鸽子—伦敦的新一代环保斗士

2016-11-30byRichPreston

疯狂英语·初中天地 2016年6期

关键词：污染

by Rich Preston

翻译：法比仔

鸽子—伦敦的新一代环保斗士

by Rich Preston

翻译：法比仔

环境问题现已成为全球越来越多人关注的焦点，而空气更是我们人类及其他生物赖以生存的必需品。当空气被污染，我们的生活环境又会变成什么样子呢？正是在这个关键时刻，空中翱翔的鸽子摇身变成了人类信赖的环保斗士！想知道可爱的鸽子们是如何为环保做出贡献的吗？一起来看看吧！

1） dropping ［drɒpIŋ】 n. 动物的粪便

2） cite ［saIt】 v. 引述

3） release ［rI'liːs】 v. 发布，释放

4） pressure ［'preʃə】 v. 向……施加压力

5） underway ［'ʌndə'weI】 adj. 正在进行中的

Pigeons in London have a bad reputation. Some people call them flying rats， and many blame them for causing pollution with their1）droppings. But now the birds are being used to fight another kind of pollution in this city of 8.5 million people.

“The problem for air pollution is that it’s been largely ignored as an issue for a long time，” says Andrea Lee. “People don’t realize how bad it is，and how it actually affects their health.”

“London’s poor air quality is linked to nearly 10，000 early deaths a year，” Lee says，2）citing a report3）released by the mayor last year. “If people were better informed about the pollution they’re breathing，” she says， “they could4）pressure the government to do something about it.”

On a windy hill in London’s Regent’s Park， an experiment is5）underway. It all began when Pierre Duquesnoy， the creative director for a marketing firm， won a London Design Festival contest last year to show how a world problem could be solved by using Twitter. Duquesnoy chose the problem of air pollution.

“6）Basically， I realized how important the problem was，”he says. “But also I realized that most of the people around me didn’t know anything about it.”

Duquesnoy says he wants to better measure pollution，while at the same time making the results7）accessible to the public.

“So，” he wonders， “how would we go across the city quickly to try to get as much data as possible？”

Drones are his first thought. But it’s illegal to fly them over London.

“But pigeons can fly above London， right？” he says.“Actually， they are Londoners as well. So， yeah， I thought about using pigeons.”

His next task is to8）link up with a pigeon racer and his9）flock. That’s when Brian Woodhouse came into the picture. He’s a member of the Royal Racing Pigeon Association. He’s kept pigeons for about 65 years.

Woodhouse has brought to the park a10）wicker cage holding seven of his racing pigeons. The birds will be fitted with pollution11）sensors and released in different parts of the city all week. The readings are analyzed to inform Londoners about their air quality.

Woodhouse says pigeons are perfect for the project.

“I liked the sound of it，” he says. “I thought it was an extremely good idea， knowing that the pigeons in the First World War and the Second World War used to fly with12）vital messages for our troops and allies.”

“Today， pigeons can continue to bring important information，” Woodhouse says.

He and Duquesnoy begin attaching tiny13）harnesses around the pigeons’ bodies. Each little14）backpack holds a pollution sensor weighing less than an15）ounce. The sensors measure16）carbon monoxide and other air pollutant levels.

“These little sensors17）track your18）exposure to19）nitrogen dioxide， to20）ozone， to these gases that affect your health，”says Romain Lacombe. “And that’s the technology we’re going to fly on the back of a pigeon through London today.”

Lacombe says his company has developed a mobile app that tracks pollution in about 300 cities， so that people can change their outdoor activities if the air is bad.

So it might be time for Londoners to have more respect for their pigeons. The birds may just be helping to21）improve the quality of the city’s air.