用英语谈论天气

　用英语谈论天气

　（到了下午喝咖啡的休息时间，Ben和Yen开始边喝咖啡边聊天。因为Ben以前从没来过中国，于是开始和她聊起了当地的天气问题。）

　　Yen:你一直住在California吗？

　Ben:是啊，我到过很多地方，但我总是住在洛杉矶或那附近。

　　Yen:你知道北京的冬天很冷的。

　　Ben:我已经听说了，有多冷？

　Yen:最低零下10度。

　　Ben:那是摄氏度对不对？要是华氏的话，我马上坐下一班飞机回家。

　　Yen:你的办公室和公寓应该相当暖和的。不过你出门的时候需要穿上厚厚的大衣、戴上手套和帽子。

　　Ben:在北京的冬天，人们喜欢做什么运动？

　Yen:嗯，由于大部分的湖面都结冰了，一些人喜欢去滑冰。我们这里雪下得不多，你们那里呢？

　Ben:很多人一提起California就想起海滩和沙漠，但其实我们那里也有高山，我们可以滑雪。

　　Yen:那里的夏天什么样？

　Ben:和北京一样，又热又干。你最喜欢什么季节，Yen？Yen:我最喜欢春天。北京的冬天大多时候很干燥，什么颜色也没有，但在春天你可以看到鲜艳的绿叶，所有的花也长出来了。你呢？

　Ben:我想我还是最喜欢夏天，也许是因为它是度假季节吧。我喜欢水上运动，当我还是个孩子时，我整个夏天都在海边当救生员。

　　Yen:洛杉矶的环境怎么样，Ben？

　Ben:通常天气很晴朗，但不幸的是你在市中心是不能知道天气好坏的，因为洛杉矶因雾气昭昭的天气而闻名。

　　Yen:哦！为什么会这样？

　Ben:洛杉矶靠海，而且在盆地上，烟雾是由海的水蒸气和空气污染造成的，之后它又被周围的山挡住。

　　Yen:我明白。北京的空气污染也很严重，但比以前要好多了。交通是大不如以前,大多数的车使用的是老的技术，因此不是很干净。

　　Ben:从郊外再回到像北京这样的大城市里，我觉得呼吸这样的空气简直是要了我的命！

　Yen:洛杉矶的街道干净吗？

　Ben:大体上还可以，人们不怎么乱丢废物，有些地方这是很严重的违法行为，可能会被重罚的。

　　Yen:很遗憾中国还是有很多人乱丢废弃物，但是情况一直在好转。

　　Ben:是啊，垃圾桶设得不够多，但城市看起来还可以。这边也有很多的道路清洁工。

　　Yen:来自工农业的长期污染是个非常严峻的问题,有很多河流污染都很严重的。

　Yen:Have you always lived in California, Ben?

　Ben:Yes. I've traveled a lot, but I've always lived in or near L.A.

　Yen:Well, you know that winters in Beijing are pretty cold.

　Ben:So I've heard. How cold?

　Yen:It can go down to minus 10.

　Ben:Centigrade, right? If that's Fahrenheit, I'm on the next plane home!

　Yen:The office and your apartment will be pretty warm, but you'll need a thick coat, some gloves, and a hat when you go out though.

　Ben:What kind of winter sports do people play in Beijing?

　Yen:Well, as most of the lakes are frozen, some people ice-skate. We don't get much snow though. How about California?

　Ben:Most people think of beaches and desert when you mention California, but we also have some big mountains, and you can go skiing.

　Yen:What are summers like?

　Ben:Hot and dry, like Beijing. What's your favorite season, Yen?

　Yen:I really love spring. For most of the winter Beijing is very dry, with no color, but in the spring you have bright green leaves, and all the flowers are out. How about you?

　Ben:I guess I like summer the most, probably because it's vacation time. I really love water sports. When I was a boy, I spent most of my summers on the beach as a lifeguard.

　Yen:What's the environment like in L.A., Ben?

　Ben:It's usually sunny, but unfortunately, you might not know it was a lovely day downtown. L.A. is famous for its smog.

　Yen:Oh! Why's that?

　Ben:L.A. is near the sea, and it's in a basin. The smog is caused by air pollution and water vapor, which gets trapped by the mountains.

　Yen:I see. Beijing's air is also quite polluted, but it's a lot better than it used to be. Traffic's getting worse though. Most of the cars use old technology, so they're not very clean.

　Ben:When I come back to a big city like Beijing after being in the countryside, I feel that breathing this air is killing me!

　Yen:Are the streets clean in L.A.?

　Ben:They're generally okay. People don't throw a lot of litter. It's a serious offence in some places, and you can get a big fine.

　Yen:I'm sorry to say that people still throw a lot of litter in China, but the situation's getting bet－ter all the time.

　Ben:Yes, there aren't many trash cans, but the city

　looks okay. You have a lot more street cleaners over here.

　Yen:Long-term pollution from factories and farming is a serious problem. We have a lot of very polluted rivers.