(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
The dry conditions in California are good for people who like to swim in the Pacific Ocean. Because of the drought, there is less water runoff from cities into the ocean. As a result, the ocean water is cleaner. But pollution remains a problem in other areas, including popular beaches.
Angelo Bellomo works for the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health.
"When we have runoff from the urban environment, it could be carrying with it contamination due to animal waste (and) sewage overflows; and if those enter the beaches through the normal pipes that terminate in the ocean, you want to avoid contact with water during those periods."
He adds that people could become infected with a number of diseases from swimming in polluted ocean water.
Public health officials are looking for a fast way to identify water quality levels along the California coast. Currently, they use laboratory tests. If the tests show the quality is poor, warning signs are placed along the coastline. But because lab workers need more than a day to test the water, the information on the sign can be outdated.
Leslie Griffin works for an environmental group called "Heal the Bay." She says the current warning system is not very helpful.
"Right now it takes 18 to 24 hours to get those water quality results, but we think that that is a little ridiculous because we want people to know the day of when they are going in the water whether or not they can be getting sick."
Until lab tests can be completed faster, researchers in California are using what they call a "predictive modeling system." The system makes an educated guess about water quality. Heal the Bay says the system can make a prediction about water quality in as little as 15 minutes.
Researchers use computers to gather information about the environment. The data includes wind speed and direction, information about ocean waves and recent bacterial contamination. Because each beach is different, computer models are created for each one. The researchers then use the data to predict the possible quality of the water that day. The process is called "Nowcasting."
Angelo Bellomo says the predictive modeling system looks promising.
"We think that the modeling that we have seen so far is generally more accurate than the testing that we are doing, and the reason for that is that even though it is a model and its predicting water quality, it is more timely."
Hong Kong and the American state of Ohio have similar methods of predicting water quality.
I'm Marsha James.
词汇解析
1.runoff n. [水文] 径流；决赛；流走的东西 adj. 决胜的
The sewers collected sewage and storm runoff and discharged it, untreated, into the harbour.
污水和暴雨径流汇入下水道后被直接排入海港。
2.sewage n. 污水；下水道；污物
All the sewage drains off into the lake.
所有污水都排入这湖中。
3.contamination n. 污染，玷污；污染物
The contamination of the sea around Capri may be just the beginning.
卡普里岛附近海域的污染也许仅仅是个开始。
4.coastline n. 海岸线
In spite of the fog the crew can distinguish the coastline fairly well.
虽然有雾， 船员们仍能相当清楚地识别出那是岸线。
内容解析
1.When we have runoff from the urban environment, it could be carrying with it contamination due to animal waste (and) sewage overflows;
due to 由于；应归于，应归功于；应归咎于；因…而产生，(作为结果)发生
It was a real prize due to its rarity and good condition.
因为稀有并且品相完好，它价值连城。
The traffic accident was allegedly due to negligence.
这次车祸据说是由于疏忽造成的。
2.and if those enter the beaches through the normal pipes that terminate in the ocean,
terminate in 以...结尾，结局是...
Jane's unhappy married life terminated in divorce.
珍妮的不幸婚姻以离婚而告终。
Our engagement with the Sitwell Company terminated in May.
我们与西特威尔公司的合同五月到期。
参考译文
加州的干旱对于喜欢在太平洋游泳的人来说是件好事，因为干旱，各个城市流入海洋的水更少，这样海洋水就更清洁。但在其他地区污染仍是个问题，包括受人欢迎的沙滩。
安杰洛·贝洛莫就职于洛杉矶郡公共卫生局。
“来自城市环境的径流会携带动物粪便和污水外溢带来的污染，如果它们通过流入海洋的正常渠道进入沙滩，这期间就要避免接触那里的水。”
他说，在污染的海水里游泳人们会感染上多种疾病。
公共卫生官员们在想办法快速识别加州沿海水质水平，目前他们使用的是实验室的测试方法。如果测试显示水质糟糕，就会在沿海设置警告标识。但实验室工作人员需要一天以上的时间来化验水质，所以标识上的信息可能会过时。
莱斯利·格里芬就职于名为“拯救海湾”的环保组织，她说目前的警告系统用处不大。
“目前需要18到24小时才能知道水质结果，我们认为这有点荒谬，因为我们想让人们知道他们下水的当天是否会生病。”
在能更快地完成实验室化验之前，加州的研究者们使用所谓“预测建模系统”，该系统对水质进行有根据的推测，该组织称该系统能在最少15分钟内完成对水质的预测。
研究者使用电脑来收集环境信息，这些信息包括风速和风向，有关海浪的信息，以及最近的细菌污染情况。因为每个沙滩都是不同的，就为每个沙滩制作各自的电脑模型。然后研究者使用这些数据来预测当天可能的水质情况，这一过程被称作“临近预报”。
安杰洛·贝洛莫说这种预测建模系统看来有前途。
“我们认为目前为止看到的这个模型比目前用的化验手段更精确，这是因为即使它只是个模型，它对水质预测的结果也更及时。”
香港和美国俄亥俄州也有类似的预测水质的方法。
我是玛莎·詹姆斯。
译文为可可英语翻译，未经授权请勿转载！
