英闻天下——568 No Fireworks for Spring Festival?

 　　Heavy air pollution recently hit many places in north China. It inspired a heated debate over whether officials should ban the use of fireworks, which is a tradition of Lunar New Year celebrations.

 

　　Bloggers have responded with much divergence¹ on the issue.

 

　　For:

 

　　@ Jiang Nan Mi Mi: Fireworks should already have been banned. They are dangerous and can cause a lot of noise in addition to scattered² paper rubbish and air pollution. Do you know how much fireworks rubbish sanitation³ workers have to clean up every year during the Spring Festival?

 

　　Against:

 

　　@ Chou Mi Zi Mao Miao: What's the fun of Spring Festival if setting off fireworks is banned? The government should put more emphasis on how to control coal combustion⁴, the fuel quality and polluting factories. These are the major factors of air pollution instead of a few days of a fireworks spree.

 

　　@ bluedd: Fireworks should not be banned. It's a tradition that needs to be preserved. But we can set off fireworks and firecrackers in a temperate⁵ manner. If the air quality is worsening, we can set off fewer.

1 divergence   

n.分歧，岔开

参考例句：

• There is no sure cure for this transatlantic divergence.没有什么灵丹妙药可以消除大西洋两岸的分歧。
• In short,it was an age full of conflicts and divergence of values.总之，这一时期是矛盾与价值观分歧的时期。

2 scattered   

adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的

参考例句：

• Gathering up his scattered papers,he pushed them into his case.他把散乱的文件收拾起来，塞进文件夹里。

3 sanitation   

n.公共卫生，环境卫生，卫生设备

参考例句：

• The location is exceptionally poor,viewed from the sanitation point.从卫生角度来看，这个地段非常糟糕。
• Many illnesses are the result,f inadequate sanitation.许多疾病都来源于不健全的卫生设施。

4 combustion   

n.燃烧；氧化；骚动

参考例句：

• We might be tempted to think of combustion.我们也许会联想到氧化。
• The smoke formed by their combustion is negligible.由它燃烧所生成的烟是可忽略的。

5 temperate   

adj.温和的，温带的，自我克制的，不过分的

参考例句：

• Asia extends across the frigid,temperate and tropical zones.亚洲地跨寒、温、热三带。
• Great Britain has a temperate climate.英国气候温和。