Environmental Protection 环境保护

Environmental Protection

I was born in the countryside near Kaohsiung and I came up to Taipei when I was still a lad of twelve. Seven years have elapsed since then, and just recently, I returned to my home town for the very first time since I had left it. Would you like to know just how I felt when I set eyes again on the place that I had always remembered as being a real Shangrila? The image that I had so carefully cherished was dashed to the winds. Instead, I was struck by the sharp realization that civilization and modern industry were destroying our world.
The beautiful hills that were formerly covered with trees were now bald. All the trees must have been chopped down for lumber that went into the building of cheap apartment houses that were now ubiquitous all over the town. The crystal-clear river where I had enjoyed fishing and swimming when I was a lad was now a filthy ditch into which chemical factories were dumpling all their waste matter.
I could go on describing the horrible changes that my hometown had undergone, but time is limited. So I wish to say in conclusion that the time has come for the introduction of strict measures to protect our environment.

环境保护

我出生于高雄附近的乡下，当我才十二岁时，就搬来台北。七年过去了，就在最近，我回到睽违已久的家乡。你想知道，当我看到这个我总记得是真正香格里拉的地方时，内心的感受吗？我小心珍爱的形象都在风中破灭了。代之而起的是，我痛心地了解到文明和现代工业正在毁灭我们的世界。
原本覆盖着树木的美丽山丘现在已经秃了。所有的树木一定被砍下作为木材，来建筑镇上到处都是的便宜公寓。那条我少年时候喜欢钓鱼和游泳、水晶般清澈的河流，现在变成化学工厂倾倒垃圾的臭水沟。
我可以继续不断地描述我故乡遭受的可怕改变，但时间有限。所以最后我想说的就是，用严厉措施来保护环境的时候已经到了。

elapse v. （时间）溜走；（光阴）逝去
Shangrila n. 香格里拉（人间的理想乐园）
cherish v. 珍视，珍爱
civilization n. 文明
ubiquitous a.　无所不在的
crystal-clear a. 如水晶一般透明的
filthy a. 污秽的
measure n, 措施