2006年VOA标准英语-US Port Partners with Cruise Ship Operators to

By Mil Arcega
Washington, D.C.
24 August 2006
 
watch Seaport¹ report

Cruise ships bring tourists and inject millions of dollars into port cities around the world.  But they also bring a more dangerous cargo² -- pollution.  VOA's Mil Arcega reports one port has partnered with cruise ship operators to reduce the level of airborne pollutants³.

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A cruise ship sails past Seattle's famous Space Needle   
  
Cruise ships can evoke⁴ images of luxury and comfort.  But take a closer look and a different picture emerges.   Global environmental groups say, in just one day, a single smokestack can generate the same amount of pollution as 12,000 cars.  

Dennis McLerran heads Puget Sound's Clean Air Agency.  "Those fine particles in diesel⁵ exhaust lodge⁶ deeply into the lungs.  They affect kids with asthma⁷."

Cruise ship operator Holland America hopes to reduce the harmful emissions⁹ by plugging into the power grid¹⁰ of the northwestern U.S. city of Seattle.  Company president Stein Kruse says the port's giant transformers will allow the company's ships to run on electricity instead of diesel fuel when they dock.

Stein Kruse   
  
"The ships of today and the size of our engines and the power requirements are so substantial and to bring something like this into the city's electrical grid requires a lot of technology," said Mr. Kruse.

It also requires a lot of money.  Princess Cruises spent more than $1 million last year to install the new electrical system at the Seattle port.  And it cost another million dollars to retrofit each ship. 

  
Enormous and multiple electrical connections are needed to power a cruise ship 
  
Holland America is also spending big money. Kruse says the company is testing a new, million-dollar seawater scrubber to clean ship exhaust before it reaches the smokestack. "The seawater will scrub these emissions so the particulate¹¹ matters will go back into the ship and ultimately blended with the sludge and off-loaded."

Experts say the new initiatives will help reduce air pollution by 30 percent.  But environmentalists warn the new technologies will have little impact unless all ships comply.  Emission⁸ standards set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency apply only to domestic ships, even though foreign-flagged vessels¹² account for 90 percent of the pollution at U.S. ports.

1 seaport   

n.海港，港口，港市

参考例句：

• Ostend is the most important seaport in Belgium.奥斯坦德是比利时最重要的海港。
• A seaport where ships can take on supplies of coal.轮船能够补充煤炭的海港。

2 cargo   

n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物

参考例句：

• The ship has a cargo of about 200 ton.这条船大约有200吨的货物。
• A lot of people discharged the cargo from a ship.许多人从船上卸下货物。

3 pollutants   

污染物质（尤指工业废物）( pollutant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Pollutants are constantly being released into the atmosphere. 污染物质正在不断地被排放到大气中去。
• The 1987 Amendments limit 301(g) discharges to a few well-studied nonconventional pollutants. 1987年的修正案把第301条（g）的普通排放限制施加在一些认真研究过的几种非常规污染物上。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

4 evoke   

vt.唤起，引起，使人想起

参考例句：

• These images are likely to evoke a strong response in the viewer.这些图像可能会在观众中产生强烈反响。
• Her only resource was the sympathy she could evoke.她以凭借的唯一力量就是她能从人们心底里激起的同情。

5 diesel   

n.柴油发动机，内燃机

参考例句：

• We experimented with diesel engines to drive the pumps.我们试着用柴油机来带动水泵。
• My tractor operates on diesel oil.我的那台拖拉机用柴油开动。

6 lodge   

v.临时住宿，寄宿，寄存，容纳；n.传达室，小旅馆

参考例句：

• Is there anywhere that I can lodge in the village tonight?村里有我今晚过夜的地方吗？
• I shall lodge at the inn for two nights.我要在这家小店住两个晚上。

7 asthma   

n.气喘病，哮喘病

参考例句：

• I think he's having an asthma attack.我想他现在是哮喘病发作了。
• Its presence in allergic asthma is well known.它在过敏性气喘中的存在是大家很熟悉的。

8 emission   

n.发出物，散发物；发出，散发

参考例句：

• Rigorous measures will be taken to reduce the total pollutant emission.采取严格有力措施，降低污染物排放总量。
• Finally,the way to effectively control particulate emission is pointed out.最后，指出有效降低颗粒排放的方向。

9 emissions   

排放物( emission的名词复数 )； 散发物（尤指气体）

参考例句：

• Most scientists accept that climate change is linked to carbon emissions. 大多数科学家都相信气候变化与排放的含碳气体有关。
• Dangerous emissions radiate from plutonium. 危险的辐射物从钚放散出来。

10 grid   

n.高压输电线路网；地图坐标方格；格栅

参考例句：

• In this application,the carrier is used to encapsulate the grid.在这种情况下，要用载体把格栅密封起来。
• Modern gauges consist of metal foil in the form of a grid.现代应变仪则由网格形式的金属片组成。

11 particulate   

adj.微小的；n.微粒，粒子

参考例句：

• A special group was organized to dig up the particulate of the case.成立了一个专门小组来查明该案件的各个细节。
• Lungs retain relatively insoluble particulate material.肺脏内留有不溶解的颗粒物质。

12 vessels   

n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人

参考例句：

• The river is navigable by vessels of up to 90 tons. 90 吨以下的船只可以从这条河通过。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All modern vessels of any size are fitted with radar installations. 所有现代化船只都有雷达装置。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》