Earth Day began on April 22, 1970. It is a day to think about our planet and what we can do to keep her healthy; it is a day to think about saving water and energy, reducing pollution , and protecting our animals and plants; it is a day to think about getting kids interested in protecting their environment . Children are our future. It is teachers' and parents' responsibility to teach kids something about this day . Once we have used up the resources of our Earth, there will be no way out . We only have one earth, so we must take care of her.
-planet ［'plænɪt ］ n. 行星
-reduce ［rɪ'dju:s ］ vt. 减少；降低
-pollution ［pə'luʃn ］ n. 污染
-protect ［prə'tekt ］ vt. 保护，防卫
-parent ［'peərənt ］ n. 父亲（或母亲）
-responsibility ［rɪˌspɒnsə'bɪləti ］ n. 责任，职责
think about 考虑，思索
no way out 没有任何出路；无路可走
take care of 照顾；注意
1. It is a day to think about getting kids interested in protecting their environment. 这一天，要好好思考如何让孩子们对保护环境饶有兴趣。
It is a day to think about how to get people interested in saving water and energy. 这一天，要考虑如何让人们对节水节能感兴趣。
It is a day to think about how to get our children interested in reading books.
这一天，要认真思考怎么让儿童对读书饶有兴趣。
2. It is teachers' responsibility to teach kids something about this day.
教师有责任向孩子传授有关世界地球日的知识。
It is your responsibility to teach your child some English words and expressions. 教你孩子学一些英语单词和短语是你的责任。
It is my responsibility to clean the bathroom this week.
这星期由我负责打扫浴室。
世界地球日
世界地球日始于1970年4月22日。这一天，我们要好好想一想我们的星球，想一想我们能做些什么才能让她保持健康；这一天，还要思考该如何节水和节能，如何减少污染，如何保护我们的动植物；这一天还要思考如何让孩子们对保护环境饶有兴趣。孩子就是我们的未来。教师和父母有责任向孩子传授有关世界地球日的知识。一旦我们把地球上的资源都用尽，就没有任何出路了。我们只有一个地球，我们必须关心她。
The Earth Day Network sponsors numerous events with organizations across the globe to increase environmental awareness on this occasion, like teach-ins with scientists and trash cleanup projects. If you’re planning to attend one of these events, by all means do so. You will be part of what the sponsors call “the largest civic observance in the world,” joining more than a billion people who participate in this common cause that affects us all.
地球日网络与全球各地的几家机构一起赞助了很多活动，以在这一天提升人们的环保意识，比如科学家座谈会，以及垃圾清理项目等。如果你计划参加其中一项活动，一定要去。你将参加赞助者所说的“全球最大的民间节日”，与全球10亿多人一起加入到这项影响全人类的共同事业中来。
teach-in：宣讲会，座谈会
However, if you haven’t yet made plans and wish to take a stand, there is one activity that you can do alone at home that will help you and the planet. It ensures that ever-so-briefly you are not contributing to climate change, and are doing what you can to save endangered species. Don’t drive or fly. Don’t buy anything. Do no laundry. Turn off the lights. Avoid going online. Depending on where on Earth you are, shut down the air-conditioning or heaters (unless you’ve got solar panels!).
如果你还没有制定计划，但还是希望表示一下立场，你可以独自在家进行一项对自己和地球都有益处的活动。它能确保你起码在短期内不会造成气候的变化，并且尽自己所能保护濒危物种。不要开车，也不要搭乘飞机;不要购物;不要洗衣服;关掉电灯;不要上网。根据你所处的地理位置而定，关掉空调或者暖气(除非你用的是太阳能电池板)。
Breathe deep and take a seat.
深吸一口气，坐下来。
Doing nothing is also a way to do something. That is why contemplative types have practiced the fine art of sitting in meditation for millennia. While many of us are action-oriented and want to be involved in solving the world’s problems, some philosophers have argued that deliberate inaction provides necessary balance. Activism and ambition are great, but stirring the pot is not the only way to make a difference when it comes to being green.
什么也不做也是参与的一种方式，所以一千年以来，冥想者一直在练习静坐沉思的艺术。尽管我们很多人以行动为导向，想要参与到解决全球问题的进程中，但一些哲学家认为，有意的不作为能提供必需的平衡。行动主义和雄心壮志很好，但一直有所行动并不是让地球更环保的唯一方式。
In the Tao Te Ching, one of the world’s oldest and best-read philosophical texts, the sixth-century Chinese thinker Lao Tzu provided, “[t]he sage keeps to the deed that consists in taking no action and practices the teaching that uses no words.” While he acknowledged that there are occasions for doing—if action is well-timed—he emphasized the importance of not doing because so much of society’s messaging is about drive. “Do that which consists in taking no action and order will prevail.”
在全球最古老且最具可读性的哲学名著《道德经》中，中国6世纪的思想家老子说：“圣人处无为之事，行不言之教。”尽管他承认有时需要有意为之(在行为正合时宜时)，但他强调了无为的重要性，因为这个社会传递的太多信息都与欲望有关。“为无为，则无不治。”
In the context of environmentalism, this message is especially important. It’s human doing that has jeopardized the planet, our hustle and bustle, our innovation and consumption, our fuel use, our shopping, our relentless drive and ceaseless wanting. And even when we try to do the right thing, it often turns out we ignore the consequences of alleged improvements.
在环境保护论的语境中，这种想法尤其重要。正是人类的行为威胁到了地球，比如我们的忙碌、创新和消费、燃料使用、购物、无尽的欲望和无休止的需求。甚至当我们尝试做正确的事时，我们也经常会忽视所谓改善产生的影响。
Take the growing debate over replacing canvas totes with single-use plastic bags, for example. Growing cotton taxes precious water resources. Manufacturing processes contribute to carbon emissions. It turns out, you have to use an organic cotton tote 20,000 times over to make up for the impact of its production.
以日益激烈的关于用帆布手提袋取代一次性塑料袋的争论为例。种植棉花会使用珍贵的水资源。制造过程会产生碳排放。其结果就是，你需要使用一个有机棉手提包2万次才能弥补制造过程对环境产生的影响。
canvas totes：帆布手提包
Or, consider the fact that every time you wash your clothes, it releases micro plastics from synthetic fabric that eventually make their way into the ocean, and that these tiny particles travel long distances in the wind, possibly across continents. These invisible bits that you don’t see are damaging sea-dwelling species and ultimately also turning up in the fish we eat, as well as polluting previously pristine wild areas.
或者，想一想你每次洗衣服的情景，这会将微塑料从混合纤维中释放出来，最终流入海洋，这些微粒随风飘逝，可能穿越各大洲。这些肉眼不可见的微粒正在破坏海洋生物，并最终进入我们食用的鱼类体内，还会污染之前处于原始状态的野生区域。
pristine ['prɪstin]：adj.未开发的，原始的
That doesn’t mean you should just throw your hands up and despair, give up on trying to be a force for good. And it certainly doesn’t mean that you may as well chuck your plastic water bottles in the sea and trash the planet because it’s all too complicated.
这并不意味着你应该放弃抵抗，心生绝望，不再尝试为保护环境而努力。这当然也不意味着因为过于复杂，你最好把塑料瓶丢到大海里，随处扔垃圾。
chuck [tʃʌk]：vt.丢弃，抛掷
It simply means that one good thing you can do is take a day to contemplate the complexity and interconnectedness of all living things, including the Earth herself, and just do less. As Lao Tzu put it, “The sage…accomplishes without having to act…When one does nothing at all there is nothing that is undone.”
简单来说，这意味着你能做的一件有益之事就是用一天时间沉思芸芸众生的复杂性和关联性，包括地球本身，然后少做一些事。正如老子所说，“圣人不为而成。无为而无不为。”
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