(单词翻译:单击)
Passage Two
文章2
The shiny gadgets of today will be waste tomorrow.
今天闪闪发光的小器械将会变成明天的废品。
Manufacturers don't talk much about this when they announce the big new thing that will replace your mostly just as good old thing.
当制造商宣布推出一款将取代旧物件的大件新产品时，他们对此并不会谈论过多。
In fact, technology firms often purposely design devices that will not last long and cannot be repaired so that consumers will have to spend their money on a new one.
事实上，科技公司经常故意设计无法长久使用且无法维修的设备，这样消费者就不得不花钱再买一个。
This year, the French government began requiring tech manufacturers to list a repairability score.
今年，法国政府开始要求科技制造商列出产品的可修复性评分。
If a device can be repaired, then its life can be extended, saving consumers money and the planet the burden of so many trashed gadgets.
如果一个设备可以维修，那么它的使用寿命就可以延长，为消费者节省资金，也为地球减轻了承载这么多垃圾设备的负担。
Equipped with this knowledge, consumers can make better choices about which products to buy.
消费者储备了这些知识，就可以更好地选择购买哪种产品。
Some 59 million tons of old TVs, computers, screens, smartphones, washers and other electronics are discarded every year.
每年大约有5900万吨旧电视、电脑、屏幕、智能手机、洗衣机和其他电子产品被丢弃。
This waste is dangerous. Batteries explode in recycling facilities.
这类废品具有危险性。电池会在回收设施中爆炸。
Toxic substances like mercury leak into soil and groundwater and disperse in the air.
汞等有毒物质会渗入土壤和地下水，也会在空气中扩散。
Manufacturing flat screens adds greenhouse gases to the atmosphere.
制造平板屏幕会增加大气层中的温室气体排放量。
We need tech companies to take the lead to solve this problem.
我们需要科技公司带头解决这个问题。
If they won't, governments must make them do so.
如果他们不愿意，政府必须迫使他们这样做。
Although tech companies will often speak of environmental sustainability, many lobby against repair legislation, fearful it will eat into their profits.
尽管科技公司经常谈到环境的可持续性，但许多公司却游说反对维修立法，担心这会侵蚀他们的利润。
Sustainability matters, but marketable design appears to matter more to these companies.
可持续性固然重要，但对这些公司来说，适销对路的设计似乎更重要。
Consumers should support right-to-repair legislation.
消费者应该支持维修权立法。
In this world, damage is a certainty.
在这个世界上，损坏必然存在。
But we cannot leave things broken: A problem of our creation is a problem that can be fixed.
但我们不应该就让东西坏着: 我们创造的问题是可以解决的。
Questions 12 to 15 are based on the passage you have just heard.
请根据你刚刚听到的文章回答问题12至问题15。
Q12. Why did new tech products soon become waste?
问题12：为什么新的科技产品很快变成了废品?
Q13. What did the French government require tech companies to do to help consumers make better choices?
问题13：为帮助消费者做出更好的选择，法国政府要求科技公司做什么?
Q14. What should tech companies do to help ensure environmental sustainability?
问题14：为帮助确保环境的可持续性，科技公司应该做什么？
Q15. What does the speaker think of the problem of waste?
问题15：说话人是如何看待浪费问题的?
