VOA慢速英语听力：美国城市为高温紧急情况做好准备了吗？ Are American Cities Prepared for Heat Emergencies?

VOA慢速英语听力：美国城市为高温紧急情况做好准备了吗？ Are American Cities Prepared for Heat Emergencies?

Planet Earth’s recent record-breaking heat is causing concern for scientists and others worldwide. In the United States, experts question if American cities are safe for their populations during heat waves.

行星地球最近创下了破纪录的高温，这引起了全球科学家和其他人的担忧。在美国，专家们质疑在热浪期间，美国的城市是否对居民安全。

A heat wave is a period of higher-than-normal heat that lasts for many days in a row.

热浪是一段高于正常温度的持续多天的时期。

In 1995, a heat wave in Chicago killed more than 700 people. Most of the deaths were in poor and majority Black neighborhoods. Many homes in those areas were without air cooling equipment.

1995年，芝加哥的一场热浪导致700多人死亡。大多数死亡人数集中在贫困和黑人居多的社区。这些地区的许多住宅没有空调设备。

And, the city’s electric power grid was unable to keep up with air cooling demands as well. Electricity outages resulted. Temperatures stayed close to 40 degrees Celsius for a week.

同时，该城市的电网也无法满足空调需求。电力中断是其结果。温度连续一个星期接近40摄氏度。

Chicago has made major changes since then. New operations include a huge public communication and relocation effort. They tell people when hot weather is coming and move them to safer, cooler living spaces when necessary. 芝加哥自那时以来已经做出了重大改变。新的行动包括大规模的公共沟通和重新安置工作。当天气变热时，他们会告知民众，并在必要时将他们转移到更安全、更凉爽的居住空间。

Other cities in the country have established similar operations, including Los Angeles, California and Miami, Florida. A local "chief heat officer" leads planning and response efforts in those cities and others. 其他美国城市也已建立了类似的行动，包括加州洛杉矶和佛罗里达州迈阿密。这些城市和其他地方都有当地的“首席热浪官员”领导规划和应对工作。

But some scientists and city planning experts worry that existing measures and policies are not enough. 但一些科学家和城市规划专家担心现有的措施和政策不足够。

Eric Klinenberg is a social sciences professor at New York University who wrote a book about Chicago's deadly heat wave. 纽约大学社会科学教授埃里克·克林伯格（Eric Klinenberg）撰写了一本关于芝加哥致命热浪的书。

"I don't know a single city that is truly prepared for the worst-case scenario," he said. 他说：“我不知道哪个城市真正为最坏的情况做好了准备。”

In Chicago, city leaders worked to identify people who are in danger on very hot days. Those people get text messages and other warnings when hot weather is coming. 在芝加哥，市领导们努力识别出在炎热的日子里处于危险中的人们。当天气变热时，这些人会收到短信和其他警告。

But a system that works in one place may not work in another, says anthropologist Bharat Venkat. He directs the Heat Lab program at the University of California, Los Angeles. 但人类学家巴拉特·文卡特（Bharat Venkat）表示，在一个地方奏效的系统可能在另一个地方不奏效。他是加利福尼亚大学洛杉矶分校的热浪实验室项目负责人。

Venkat said many places suffer from what is called "thermal inequality." He said cities should spend money to protect their workers and people. That may sound costly, but doing nothing will be even more costly, he said. 文卡特表示，许多地方都面临所谓的“热不平等”问题。他说，城市应该花钱保护他们的工人和人民。这听起来可能很昂贵，但他表示不采取任何行动的代价将更高。

Cities in France, Germany and India all have new systems to keep people safe during heat waves. The changes came after heat events caused thousands of deaths in recent years. 法国、德国和印度的城市都有新的系统来保护人们在热浪期间的安全。这些变化是在近年来热浪事件导致数千人死亡之后发生的。

Ladd Keith is a professor at the University of Arizona. He said the east coast city of Baltimore, Maryland, has a good heat warning system. Others such as Los Angeles, Miami and Phoenix, Arizona do, too. But he said, "there are still over 19,000 cities and towns without them." Ladd Keith是亚利桑那大学的教授。他说马里兰州巴尔的摩市在东海岸拥有良好的热浪预警系统。洛杉矶、迈阿密和亚利桑那州凤凰城等地也有类似的系统。但他表示，“仍有超过19,000个城市和城镇没有这些系统。”

Inkyu Han is a health scientist at Temple University in Philadelphia. He said cities should make low-cost cooling units available to people who do not have much money. But there are simple things to do that can lower the temperature of cities, he added. Cities can plant trees and establish more green spaces, for example, especially in the areas where poor people live. Inkyu Han是费城的坦普尔大学的健康科学家。他说城市应该为没有太多钱的人提供低成本的冷却设备。此外，他还补充说，有一些简单的措施可以降低城市的温度。例如，城市可以种植树木，建立更多的绿地，尤其是在贫困人口聚集的地区。

Han is one of a number of people who discussed the problems low-earning people face during very hot days. Han是一群讨论低收入人群在炎热天气中面临问题的人中的一员。

He noted that poor areas were most affected by Chicago's heat wave in 1995. 他指出，1995年芝加哥的热浪最严重地影响了贫困地区。

Noboru Nakamura is a professor of atmospheric sciences who studies extreme weather at the University of Chicago. He listed the city's improvements since 1995, but he said "resource inequity is something you can't really get rid of overnight. And we still have the same issue that we had back then, today." He called it a "big, big, big unsolved problem." Noboru Nakamura是芝加哥大学研究极端天气的大气科学教授。他列举了自1995年以来该市的改进措施，但他表示“资源不平等不是一夜之间就能解决的问题。而且我们今天仍然面临着同样的问题。”他将其称为一个“巨大的、巨大的未解决问题”。

I'm Dan Friedell. And I'm Faith Pirlo. 我是丹·弗里德尔（Dan Friedell）。我是费丝·皮尔洛（Faith Pirlo）。

Words in This Story

grid –n. the network of power centers and power lines that deliver electricity to homes and buildings

relocation –n. the act of moving something from one place to another

scenario –n. a description of what might happen

anthropologist –n. a person who studies humans and human culture

thermal –adj. having to do with heat

unit –n. one item of a product

strain –n. stress or something that is hard to manage

utility –n. a company that provides essential services such as power, water and gas

renter –n. a person who lives in a building or home owned by someone else

inequity –adj. describing something that is not balanced or fair

get rid of –v. to eliminate or end