VOA慢速英语:拉斯维加斯计划禁止铺设纯装饰草坪

Las Vegas city officials have found that a lot of grass is useless.
拉斯维加斯市政府官员发现，许多草坪没什么用。
The plant is never laid on, played on or even stepped on. The grass is only there to look nice.
这些植物永远不会有人躺上去、在上面玩耍，甚至都不会有人踩上去。这些草坪在那里纯粹就是为了好看。

The city in the American state of Nevada is built in a desert. And officials have found that there are 21 square kilometers of useless grass.
这座美国内华达州的城市建在沙漠里。官员们发现，这里有21平方公里的无用草坪。

Now, Las Vegas is trying to become the first place in the country to ban that kind of grass often seen between streets, in housing developments and in office parks.
现在，拉斯维加斯正试图成为美国首个禁止铺设这类无用草坪的地方，这种草坪通常会在街道之间、住宅区和办公园区看到。

It is estimated that useless grass makes up 40 percent of all the turf in Las Vegas and it needs a lot of water to survive. Grass needs four times more water than dry climate plants like cactus or succulents. By tearing out the grass, the city could reduce yearly water usage by 15 percent.
据估计，无用草坪占到了拉斯维加斯所有草坪的40%，它需要大量水才能生存。与仙人掌或多肉植物等干旱环境植物相比，草坪需要多4倍的水。挖掉这类草坪，这座城市每年可以减少15%的用水量。

Las Vegas may be known to the outside world for its partying, casinos and excess. But officials say community residents have strongly supported saving water.
拉斯维加斯可能以其派对、赌场和声色犬马而闻名于世。但是官员们表示，社区居民强烈支持节水。

The city is asking the Nevada state legislature to ban useless grass. California temporarily banned grass watering during an extremely dry period several years ago. But no state or large city has tried to permanently ban watering some kinds of grass.
该市要求内华达州州议会禁止无用草坪。加州在几年前的极度干旱时期曾经临时禁止浇灌草坪。但是没有哪个州或大城市尝试过永久禁止浇灌某类草坪。

Justin Jones is a commissioner in Clark County. He said the ban will not change people's lives very much.
贾斯汀·琼斯是克拉克县县长。他说，该禁令不会对人们的生活有多大改变。

"To be clear, we are not coming after your average homeowner's backyard," he said. But grass in the middle of a highway is, in his words, "dumb."
他说：“需要明确的是，我们管的不是普通房东的后院。”但是用他的话来说，公路中间的草坪真是愚蠢。

"The only people that ever set foot on grass that's in the middle of a roadway system are people cutting the grass," Jones said.
琼斯表示：“唯一曾经踏足过公路中间草坪就是割草工人。”

Jones said some communities oppose the ban. But after years of campaigns for better water use, there has been a cultural change.
琼斯表示，有些社区反对这项禁令。但是经过多年宣传要更好利用水资源之后，文化发生了改变。

In 2003, the Southern Nevada Water Authority banned developers from planting grass in front of new homes. It also offered homeowners $30 for each square meter of grass they tear out. But fewer people are now using the program.
2003年，内华达州南部水务局禁止开发商在新建住宅前种草。它还为挖掉草坪的房主提供每平方30美元的补助。但是现在用到该程序的人越来越少。

Water usage has increased in southern Nevada by 9 percent since 2019. And last year, Las Vegas went a record 240 days without major rainfall.
自2019年以来，内华达州南部的用水量增加了9%。去年，拉斯维加斯创纪录的240天没有下过大雨。

The Colorado River provides much of Nevada's drinking water. The river also supplies Arizona, California, Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, Wyoming and Mexico.
科罗拉多河提供了内华达州的大部分饮用水。这条河还供应了亚利桑那州，加利福尼亚州，科罗拉多州，犹他州，新墨西哥州，怀俄明州和墨西哥。

The river could lose more water as climate change affects it. Arizona, California and Nevada are expected to have their amount of river water cut in the future.
由于气候变化的影响，这条河可能会失去更多的水。预计亚利桑那州、加州和内华达州未来的河水水量将会减少。

Water officials in other dry cities said water usage needs to be reduced. But they fear the reaction to reforms like the ones in Las Vegas if their communities do not accept them.
其它干旱城市的水务官员表示需要减少用水量。但是如果社区不接受，他们担心拉斯维加斯这样的改革可能会引发的反应。

Cynthia Campbell is the water resources adviser for the city of Phoenix in Arizona. She said trees and grass combat "urban heat islands:" areas in cities that can get dangerously hot.
辛西娅·坎贝尔是亚利桑那州凤凰城的水资源顾问。她说，花草树木可以对抗“城市热岛”，即城市中可能会出现危险高温的区域。

She said there might come a point when city restrictions get too severe for some residents.
她说，可能迟早有一天，城市官员会对某些居民过于严格。

"They'll say, ‘This is the point of no return for me,'" Campbell said. "For some people, it's a pool. For some people, it's grass."
卡贝尔表示：“他们会说，‘这是我的无价之宝，’对某些人来说，它是游泳池。对有些人来说，它是草坪。”

Colby Pellegrino is the director of the Southern Nevada Water Authority. He does not know if the plan to ban grass will spread to other cities.
科尔比·佩莱格里诺是内华达州南部水务局局长。他不知道禁止草坪的计划是否会传播到其他城市。

But, he said, "every community that relies on Colorado River water," will have to make changes.
但是他说，“每个依赖科罗拉多河水的社区”都必须做出改变。