沙尘暴席卷中国北部,“空气末日”再临北京

Dust Storms Blanket 

Beijing and Northern China

Dust storms enveloped [1] parts of northern  for a second day on Friday, reducing visibility in cities like Beijing and threatening the health of millions of people.

周五，沙尘暴连续第二日笼罩中国北方，致使北京等城市能见度降低，空气污染对成百上千万人的健康构成了威胁。

[1]envelop /ɪnˈveləp/: to cover or surround something completely 覆盖；包住；围绕；笼罩 

The graveyard looked ghostly, enveloped in mist. 

墓地笼罩在薄雾中，显得阴森森的。

Such storms have become an increasingly common phenomenon for the region, as  by gobbling up [2] roughly 1,300 square miles a year. A half-century ago, such storms happened every seven or eight years; now they are an annual occurrence.

随着每年以约1300平方英里的速度扩张，这样的天气现象在中国北方已变得愈发常见。半个世纪以前，这样的沙尘暴每七、八年出现一次，如今每年都会发生。

[2]gobble up: to use a lot of your supply of something, usually money 很快地用掉（通常指钱） 

The mounting legal costs quickly gobbled up their savings. 

日益增加的诉讼费很快耗尽了他们的积蓄。

The storms typically happen in the spring, as strong winds send soil and sand from the Gobi Desert over northern China and even the Korean Peninsula.

沙尘暴通常出现在春季，这个季节，强风会将来自戈壁沙漠的土壤和沙吹过中国北方，有时甚至会吹过朝鲜半岛。

This week's dust storms led to the cancellation of scores of [3] flights and caused pollution in northern China to soar. Beijing's air-quality index hit a dangerous level of 623 on Thursday; the United States government  as "very unhealthy" and 301 to 500 as "hazardous."

本周的沙尘暴导致大量航班取消，北方的污染情况也随之加重。周四，北京的空气指数达到623。美国政府将200以上的数值“非常不健康”，301至500则为“危险”。

[3]scores of: a lot of things or people 许多，大量 

Jack received cards from scores of local well-wishers. 

杰克收到了当地很多好心人送的贺卡。

*by the score：in large numbers 大量地，大批地 

People are leaving the organization by the score. 

人们纷纷脱离了该组织。

[4]reading: [C] the number or amount that a piece of measuring equipment shows 读数（一件测量设备所显示的数字或量值） 

a thermometer reading  温度计读数

Experts tie the problem to the rapid urbanization of northern China, deforestation and climate change. The government has spent billions of dollars planting forests to stop the creeping desertification, but some experts have  it has been effective enough in doing so.

专家将这一问题与中国北方快速的城市化、森林采伐以及气候变化联系起来。为阻止范围不断扩大的沙漠化，政府已在植树造林方面花费了数十亿美元，但一些专家对这样做的有效程度。

The state news media in China said that children and the elderly should stay indoors during the storms. On both Thursday and Friday, the storms were at their worst in the morning, with cities like Beijing clearing later in the day.

中国官方媒体敦促老人与儿童在沙尘暴期间待在室内。周四与周五两天，沙尘暴都是在早间情况最为糟糕，在像北京这样的城市里，沙尘暴在白天有所减轻。

Sand and dust storms  when hot air over the desert destabilizes the lower atmosphere, whipping up [5] strong winds that send huge amounts of sand hundreds or even thousands of miles. 

当沙漠的热空气破坏了低层大气的稳定性，掀起强风，将大量沙土扬至数百、甚至数千英里之外时，就会形成沙尘暴。

[5]whip up: to encourage or cause people to have strong feelings about something 煽动；激起 

She criticized the organization for trying to whip up anti-immigrant prejudice. 

她批评政府试图煽动反移民的偏见。 

He was trying to whip up some enthusiasm for the project. 

他正在试图煽动人们对这个项目的狂热。

The storms have been linked not only to respiratory illnesses but also to lethal epidemics because of the spread of potentially harmful bacteria, viruses and fungal spores.

这样的天气不仅会导致呼吸疾病，还会因散播有可能对人体有害的细菌、病毒及真菌孢子，而产生致命流行病。

The dust storms typically hit [6] northern China after the region is afflicted by high wintertime smog, which is caused by coal-burning power plants, factories and vehicle emissions.

沙尘暴通常会在北京经过冬日雾霾侵袭后席卷中国北方，雾霾通常是由燃煤发电站、工厂和汽车排放所导致的。

[6]hit: If something hits a person, place, or thing, it affects them very badly. 对…造成严重影响

About two hundred people died in the earthquake which hit northern Peru.

大约两百人在那场袭击秘鲁北部的地震中丧生。

The plan to charge motorists to use the motorway is going to hit me hard.

向汽车驾驶员收取高速公路使用费这一方案会严重影响到我。