|
March 12th is China’s annual Tree Planting Day. On this day, millions of Chinese people, from all walks of life, will put their works at hand aside for a moment, and take shovels, buckets and saplings to green up their hometowns. 3月12日是中国一年一度的植树节。在这天，数以百万计的中国人民，来自各行各业，将暂时放下手中的工作，拿起铁锹和水桶，带上树苗，去绿化他们的家乡。
walk [wɔːk] n [C] [熟词生义] 职业；行业 put … aside 放下（正在干的活） at hand 手头的 shovel [ˈʃʌvl] n [C] 铁锹 bucket [ˈbʌkɪt] n [C] 桶 sapling [ˈsæplɪŋ] n [C] 树苗
First created by the US agriculturist Sterling Morton in 1872, Tree Planting Day was set in order to inspire people’s passions for planting and protecting trees, and to protect and improve the natural environment on which people depend for their living. 植树节是由美国农学家斯特林·莫顿于1872年首创，旨在激发人们植树护林的热情，保护和改善人类赖以生存的自然环境。
agriculturist [ˌægrɪ'kʌltʃərɪst] n [C] 农学家 passion [ˈpæʃn] n [C] 热爱
China’s Tree Planting Day could date back to a proposal made by Sun Yat-sen in 1915. At first, Tomb-sweeping Festival (April 5th) was adopted as Tree Planting Day. However, April 5th was a late time for tree-planting in Southern China and so it was changed to March 12th by the Nanjing National Government in order to memorize Sun Yat-sen, who passed away on March 12th. In February 1979, the 5th National People’s Congress of People’s Republic of China made a resolution that March 12th would be taken as Chinese Tree Planting Day, requiring the whole country to carry out tree-planting activities on this day and support the construction of forestry. 中国的植树节可以追溯到孙中山1915年的一项提议。最初，清明节（4月5日）被定为植树节。可是在中国南方，4月5日才植树有点晚，因此南京国民政府将日期改为了3月12日来纪念孙中山，他是在这个日子去世的。1979年2月，中华人民共和国第五届全国人民代表大会通过表决，将3月12日定为中国植树节，要求全国在这一天开展植树造林活动，支持林业建设。
date back to 追溯到 proposal [prəˈpəʊzl] n [C] 建议；提议 Tomb-sweeping Festival 清明节 adopt [əˈdɒpt] vt 采取；采用 memorize [ˈmeməraɪz] vt 记住；熟记 pass away 过世；离世 resolution [ˌrezəˈluːʃn] n [C] 决议 carry out 实行；执行 forestry [ˈfɒrɪstri] n [U] 林业
So, every year, when March 12th is approaching, country leaders, civil servants, company employees, and even school pupils go outdoors to fulfill a citizen’s obligation of planting trees. Benefiting from the Tree Planting Festival, more and more Chinese people realize the urgency and importance of protecting the environment. It is estimated that nearly 80 billion trees had been planted all over China in tree-planting campaigns during the past years. 因此，每年3月12日临近时，国家领导人、公务员、企业员工，甚至学校学生都要到户外去履行公民的植树义务。得益于植树节，越来越多的中国人意识到保护环境的紧迫性和重要性。据估算，在过去这些年中，已有近800亿棵树在全国各地的植树运动中得到种植。
fulfill [fʊl'fɪl] vt 实现 obligation [ˌɒblɪˈɡeɪʃn] n [C] & [U] 职责；义务
In 2019, a NASA satellite map with dark and light green colors impressed the world that China is leading the increase in greening on Earth’s land area due to national tree-planting programs. At the time, many got interested to know why Chinese people are so keen on planting trees. 2019年，美国宇航局一幅深绿和浅绿色的卫星地图给世界留下了深刻的印象，由于全国性的植树计划，中国正在引领地球土地绿化面积的增长。当时，许多人都很想知道中国人为何如此热衷于植树。
due to 由于 be keen on 热衷于
In fact, although China covers an area of about 9.6 million square kilometers, nearly half of the land is desert and sandy soil, way bigger than China’s arable land. 事实上，尽管中国占地约960万平方公里，但将近一半的土地是沙漠和沙土，远远超过中国的耕地面积。
in fact 事实上 arable [ˈærəbl] adj 适于耕种的；耕作的；可耕的
China’s quick development in recent decades has made people forget that China is not a fertile place with abundant natural resources, but a place with disproportionate population and land. 中国近几十年的快速发展，让人们忘记了中国并不是一个自然资源丰富的肥沃之地，而是一个人口和土地不成比例之地。
fertile [ˈfɜːtaɪl] adj 肥沃的 abundant [əˈbʌndənt] adj 充裕的；丰富的 disproportionate [ˌdɪsprəˈpɔːʃənət] adj 不成比例的；不均衡的
With the explosive growth of population after 1949, arable lands were overly exploited, coupled with unsustainable timber extraction activities. All of these lead to problems such as forest loss and soil erosion. 1949年后，随着人口的爆炸式增长，耕地被过度开发，加上不可持续的木材开采活动，造成了森林消失、水土流失等问题。
explosive [ɪkˈspləʊsɪv] adj 爆炸（式）的 overly [ˈəʊvəli] adv 十分；过于 exploit [ɪkˈsplɔɪt, ˈeksplɔɪt] vt 开采；开发 couple sth with sth（某物）加上（某物） unsustainable [ˌʌnsəˈsteɪnəbl] adj 不能继续的；无法维持的 timber [ˈtɪmbə(r)] n [U] 木材；原木 extraction [ɪkˈstrækʃn] n [C] & [U] 开采 erosion [ɪˈrəʊʒn] n [U]（风、雨或海水的）侵蚀；腐蚀
So in 1999, the government took the “Grain for Green” program as an important measure for reconstruction and ecological conservation. Under the program, the government organized people to convert cropland to forest or grassland with financial subsidies as compensation. 所以在1999年，政府将“退耕还林”作为重建和生态保护的重要举措。在该项目下，政府组织人民退耕还林还草，以财政补贴作为补偿。
ecological [ˌiːkəˈlɒdʒɪkl] adj 生态的 convert [kənˈvɜːt, ˈkɒnvɜːt] vt 使转变；使改造 subsidy [ˈsʌbsədi] n [C] & [U] 补贴；补助 compensation [ˌkɒmpenˈseɪʃn] n [C] & [U] 补偿
By the end of 2019, China had restored forests across more than 33 million hectares of land. 截至2019年底，中国已经恢复了3300多万公顷的森林。
restore [rɪˈstɔː(r)] vt 使恢复 hectare [ˈhekteə(r)] n [C] 公顷
Aside from the “Grain for Green” program, the shelter forest program is also one of the most important steps taken by government to hold back the expansion of huge deserts in the northwestern region, diminish natural disasters and improve the ecological environment. 除了“退耕还林”工程，防护林工程也是政府采取的最重要举措之一，以此来遏制西北地区大规模的沙漠扩张、减少自然灾害以及改善生态环境。
aside from 除了……外 diminish [dɪˈmɪnɪʃ] vt & vi（使）减少
Shelter forest programs span across China. The Three-North Shelter Forest Program is the biggest human-planted forest strip, sprawling from northwest China’s Xinjiang, to Inner Mongolia in the north and Heilongjiang Province in the northeast. Started in 1978, the project is expected to complete in 2050 by eight phases. By 2020, a total of about 30 million hectares of trees had been planted in the stretch, and the forest coverage rate in the area increased from 5.05 percent to 13.57 percent. 防护林工程横跨全国，（其中）三北防护林工程是最大的人工造林带，从中国西北部的新疆延伸到北部的内蒙古和东北部的黑龙江省。该项目于1978年启动，预计在2050年分八个阶段完成。截至2020年，该地区累计种植树木约3000万公顷，森林覆盖率从5.05%增加到了13.57%。
span [spæn] vt 横跨 strip [strɪp] n [C] 狭长地带 sprawl [sprɔːl] vi 蔓延；杂乱无序地拓展 phase [feɪz] n [C] 阶段；时期 stretch [stretʃ] n [C]（尤指狭长的）一片地域
Now tree-planting in the spring has become a bit of tradition for the Chinese. It has also been adopted by people in many areas as a way to commemorate the dead, and to prevent well-cultivated from being taken over. 现在，在春天植树成为了中国人的一个传统。植树也被许多地区的人们用作纪念死者的一种方式，从而避免了良田被占用。
commemorate [kəˈmeməreɪt] vt 为……举行纪念活动 take over 取而代之
For those living in big cities, Tree-planting Day is an excellent time for city skipping. They often take the planting as a nice short tour back to nature with their family members. After their fieldwork together, they not only harvest a greener environment but also more harmonious family relations with their beloveds as well as more enthusiasm for the future. 对于那些生活在大城市的人来说，植树节是逃离城市的好时机。他们常常把植树看作是与家人回归自然的美好短程旅途。在田野劳作之后，他们不仅收获了更葱翠的环境，也收获了与心爱之人更和谐的家庭关系，以及对未来更大的热忱。
harmonious [hɑːˈməʊniəs] adj 和谐的；和睦的 |
