Increased instances of lung cancer. Respiratory problems. Asthma. Even ugly sperm. The list of noxious side effects China's notorious pollution causes is well known -- a point one Beijing newspaper felt compelled to make in a commentary following recent state-media efforts to spin the country's smog.
肺癌患者增多。呼吸系统疾病。哮喘。甚至是丑陋的精子。中国备受争议的污染所带来的诸多有害副作用是众所周知的。在国有媒体最近宣传中国雾霾的“意外收获”后，一家北京的报纸感觉有必要在一篇评论文章中阐明污染有害的观点。
'It's beyond one's imagination to find 'positive energy' to unite the people in smog,' the Beijing Times said Tuesday ( in Chinese). 'But for some people, one way to show their existence is to treat a funeral as happy event and find pleasure in disasters.'
《新京报》周二说：能在雾霾中找到凝聚人心的“正能量”，这是一般人想不到的。但对于有些人来说，其展示存在感的意义，就是把丧事说成喜事，从不幸中斩获快感。
The commentary came a day after an essay posted on the website of China Central Television outlined the 'five surprising benefits' of the country's severe air pollution ( in Chinese): it unites people, makes them more equal, raises citizen awareness and knowledge and leads to an elevated sense of humor.
这篇评论文章发表的前一天，央视网上发表的一篇文章列出了中国严重空气污染的“五大意外收获”：雾霾让中国人更团结、更平等、更清醒、更幽默、长知识。
The pollution 'unifies the Chinese people' and 'makes the country more equal,' the essay noted, as citizens unite around a common complaint that doesn't discriminate based on age, residence or income.
央视网上的文章指出，雾霾让中国人更团结、更平等，因为大家因为一个共同的问题而团结起来，这个问题不因年龄、住所或收入而异。
While it wasn't clear whether the piece was meant to be genuine or satirical, neither official media outlets nor members of China's online community took too kindly to the broadcaster's apparent attempt at putting a positive spin on the toxic air.
不清楚这篇文章本意如此还是在反讽，但官方媒体机构和中国网民都强烈抨击央视显然是在试图宣传有害空气的做法。
'We lost the sight of blue sky in the smog, but we see clearly an ugly face instead,' the Beijing Times argued.
《新京报》说：雾霾让人看不到蓝天，却意外看到另一种嘴脸。
China's bloggers offered up to CCTV their own suggestions of benefits from the pollution.
中国的微博用户就污染的好处向央视提供了自己的建议。
'Add this to the list: the opportunity to go abroad!' one user of Sina Weibo, China's biggest Twitter-like microblogging platform, wrote.
一位新浪微博用户写道，再加一条，有出国的机会。新浪微博是中国最大的类似于推特(Twitter)的微博平台。
'In the smog, people cannot be seen clearly, so everyone looks more beautiful because all their imperfections are hidden by the smog,' another quipped.
另外一位新浪微博用户调侃道，雾霾天看不清人，每个人看起来都更漂亮，因为瑕疵都被雾霾遮住了。
Social media users also had took exception to a report in the Global Times, a nationalist-leaning tabloid published by the Communist Party flagship newspaper People's Daily, that argued the country's smoky skies benefitted China militarily by interfering with enemy surveillance and weapons guidance systems.
社交媒体用户也对《环球时报》一则文章表示反感，文章称，雾霾天气有利于中国的军事防守，因为雾霾会干扰敌方的侦察活动和武器的制导系统。《环球时报》是共产党机关报纸《人民日报》社主办的具有民族主义倾向的小型报纸。
'These media people are disgusting,' wrote local IBM executive George Chen. 'They have no professional bottom line.'
国际商业机器公司(IBM)的一位本地经理George Chen写到，这些媒体人令人厌恶，他们没有职业底线。
Global Times editor Hu Xijin, writing on Sina Weibo, responded by saying Internet users had taken a 'serious topic' and made a joke of it.
《环球时报》总编胡锡进在新浪微博上回应说，一些互联网用户把严肃文章搞成了娱乐世界。
Last week, Shanghai and other parts of Eastern coastal China were hit by a bout of pollution, the severity of which is normally seen only in Beijing and other northern areas, with Shanghai's pollution level at one point more than 16 times the limit the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency sets for an average 24-hour period. The smog forced nearly 100 flight cancellations as well as some school closures in the region, with officials calling on factories to close and commuters rushing to stock up on face masks and air purifiers.
上周，上海和其他一些东部沿海地区出现严重雾霾，这种程度通常只在北京和其他北方地区才会出现，上海的污染水平一度比美国国家环境保护局(U.S. Environmental Protection Agency)设定的24小时均值限度高16倍。雾霾导致近100个航班取消，迫使该地区一些小学停课，官员们呼吁工厂停产，上班族抢购口罩和空气净化器。
China's leaders have acknowledged the country's pollution problem. In an economic reform blueprint released last month, top Communist Party leaders said they would levy taxes on natural-resource use, beef up monitoring, let markets have a greater say in resource prices and make other moves, though they didn't specify timelines.
中国领导人已经意识到中国的污染问题，他们在上个月发布的经济改革蓝图中表示，要实行资源有偿使用制度，加强监管，使市场在资源定价和其他方面发挥更大的作用，不过他们没有给出具体的时间表。
The pollution isn't only taking a toll on residents' lungs and sperm--it's also hurting China's image abroad. A survey released in the fall showed the number of tourists to Beijing had fallen roughly 50% in the first three quarters of 2013, due at least in part to the poor air quality.
雾霾天气不仅会损害居民的健康，还有损中国的对外形象。秋天发布的一项调查显示，2013年前三个季度，北京的游客数量下降近50%，至少部分归因于空气质量差。
Amid all the gloom and doom, one Weibo user noted there is at least one serious benefit from the pollution: its spurs consumption the country so badly needs to rebalance its export-driven economy.
在雾霾带来种种危害之际，一位微博用户指出，至少有一个领域从中受益：污染能够刺激消费，这正是中国经济从出口主导转向内需拉动所亟需的。
'Smog has increased the consumption of face masks and hospital bills, it promotes the textiles industry and cotton planting, contributing to national GDP,' the user said. 'As the saying goes, distress rejuvenates a nation.'
这位用户称，雾霾增加了口罩消费和医疗费用，促进了纺织业和棉花种植，对GDP做出了贡献。他表示，俗话说，多难兴邦。
Both the CCTV essay of the Global Times story have been removed from their respective organizations' websites.
央视和《环球时报》的文章都已从各自的网站上撤下。