时间:2018-12-24 作者:英语课 分类:Scientific American(一)月


英语课

This is Scientific American's 60-Second Science. I'm Cynthia Graber. This will just take a minute.


 


There's a huge, gunky brown cloud that lingers over south Asia and the Indian Ocean each winter. It’s been known to cause respiratory diseases and even cancers in India and China. But scientists didn't really know what was in it. Now they do. Researchers from Stockholm University and colleagues published the results in the January 23rd issue of the journal Science.


The cloud contains black particles called carbonaceous aerosols—basically carbon soot 1. The team used radiocarbon analysis to figure out what parts of the soot come from biomass and what comes from fossil fuels. Biomass typically comes from burning forests for agriculture or burning wood in stoves. And fossil fuel particulates 2 come from sources such as diesel 3 engines or burning coal.


The investigators 4 were surprised to discover that a large percentage of the soot, from almost half to two-thirds, comes from burning biomass like wood and dung for cooking and heat, rather than from coal power plants. Scientists say the good news is that these particles only remain in the atmosphere for a few days or weeks at a time. So once societies can figure out how to reduce biomass burning, that brown sooty haze—and the illnesses it causes—might disappear.


 


Thanks for the minute for Scientific American's 60-Second Science. I'm Cynthia Graber.


 



1 soot
n.煤烟,烟尘;vt.熏以煤烟
  • Soot is the product of the imperfect combustion of fuel.煤烟是燃料不完全燃烧的产物。
  • The chimney was choked with soot.烟囱被煤灰堵塞了。
2 particulates
n.微粒,粒子( particulate的名词复数 )
  • Techniques for controlling particulates include filtering, washing, centrifugal separation, and electrostatic precipitation. 控制颗粒污染物的技术包括过滤、洗涤、离心分离、静电沉降。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
  • Only micronic particulates penetrate to the depth of the lung. 只有微细粒子穿透到肺深部。 来自辞典例句
3 diesel
n.柴油发动机,内燃机
  • 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。
4 investigators
n.调查者,审查者( investigator的名词复数 )
  • This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
  • The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》
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