China, US, Begin Joint Effort to Fight Pollution
美中举行研讨会商讨解决环境污染

　 
Chinese and U.S. officials are working together to find ways to combat environmental problems. The two countries held their first joint workshop on environmental cooperation.

美国和中国官员正在共同努力寻求克服环境污染问题的途径。两国正在举行有关环境保护协作的第一次研讨会。

The meeting Tuesday brought together officials from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology.

来自美国环境保护署和中国科技部的官员出席了星期二的研讨会。

Chinese Vice Minister Liu Yanhua says environmental protection is more important than ever in China, which has some of the most polluted cities in the world.

中国科技部副部长刘燕华说，中国的环境保护问题比已往任何时候都更加重要。中国的某些城市是世界上污染最严重的地方。

Liu says China has made environmental protection one of its top goals.

刘燕华说：“中国政府提出了建设资源节约型、环境友好型的社会的目标。环境保护工作已进入全面推进、重点突破的新阶段。”

Topics for the two-day workshop include information about new green technologies and protecting drinking water supplies.

这次两天研讨会的议题包括新的绿色环保技术和饮水供应保护。

EPA Assistant Administrator George Gray says for China to assess its situation accurately it needs to develop good indicators of environmental health - by improving the measurements it uses and the way the information is analyzed.

美国环保署助理局长乔治.格雷说，中国要准确评估环境现状就必须改进监测和信息分析方式，以便制定足以反映环境状况的评估指数。

"They're also important for communicating, to tell your ministers, being able to tell the journalists, being able to tell the public when progress is being made," Gray said.

格雷说：“有关指数对于信息交流也很重要，既可用来上报给部长级官员，也可以用来向新闻界和社会大众报告所取得的进展。”

China's rapid economic growth, outdated power generation equipment and poor regulatory system have contributed to a massive pollution problem. Each year, tens of thousands of people suffer from illnesses linked to pollution, such as respiratory infections and exposure to tainted water. The government has acknowledged that the majority of the country's water supply is badly polluted.

中国飞速发展的经济、陈旧的发电设备和监控体制的缺陷导致了巨大的环境污染问题。每年不计其数的人患上与环境污染有关的疾病，例如呼吸道感染和污水导致的各种疾病等。中国政府已经意识到中国的大部分饮水都受到严重污染。

Outside criticism of environmental pollution in China has increased, in part because air pollutants from China are found as far away as Japan and the West Coast of the United States. Worldwide concerns about Beijing's air quality are rising, especially because of the coming Summer Olympics. At least one top-ranked runner has decided to skip the games because of the city's often choking air.

国际上有关中国的环境污染问题的批评越来越多。这部分是由于中国的空气污染已经影响到了日本，甚至是美国西海岸的地区。随著今年夏天的北京奥运会即将来到，国际上对北京空气质量的担忧也越来越严重。至少有一名第一流的马拉松长跑运动员已经由于北京的空气质量问题而决定不参加北京奥运会。