国家地理:Green: Living room 客厅节电计划

Hi, I'm Paddy Kim. From home theaters to plush sofas, hands down the family room is the coolest place to relax. But what makes this area such an amazing retreat for entertainment could also be adding dollars to your power bill and be affecting your health. But here are some easy ways to trim energy, and take out toxins¹?

More and more flat screen TVs, digital video recorders and theater sounds systems are becoming essential home fixtures². The nest of plugs and wires behind the console is testament³ to how these gadgets⁴ are the fastest growing source of electricity used in the home.

Strangely enough, a good 10% or more of your power bill is actually spent on not using them. What do I mean? Well, if you've got a lot of those electronic devices at home, watch out, 'cause they are, they're kinda like vampires⁵, they are sucking power even when they are turned off.

Televisions, computers, set-top boxes and other digital devices all sip⁶ electricity to power clocks, easy on features and little glowing lights. You can slay⁷ your vampires by unplugging devices when not in use, or use power strips to switch off multiple devices when outlets⁸ are in hard-to-reach areas. If you are expanding the whole entertainment system, consider how much electricity you'll be consuming. The biggest power guzzler⁹ is the television. LCD TVs generally consume less energy than CRTs, while Plasmas can use as much power as your fridge. And when you add on all the peripherals of DVD players and game consoles, you may be increasing your electricity bill by an extra 10%.

Having a happy living space is also about having a healthy one. Traditionally making family rooms comfortable has included wall-to-wall carpet.

Makes a room feel so much cozier, doesn't it? No wonder people love carpet, but the one thing you might not realize about carpet is that it's actually been identified as a potential health hazard. You see, all the tiny fibers¹⁰ of a carpet can trap things like mold, dust, pesticide¹¹ and you are gonna love this, droppings of dust mite¹²s, yep, I'm totally serious. And all of that can trigger allergies¹⁴ which isn't a lot of fun.

Fibers, backings and glue made from synthetic¹⁵ petroleum¹⁶ products are known to give off volatile¹⁷ organic chemicals and can cause irritation¹⁸.

The key to having a carpet is actually cleaning it and cleaning it thoroughly¹⁹ and often. Using a vacuum cleaner like this one with the true help of a filter is a powerful way to remove those dust particles and clean the air too.

These filters are able to remove 99% of allergen particles. A nice alternative to carpet is hard wood. Wood floors made from renewable sources like Forest Stewardship²⁰ Council-certified hard wood, bamboo or cortiles are all good choices.

Following these easy little tips will help you and your family breathe easier, and help create a safer and healthier environment. And while you do that, I'm gonna watch the rest of this movie.

To find out how green your family room is, click on the link below to take the quiz.


hands down: (adv.) Unquestionably. 毫无疑问地
slay: (v.) To kill violently. 凶狠
mite: (n.) A very small contribution or amount of money. 很少量的现金，少量的钱
Forest Stewardship Council: a non-profit organization devoted²¹ to encouraging the responsible management of the world's forests. 林业管理委员会

1 toxins   

n.毒素( toxin的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The seas have been used as a receptacle for a range of industrial toxins. 海洋成了各种有毒工业废料的大容器。
• Most toxins are naturally excreted from the body. 大部分毒素被自然排出体外。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 fixtures   

（房屋等的）固定装置( fixture的名词复数 )； 如（浴盆、抽水马桶）； 固定在某位置的人或物； （定期定点举行的）体育活动

参考例句：

• The insurance policy covers the building and any fixtures contained therein. 保险单为这座大楼及其中所有的设施保了险。
• The fixtures had already been sold and the sum divided. 固定设备已经卖了，钱也分了。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

3 testament   

n.遗嘱；证明

参考例句：

• This is his last will and testament.这是他的遗愿和遗嘱。
• It is a testament to the power of political mythology.这说明，编造政治神话可以产生多大的威力。

4 gadgets   

n.小机械，小器具（ gadget的名词复数 ）

参考例句：

• Certainly. The idea is not to have a house full of gadgets. 当然。设想是房屋不再充满小配件。 来自超越目标英语 第4册
• This meant more gadgets and more experiments. 这意味着要设计出更多的装置，做更多的实验。 来自英汉非文学 - 科学史

5 vampires   

n.吸血鬼( vampire的名词复数 )；吸血蝠；高利贷者；（舞台上的）活板门

参考例句：

• The most effective weapon against the vampires is avampire itself. 对付吸血鬼最有效的武器就是吸血鬼自己。 来自电影对白
• If vampires existed, don`t you think we would`ve found them by now? 如果真有吸血鬼，那我们怎么还没有找到他们呢？ 来自电影对白

6 sip   

v.小口地喝，抿，呷；n.一小口的量

参考例句：

• She took a sip of the cocktail.她啜饮一口鸡尾酒。
• Elizabeth took a sip of the hot coffee.伊丽莎白呷了一口热咖啡。

7 slay   

v.杀死，宰杀，杀戮

参考例句：

• He intended to slay his father's murderer.他意图杀死杀父仇人。
• She has ordered me to slay you.她命令我把你杀了。

8 outlets   

n.出口( outlet的名词复数 )；经销店；插座；廉价经销店

参考例句：

• The dumping of foreign cotton blocked outlets for locally grown cotton. 外国棉花的倾销阻滞了当地生产的棉花的销路。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They must find outlets for their products. 他们必须为自己的产品寻找出路。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

9 guzzler   

n.酒鬼，酒量大的人

参考例句：

• I hope he has not told you I'm a Maotai guzzler. 伯恩：我希望他没告诉你我是喝茅台酒的大王吧。 来自互联网
• When are you gonna get rid of that gas guzzler? 你准备什么时候处理掉那辆“吃”油的大卡车？ 来自互联网

10 fibers   

光纤( fiber的名词复数 )； （织物的）质地； 纤维，纤维物质

参考例句：

• Thesolution of collagen-PVA was wet spined with the sodium sulfate as coagulant and collagen-PVA composite fibers were prepared. 在此基础上，以硫酸钠为凝固剂，对胶原-PVA共混溶液进行湿法纺丝，制备了胶原-PVA复合纤维。
• Sympathetic fibers are distributed to all regions of the heart. 交感神经纤维分布于心脏的所有部分。

11 pesticide   

n.杀虫剂，农药

参考例句：

• The pesticide was spread over the vegetable plot.菜田里撒上了农药。
• This pesticide is diluted with water and applied directly to the fields.这种杀虫剂用水稀释后直接施用在田里。

12 mite   

n.极小的东西；小铜币

参考例句：

• The poor mite was so ill.可怜的孩子病得这么重。
• He is a mite taller than I.他比我高一点点。

13 mites   

n.（尤指令人怜悯的）小孩( mite的名词复数 )；一点点；一文钱；螨

参考例句：

• The only discovered animals are water bears, mites, microscopic rotifers. 能够发现的动物只有海蜘蛛、螨和微小的轮虫。 来自辞典例句
• Mites are frequently found on eggs. 螨会经常出现在蛋上。 来自辞典例句

14 allergies   

n.[医]过敏症；[口]厌恶，反感；（对食物、花粉、虫咬等的）过敏症( allergy的名词复数 )；变态反应，变应性

参考例句：

• Food allergies can result in an enormous variety of different symptoms. 食物过敏会引发很多不同的症状。 来自辞典例句
• Let us, however, examine one of the most common allergies; hayfever. 现在让我们来看看最常见的变态反应的一种--枯草热。 来自辞典例句

15 synthetic   

adj.合成的，人工的；综合的；n.人工制品

参考例句：

• We felt the salesman's synthetic friendliness.我们感觉到那位销售员的虚情假意。
• It's a synthetic diamond.这是人造钻石。

16 petroleum   

n.原油，石油

参考例句：

• The Government of Iran advanced the price of petroleum last week.上星期伊朗政府提高了石油价格。
• The purpose of oil refinery is to refine crude petroleum.炼油厂的主要工作是提炼原油。

17 volatile   

adj.反复无常的，挥发性的，稍纵即逝的，脾气火爆的；n.挥发性物质

参考例句：

• With the markets being so volatile,investments are at great risk.由于市场那么变化不定，投资冒着很大的风险。
• His character was weak and volatile.他这个人意志薄弱，喜怒无常。

18 irritation   

n.激怒，恼怒，生气

参考例句：

• He could not hide his irritation that he had not been invited.他无法掩饰因未被邀请而生的气恼。
• Barbicane said nothing,but his silence covered serious irritation.巴比康什么也不说，但是他的沉默里潜伏着阴郁的怒火。

19 thoroughly   

adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地

参考例句：

• The soil must be thoroughly turned over before planting.一定要先把土地深翻一遍再下种。
• The soldiers have been thoroughly instructed in the care of their weapons.士兵们都系统地接受过保护武器的训练。

20 stewardship   

n. n. 管理工作；管事人的职位及职责

参考例句：

• The organization certainly prospered under his stewardship. 不可否认，这个组织在他的管理下兴旺了起来。
• Last, but certainly not least, are the issues of stewardship and ethics. 最后，但当然不是微不足道的，是工作和道德规范的问题。

21 devoted   

adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的

参考例句：

• He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。
• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。