American Cafe 美语咖啡屋 第040课

Y: 各位听众好，我是杨晨！欢迎您到美语咖啡屋！

J: Hello I'm Jody! Welcome to American Cafe 美语咖啡屋! (sigh) You know, Yang Chen, we are really lucky to work in Washington, D.C.

Y: Lucky? 很幸运，为什么？

J: Well, even though Washington, D.C. is very urban, very city-like, it is what we call a "green city," meaning it has lots of trees, lots of parks and green spaces.

Y: “绿色的城市”，你说的没错。很多人喜欢华盛顿市的原因之一就是因为这里的绿化搞得很好。

J: Take where I live for example. I live in an apartment in the center of the city. You've been to my place before.

Y：我去过，那里很不错。

J: It's very urban as you know. But a short five-minute walk away is the beautiful National Zoo.

Y: 我去过国家动物园，那里面最吸引的人是两只大熊猫。 附近好象还有个很大的公园。

J: You got it. Rock Creek Park. It's a huge park where you can go hiking and biking and picnicking. I just love Rock Creek Park!

Y: Hiking就是徒步旅行的意思。

J: I go hiking in the park a lot. But not biking. Right now I don't have a bike.

Y: 你连自行车都没有？

J: No, I don't. I'm saving up money for a bike. But, Yang Chen, simply hanging out in the park is fun! Rock Creek Park gives me the chance to escape the urban feeling of the city. And it just makes life much more enjoyable.

Y: 没错，没错。住在大城市，如果附近有这么一个公园的确是给生活增加很多乐趣。你可以躲开城市的喧闹，享受大自然的宁静。

J: And there's even horse stable that offer horseback riding!

Y: 真的，还可以骑马!?

J: Yes! And during the weekend some of the roads in the park are closed to car traffic so that people can enjoy the park without having to worry about cars zipping by.

Y: 我想这些都是环保组织的功劳。

J: Yes. The Sierra Club, a national environmental organization, played a big part in making that happen.

Y: 你记不记得我们上次在街头艺术节碰到了Sierra Club在当地的一个负责人。

J: Oh sure, I remember him. His name is Jason Broehm. And during a street festival he was explaining to people the goals and the mission of the Sierra Club.

Broehm: My name is Jason Broehm. I've lived in D.C for about four years now. I'm a leader in the local chapter of the Sierra Club, an environmental organization. Sierra Club is a national organization with hundreds of thousands of members across the United States and we have 3,000 members located here in the District Columbia.

Y: Sierra Club是个全国性组织，他们在当地就有三千个会员。

J: Jason is the leader of the local chapter in D.C.

Y: Jason说他们作为Sierra Club的一个地方分会， 重点是要解决当地面临的特殊问题。

J: He mentioned things like cleaning up the rivers, improving air and water quality and improving public transportation.

Broehm: Well, here in the District we're working on a number of main areas including trying to clean up the areas, the rivers, have better water quality. We want to have better air quality and better public transportation. And finally we would like to have a good system of parks where people can get out and enjoy the natural environment.

Y: 我想Jason本人一定是个热爱大自然的人，要不然他就不会为环保组织工作了。

Broehm: I do. I love to bike in Rock Creek Park and all over Washington, D.C. I love to hike and walk. And, so, I do very much.

J: Oh, Jason is definitely an outdoor person.

Y: 其实Jason在Sierra Club只是作义工，他还有另外一份正式的工作。

J: Right. His "day job," as we call it, is with a federal agency.

Broehm: I have another job with a federal agency, but I volunteer my time with the Sierra Club outside of work hours.

Y: 说起作义工，我觉得这是一件非常有意义的事情，不仅可以为社会作贡献，同时也改善了自己的生活。

J: It's good to know there are people like Jason who volunteer their time educating the public and helping to protect the environment...

Y: 就是，如果每个人拿出一点儿时间来做好事，那你想想这个社会该有多么美好呢？ 谢谢大家收听美语咖啡屋，我们下次节目再见。

J: Thanks for joining us on American Cafe 美语咖啡屋! See you next time!