(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
How to Fight Climate Change? Plant a Trillion Trees
Scientists are asking: What is the best way to fight climate change?
A new study says: Plant many trees; one trillion trees, maybe more.
Swiss scientists say there is enough room for that many trees. In their report in the journal Science, they say even with existing cities and farmland, there is enough space for new trees to cover nine million square kilometers. That is about the size of the United States.
Trees take carbon dioxide out of the air, and in return, put oxygen back into the air.
The study estimated that over a long period of time, the trees could take in almost 750 billion tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. That is about as much carbon as humans have put into the atmosphere in the past 25 years.
What is so bad about carbon dioxide? The gas traps heat, causing temperatures to rise.
Much of the gain from planting trees will come quickly because trees remove more carbon from the air when they are younger, the researchers said. The place that has the best possibility for removing the most carbon is the tropics— the area close to the equator.
This method would also have the lowest cost, says the study co-author Thomas Crowther.
"This is by far — by thousands of times — the cheapest climate change solution" and the most effective, he said. Crowther is a climate change ecologist at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich.
The six nations with the most room for new trees are Russia, the United States, Canada, Australia, Brazil and China.
Before his study, Crowther thought that there were other more effective ways to fight climate change besides cutting emissions. One example could be for people to change their diets by no longer eating meat. But, he said, tree planting is far more effective because trees remove so much carbon dioxide from the air.
Thomas Lovejoy works as a biologist at George Mason University. He was not part of the study. But, he called the report "a good news story" because planting trees would also help stop the loss of biodiversity.
Crowther said planting trees is not a substitute for reducing the world's dependence on oil, coal and natural gas. The carbon dioxide produced by burning these fuels is believed to cause the warming of the atmosphere.
"None of this works without emissions cuts," he said.
And it is not easy or realistic to think the world will suddenly start planting a lot of trees quickly, although many groups have started, Crowther said.
"It's certainly a monumental challenge, which is exactly the scale of the problem of climate change," he said.
The researchers used Google Earth to see what areas could support more trees, while leaving room for people and crops. Lead writer for the study, Jean-Francois Bastin, estimated there is space for at least 1 trillion more trees, but it could be 1.5 trillion.
That is in addition to the 3 trillion trees that now live on Earth -- a number Crowther found in earlier research.
I'm Anne Ball.
重点解析
1.climate change 气候变化
Carbon emissions exacerbate the global climate change problem.
碳排放加剧了全球气候变化问题。
2.carbon dioxide 二氧化碳
Industrialized countries must reduce carbon dioxide emissions.
工业化国家必须减少二氧化碳的排放。
3.close to 接近
It's close to showtime now, so you retire into the dressing room.
开演时间快到了，你得进化妆间了。
4.no longer 不再
You will no longer have a use for the magazines
你再也用不着这些杂志了。
5.The study estimated that over a long period of time, the trees could take in almost 750 billion tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
over a long period of time 很长一段时间后
The inscription of the monument has worn away over a long period of time.
年深月久，碑文已经磨灭了。
Smoking a lot of cigarettes can harm and even kill over a long period of time.
长期大量吸烟会危害身体健康，甚至导致死亡。
6.That is in addition to the 3 trillion trees that now live on Earth -- a number Crowther found in earlier research.
in addition to 除了...之外
In addition to the tractor, we have acquired a new rice transplanter.
除了拖拉机，我们又添了一台插秧机。
There's a postage and packing fee in addition to the repair charge.
除修理费之外还有邮寄和包装费。
参考译文
应对气候变化？种1万亿棵树！
科学家们好奇：应对气候变化的最佳途径是什么？
一项新研究称：答案是种植一万亿棵树，甚至更多。
瑞士科学家们表示，（地球）有足够空间容纳这么多树。他们在《科学》杂志上发表的报告中称，即使在现有的城市和农田的基础上，也有足够空间种植900万平方公里的树，这约等于美国的面积。
树木可以吸收大气中的二氧化碳，然后向大气中释放氧气。
该研究估计，假以时日，这些树木能够从大气中吸收近7500亿吨二氧化碳。这大约是人类过去25年的碳排放量。
二氧化碳有什么危害？它会吸收热量，导致气温上升。
研究人员表示，种植树木的成效很快凸显，因为树苗能够从空气中吸收更多的碳。除碳效果最理想的地方可能是靠近赤道的热带地区。
该研究的合著者托马斯·克劳瑟（Thomas Crowther）称，这种方法的成本也是最低的。
他说：“迄今为止，这是最廉价且有效的气候变化解决方案。”克劳瑟是苏黎世瑞士联邦理工学院的气候变化生态学家。
种植树木空间最大的六个国家分别是俄罗斯、美国、加拿大、澳大利亚、巴西和中国。
在进行这项研究前，克劳瑟认为除了减少碳排放，还有其它更有效应对气候变化的的途径。例如人们改变饮食习惯，不再吃肉。但是，他说植树造林更有效，因为树木可以从空气中去除过量的二氧化碳。
托马斯·洛维乔伊是乔治梅森大学的生物学家。他并未参与这项研究。但是他称，该报告是一个好消息，因为种树还有助于防止生物多样性的丧失。
克劳瑟表示，植树并不意味着减少全球对石油、煤炭、天然气的依赖。据信，这些燃料燃烧后产生的二氧化碳是导致大气变暖的原因。
他说：“如果不减少碳排放，这些都只是缓兵之计。”
克劳瑟表示，尽管很多组织已开始植树造林，但是认为全球突然开始大面积植树并不容易也不现实。
他说：“这当然是一项巨大的挑战，也正是气候变化问题的严重性所在。”
研究人员利用谷歌地球来查看哪些区域可以种植更多树木，同时为人类和庄稼留够空间。该研究的主要作者让 - 弗朗索瓦·巴斯汀估计，全球至少有种植1万亿棵树的空间，但是可能会达到1.5万亿棵。
当然不包括目前地球上已存在的3万亿棵树，克劳瑟在早期研究中发现了这一数字。
安妮·波尔为您播报。
译文为可可英语翻译，未经授权请勿转载！
