时髦英语口语词汇讲解第8期:Carbon footprint

Did you know that when you buy flights with certain airlines you can now pay a bit more to offset your carbon footprint?
知道吗？当你向某个航空公司订机票的时候，你现在可以多付点钱来抵消你的碳足迹/碳排放量。

Or perhaps you've read about big pop groups who plant forests of trees every time they do a tour, again, to offset their carbon footprint?
或者，大家也许听过了某个大型的流行乐队要做巡回演出的时候会去植树来抵消他们的碳足迹。

But what exactly is a carbon footprint, how is it measured and where did it come from?
但是，到底什么是碳足迹呢？到底怎么来测量的？这个东西又是怎么来的呢？

Originally a footprint was exactly what you might imagine - the print made by a foot.
最初，footprint其实就是大家可以想象到的东西——脚印。

In the sixties, space travel transformed the word, using it to mean the landing area for a spacecraft, and it has continued to be common in technical circles, with people talking about the footprint of computers (that's the space they take up on a desk), printers and many other such gadgets.
六十年代的时候，太空旅行改变了这个单词的意思，他们用这个词来指代宇宙飞船着陆时所占的地方。慢慢地，这个词继续在技术领域被使用，人们会用footprint来指计算机在办公桌上所占的位置，打印机所占的空间，以及许多其它小器件所占的位置。

Small footprints are considered to be a positive thing, large ones are generally bad.
微小的足迹被认为是件好事，而大的足迹则相反。

Everybody has a carbon footprint - it's the amount of carbon dioxide we produce with any action or activity.
每个人都会产生碳足迹——碳足迹就是我们的一举一动所产生的二氧化碳的含量。

As carbon dioxide contributes to 'greenhouse gases', our carbon footprints have a direct impact on the environment.
因为二氧化碳是‘温室气体’的罪魁祸首之一，我们的碳足迹直接影响到环境。

You can estimate your carbon footprint on any number of popular websites: if it's small, then you're probably leading a relatively green lifestyle.
你可以在任何比较大众的网站上测量你的碳足迹，如果很小，那你也许正在过着一种绿色生活。

But what happens if it's big?
但是，如果很大呢？

Well, the answer is that you can 'offset' it.
答案是，你可以（做点事情来）抵消它。

This modern answer to the problem is for people to contribute to balancing the negative effects of their actions by using green fuels, recycling, reforestation and a number of other activities which are said to contribute to a lowering of the carbon dioxide.
这个问题的现代答案是，人们应该为抵消自己行为所产生的负面影响而出一份力，比如，使用绿色燃料，资源再循环利用，植树造林以及其它多种据说可以减少二氧化碳的行为。

So, before you print out the lesson plan and transcript of this entry, think about your carbon footprint.
那，在你去打印你的课堂计划以及这个词条的文稿时，先想想你所产生的碳足迹。

Do you really need to use that paper, the ink, the electricity... ?
你真的需要使用纸张、墨水和电流吗？