中国政府应该并且加快治理空气

Airpocalypse

“空气末日”(Airpocalypse)

(noun) – the shockingly high levels of air pollutants plaguing major Chinese cities, particularly in winter in the colder north of the country, where coal-burning is the main source of electricity and heating.

名词，指中国主要城市中极其严重的空气污染，特别是在冬季的华北地区，那里的气候较为寒冷，供电和供暖主要靠烧煤。

This portmanteau word was coined at the start of 2013 as dark sulphurous clouds of pollution descended on Beijing, blocking out the sun and sending residents scurrying to buy face masks, air filter machines and air tickets to escape the smoggy Armageddon.

这个英文合成词（由air和apocalypse合成——译者注）是2013年年初被创造出来的。当时，含有硫等污染物的毒雾降临北京城，遮天蔽日，北京的居民纷纷急忙去购买口罩和空气净化器，或乘飞机逃离这个雾霾笼罩的“末日决战场”。

In January and February the volume of harmful microscopic particulates in Beijing’s air reached 60 times the recommended healthy level and the Chinese government issued warnings to people not to go outside or even exert themselves while at home with the windows tightly closed.

2013年1月和2月，北京空气中有害微粒的数量达到健康空气建议标准的60倍，中国政府向民众发出警报，建议大家不要外出，即便是在窗户紧闭的室内也不要剧烈运动。

For many expatriates, especially those with children, the prospect of emphysema and lung cancer proved decisive, and there was an exodus throughout the year that gathered pace as school terms ended.

事实证明，对许多旅居北京（特别是带着孩子一起的）的外国人而言，患上肺气肿和肺癌的可能性是一种切实的担忧。一年来，不断有外国人逃离北京；随着寒假的到来，这种外逃的步伐近来进一步加快了。

Some moved to Shanghai, where they hoped they would be able to avoid the hazy day of judgment, but in recent weeks China’s commercial capital has been enveloped in the same yellow-brown toxic blanket that has become commonplace in the capital.

一些外国人搬到了中国的商业首都——上海，希望在那里可以躲过雾霾弥漫的末日审判。但最近几周，上海同样被这种北京民众已见怪不怪的黄褐色毒雾所笼罩。

At one of the larger international schools in Beijing a decision was made to build a giant hermetically sealed fresh-air dome over the sports field so that students can still play and exercise, even on the most heavily polluted days.

在北京一个规模较大的国际学校，校方决定建一个巨型密封式穹顶，罩在运动场上方，这样一来，即便在污染最严重的日子里，学生也能继续玩耍和锻炼。

The growing concern is partly due to increased awareness about the issue.

人们日益担心空气，部分原因是他们对这个问题的意识增强了。

Not long after the 2008 Olympic Games, the US embassy installed a monitor on its roof to detect the level of PM2.5 – particulate matter measuring 2.5 micrograms or less, which can enter the human blood stream through our lungs – in Beijing’s air.

2008年奥运会后不久，美国驻华使馆在屋顶上安装了一个监测仪，用来监测北京空气中PM2.5的水平。PM2.5是指直径小于等于2.5微米的颗粒物，可通过肺部进入人体血液。

Initially the findings were published only on the embassy’s Twitter feed, limiting the impact because Twitter is blocked in China.

最初，美国驻华使馆仅将监测结果发布在自己的推特(Twitter)页面上，影响程度有限，因为推特在中国是被封禁的。

But with the rise of domestic Twitter-like services such as Sina Weibo, public campaigns by Chinese celebrities eventually forced the authorities to admit the scale of the problem and start publishing more accurate figures.

但随着中国国内类似推特的服务兴起（例如新浪微博），中国一些名人发起的公共运动最终迫使当局承认问题严重，并开始发布更准确的数据。

Unlike “airpocalypse”, which does not yet have a Chinese equivalent, the term PM2.5 (pronounced “PM er dian wu” in Mandarin) has transcended linguistic barriers and is just as likely to be heard from the lips of the average Beijinger as from a native English speaker.

随后，PM2.5这个外来语也跨越了语言的藩篱，成为了北京老百姓耳熟能详的词汇，其普及程度和英语国家别无二致。

China’s ruling Communist party sees the issue as a potential omen of its eventual downfall as the country’s growing middle class increasingly questions the legitimacy of an authoritarian regime that cannot even guarantee its citizens clean air.

执政的中国共产党意识到，空气问题可能为其敲响丧钟，因为该国不断状大的中产阶级日益质疑，这个连让公民呼吸清洁空气都无法保证的威权政权，到底有何合法性？

The government has made some attempts to clean up polluting factories and steel mills, and has vowed to improve fuel standards and limit the number of cars on the country’s gridlocked roads.

中国政府已在清理污染环境的工厂和炼钢厂方面做出了一些努力，并已承诺要提高燃料标准、限制汽车数量（中国的交通拥堵情况已然非常严重）。

But as temperatures drop and the coal-fired power stations stoke their fires, residents in China’s biggest cities are bracing for another dark and depressing winter.

但随着气温降低，燃煤火电厂烧旺炉火，中国大城市的居民面对的是又一个阴郁的冬天。