美抗旱奇招：水库投"遮阳球"

　　为了保护水质，洛杉矶市向露天水库投放了9600万个“遮阳球”，这些球浮在水面上，水库表面已被遮盖。目前该项目已全部完成。

　　City officials this week dumped the last 20,000 of 96 million black balls into the Los Angeles Reservoir in Sylmar, 25 miles northwest of downtown. The 4-inch-diameter plastic balls block sunlight from penetrating¹ the 175-acre surface of the reservoir.

　　本周，洛杉矶市官员将最后2万个黑色塑料球投放到洛杉矶水库，该水库位于西尔马，距离洛杉矶市中心西北部25英里。这些塑料球直径为4英寸，覆盖了水库175英亩（约71公顷）的水面，使其避免太阳光照射。

　　That prevents chemical reactions that can cause algae² blooms and other problems, allowing the Department of Water and Power (DWP) to meet U.S. Environmental Protection Agency water-quality requirements.

　　这也可以避免发生化学反应，而化学反应可能导致水藻滋生等其它问题。此举使得洛杉矶水电局达到美国国家环境保护局的水质标准。

　　遮阳球

　　They have the added perk³ of aiding with the ravages⁴ of the drought, and are expected to keep about 300 million gallons annually⁵ from evaporating.

　　此举已经缓解了干旱所带来的破坏，预计每年可以减少3亿加仑的蒸发量。

　　"In the midst of California's historic drought, it takes bold ingenuity⁶ to maximize my goals for water conservation," Mayor Eric Garcetti said in a statement, noting that the effort is "emblematic⁷ of the kind of the creative thinking we need to meet those challenges."

　　洛杉矶市长埃里克?贾西提在一次声明中说道：“面对加州史上少有的干旱，我们需要有相当大胆的创造力来帮助我们最大化地实现节水，”市长还强调，此举“体现出我们迎接挑战所需要的创造性思维”。

　　The 36-cent balls also will help prevent evaporation⁸ of 300 million gallons of water annually from the 3.3 billion-gallon reservoir, the DWP said.

　　水电局工作人员称，洛杉矶水库的储水量为33亿加仑，每个遮阳球的成本为36美分，每年可帮助该水库减少3亿加仑的蒸发量。

　　The city began using shade balls in 2008.

　　洛杉矶市自2008年开始使用遮阳球。

　　Vocabulary

　　algae: 水藻

　　perk: 额外津贴

　　evaporate: 蒸发

　　emblematic: 象征

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