Pollution
污染 I-19 / 019

The word pollution means waste and dirt. It does not sound very good when the two words water and pollution are put together. Thinking about drinking or bathing in polluted water is very unpleasant.

Many wildlife and some human beings are now living where the water is polluted. Water supplies have been polluted by factories, sewage, insect poisons, and trash. Some parts of the world are even in danger of running out of water.

Men have been emptying underground supplies of water without refilling them. Now a serious water problem has developed. Scientists are not sure what to do about it.

Even the oceans are being polluted. Sometimes ships dump waste and trash into the oceans. When you walk along the beach, you can often find trash washed ashore by the tides.

The air over many of the cities is very unhealthy to breathe. Air pollution, called smog, sometimes hangs over a whole area of the country for days. The gases from automobiles go into the air and become a serious problem, too. Factories put waste materials into the air. Even outer space has become cluttered with trash because many objects have been sent up and left to go around the earth.

Some animals and birds lived in the past that you will never see. They have become extinct. Other animals are in danger of becoming extinct.

Some living creatures become extinct because of changes in nature. Floods, earthquakes, and storms may change environments. Sometimes humans destroy animal habitats.

Words and Phrases

pollution [pəˈlu:ʃn] 名 污染

wildlife [ˈwaɪldlaɪf] 名 野生动（植）物

water supplies 水源

sewage [ˈsu:ɪdʒ] 名 污水；（下水道里的）污物

poison [ˈpɔɪzn] 名 毒药，毒物

run out of 用尽

refill [ˌri:ˈfɪl] 动 再注满，重新装满

smog [smɒɡ] 名 烟雾

automobile [ˈɔ:təməbi:l] 名 汽车

outer space 太空；外层空间

clutter [ˈklʌtə(r)] 动 使凌乱

extinct [ɪkˈstɪŋkt] 形 灭绝的，绝种的

habitat [ˈhæbɪtæt] 名（动物的）栖息地，产地

Practice

1. From the following list of words, write the correct answer on each line.

sewage extinct pollution smog

(1) Water supplies have been polluted by factories and________.

(2) Waste and dirt in the air or water are called__________.

(3) Animals and birds that lived in the past but do not live today have become_________.

2. Find a list of animals and birds that are becoming scarce.

________________________________________________________________________________________

译文

污染

污染就是指废物和污垢。如果把水和污染这两个词放在一起就不妙了。想到喝了受污染的水或者在污水中沐浴都非常令人不悦。

很多野生动物和部分人类如今就生活在水源被污染的地区。水源被工厂排放的污水、下水道的污物、杀虫剂和垃圾所污染。世界上有些地方甚至面临水资源耗尽的危机。

人类在用尽地下水之后并没有及时给予补充。现在严重的水问题已经形成，就连科学家们也束手无策。

甚至连海洋也正在遭受污染。有时船只会往海里倾倒废物和垃圾。当沿着海滩散步时，你会经常发现被潮水冲上岸的垃圾。

许多城市的空气都很不健康。空气污染，称为霾，有时会在国家的一整个区域上空悬浮多日。此外，汽车排放到空气中的废气也是一个严重的问题。工厂也把废物排放到空气中。甚至连太空中都乱堆着垃圾，因为很多物体被送往太空并留在那儿绕着地球旋转。

有些过去存在的动物和鸟类现在已经再也看不到了，因为它们已经绝迹。其他动物也正面临灭绝的危机。

一些生物灭绝是因为大自然环境的改变。洪水、地震、风暴都可能改变环境，而有时是人类破坏了动物的栖息地。

练习

1．根据下面列出的单词，在每个空格线上填入正确答案。

（下水道里的）污物灭绝污染烟雾

(1) 水源被工厂排放的污水和________所污染。

(2) 空气或水中的废物和污垢称为_________。

(3) 生活在过去但现在却不存在的动物和鸟类已经__________。

2．请找出一些稀有的动物和鸟类。

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________