美国国家公共电台 NPR--Pacific Northwest schools cancel outdoor activities when air quality is unhealthy

Pacific Northwest schools cancel outdoor activities when air quality is unhealthy

Transcript¹

With wildfires still a threat, schools in the Pacific Northwest have recently seen big disruptions. Students and teachers are learning how to live with these ongoing² hazards.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

As if the pandemic was not enough, schools in the Pacific Northwest face another problem - this, too, a problem of something in the air. Katia Riddle³ reports from Portland on the smoke from forest fires.

KATIA RIDDLE, BYLINE⁴: Normally, Portlanders take advantage of every last dry day in the fall to be outside before the rains hit. But on this recent warm day at Irvington Elementary School, parents were picking up kids and hustling⁵ them home. An eerie⁶ haze⁷ of yellow smoke hung in the air.

CLAY HARLEY: It's like a barbecue. It's like everybody's throwing - it's like every household has a barbecue going right now.

RIDDLE: Clay Harley (ph) is picking up his grandson, Roman (ph).

HARLEY: What's up, buddy⁸? Did you guys go outside today during recess⁹?

ROMAN: No.

HARLEY: Right.

ROMAN: So at school, we didn't get to go outside today because of the smoke. We still had to do indoor recess in a small room and stuff.

RIDDLE: What did you think about that?

ROMAN: Well, it made me feel mad.

RIDDLE: How come?

ROMAN: Because the tire swings are more fun.

RIDDLE: At another school a few miles away, Sam Balto teaches PE.

SAM BALTO: Children do better when they're more physically¹⁰ active.

RIDDLE: Balto's lesson plan this day was teaching kids how to strike the ball with their feet. It didn't go so well when he had to unexpectedly move to the gym. Balls were bouncing off walls. Kids were kicking other kids. The constraints¹¹ led to behavior problems, he says.

BALTO: Any of us, if we were more confined, we would have a harder time staying focused.

RIDDLE: Tens of thousands of kids stayed inside last Thursday. Air quality reached unhealthy levels, and schools canceled outdoor activities. Gabriela Goldfarb is the manager of Environmental Public Health at the Oregon Health Authority.

GABRIELA GOLDFARB: The thing that we are most - that we most care about for immediate¹² impacts are particulates¹³.

RIDDLE: Particulates - tiny pieces of matter carried by smoke. Health officials say they're dangerous in the short term, especially for people with breathing issues. But there could be long-term impacts, too. The Oregon Health Authority uses science from national agencies to put out guidance for schools about when there are too many particulates in the air to let kids outside. But calculating risk is both science and art, says Goldfarb.

GOLDFARB: Actually, I just got off another smoke call, huddling¹⁴, trying to come up with how to adjust our air advisories¹⁵.

RIDDLE: It's only in recent years the agency has added this to the list of hazards to monitor.

GOLDFARB: We're trying to strike that balance and give schools and families the tools they need to manage things.

RIDDLE: Reta Doland is a superintendent¹⁶ in rural Oakridge, Ore. On top of the physical effects, she says there's also mental health concerns. Last month, three-quarters of her students evacuated¹⁷ because of a wildfire. A question that haunted her - where did they go?

RETA DOLAND: Are you in a campground in a forest?

RIDDLE: Many Oakridge families were already in unstable¹⁸ housing situations.

DOLAND: Are you in a trailer in a parking lot in one of our stores? Are you in a trailer that has a very bad roof on it, and it leaks, and there's no way to keep smoke out?

RIDDLE: This community has been coping with dangerous air quality for more than a month now. But around here, dealing¹⁹ with wildfires is a way of life. There's a trick people have, says Doland, to manage the anxiety - always have a list of the things you need to take with you if you have to leave fast. Doland has two lists - one for herself and one for the schools, where 500 children are in her care.

Katia Riddle, NPR News, Portland.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

3 riddle   

n.谜，谜语，粗筛；vt.解谜，给…出谜，筛，检查，鉴定，非难，充满于；vi.出谜

参考例句：

• The riddle couldn't be solved by the child.这个谜语孩子猜不出来。
• Her disappearance is a complete riddle.她的失踪完全是一个谜。

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 hustling   

催促（hustle的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• Our quartet was out hustling and we knew we stood good to take in a lot of change before the night was over. 我们的四重奏是明显地卖座的， 而且我们知道在天亮以前，我们有把握收入一大笔钱。
• Men in motors were hustling to pass one another in the hustling traffic. 开汽车的人在繁忙的交通中急急忙忙地互相超车。

6 eerie   

adj.怪诞的；奇异的；可怕的；胆怯的

参考例句：

• It's eerie to walk through a dark wood at night.夜晚在漆黑的森林中行走很是恐怖。
• I walked down the eerie dark path.我走在那条漆黑恐怖的小路上。

7 haze   

n.霾，烟雾；懵懂，迷糊；vi.(over)变模糊

参考例句：

• I couldn't see her through the haze of smoke.在烟雾弥漫中，我看不见她。
• He often lives in a haze of whisky.他常常是在威士忌的懵懂醉意中度过的。

8 buddy   

n.（美口）密友，伙伴

参考例句：

• Calm down,buddy.What's the trouble?压压气，老兄。有什么麻烦吗？
• Get out of my way,buddy!别挡道了，你这家伙！

9 recess   

n.短期休息，壁凹（墙上装架子，柜子等凹处）

参考例句：

• The chairman of the meeting announced a ten-minute recess.会议主席宣布休会10分钟。
• Parliament was hastily recalled from recess.休会的议员被匆匆召回开会。

10 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。

11 constraints   

强制( constraint的名词复数 )； 限制； 约束

参考例句：

• Data and constraints can easily be changed to test theories. 信息库中的数据和限制条件可以轻易地改变以检验假设。 来自英汉非文学 - 科学史
• What are the constraints that each of these imply for any design? 这每种产品的要求和约束对于设计意味着什么？ 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

12 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

13 particulates   

n.微粒，粒子( particulate的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Techniques for controlling particulates include filtering, washing, centrifugal separation, and electrostatic precipitation. 控制颗粒污染物的技术包括过滤、洗涤、离心分离、静电沉降。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
• Only micronic particulates penetrate to the depth of the lung. 只有微细粒子穿透到肺深部。 来自辞典例句

14 huddling   

n. 杂乱一团, 混乱, 拥挤 v. 推挤, 乱堆, 草率了事

参考例句：

• Twenty or thirty monkeys are huddling along the thick branch. 三十只猴子挤在粗大的树枝上。
• The defenders are huddling down for cover. 捍卫者为了掩护缩成一团。

15 advisories   

n.（有关进展、动向、建议等的）报告( advisory的名词复数 )；公告；通告；通报

参考例句：

• Compliance with Practice Advisories is optional. 是否遵守实务公告由审计师自行选择决定。 来自互联网
• Hardened-PHP: not as such a PHP security information website, but it does have security advisories. 增强PHP:不仅仅是一个PHP安全新的网站，它还提供安全建议。 来自互联网

16 superintendent   

n.监督人，主管，总监；(英国)警务长

参考例句：

• He was soon promoted to the post of superintendent of Foreign Trade.他很快就被擢升为对外贸易总监。
• He decided to call the superintendent of the building.他决定给楼房管理员打电话。

17 evacuated   

撤退者的

参考例句：

• Police evacuated nearby buildings. 警方已将附近大楼的居民疏散。
• The fireman evacuated the guests from the burning hotel. 消防队员把客人们从燃烧着的旅馆中撤出来。

18 unstable   

adj.不稳定的，易变的

参考例句：

• This bookcase is too unstable to hold so many books.这书橱很不结实，装不了这么多书。
• The patient's condition was unstable.那患者的病情不稳定。

19 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。