CNN新闻：全球每年700万人死于空气污染

燕山大学 刘立军 编写

 TRANSCRIPT

There's a good chance that the air you breathe is too polluted to be healthy.

That's according to a new study just released this week by the World Health Organization, which is part of the United Nations. It says the vast majority of the global population is breathing air that has high levels of pollutants. Asia and Africa are the worst continents for this.

But in cities across North and South America, Europe and the eastern Mediterranean, pollution levels are still too high to be what the WHO calls healthy.

The cities in America with the most polluted air included Los Angeles, California, as well as Bakersfield, Fresno and Napa. They also included Indianapolis, Indiana, Louisville, Kentucky, and St. Louis, Missouri. But none of these places have anywhere near the level of pollution that's seen in Peshawar, Pakistan, Cairo, Egypt, and Al Jubail, Saudi Arabia.

The report says pollution isn't just a city air problem. It's bad in people's homes and poor areas of the world, where wood and charcoal power stoves and open fires are used to cook and heat. The upside of the study is that many cities are keeping track of pollution and that can lead to steps to clean it up.

LYNDA KINKADE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Seven million people die each year from a manmade cause, air pollution. That's according to a new study by the World Health Organization.

They also found that nine out of every 10 people on the planet breathes air that contains high level of pollutants.

The WHO says it's the world's most comprehensive database on pollution. The organization collected data from more than 4,300 cities and 108 countries. Although air pollution affects people worldwide, low and middle income countries experience far worse.

Many of the top cities on the list are in India. While attention is usually paid to Delhi and Mumbai, the WHO founded the cities Kanpur, Faridabad, and Varanasi are the top of the list.

Environmentalists warn that India is sitting on a toxic time bomb. The U.S. based Health Effects Institute found that over 1 million people die every year in India alone from the impacts of air pollution.

This pollution is created mostly by car and truck emissions, manufacturing, power plants and farming. The particles in the air are a mix of solid and liquid droplets that get embedded into the lungs when we breathe. It leads to multiple health conditions including asthma, lung cancer and heart disease.

Lynda Kinkade, CNN.

Adapted from http://www.kekenet.com/broadcast/201807/558715.shtml

 VOCABULARY

1. upside n. (单数) the more positive aspect of a situation that is generally bad （糟糕局面的）好的一面，光明的一面，正面

2. droplets n. a small drop of a liquid 小滴

3. embed v. embed sth. (in sth.) to fix sth. firmly into a substance or solid object 把…牢牢地嵌入（或插入、埋入）。例如：

 an operation to remove glass that was embedded in his leg取出扎入他腿部玻璃的手术

 The bullet embedded itself in the wall. 子弹射进了墙里。

 (figurative) These attitudes are deeply embedded in our society (= felt very strongly and difficult to change). 这些看法在我们这个社会中根深蒂固。

4. asthma n. (不可数名词) a medical condition of the chest that makes breathing difficult 气喘；哮喘。例如：a severe asthma attack哮喘严重发作

 QUESTIONS

 A. Asia and Africa.

 B. North and South America. 

 C. Europe and the eastern Mediterranean.  

 D. Asia and Europe.

 A. Los Angeles.

 B. Indianapolis.

 C. Louisville.

 D. Boston.

 Q3. Which of the following statements is FALSE? 

 A. The report says pollution isn't just a city air problem.

 B. Seven million people die each year from air and water pollution.

 C. Over 1 million people die every year in India alone from air pollution.

 D. The pollution is created mostly by car and truck emissions, manufacturing, power plants and farming.

 KEY 

 Q1: A. 细节题。命题出处：That's according to a new study just released this week by the World Health Organization, which is part of the United Nations. It says the vast majority of the global population is breathing air that has high levels of pollutants. Asia and Africa are the worst continents for this. But in cities across North and South America, Europe and the eastern Mediterranean, pollution levels are still too high to be what the WHO calls healthy.

 Q2: D. 细节题。命题出处：The cities in America with the most polluted air included Los Angeles, California, as well as Bakersfield, Fresno and Napa. They also included Indianapolis, Indiana, Louisville, Kentucky, and St. Louis, Missouri.

 Q3:  B. 判断题。正确表述为：Seven million people die each year from air and water pollution. 命题出处：(A) The report says pollution isn't just a city air problem. It's bad in people's homes and poor areas of the world, where wood and charcoal power stoves and open fires are used to cook and heat. The upside of the study is that many cities are keeping track of pollution and that can lead to steps to clean it up.

LYNDA KINKADE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: 

(B)Seven million people die each year from a manmade cause, air pollution. That's according to a new study by the World Health Organization. They also found that nine out of every 10 people on the planet breathes air that contains high level of pollutants. The WHO says it's the world's most comprehensive database on pollution. The organization collected data from more than 4,300 cities and 108 countries. Although air pollution affects people worldwide, low and middle income countries experience far worse. Many of the top cities on the list are in India. While attention is usually paid to Delhi and Mumbai, the WHO founded the cities Kanpur, Faridabad, and Varanasi are the top of the list. Environmentalists warn that India is sitting on a toxic time bomb. (C) The U.S. based Health Effects Institute found that over 1 million people die every year in India alone from the impacts of air pollution. (D) This pollution is created mostly by car and truck emissions, manufacturing, power plants and farming. The particles in the air are a mix of solid and liquid droplets that get embedded into the lungs when we breathe. It leads to multiple health conditions including asthma, lung cancer and heart disease.