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Changing Ground: Green Roofs and the Heat Island Effect 绿屋顶及热岛效应

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繁體中文譯本

Imagine a peaceful stroll in a lush park high above the noisy hustle and bustle of city traffic. In an effort to battle the “urban heat island effect,” many civil administrations are requiring that “green roofs” be incorporated into the blueprint of new buildings.

想象平静地漫步在一个繁茂的公园里，这个公园位于熙来攘往的都市车流之上。为了对抗「城市热岛效应」，许多市政单位要求新建的建筑物蓝图要加上「绿屋顶」。

The urban heat island effect occurs when heat emitted by air-conditioners, machinery, vehicles, and the like is absorbed by concrete and asphalt, causing city temperatures to rise artificially. The effect descends into a vicious circle when rising temperatures increase the need for air-conditioning.

城市热岛效应的起因是，水泥或柏油路面吸收了空调、大型机具或车辆等排放的热气造成气温不自然的升高。这个效应会演变成一种恶性循环，那就是温度上升会增加使用空调的需要。

Foliage planted atop buildings alleviated this problem by absorbing some of this heat. In Tokyo, where average summer temperatures have been rising, current legislation requires that new structures with roof areas exceeding 300 square meters plant gardens covering at least one-fifth of that surface. Many major world cities experiencing heat island effect are considering similar tactics, but Europe leads the way; Germany already has over 13 million square meters of green roof systems.

栽种在建筑物上面的植物可以藉由吸收部分的热减缓这个问题。东京的夏季平均气温一直以来都在增加，所以现行法律规定，屋顶面积超过三百平方公尺的新建筑要设置花园，其涵盖范围至少要占屋顶的五分之一。世界上许多遭逢热岛效应的主要城市也正在考虑同样的做法，不过欧洲倒是领先其他国家。德国已有一千三百多万平方公尺的绿屋顶系统。

Most of all, rooftop gardens beautify and enrich cities. The crown of the Keyakizaka Complex in Roppongi, Tokyo, features rice paddies, a lily pond, fields of vegetables, and English gardens with sloping hills, woods, and a creek that flows into a pond!

最重要的是，屋顶花园会美化城市并让城市增色不少。东京六本木槻坂综合大楼的屋顶上有稻田、莲花池、菜园、丘陵起伏的英国式花园、树林和流进莲花池的小溪！

－by Joel Finnestad

Vocabulary

单词发音

lush [lʌʃ] adj. 苍翠繁茂的

hustle and bustle  忙忙碌碌,熙来攘往

hustle [ˋhʌs!] v. 快速行走; 猛推；硬逼

bustle [ˋbʌs!] v. 忙碌；闹哄哄地忙乱

blueprint [ˋbluˋprɪnt] n. 蓝图；设计图

asphalt [ˋæsfɔlt] n. 沥青；柏油

descend [dɪˋsɛnd] v. 陷入(糟糕境地)

vicious circle 恶性循环 A situation in which the apparent solution of one problem in a chain of circumstances creates a new problem and increases the difficulty of solving the original problem.

foliage [ˋfolɪɪdʒ] n.〔植物的〕叶子﹐叶

alleviate [əˋlivɪ͵et] v. 减轻；缓和

legislation [͵lɛdʒɪsˋleʃən] n. 法规; 法律

exceed [ɪkˋsid] v. 超过; 超出

tactic [ˋtæktɪk] n. 手法; 策略

crown [kraʊn] n. 顶端

paddy [ˋpædɪ] n. 稻田

sloping [ˋslopɪŋ] adj. 有坡度的

Sentence of the Day

When it comes to designing a rooftop garden, the sky is the limit.

谈到设计屋顶花园，可尽量发挥想象力。

the sky is the limit  没有限制; 天空是极限