英语每日一听 | 每天少于5分钟

• 第2861期:Pets at work

  It's becoming more and more popular to take a pet to work. We're looking at the advantages and disadvantages of pets at work. Now, you say pets, it's mainly dogs though, isn't it? Yes, yes.带宠物上班变得越来越流行。我们今天来看一下宠物在工作场所的利与弊。你说宠物，其实主要是指狗，对吧？是的，是的。Now, Nestlé's corporate headquarters in Gatwick, Richard, they've allowed dogs to come to work for a couple of years now, okay? The dogs aren't working, though. No, the dogs aren't working. And they claim three key benefits.现在，说到雀巢在盖特威克的公司总部，Richard，他们允许员工带狗上班已经有好几年了。狗当然不是来“上班”的。对，狗并不会工作。他们认为这带来了三个主要好处。Oh, right. Can you guess what those could be? Well, I think with dogs, the overall feeling in the office is maybe more relaxed, it relaxes the workforce. Yep, yep.哦，好的。你能猜到是什么吗？嗯，我觉得有狗在办公室，整体气氛会更轻松，有助于让员工放松。嗯，对。They say people are seen to be friendlier. Hmm, I can see that. Yeah, and more approachable if there's a dog present in the office.他们说，有狗在办公室时，人们看起来会更友善。嗯，我能理解。是的，而且也更容易接近。Hmm. Okay, something else? Friendlier but also maybe calms people down, they give the animals a stroke, something like that. So it lowers the heart rate.嗯。好，还有别的吗？更友好之外，可能还能让人冷静下来，比如摸摸狗之类的行为，会降低心率。Yeah, it does. Well done, Richard. They say the dogs lower stress.对，确实如此。说得好，Richard。他们说狗能减轻压力。Lower stress, exactly. That's what I was thinking. So yeah, lower heart rate and lower blood pressure.减轻压力，对，就是这个。我刚刚也在想。所以，心率更低，血压也更低。And also those who work on their own feel less lonely. Okay, yep, that's true. They say what happens is that someone will go up to someone who's got a dog ride, and they'll say, you know, can I take your dog for a walk? So they have these kind of brief positive exchanges with people they would not normally speak to.此外，那些独自工作的人会觉得没那么孤单。好的，是的，这是真的。他们说经常会有人走到养狗的同事身边，问能不能带狗出去散步？于是就会有一些简短但积极的互动，而这些人平时可能根本不会交谈。Right, yes, yes, I can see that. Now that's all well and good, Jackie, but also I can see a few negative things in the background. For a start, well, two things, the dogs not getting on with each other.好，是的，我能理解。但这些都是优点，Jackie。不过我也能想到一些潜在的缺点。首先，有两点，比如狗之间可能相处不好。Yes, okay, that's one thing that they've taken into consideration. They say that there's a three-month probationary period. Okay, so the dogs have to kind of pass the test.是的，他们确实考虑到了这一点。他们设定了三个月的试用期。也就是说狗必须通过这个“测试”。So if they don't get on with the other dogs, after a while, they're not allowed to come. And productivity. I know I've been in an office where people smoke, and people go out for a cigarette for five minutes, and they're gone for half an hour.如果一段时间后它和别的狗相处不好，那就不能再来了。还有生产力问题。我以前在某个办公室，人们说出去抽五分钟烟，结果半小时才回来。With dogs, maybe people have to take them out to do their business, and maybe they've gone for a walk for half an hour or even longer.带狗上班的话，人们可能要带它们出去“方便”，结果可能也是半小时甚至更久。Yeah, but I think they'll be at lunchtime, Richard. But also, you see, linked to that, people are doing more exercise because they're taking the dog for a walk.是的，但我想这些通常会在午餐时间进行，Richard。而且你看，从另一个角度讲，人们因为带狗散步反而运动更多了。Yes, I suppose so. And also, what about the smell or people who are allergic to dogs?嗯，我想也是。不过，那味道怎么办？还有对狗过敏的人呢？Very good point. They have considered all of these things, Richard, and there are areas where the dogs are not allowed to go.提得很好。他们也考虑到了这些问题，Richard，所以办公室里有一些区域是禁止狗进入的。There are specific no-go areas. But they're loose in other places? Yeah, loose in certain areas, yeah. But they're under control, Richard.有专门的禁入区域。那在其他地方就自由活动？是的，在一些区域可以自由活动。但仍然在控制范围内，Richard。They wouldn't be our dogs then, that's for sure. Oh, come on. You see, all she would do is sleep all day underneath the chair, which is where she is right now.那就绝对不是我们的狗了。哎呀，别这样。你知道她一整天都会在椅子底下睡觉，就像现在一样。Right, okay, I suppose so, yes. And Betty wouldn't pass, so she wouldn't be able to go.好吧，我想也是。而 Betty 肯定通不过试用期，所以她不能来。Yes, well, you've almost sold me on that, but I have to say I'm still a little bit... I'm not so sure.是的，你差不多说服我了，但我还是有点……不太肯定。I'd like to experience it first. Well, you're right, Richard. There were certainly plenty of reservations before they started to do this, right? How long have they been going now? For a couple of years now.我想先亲身体验一下。你说得没错，Richard。他们刚开始实施的时候也确实顾虑重重。那他们实行多久了？已经好几年了。But now when they ask staff how they feel about it, they are overwhelmingly positive about the experience and the staff are very happy, including people who said that they were allergic to dogs themselves.但现在，当他们询问员工的感受时，大家的反馈几乎全是正面的，员工都非常满意，包括那些自称对狗过敏的人。Well, that's fantastic. Well, we certainly allow dogs in our office and we shall continue to do that as well.太好了。那我们办公室当然也要继续允许带狗上班.

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• 第2860期:'Lost' spider found after 40 years

  The two tiny arachnids, measuring just three millimetres long, were found by scientists surveying the Newtown National Nature Reserve using a type of handheld vacuum device. It sucks up material on the ground and safely deposits it inside a container.这两只小蜘蛛只有三毫米长，科学家在使用手持真空吸入设备调查纽敦国家自然保护区时发现了它们。这种设备能够吸起地面上的物体，然后将其安全地存放在一个容器中。The scientists searching the remote part of the Isle of Wight had almost given up hope of finding the animal, also called the white-knuckled wolf spider. But minutes before they had to board a boat to leave, they found one tiny creature followed by a second. The species had last been seen in Britain in 1985. The British Arachnological Society has welcomed the rediscovery of what it called one of the country's epic lost species.在怀特岛上这个偏远地区进行搜寻的科学家曾一度放弃了找到这种动物的希望，这种动物也被称为 “白关节狼蛛”。但就在他们需要登船离开的几分钟前，他们接连找到了两只小蜘蛛。该物种最后一次在英国被看到是 1985 年。英国蜘蛛学学会对重新发现该物种表示庆祝，并称其为英国最赫赫有名的失踪物种之一。

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• 第2859期:Is your showerhead as clean as you think?

  This is a city like no other. An invisible army of microbes live here, including bacteria, fungi, moulds and mites, and it's the one place you'd have hoped would be clean – your showerhead.这是一座与众不同的“城市”。这里住着一支看不见的微生物大军，包括细菌、真菌、霉菌和螨虫，而这地方正是你最希望保持干净的地方——你的淋浴喷头。If you unscrew it and take a peek inside, you might be surprised as to what you find – quite possibly a slimy dark biofilm. When you switch on the shower, it's not just steam and water that come out, but a blast of microbes as well.如果你把喷头旋开往里看，你可能会被里面的东西吓一跳——很可能是一层黏糊糊的暗色生物膜。当你打开淋浴时，不只是蒸汽和水喷出来，还有一阵微生物被一起喷出。Rob Dunn, an evolutionary biologist from North Carolina State University, calls showerheads extreme environments because they are either bone-dry or soaking wet. Once you've showered, the head remains warm and dries out undisturbed, creating the perfect ecosystem for bacteria to feed on dissolved nutrients from the water.北卡罗来纳州立大学的进化生物学家 Rob Dunn 称淋浴喷头是一种“极端环境”，因为它们要么完全干燥，要么完全湿透。洗完澡后，喷头保持温暖并在无人打扰的情况下慢慢变干，这为细菌提供了完美的生态系统，它们可以靠水中溶解的养分生存。It seems the majority of us don't need to worry about catching a bug from having a shower though. "Only showers contaminated with Legionella and other opportunistic pathogens pose a risk," says Frederik Hammes, a drinking water microbiologist at the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology in Switzerland.不过，大多数人似乎不需要担心因为洗澡而感染细菌。瑞士联邦水科学与技术研究所的饮用水微生物学家 Frederik Hammes 表示：“只有被军团菌等机会性致病菌污染的淋浴喷头才会构成风险。”Meanwhile, one study in the US found that warmer areas, like Florida and Hawaii, with higher chlorine levels tend to have more pathogenic mycobacteria, which can lead to higher rates of a chronic lung infection called non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) lung disease.同时，美国的一项研究发现，在佛罗里达、夏威夷等温暖地区，水中氯含量较高的地方往往含有更多致病性分支杆菌，这可能导致一种名为“非结核分枝杆菌（NTM）肺病”的慢性肺部感染发病率更高。This is likely because the showerhead has less time to dry out in more tropical climates, so bacteria can grow more easily.这很可能是因为在热带气候下，喷头没有足够的时间完全干燥，所以细菌更容易繁殖。Even if becoming ill from your showerhead is highly unlikely, you'd probably still like to reduce the number of bacteria coming out when you're trying to get clean.即使因淋浴喷头而生病的可能性极低，你在洗澡时大概仍然希望减少从喷头喷出的细菌数量。One study found that the spray pattern of your shower makes a difference – mist mode spreads NTM cells a lot more than a massage or rain showerhead, for example.有研究发现，喷头的喷水模式也会影响细菌扩散。例如，雾状喷洒模式比按摩式或雨淋式喷头传播更多 NTM 细胞。Higher temperatures have also been shown to spread microbes more easily. The best way to keep bacteria away though is to regularly clean your showerhead by descaling it or soaking it in lemon juice.研究还表明，高温会更加促进微生物扩散。而减少细菌的最佳方法是定期清洁喷头，例如除水垢或浸泡在柠檬汁中。Since we can't fully eradicate the microbes in our showers, and we like to stay clean, we'll have to learn to coexist with them.既然我们无法彻底消灭淋浴中的微生物，而我们又喜欢保持清洁，那么我们只能学会与它们共存。

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• 第2858期:Death of diesel

  We're talking about the future of diesel. Richard, does diesel have a future? Yes and no. It certainly doesn't if you live in the city, because many cities are banning diesel cars in the near future.我们来谈谈柴油车的未来。Richard，柴油车还有未来吗？有，也没有。如果你住在城市里，那基本上是没有的，因为很多城市将在不久的将来禁止柴油车。Paris, for example. IncludingParisand a number of other cities are considering it, yes. And also, Volvo have recently announced that all their vehicles will be electric or hybrid from 2019.比如巴黎。是的，包括巴黎在内的许多城市都在考虑禁用柴油车。此外，沃尔沃最近宣布，自2019年起，他们所有的车辆将是电动车或混合动力车。So you mean they're going to stop making diesel vehicles? Yes. So why is there such a negative attitude now towards diesel? Well, it all stems from the VW emissions scandal a few years ago. Which we did a podcast about.所以你的意思是他们要停止生产柴油车？是的。那么为什么现在对柴油会有如此负面的态度呢？这全部源于几年前大众汽车的排放造假丑闻。我们当时还为此做过一期播客。We did. Briefly, VW were making their car so they could fake the results for testing. And they found that their diesel cars were much more polluting than advertised.确实做过。简单来说，大众制造汽车时让它们能够在测试中作弊。而事实证明，他们的柴油车比宣传的污染严重得多。OK, so they were making it look like diesel cars were a good thing to buy, but in fact they weren't. Exactly. But Richard, even before that scandal, diesel was always promoted as a good environmental option.好的，所以他们让柴油车看起来像是很好的选择，但实际上并不是。没错。不过 Richard，即使在那场丑闻之前，柴油车一直被宣传成环保的选择。Yes. And that stems from the difference between the petrol engine and the diesel engine. Right.是的。这源自汽油发动机和柴油发动机之间的差异。确实。Which is? Well, diesels are actually more efficient than petrol engines and they produce less carbon dioxide. OK.那是什么差异？柴油发动机实际上比汽油发动机更高效，并且产生的二氧化碳更少。好的。However, more recently they've found that they produce more nitrogen dioxide, which is bad for the health, and more particulate matter, basically stuff, fumes, which can cause cancer.然而，近年来人们发现柴油车会排放更多的二氧化氮，这对健康有害，同时也会产生更多颗粒物，就是那些可能致癌的烟雾。And those are worse than CO2 emissions, are they? They're certainly worse for your immediate health. Right. Yes.这些排放比二氧化碳更糟吗？它们确实对人的直接健康危害更大。是的，没错。And also they produce these things in the cities. So they're more efficient cars in the country, they're fine. In the cities they produce more noxious fumes and that's why they're more unhealthy in cities.并且这些有害物主要在城市中排放。因此在乡村里，柴油车作为高效车辆还算可以；但在城市中，它们会产生更多有害废气，这就是为什么在城市里柴油车更不健康。Can I ask what you mean by them being more efficient? I won't go to the technicalities of an engine, but they're just simply a more efficient motor. They use less, slightly less fuel and they can go on for longer. So you use less fuel per kilometre? Yes.我可以问一下你说的更高效是什么意思吗？我不去讲发动机的技术细节，总之它就是效率更高。它使用的燃料更少，可以跑得更远。所以每公里耗油更少？是的。And they're more powerful as well. That's why they've generally been used in trucks. Now, I suppose this is where we have to admit that we have a diesel vehicle.而且柴油发动机更有动力。这也是为什么它们普遍用于卡车。我想这也是我们必须承认我们自己有一辆柴油车的原因。We drive a Toyota Hilux, Richard, which is what we need. We need a truck. We need a big truck.我们开的是一辆丰田 Hilux，Richard，那是我们需要的。我们需要卡车，需要一辆大卡车。Yeah. But we don't drive in the city, we live in the country. OK.对。但我们不在城市里开车，我们住在乡村。好的。So I suppose that's a little bit better. We're not driving around a city and causing problems. And of course they don't have petrol-driven trucks here.所以我想这样也好一点，我们不会在城市里开车制造污染。而且这里也没有汽油驱动的卡车。So we actually don't have a choice. We can't exchange that truck for a petrol one, can we? No. I suppose we're just going to have to wait for them to invent an electric-powered truck.所以我们其实没有选择。我们不能把那辆柴油卡车换成汽油车，对吧？没错。我想我们只能等他们发明电动卡车了。So in fact, Richard, the future for diesel does look a little bit grim. Yes, but I think the future is definitely the hybrid. Which means? A hybrid vehicle is one that uses... it can either be a petrol or a diesel-driven car.所以实际上，Richard，柴油车的未来看起来确实有些暗淡。是的，但我认为未来一定属于混合动力车。是什么意思？混合动力车是指……它可以是汽油机或柴油机驱动的车辆。Right. Which it's used for the longer journeys and then in the city it switches over to the electric technology. Which is? Well, there are no emissions when you use the electric part of the car in the city.对。长途时使用内燃机，在城市里则切换到电力驱动。那是什么呢？在城市里使用电动部分时是零排放的。Fantastic. That looks like the best of both worlds then, Richard. 太棒了。这看起来是两全其美的方案，Richard。

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• 第2857期:We are electric

  We're talking about electric cars. OK, Richard, so what exactly is an electric car? Well, simply, it's a car driven by an electric motor – a motor that runs on a battery.我们来谈谈电动车。好的，Richard，那么电动车到底是什么？简单来说，就是由电动机驱动的汽车——而电动机是依靠电池运作的。OK, so presumably they're becoming more popular because they're more environmentally friendly than regular petrol or diesel cars. Exactly. I mean, the batteries are charged by electricity, which comes from a normal power station.好的，所以它们越来越受欢迎，大概是因为比普通的汽油车或柴油车更环保。确实如此。电动车的电池是通过发电站提供的电力来充电的。But the cars themselves produce no emissions whatsoever. So there's no noxious fumes. Are they more expensive, though? Yes, they are more expensive.但电动车本身完全不产生排放物。所以没有任何有害废气。不过它们更贵吗？是的，它们确实更贵。But that price is coming down because obviously a lot of governments are giving tax advantages. So they're getting a bit cheaper and they're much cheaper to run. For instance, with the Nissan Leaf, which is the most popular electrical car today, according to UK figures, it costs 1.75 pence a mile to run as opposed to a petrol car, which is 10 pence a mile.但价格正在下降，因为显然有许多政府提供税收优惠。这样电动车的价格逐渐降低，并且使用成本也便宜得多。例如，根据英国的数据，目前最受欢迎的电动车——日产聆风，其运行成本是每英里1.75便士，而汽油车则是每英里10便士。So not even 2p a mile. Exactly. Much cheaper.所以每英里甚至不到两便士。没错，便宜很多。However, of course, the batteries are very expensive and you have to replace them after a certain amount of time. OK, this is something I get a bit confused about – the recharging. I mean, you can't go very far in an electric car, can you? Yes, going back to the Leaf, they reckon you can go for about 100 miles, maybe 120 miles without recharging.不过当然，电池非常昂贵，并且使用一段时间后必须更换。好的，有件事我有点迷糊——充电。我是说，电动车行驶不了太远，对吗？是的，回到聆风这个例子，据说一次充电可以行驶大约100到120英里。So going around town, it's no problem. You go to work, come back again and it recharges overnight. Now, how does it do that? You just plug it into the mains and then about eight hours later, it's fully charged, ready to go the following day.所以在城市里开车完全没问题。上班、回家都够用，晚上就能充满电。那么它是怎么做到的呢？你只需要把它插到普通电源插座，大约八小时后就能完全充满，第二天即可使用。OK, so you have to be able to park the car in a place where you can recharge it. Yes, that's a difficulty for some people. Well, if you live in a block of flats, for example, there's nowhere to recharge your car.好的，所以你必须把车停在能充电的地方。是的，这对有些人来说是个难题。例如，如果你住在公寓楼里，可能没有地方给车充电。Well, unless you've got a parking space and the people owning the flats, they put in a recharging point for you, it can be difficult. Now, we've seen a few of these charging points in Europe recently. Are there going to be more of those in the future? Yes, I didn't get figures for how many charging points they've got, but obviously it's increasing hugely.除非你有固定车位，而且大楼管理方愿意安装充电点，否则会很困难。我们最近在欧洲看到过一些充电站。未来会有更多吗？是的，虽然我没有确切数据，但显然数量正在快速增长。And the advantage is a lot of these charging points are quick charge points. They reckon they can fill up a car battery to 80% within half an hour. Right, so you could maybe, for example, go to the supermarket and do your shopping and by the time you come back, the car has recharged.而且很多充电点都是快速充电站。据说可以在半小时内把电池充到80%。对，所以你可以，比如去超市购物，等你回来时车就充好电了。Exactly. And of course, it's very, very cheap. So I suppose this slight difficulty of recharging is why hybrids are also got a place in the market.没错，而且价格也非常非常便宜。所以我想，充电方面的这个小麻烦也是混合动力车仍然占据市场一席之地的原因。Yes, of course, they've got the advantage of, they've got an electric engine and a petrol engine. So they use the electric engine in the towns and the petrol engine for those longer distances. So they have much better range.是的，混合动力车的优势在于同时拥有电动机和汽油发动机。所以在城市里使用电动机，在长途时使用汽油发动机。因此续航能力更强。And I suppose people don't need to worry about the fact that the battery might be running low and they're not near a recharging point. Exactly. And that's why the biggest selling hybrid, the Toyota Prius has sold 1.6 million cars since they introduced it in 1997.而且我想，人们就不用担心电量不足，附近又找不到充电站的问题。没错。这也是为什么最畅销的混合动力车——丰田普锐斯，自1997年推出以来已经卖出了160万辆。OK, so people are taking these on board then? Definitely. Well, as I said, they're much cheaper to run. Tax advantages. 好的，所以消费者已经接受这些车了吗？当然。正如我所说，它们的使用成本更低，还有税收优惠。

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