2018年翻譯資格考試初級筆譯模擬題：個人如何解決環(huán)境問題
英譯漢
Our current environmental problems grow ever more serious. Sometimes they seem so serious and confusing that it seems an individual could never do anything to help fi x the problems. Personally speaking, I believe that individuals can make a difference. There are at least two areas where the efforts of ordinary individuals can be meaningful in solving environmental issues.
Firstly, individuals can protect environment by changing their ways of waste disposal. If every person would classify his or her garbage before throwing it away, much of it could be recycled and pollution could be reduced. Just take beverage cans as one example. Recent surveys suggest that over 7,000 tons of waste beverage cans go un-recycled each year in America alone. The cost of finding these cans after they have been thrown away, reclassifying them as recyclable and then sending them to be recycled is far higher than simply making new ones. However, if individuals would sort their cans before they discard them, and then discard them into the proper containers, the expense of recycling would decline greatly and there would be reduction in absolute pollution caused by the beverage cans. This is just one area where an individual can make a difference.
Secondly, environmental problems will be somewhat revolved once individuals in society consume less energy. It is because the requirement of natural resources used to produce energy will reduce and as a result, the environmental damage human inflicts will also decline. As an academic survey indicates, if every family in American could reduce their electricity use by 5% a year,1.65 billion units would be saved. It means that the generator motived by coals in the whole country can take a break for more than a month. In fact, not only can it make human’s requirement of natural resources less, but also it can alleviate the air pollution caused by burning coals. Consequently, for winning the battle of protecting environment, individuals’ endeavor, undoubtedly, is a great strength that should not be ignored.
Admittedly, most people do not have the specialized knowledge and skills to tackle many issues related to the environment. Besides, they do not have the influence to change entire systems. Nevertheless, the claim that individuals can do nothing to solve these issues is an obvious overstatement. In fact, the power that individual can exert is much more than we can expect.
In conclusion, I disagree with the idea that individuals can do nothing in solving environmental problems since the issues are too complicated.
參考譯文：
當前我們面臨的環(huán)境問題已經越來越嚴峻了。有時這些問題看起來格外嚴重，令人不知所措，以至于人們覺得個人在解決環(huán)境問題方面已經無能為力了。然而在我看來，即使是個人也可以盡自己的一份努力，來改變這一現狀。至少在下面兩個方面，普通人也能為之做出有意義的貢獻。
首先，人們可以通過改變垃圾丟棄的方式，來保護環(huán)境。如果每個人都能在丟掉垃圾之前將其分類，那么這些垃圾中的一大部分就可以被回收，進而減少污染。以飲料罐為例。最近一項調查顯示，僅在美國，每年就有超過 7000 噸廢飲料罐未能得到回收。如果人們要找回這些已丟棄的飲料罐，并將其重新分類、回收利用，其成本要比制造新罐子高得多。然而，如果人們可以事先分揀出這些廢罐子，并將它們扔到相應的垃圾箱里，回收的費用則將大大下降，而由飲料罐引起的污染也會有所減少。以上這不過是個人能夠為環(huán)保做出貢獻的諸多領域之一。
其次，如果每個人能夠降低自己對能源的消耗，那么環(huán)境問題也將在一定程度上得到解決。這是由于人們不再需要消耗大量的自然資源來制造能源。自然資源消耗的下降及工業(yè)生產的縮減，會降低人類對環(huán)境造成的損害。一份學術調查表明，如果所有的美國家庭每年能減少 5% 的用電量，那么便可節(jié)省 16.5 億度電，而這意味著全國以燃煤為動力的發(fā)電機可以少工作一月有余。事實上， 那不僅能減少人們對自然資源的消耗，同時也能夠減輕因燒煤而引起的空氣污染。因此，要贏得環(huán)保戰(zhàn)斗的勝利，個人的努力，毫無疑問，是一個不應被忽視的強大力量。
誠然，大多數人不具備解決諸多環(huán)境問題的專業(yè)知識和技能。此外，他們也沒有足夠的影響力以改變整個體系。但即使這樣，聲稱個人在解決這些問題上完全無能為力顯然言過其實了。事實上，個人能夠發(fā)揮出的力量是遠遠超過我們預期的。
綜上所述，我不認同“環(huán)境問題太過復雜，因此個人在解決這些問題上無能為力”這個說法。
