VOA慢速英语:Good News: Earth's Ozone Hole is Healing(翻译)

There is big news about the environment: Scientists say a hole in Earth’s protective ozone layer is starting to heal.
目前，发布了关于环境的重大新闻：科学家们表示保护性臭氧层的空洞正在缩小。

A new study confirms the hole is getting smaller. A report on the study was published late last month in the journal Science.
最新的研究证实了臭氧空洞正在缩小。上月月底，《科学》杂志发表了有关此次研究的报道。

The scientists say the reason for the improvement is a reduction in the release of man-made chemicals into Earth’s atmosphere. These chemicals are called chlorofluorocarbons or CFCs for short.
科学家们表示，臭氧空洞得以改善的原因是往地球大气层中释放的人造化学物质减少了。这些化学物质被称作是含氯氟烃（CFC）。

It’s a big surprise, said Susan Solomon, the lead writer of the report. "I didn’t think it would be this early," she said.
该报道的首席作者Susan Solomon写道：“这着实让人吃惊。我没想到这么早就出现了好转。”

Solomon is an atmospheric chemist and works at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Solomon是名大气化学家，在麻省理工学院工作。

Ozone is a form of oxygen gas. It is found in the air we breathe and in the upper atmosphere. Near Earth, ozone in the air is a danger to life. It is a pollutant. But the ozone layer, 10 to 50 kilometers up in the atmosphere, protects life on Earth.It helps to block dangerous ultraviolet (UV) waves from the sun. It stops them from reaching the planet’s surface.
臭氧是氧气的一种形式。我们呼吸的空气以及高层大气中都有臭氧。地球附近空气中的臭氧对生命有害。是一种污染物。但10至50千米高空中的臭氧则对地球起保护作用。臭氧层能够将来自太阳的有害紫外线挡在外面，不让其到达地球表面。

Researchers first discovered the hole in the ozone layer over Antarctica more than 30 years ago.The new report credits the shrinking ozone hole to a worldwide ban on chlorofluorocarbons.
30多年以前，研究人员首次在南极上空发现了臭氧层。最新的报道认为臭氧空洞缩小应当归功于全球范围内禁止含氯氟烃的排放。

CFCs once were commonly used in many products, including aerosols, cleaning substances, refrigerators and plastics. Scientists found that when released into the air, the chemicals damaged the ozone layer, creating the hole.
CFCs一般用于很多产品中，其中包括气溶胶、清洗物质、冰箱以及塑料制品。科学家们发现，CFCs释放到空中之后，会破坏臭氧层造成臭氧空洞。

CFCs were banned when world leaders signed an agreement called the Montreal Protocol in 1987.
1987年，全球领导人签署《蒙特利尔议定书》之后，便开始禁止CFCs的排放了。

Susan Solomon compared the ozone hole to a patient that needs healing.
Susan Solomon将臭氧空洞比作是一名需要治愈的患者。

It isn’t just that the patient is in remission,’’ Solomon said. He’s actually starting to get better. The patient got very sick in the ‘80s when we were pumping all that chlorine into the atmosphere."
“这名患者不仅出现了症状缓解，”Solomon说道，“实际上是逐渐好转了。80年代我们将氯化物排向大气层中时，这名患者的症状非常严重。”

Measurements taken in September showed the ozone hole has shrunk since the year 2000. The new numbers show that the hole is smaller by 4.5 million square kilometers. That is about half the area of the U.S. mainland.
9月份进行的测量显示，自2000年起，臭氧空洞出现了缩减。最新的数据显示臭氧空洞缩减了450万平方千米。约是美国本土面积的一半。

One year was different, however. In 2015, the ozone hole got bigger, not smaller. After looking at scientific records, Solomon said that increase resulted from a natural event. She said it was caused by the eruption of the Calbuco volcano in Chile.
但其中一年则属例外。2015年，臭氧空洞却是扩大了。查看科学记录之后，Solomon表示臭氧空洞扩大源于一次自然事件。是由智利卡尔布科火山爆发造成的。

While the healing is coming earlier than many scientists expected, it is an ongoing, continuing process. The ozone hole will not be completely closed for at least another 30 years. Estimates are it will close by around 2050.
臭氧空洞开始缩减比很多科学家预期的都要早，这是一个不间断的持续过程。至少还要30年的时间，臭氧空洞才能修复完毕。预计将于2050年恢复正常。

We can now be confident that the things we’ve done have put the planet on a path to heal, Solomon said.
Solomon说道：“现在，我们可以很自信的说，我们所做的一切已经让地球走上‘痊愈’的道路。”

There is a sense of ‘mission accomplished,’’’ said Mario Molina in an email to VOA. Molina works at the University of California, San Diego. He shared the 1995 Nobel Prize for Chemistry for his research on the ozone issue. He praised this latest study, but was not involved in it.
Mario Molina在发给VOA的一封邮件中表示：“我们有一种‘完成使命’的感觉。”Mario Molina在圣地亚哥加利福尼亚大学工作。他因对臭氧的研究获得了1995年诺贝尔化学奖。他对最新的研究表示赞赏，但并未参与此项研究。

However, there is other news about Antarctica that is not as good.
但是，有关南极洲还有不好的消息。

For the first time in four million years, Antarctica registered carbon dioxide (CO2) levels above the level of 400 parts per million.That information comes from U.S. scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
400万年来，南极洲二氧化碳的水平首次超过了千分之零点四。信息来源于国家海洋与大气管理局（NOAA）的科学家们。

The far southern hemisphere was the last place on earth where CO2 had not yet reached this mark," of 400 parts per million (ppm), said Pieter Tans.He is the lead scientist of NOAA’s Global Greenhouse Gas Reference Network.
“目前，南半球南部是地球上二氧化碳未达到此水平的最后一个地方。”浓度是千分之零点四，Pieter Tans说道。他是NOAA全球温室气体参考网络的首席科学家。

Scientists say too much CO2 causes temperatures on Earth to rise.
科学家们表示二氧化碳含量较高导致地球气温上涨。

CO2 levels usually go up in colder months. In the warmer months, plants in the northern hemisphere use some of it, and that lowers the levels. But NOAA notes that plants are not enough to stop the rise of CO2 levels. Those levels have risen every year since 1958, when measurements began.
寒冷月份时，二氧化碳水平增长较快。气候温和的月份，北半球的植物会消耗掉一些二氧化碳，降低二氧化碳含量。但NOAA注意到，不能只依靠植物降低二氧化碳水平。自1958年开始测量二氧化碳含量起，该含量一直都在上升。

Tans said that evidence shows that the CO2 increase is caused "entirely by human activities." These activities include burning oil and other fossil fuels for energy.
Tans表示有证据显示二氧化碳含量增加完全是由人类活动造成的。这些活动包括燃烧石油或者化石燃料提供能源。

Because the burning of fossil fuel has been at a record high during the last several years, Tans said, the rate of CO2 increase has also been at a record high. He said some of the gas will stay in the atmosphere for thousands of years.
Tans说道，由于过去几年间，化石燃料的燃烧已经达到记录最高水平。二氧化碳的增长率也达到记录最高水平。他表示其中有些气体将在大气层中停留数千年。

I’m Anne Ball and I’m Bryan Lynn.
Anne Ball及Bryan Lynn为您报道。