文本选自:The Guardian(卫报)
作者:Alden Wicker
原文标题:Are your clothes making you sick? The opaque world of chemicals in fashion
原文发布时间:3 Jul. 2023
Are your clothes making you sick? The opaque world of chemicals in fashion
The first thing that happened when Mary, an Alaska Airlines attendant, received a new, high-performance, synthetic uniform in the spring of 2011 was a hacking cough. Then a rash bloomed on her chest. Next came migraines, brain fog, a racing heart, and blurry vision. Mary (whose name I've withheld to protect her job) was one of hundreds of Alaska Airlines attendants reporting that year that the uniforms were causing blistering rashes, swollen eyelids crusted with pus, hives, and in the most serious case, breathing problems and allergic reactions so severe that one attendant, John, had to be taken off the plane and to the ER multiple times.
Tests commissioned by Alaska Airlines and the flight attendants' union turned up tributyl phosphate, lead, arsenic, cobalt, antimony, restricted disperse dyes known to cause allergic reactions, toluene, hexavalent chromium, and dimethyl fumarate, an antifungal that had recently been banned in the European Union. But the uniform maker, Twin Hill, avoided culpability in court by saying none of these many mixed chemicals, on their own, were present at high enough levels to cause all of the different reactions.
Alaska Airlines announced in 2013 it would procure new uniforms, without admitting the uniforms had caused health issues. A lawsuit from attendants against Twin Hill was thrown out in 2016 for lack of evidence.
你的衣服让你不舒服吗?时尚界不透明的化学品世界
精听党背景导读
近年来,随着国内公众环保意识的提升、国内外社交媒体对时尚行业或者说服装行业资源消耗和环境污染问题的持续传播,消费者对于一些数据也已经不再陌生。比如,服装行业是全球第2大污染产业,仅次于石油业。再如,时尚行业每年产生了全球20%的废水和全球10%的碳排放量。
然而,另外一个同等重要的关键议题,似乎还不为大多数消费者所知。那就是:纺织服装行业中的化学品消耗及化学品管理。
文本选自:The Guardian(卫报)作者:Alden Wicker原文标题:Are your clothes making you sick? The opaque world of chemicals in fashion原文发布时间:3 Jul. 2023关键词:衣服 舒适度 化学品
精听党带着问题听
1.“合成药物”用英语可以怎么表达?2. 如何理解段一中的“bloom”?3. 制服制造商Twin Hill是如何在法庭上回避了罪责?
精听党选段赏析
标题解读
Are your clothes making you sick? The opaque world of chemicals in fashion
你的衣服让你不舒服吗?时尚界不透明的化学品世界
sick adj. 生病的,患病的;病人的;恶心的,想吐的;1. make sb. sick 使某人厌恶;使某人反感;2. seasick adj. 晕船的;3. airsick adj. 晕机的;4. carsick adj. 晕车的;
opaque adj. 不透明的,难以理解的;
段一
The first thing that happened when Mary, an Alaska Airlines attendant, received a new, high-performance, synthetic uniform in the spring of 2011 was a hacking cough. Then a rash bloomed on her chest. Next came migraines, brain fog, a racing heart, and blurry vision. Mary (whose name I’ve withheld to protect her job) was one of hundreds of Alaska Airlines attendants reporting that year that the uniforms were causing blistering rashes, swollen eyelids crusted with pus, hives, and in the most serious case, breathing problems and allergic reactions so severe that one attendant, John, had to be taken off the plane and to the ER multiple times.
Alaska Airlines 阿拉斯加航空公司;
attendant n. 服务员;侍者;1. a parking/museum attendant 停车服务员/博物馆接待员;
high-performance adj. 高性能的;高效能的;1. a high-performance car/computer 高性能的汽车/计算机;
synthetic adj. 合成的,人造的;1. synthetic drugs/fabrics 合成药物/织物;
uniform n. 制服;1. a military/police/nurse's uniform 军装/警服/护士制服;
hacking adj. (咳嗽)干涩刺耳的;
cough n. 剧烈咳嗽;
rash n. 皮疹,疹子;
bloom vi. 开花,绽放;繁荣,兴旺;
migraine n. [内科] 偏头痛;
brain fog 脑雾;
racing heart 心跳加速;
blurry adj. 模糊不清的;1. a blurry policy 不明确的政策;2. blurry memories 模糊的记忆;
withhold vt. 保留;扣留;
blistering adj. 起水疱的;起气泡的;
crust vi. 形成(或结成)硬皮(或硬壳);
pus n. 脓;脓汁;
hives n. [皮肤]荨麻疹;
ER abbr. 急诊室(emergency room);
参考译文
2011年春天,当阿拉斯加航空公司的空乘人员玛丽收到一件新的高性能定制服时,第一件事就是剧烈干咳。接着,她的胸口起了疹子。接下来是偏头痛、脑雾、心跳加快和视力模糊。玛丽(为了保护她的工作,我没有透露她的名字)是当年阿拉斯加航空公司数百名空乘人员中的一员,他们报告说,制服引起了皮疹、眼皮肿胀、脓痂、荨麻疹,最严重的情况是,呼吸问题和过敏反应非常严重,以至于一名名叫约翰的空乘不得不多次被带下飞机送去急诊室。
段二
Tests commissioned by Alaska Airlines and the flight attendants’ union turned up tributyl phosphate, lead, arsenic, cobalt, antimony, restricted disperse dyes known to cause allergic reactions, toluene, hexavalent chromium, and dimethyl fumarate, an antifungal that had recently been banned in the European Union. But the uniform maker, Twin Hill, avoided culpability in court by saying none of these many mixed chemicals, on their own, were present at high enough levels to cause all of the different reactions.
commission vt. 委任;
flight attendants’ union 空乘人员工会;
turn up 出现,露面;
tributyl phosphate 磷酸三丁酯;
arsenic n. 砷;
cobalt n. [化学] 钴;
antimony n.(化学元素)锑元素;
disperse dyes 分散染料;
toluene n. [有化] 甲苯;
hexavalent chromium 六价铬;
dimethyl fumarate 富马酸二甲酯;
antifungal n. 抗真菌药物;
culpability n. 可责;有过失;有罪;
in court 在法庭上;
参考译文
阿拉斯加航空公司和空乘人员工会委托进行的测试发现,磷酸三丁酯、铅、砷、钴、锑、已知会导致过敏反应的限制性分散染料、甲苯、六价铬和富马酸二甲酯(一种最近在欧盟被禁的抗真菌药物)。但制服制造商Twin Hill在法庭上回避了罪责,称这些混合化学物质本身的含量都不足以引起任何反应。
段三
Alaska Airlines announced in 2013 it would procure new uniforms, without admitting the uniforms had caused health issues. A lawsuit from attendants against Twin Hill was thrown out in 2016 for lack of evidence.
procure vt.(设法)获得,取得;
lawsuit n. 诉讼,诉讼案;
throw out 驳回,赶下台,废弃;
参考译文
阿拉斯加航空公司在2013年宣布会采购新的制服,但没有承认这些制服造成了健康问题。2016年,空乘人员对Twin Hill提起的诉讼因缺乏证据而被驳回。
精听党每日单词
sick
/sɪk/ adj. 生病的,患病的;病人的;恶心的,想吐的;
opaque
/oʊˈpeɪk/ adj. 不透明的,难以理解的;
Alaska Airlines
阿拉斯加航空公司;
attendant
/əˈtendənt/ n. 服务员;侍者;
high-performance
/ˌhaɪ pərˈfɔːrməns/ adj. 高性能的;高效能的;
synthetic
/sɪnˈθetɪk/ adj. 合成的,人造的;
uniform
/ˈjuːnɪfɔːrm/ n. 制服;
hacking
/ˈhækɪŋ/ adj. (咳嗽)干涩刺耳的;
cough
/kɔːf/ n. 剧烈咳嗽;
rash
/ræʃ/ n. 皮疹,疹子;
bloom
/bluːm/ vi. 开花,绽放;繁荣,兴旺;
migraine
/ˈmaɪɡreɪn/ n. [内科] 偏头痛;
brain fog
脑雾;
racing heart
心跳加速;
blurry
/ˈblɜːri/ adj. 模糊不清的;
withhold
/wɪðˈhoʊld/ vt. 保留;扣留;
blistering
/ˈblɪstərɪŋ/ adj. 起水疱的;起气泡的;
crust
/krʌst/ vi. 形成(或结成)硬皮(或硬壳);
pus
/pʌs/ n. 脓;脓汁;
hives
/haɪvz/ n. [皮肤]荨麻疹;
ER
abbr. 急诊室(emergency room);
commission
/kəˈmɪʃ(ə)n/ vt. 委任;
flight attendants’ union
空乘人员工会;
turn up
出现,露面;
tributyl phosphate
磷酸三丁酯;
arsenic
/ˈɑːrsnɪk/ n. 砷;
cobalt
/ˈkoʊbɔːlt/ n. [化学] 钴;
antimony
/ˈæntɪmoʊni/ n.(化学元素)锑元素;
disperse dyes
分散染料;
toluene
/ˈtɑljʊˌin/ n. [有化] 甲苯;
hexavalent chromium
六价铬;
dimethyl fumarate
富马酸二甲酯;
antifungal
/ˌæntiˈfʌŋɡəl; ˌæntaɪˈfʌŋɡəl/ n. 抗真菌药物;
culpability
/ˌkʌlpəˈbɪləti/ n. 可责;有过失;有罪;
in court
在法庭上;
procure
/prəˈkjʊr/ vt.(设法)获得,取得;
lawsuit
/ˈlɔːsuːt/ n. 诉讼,诉讼案;
throw out
驳回,赶下台,废弃;
精听党文化拓展
打开你的衣橱,最先抓住你眼球的是什么?颜色。热情的红、沉静的蓝、稳重的黑、神秘的紫、朝气的黄、雅致的灰、纯净的白……这些你用来彰显你一部分个性的服装色彩,如果没有化学品,将无法实现,或者严谨地说,没有那么容易。就拿紫色来说,在历史上,紫色的服装通常只属于贵族阶层或者上流阶层,因为紫色的染料很少,自然也很贵,直到19世纪中期,一位年轻的英国化学家在合成奎宁的过程中,意外地发现了一种紫色化合物,紫色才慢慢地成为普通人也可以享受的颜色。
除了赋予衣服颜色,化学品在提升面料特殊功能也起到关键作用。比如最基本的防水、耐磨等功能。从广义的角度来说,服装从面料生产到最终服装成品的每一个环节,都和化学品息息相关。换言之,化学品是现代纺织工业的必然投入。
不过,消费者对于服装行业化学品的负面印象也不是胡乱杜撰的。全球每一个纺织制造中心都不可避免地在发展的某一个阶段经历过印染污水为附近河道“染色”的场景。对于一些发展中国家的纺织制造业,这也许是正在发生的事实。那些五颜六色的河道画面,成为消费者对纺织服装生产的主要负面联想之一。
另一方面,服装上的化学品残留问题,特别是有毒有害物质的残留,已经引起了部分消费者对于纺织品健康安全的担忧。这在新生儿父母身上表现得最为明显。以甲醛为例,在装修方面,大多数公众已经意识到甲醛的危害,但很少人会购买衣服的时候关注甲醛的含量。在服装生产过程中,用于固色和防皱的染色助剂和树脂整理剂大都含有甲醛。服装上超标的甲醛对人的皮肤和呼吸道具有强烈的刺激,长期穿着甲醛超标的衣物,很有可能引发呼吸道炎症和皮肤炎。
精听党每日美句
It is not enough to be industrious, so are the ants. What are you industrious about?
光勤劳是不够的,蚂蚁也是勤劳的。你到底是为了什么勤劳?