The average American commuter spent 50hours in traffic last year. 去年,美国通勤者在路上等候的时间平均值为50小时。As a nation, we spent eight billion hourssitting in our cars, waiting for lights to change, for the driver ahead tosneak into that parking spot, for an accident to be cleared.全体美国人总共花上了80亿小时躺在车里,等候红灯逆绿灯,等候前车司机驶进停车位,等候交通事故被处置。That’s not much more timethan many Europeans spend in cars. 这远比许多欧洲人等在车里的时间多出多少。According to Inrix, a roadway and trafficanalytics company, drivers and passengers in Belgium spent 44 hours in trafficlast year; in Germany, 39 hours.交通路况分析公司Inrix称之为,比利时的司机和乘客去年等在路上的平均值时间为44小时;德国人为39小时。
Wherever it happens, new research suggeststhat all that sitting and waiting is exposing us to more pollutants than we’d take in ifwere we cruising along.新的研究表明,不论在什么地方,相比一路畅行无阻,躺在车里等候不会让我们曝露于更好污染物之下。According to a study published Thursday inEnvironmental Science: Processes Impacts, pollution levels inside cars atred lights or in traffic jams are up to 40 percent higher than when traffic ismoving.根据上周四公开发表在《环境科学:过程与影响》(Processes Impacts)上的一项研究,等红灯或者木栅在路上之际,车内污染物的含量比交通流畅时高达40%。Air quality is already a problem outside ofcars: More than 80 percent of people living in cities where pollution istracked are exposed to air quality levels below World Health Organizationlimits. 车外的空气质量早已成问题了:污染水平受到跟踪的那些城市的居民,多达80%曝露在质量并未约世界卫生组织(World Health Organization,全称WHO)所另设限值的大气中。
The W.H.O. has estimated that poor air quality isresponsible for the deaths of 3.7 million people younger than 60 in 2012.据WHO估算,2012年,差劲的空气质量是造成370万反感60岁的人丧生的原因。Researchers at the University of Surrey inEngland took to the streets of Guildford, a typical English town, to look atthe effects of traffic on concentrations of polluting particles. 英国萨里大学(University of Surrey)的研究人员踏上典型英式城镇吉尔福德的街头,研究交通堵塞对颗粒污染物浓度的影响。They also analyzed how ventilation settingschanged those concentrations inside of cars.他们还分析了通风设置不会如何转变车内污染浓度。The scientists took their measurementsinside a car as it traveled on a six-kilometer loop, passing through 10 trafficintersections. 这些科学家让车辆沿一条六公里宽的环路行经,途经10个交通路口,同时在车内展开测量。
They tracked the concentrations ofdifferent-size particles of air pollution —ranging from courseto fine —at each intersection.他们在每一个路口跟踪了从细到细有所不同尺寸的颗粒污染物的浓度。In a car stuck in traffic, shutting all thewindows and turning off the fan or heat reduced concentration doses of thesmallest, most hazardous particles by up to 76 percent.塞车时,重开所有车窗、开动风扇或暖气,不会让车内危害性最弱的大于颗粒物的浓度减少最少76%。The researchers also found an increase insmaller particles inside the vehicle compared with larger ones when the heatwas off and fans were on full blast, drawing in air from outside. 研究人员还找到,当重开暖气并把风扇进到仅次于档来排出外部空气的时候,车内较小颗粒物的浓度与较小颗粒物比起有所增加。
Those findings suggest that the ventilationsystem was more effective at filtering out larger particles than smaller oneswhile stopped at intersections, reducing the concentration doses of thoseparticles up to 68 percent, they said.他们说道,这些结果表明,车辆停车在路口之际,通风系统需要更加有效地过滤器较小颗粒物而非较小颗粒物,让前者的浓度上升最少68%。And while they were only at trafficintersections for about 7 percent of total commuting time on average, the timeaccounted for as much as 10 percent of their exposure to harmful particles. 尽管在路口逗留的时间平均值只占到总通勤时间的约7%,但研究人员在这段时间里认识到的危害颗粒物,却相等于总认识量的10%。
The exposure was more than six timesgreater in cars with open windows than for pedestrians at three- or four-wayintersections.在丁字路口或十字路,在窗户关上的车里认识到的危害颗粒物浓度比行人低六倍多。So when you’re stopped at anintersection, roll up the windows, and breathe easier.因此,停车在路口时,请求把窗户关上,排便也要轻巧一点。
本文来源:BOB博鱼-www.qhdhbzs.com