英闻天下——571 Smog Stirs Firecracker Complaints

 　　China's Ministry¹ of Environmental Protection is warning the air across much of northern China is going to remain seriously polluted through the night.

 

　　The smog shrouding² northern and eastern China has been forcing highway closures and flight cancellations during this Spring Festival travel rush.

 

　　The rail network has continued to operate normally.

 

　　Forecasters are predicting a fresh cold front will sweep into the central and eastern regions in the coming three days, which should help blow away the smog.

 

　　The smog has been creating an online debate about whether or not fireworks should be banned during the Lunar New Year's celebrations.

 

　　Professor Zhou Dadi, a member of the National Expert Team of China for Climate Change, says any decision about whether to ban fireworks should be made based on the weather conditions during the holidays.

 

　　"Even when the weather condition is good in Beijing, fireworks lead to serious pollution in a short period of time. But if everyone wants to set off fireworks, and unfortunately the weather condition is like what it is right now, it will become a big problem. People's health will be seriously affected³. In that condition, whether fireworks can be allowed should be decided⁴ according to the specific situation."

 

　　PM 2.5 readings spiked⁵ above 200 during last year's New Year's eve celebrations largely due to fireworks.

 

　　During last year's Spring Festival, municipal authorities here in Beijing banned firecrackers in 64-thousand different areas and created a schedule to determine when fireworks could be set off.

1 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

2 shrouding   

n.覆盖v.隐瞒( shroud的现在分词 )；保密

参考例句：

• The mist shrouding the walley had lifted. 笼罩山谷的雾霭散去了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A dark stubble was shrouding his strong jaw and dimpled chin. 硕大有凹陷的下巴上满是深色的短须。 来自互联网

3 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

4 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

5 spiked   

adj.有穗的；成锥形的；有尖顶的

参考例句：

• The editor spiked the story. 编辑删去了这篇报道。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They wondered whether their drinks had been spiked. 他们有些疑惑自己的饮料里是否被偷偷搀了烈性酒。 来自辞典例句