspective:
   Is Everything Getting Steadily Worse?
   Much of the discussion of environmental problems in the popular press leaves the reader with the impression that matters have been growing steadily worse, and that pollution is largely a product of the profit system and modern industrialization. There are environmental problems today that are both enormous and pressing, but in fact pollution is nothing new. Medieval cities were pestholes—the streets and rivers were littered with garbage and the air stank of rotting wastes. At the beginning of the eighteenth century, a German traveler reported that to get a view of London from the tower of St. Paul’s, one had to get there very early in the morning "before the air was full of coal smoke."
   Since 1960 there has been progress in solving some pollution problems, much of it the result of concerted efforts to protect the environment. The quality of the air in most Canadian cities has improved. In Toronto, for example, the concentration of suspended particulates, or soot, in the air has fallen dramatically since 1962. To put this figure in perspective, it should be noted that the current health advisory level for the index is 32. At a level of 58, people with chronic respiratory diseases may be affected. At 100, even healthy people may be affected by prolonged conditions, and those with cardiac and respiratory diseases could suffer severe effects
   Recently in Toronto, the index has exceeded 32 on fewer than half a dozen days annually. Similar improvements have occurred elsewhere in Canada and in other industrialized countries. Even the famous, or rather infamous, "fogs" of London are almost a thing of the past. There have been two high readings of particular note in the British capital in 1959 (when the index rose to 275 and there was a 10 percent increase over the normal number of deaths) and in 1962 (when the index rose to 575 and there was a 20 percent increase in mortality ). But more recently, London’s, cleaner air has resulted in an astounding 50 percent increase in the number of hours of winter sunshine. In short, pollution problems are not a uniquely modem phenomenon, nor is every part of the environment deteriorating relentlessly.
   Environmental problems do not occur exclusively in capitalist economies. For example, in the People’s Republic of China, coal soot from factory smokestacks in Beijing envelops the city in a thick black haze. Similarly, smoke from brown-coal furnaces pollutes the air almost everywhere in Eastern Europe. It has been estimated that a third of Poland’s citizens live in areas of "ecological disaster". The citizens of Leipzig, a major industrial city in what was formerly East Germany, have a life expectancy a full six years shorter than the national average.
   However, we do not mean to suggest that all is well with the environment in market-oriented economies or that there is nothing more to do. While there have been some improvements, serious problems remain. Our world is now subject to a number of new pollutants, most of which are far more dangerous than those we have reduced, even though they may be less visible and less malodorous
   While environmental problems are neither new nor confined only to capitalist, industrialized economies, these facts are not legitimate grounds for complacency. The potential damage that we are inflicting on ourselves and on our surroundings is very real and very substantial.
选项
答案　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　环境透视 我们的生存环境真的每况愈下么? 大众媒体对环境问题的诸多讨论，常常给读者留下这样一种印象：问题还在日益恶化，污染在很大程度上是利益驱动和现代工业化的产物。当今环境问题确实非常严重，但是污染问题并非始自今日。中世纪的城市就是疾病的温床——街道、河面上丢弃着垃圾，空气中散发着阵阵腐臭。18世纪初，曾有一名德国游客报道说，若想在圣保罗大教堂的塔楼上一览伦敦风光，就必须一大清早乘煤烟还没在空气里散漫开来时赶到那儿。 自1960年起，污染问题一直在改善。这是人们同心协力保护环境的结果。加拿大大部分城市的空气质量都得到了明显改善。比如多伦多，这座城市的空气悬浮粒和烟尘的密度自 1962年后便大幅度降低。为了更好地看这一问题，需要先说明一点：目前，空气健康指数为32；该指数为58时，患有慢性呼吸道疾病的人易受感染；空气指数在100，时间一长，正常人也会受到感染，患有心脏病和呼吸道疾病的人则会严重发病。 近年来，多伦多一年中空气指数超过32的天数总计少于6天。加拿大其他地区，和其他工业化国家的环境状况也同样得到了改善。就连著名的，或曰“臭名昭著”的“雾都”伦敦也成了陈年旧事。这个英国首都城市曾有过两次超高指数记录：一次是1959年，当时空气质量指数超过275，死亡率比正常高出10%；另一次发生在1962年，指数直逼575，死亡人数猛增了20%。近年来，伦敦的空气清新了很多，冬季的日照时间惊人地延长了50%。简言之，空气污染并非现代社会独有的问题，而且也不是所有的环境问题都在恶性发展。 环境问题并不仅仅眷顾资本主义国家，中国也不例外。北京的烟囱排出的大量煤灰使整座城市笼罩在厚厚的黑雾之中。同样，在东欧，黑煤炉排出来的烟灰，到处污染着空气。据有关方面估计，三分之一波兰民众居住在“灾难性”的生态环境。东德工业重镇莱比锡居民的人均寿命比全国平均寿命整整短了六年。 然而，这并不意味着市场经济国家的环境没有问题，无须进一步改善了。尽管环境的确在一定程度上得到了改善，但形势依然严峻。现在我们正受到许多新的污染物的侵害，其危险性远远超过我们治理过的污染物，尽管它们不易为肉眼察觉，气味也小得多。 尽管环境问题不是什么新问题，也不局限于资本主义工业化国家，但是我们没有理由心安理得，高枕无忧。我们还在对自身和我们的环境造成潜在的损害，这一点是真真切切，确确实实的。
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