(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
This is Scientific American — 60-Second Science. I'm Christopher Intagliata.
You've probably seen those little cards in hotel rooms: towel on the floor if you want a fresh one, towel on the rack if you'll use it again. And using towels more than once means less laundry, which saves water and energy. But you don't pay the utility bills at the hotel. So, do you really care?
Well: a new study in the journal Nature Energy suggests hotel guests really are motivated to conserve—for factors other than money.
"The study actually shows that even if people have zero financial benefits, they still respond to this kind of feedback for environmental reasons."
Verena Tiefenbeck studies information systems research and behavioral economics at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich. Her team studied the lodger energy use issue by installing smart shower meters in six Swiss hotels—265 rooms in all.
The meters displayed an ongoing tally of water and energy use as guests were washing up. Twenty-thousand showers later, the scientists found that their simple intervention encouraged guests to use 11 percent less energy per shower. That's compared to guests in a control group who simply saw the water temperature displayed on the meter.
This finding probably won't revolutionize the bottom line for hotels, though: each smart meter would save a hotel only about 20 bucks a year. But in homes, where most people take most of their showers, the savings actually could add up for the individual. And devices like these could help consumers focus their efforts where they matter most.
"Most people think they should switch off the lights, which isn't the most effective thing to do. And they don't know the big end users would be space heating and water heating." So now you know. Even without a smart device, if you want to cut your energy bill try lathering up just a bit faster. Of course, if you're staying at the Bates Motel maybe skip the shower altogether.
Thanks for listening for Scientific American — 60-Second Science. I'm Christopher Intagliata.
参考译文
这里是科学美国人——60秒科学。我是克里斯托弗·因塔利亚塔。
你可能在酒店房间看到过那种小卡片：如果您需要更换毛巾，请将旧毛巾放在地板上；如果您要继续使用，请将旧毛巾放在架子上。多次使用毛巾可以减少洗涤次数，这继而可以节水节能。但是你不用支付酒店的水电费。这样看来，你真的在乎吗？
《自然·能源》期刊上的一项新研究表明，真的有钱以外的因素能激励酒店客人采取节约行为。
“这项研究显示，即使人们没有获得任何经济收益，他们仍会为了环境原因而对这种反馈做出回应。”
维雷娜·蒂芬贝克在位于苏黎世的瑞士联邦理工学院（简称ETH）研究信息系统研究和行为经济学。她的团队在瑞士6家酒店的256个房间安装了智能淋浴表，以研究酒店客人的能源使用情况。
客人洗漱时，仪表会实时显示水和能源的消耗量。科学家发现，在2万次淋浴之后，他们的简单介入使客人每次淋浴的能源消耗减少了11%。这是对比控制组客人的情况所得出的结论，控制组只能在仪表上看到水温。
不过这一发现可能并不会彻底改变酒店的盈利情况：每台智能仪表每年仅能为酒店节省20美元。但在住宅情况就不同了，因为大多数人最常在家里洗澡，每个家庭成员节约的能源可以积少成多。这些设备能让消费者把精力集中在他们最关注的地方。
“大多数人认为应该关灯，但这并不是最有效的节能方法。他们不知道空间采暖和水加热才是真正的大型消耗能源终端。”现在你知道了。即使没有智能设备，如果你想削减能源开支，只要快点儿洗澡就行了。当然，如果你住在贝茨旅馆，也许你可以完全不用洗澡了。（注：《贝茨旅馆》是一部悬疑美剧）。
谢谢大家收听科学美国人——60秒科学。我是克里斯托弗·因塔利亚塔。
译文为可可英语翻译，未经授权请勿转载！
重点讲解
重点讲解：
1. other than 除了…以外；
We're going away in June but other than that I'll be here all summer.
我们六月份外出；除此以外，我整个夏天都在这里。
2. wash up 洗脸；洗手；
He headed to the bathroom to wash up.
他走进洗手间去洗漱。
3. add up 积少成多；聚沙成塔；
Even small savings can add up.
甚至从小处节省下来的钱也能积少成多。
4. switch off 关掉，关上(电灯等)；
She switched off the coffee-machine.
她关掉了咖啡机。
