(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
From VOA Learning English, this is In The News.
Delegates from nearly 200 countries have spent the past two weeks in Warsaw, Poland. More than 9,000 representatives gathered for a United Nations conference on climate change. Organizers called the meeting to work toward a treaty to fight rising temperatures on our planet. The treaty would be signed in 2015 and take effect after 2020.
Several environmental groups walked out of the climate talks earlier this week. They were protesting what they considered a lack of progress towards a deal to limit carbon dioxide and other global warming emissions. Studies have shown links between such gases and the rise in temperatures.
In the United States, the Environmental Protection Agency is leading government efforts to fight climate change. The agency just ended a series of public hearings across the country. The EPA was seeking comments as it considers tightening clean air rules for coal-burning power plants.
America's 1,000 coal-burning power plants supply 40 percent of the nation's electricity. The plants are responsible for one-third of the global warming emissions. The Obama Climate Action Plan has promised to cut the production of such gases.
Mitch McConnell is the leader of the Republican Party in the United States Senate. He spoke at the EPA hearing in support of his home state of Kentucky, which is a major coal producer.
"By now it is clear that this administration and your agency have declared a war on coal. For Kentucky, this means a war on jobs and on our state's economy."
Brian Patton also spoke at the EPA hearing. Mr. Patton comes from a long line of Kentucky coal mine workers. Today he is president of James River Coal Service. His company has dismissed 725 workers over the past six months. He fears that new rules could bring even greater hardship to an area that is already economically depressed.
"Understand, these are communities of just 1,000, 2,000, 3,000 people. And when you have that type of an economic impact due to regulations that come from Washington, DC -- that have very little understanding of what the outcome is for the local folks, for folks that get up and go to work every day and what that impact will be for their families in the future, and that's wrong."
David Doniger is a climate policy expert with the Natural Resources Defense Council, one of the nation's largest environmental groups. He says it is the duty of the EPA to control carbon as a pollutant. He wants the agency to establish new rules that would move the United States toward a cleaner energy environment.
"No one is proposing standards that would knock out all those power plants. We're talking about a shift from the dirtier ones to the cleaner ones, and from all those fossil fuel-powered ones towards renewable and even nuclear sources of energy."
He says the government is responsible for protecting clean air, not protecting old and dirty power stations.
"That's the only way that we can continue to have the way of life we want without running into the wall on climate change impacts, which in turn will come back and destroy the quality of life we have."
The EPA is now considering comments from the nationwide hearings. The agency plans to announce proposed rule changes in June.
And that's In the News from VOA Learning English. I'm Steve Ember.
VOA新闻文本来自51VOA，译文由可可英语提供。未经许可请勿转载。
参考译文
美国之音慢速学英语节目，这里是时事新闻。
过去两周，来自接近200个国家的代表团齐聚波兰的华沙。超过9,000名代表参加了联合国气候变化会议。会议组织者召开该会议是为了制定一项公约，应对不断上升的地球气温。该公约将于2015年签署，2020年后生效。
本周早些时候，几个环保组织退出气候会谈。他们认为限制二氧化碳和其他温室气体排放的协议进展缓慢，以此提出抗议。研究发现，温室气体和气温升高有关。
在美国，环境保护局正在引导政府应对气候变化。环保局在全国各地结束了一系列公众听证会，在考虑加紧燃煤发电厂清洁空气管理条例方面征求意见。
美国1,000家燃煤发电厂供应全国40%的电量。这些发电厂占全球温室气体排放的三分之一。奥巴马的气候行动计划曾经承诺减少温室气体排放量。
麦康奈尔(Mitch McConnell)是美国参议院共和党领袖。他在环保局听证会上发表讲话，支持他家乡所在的肯塔基州，一个重要的产煤基地。
“目前为止，很明显，政府和环保局向煤宣战。对肯塔基州来说，这意味着对就业岗位和整个州的经济宣战。”
Brian Patton也在环保局听证会上发表了讲话。Patton家族从事产煤行业历史悠久。现在，Patton已经是詹姆斯河煤矿服务公司的总裁。过去六个月，他的公司解雇了725名工人。他担心新的规定会让这个原本已经经济萧条的地区更加艰难。
“要理解，这个行业有1,000，2,000，3,000人。当这里受到华盛顿特区制定的条例的经济影响时——这些条例完全不理解会对当地居民造成什么影响，对于那些每天起床就去上班的人有什么影响，将来对于他们的家人会有什么影响。这是错误的。”
David Doniger是美国最大的环保组织自然资源保护协会的气候政策专家。他表示，将碳排放作为污染物进行控制是环保局的责任。他希望环保局能够制定新的法规，让美国步入更加清洁的能源环境。
“没有人提议制定标准淘汰所有发电厂。我们讨论的是从造成污染的发电厂转变为清洁的发电厂，从燃烧石化燃料的发电厂转变为可再生能源甚至核能源的发电厂。”
他表示，政府有责任保护清洁的空气，而不是保护老旧肮脏的发电站。
“这是我们能够继续像现在一样享受生活，而不必面临气候变化带来的影响，从而损害我们的生活质量的唯一方法。”
环保局正在考虑全国范围听证会的评论，计划于6月份宣布新的法规议案。
以上就是今天的美国之音慢速英语时事新闻。我是Steve Ember。
词汇学习
1.treaty n.条约；协议
Hostilities ended with the conclusion of a peace treaty.
和平条约签定以后，战事随之结束。
2.emission n. 排放
States have the option of adopting the even tougher California emission standards.
各州也可以任意选择，是否采用加利福尼亚州更严格的排污标准。
3.tighten vt.& vi. 收紧，（使）变紧
Some countries tighten monetary policy to avoid inflation.
一些国家实行紧缩银根的货币政策，以避免通货膨胀。
4.dismiss vt. 解雇，把…免职
There is doubt about the legality of the company's action in dismiss him.
有人怀疑公司解雇他行为的合法性。
5.outcome n. 结果；成果
The outcome of the court case was disappointing for the family involved.
诉讼案的结果使得涉及本案的这家人非常失望。
6.pollutant n. 污染物
A steady stream of California traffic clogs the air with pollutants.
加利福尼亚川流不息的车流使空气中充斥着污染物。
内容解析
1.The treaty would be signed in 2015 and take effect after 2020.
take effect生效，起作用
The new regulations will take effect tomorrow.
新的规定明天开始生效。
2.Several environmental groups walked out of the climate talks earlier this week.
walk out of辞去
What makes you think you can just walk out of here with our stuff?
是什么让你认为你能安然无恙地带着我们的东西离开？
3.He spoke at the EPA hearing in support of his home state of Kentucky, which is a major coal producer.
in support of支持
I'll mention some facts in support of my argument.
我要举出几个事实来证明我的理论。
4.No one is proposing standards that would knock out all those power plants.
knock out淘汰
The Irish came so close to knocking England out of the European Championships.
爱尔兰队险些将英格兰队从欧锦赛中淘汰出局。
