PART 3

ANNIE: OK, Jack. Before we plan our presentation about refrigeration, let’s discuss what we’ve discovered so far.

安妮：好了杰克。在我们准备关于冰箱的展示之前，让我们讨论一下我们目前找到的信息吧。

JACK: Fine, Annie. Though I have to admit I haven’t done much research yet.

杰克：好的，安妮。但是我得承认我还没有做很多的研究。

ANNIE: Nor me. But I found an interesting article about icehouses.

安妮：我也没有。但是我发现了一篇关于冰室的文章，很有趣。

I’d seen some 18th and 19th-century ones here in the UK, so I knew they were often built in a shady area or underground, close to lakes that might freeze in the winter.

我已经看了一些英国的18世纪和19世纪的冰室。所以我知道冰室经常建于阴凉的地方或者地下，靠近冬季可能结冰的湖泊。

Then blocks of ice could be cut and stored in the icehouse.

然后冰块可以被切割并且储存在冰室中。

But I didn’t realise that insulating the blocks with straw or sawdust meant they didn’t melt for months.

但是我没想到用稻草或者锯末来隔热可以使冰数月不化。

The ancient Romans had refrigeration, too.

古罗马也有制冷术。

JACK: I didn’t know that.

杰克：我还不知道。

ANNIE: Yes, pits were dug in the ground, and snow was imported from the mountains - even though they were at quite a distance.

安妮：是的，先在地面挖坑，将远处山上的雪移过来。

The snow was stored in the pits.

雪被储存在土坑中。

Ice formed at the bottom of it.

在底部会形成冰。

Both the ice and the snow were then sold.

冰和雪之后会被卖掉。

The ice cost more than the snow and my guess is that only the wealthy members of society could afford it.

冰比雪的价格更贵。我猜测只有社会上的富裕阶层可以用得起。

JACK: I wouldn’t be surprised.

杰克：我觉得也不惊奇。

I also came across an article about modern domestic fridges.

我还看到一篇关于现代家用冰箱的文章。

Several different technologies are used, but they were too complex for me to understand.

用到了许多不同的科技，但是对我来说很难理解。

ANNIE: You have to wonder what happens when people get rid of old ones.

安妮：你必须考虑一下旧冰箱被废弃的时候会发生什么。

JACK: You mean because the gases in them are harmful for the environment?

杰克：你的意思是因为冰箱中的气体会污染环境？

ANNIE: Exactly. At least there are now plenty of organisations that will recycle most of the components safely, but of course some people just dump old fridges in the countryside.

安妮：是的。至少现在有不少的组织都会安全回收其中的大部分零件，当然也有人直接把旧冰箱丢在乡下。

JACK: It’s hard to see how they can be stopped unfortunately.

杰克：糟糕的是很难明确应该如何阻止他们。

In the UK we get rid of three million a year altogether!

在英国一年间一共要丢弃300万台冰箱。

ANNIE: That sounds a lot, especially because fridges hardly ever break down.

安妮：听起来真不少，尤其是因为冰箱几乎不会坏掉。

JACK: That’s right. In this country we keep domestic fridges for 11 years on average, and a lot last for 20 or more.

杰克：你说得对。在英国本地，平均每台冰箱的使用时间是11年，很多能用20年或者更久。

So if you divide the cost by the number of years you can use a fridge, they’re not expensive, compared with some household appliances.

所以如果把成本平均到冰箱的使用时间上，和其他家用电器比起来，冰箱的价格并不贵。

ANNIE: True. I suppose manufacturers encourage people to spend more by making them different colours and designs.

安妮：是的。我觉得制造厂商通过制造不同颜色和设计的冰箱来鼓励大家购买。

I’m sure when my parents bought their first fridge they had hardly any choice!

我确定我父母买第一个冰箱的时候几乎没有选择。

JACK: Yes, there’s been quite a change.

杰克：是的，这确实是一个相当大的变化。

JACK: Right, let’s make a list of topics to cover in our presentation, and decide who’s going to do more research on them.

杰克：好了，让我们来列一个关于我们展示要谈到的话题的单子，然后决定谁将要再多做些研究。

Then later, we can get together and plan the next step.

之后，我们再一起做下一步计划。

ANNIE: OK. How about starting with how useful refrigeration is, and the range of goods that are refrigerated nowadays?

安妮：好的。展示以冰箱的用途开始怎么样？再说一下现在需要冷藏的各个种类的商品？

Because of course it’s not just food and drinks.

因为冰箱里放的当然不止是食物和饮料。

JACK: No, I suppose flowers and medicines are refrigerated, too.

杰克：是的，我想鲜花和药品也要冷藏。

ANNIE: And computers. I could do that, unless you particularly want to.

安妮：还有电脑。我可以讲这个，除非你特别想做。

JACK: No, that’s fine by me.

杰克：我就不用了。

What about the effects of refrigeration on people’s health?

聊聊冰箱对人的健康的影响怎么样？

After all, some of the chemicals used in the 19th century were pretty harmful, but there have been lots of benefits too, like always having access to fresh food.

毕竟19世纪的冰箱用到的化学物质对人身体伤害特别大，但是冰箱也有很多好处，比如总能让人们吃到新鲜的食物。

Do you fancy dealing with that?

你想要做这个吗？

ANNIE: I’m not terribly keen, to be honest.

安妮：说实话，我不是很想做。

JACK: Nor me. My mind just goes blank when I read anything about chemicals.

杰克：我也不想。我一读到和化学的东西脑子就一片空白。

ANNIE: Oh, all right then, I’ll do you a favour.

安妮：噢，那就算了，我帮你这个忙吧。

But you owe me, Jack.

但是杰克，记得你欠我一次啊。

OK. What about the effects on food producers, like farmers in poorer countries being able to export their produce to developed countries?

我来做吧。关于冰箱对食品制作者的影响呢？比如较为贫穷国家的农民能够把他们的产品出口到发达国家去？

Something for you, maybe?

也许你来做这个？

JACK: I don’t mind. It should be quite interesting.

杰克：我没问题。应该还挺有趣的。

ANNIE: I think we should also look at how refrigeration has helped whole cities - like Las Vegas, which couldn’t exist without refrigeration because it’s in the middle of a desert.

安妮：我认为我们应该聊一下冰箱是如何帮助整个城市的，比如拉斯维加斯。如果无法制冷，拉斯维加斯就不会存在了，因为它是位于沙漠中的城市。

JACK: Right. I had a quick look at an economics book in the library that’s got a chapter about this sort of thing.

杰克：好的。我之前在图书馆翻阅过一本经济学的书，里面有一章就是讲这个的。

I could give you the title, if you want to do this section.

如果你想负责这个部分的话，我可以把书名给你。

ANNIE: Not particularly, to be honest.

安妮：说实话，我并不是很想做。

I find economics books pretty heavy going, as a rule.

我发现通常来说经济学的书籍很难读。

JACK: OK, leave it to me, then.

杰克：那就交给我吧。

ANNIE: Thanks. Then there’s transport, and the difference that refrigerated trucks have made.

安妮：谢谢啦。还有交通方面。冷藏车带来的变化。

I wouldn’t mind having a go at that.

我愿意做这一部分。

JACK: Don’t forget trains, too.

杰克：别忘了还有火车。

I read something about milk and butter being transported in refrigerated railroad cars in the USA, right back in the 1840s.

我之前读到早在19世纪40年代的美国，牛奶和黄油是用带有冷藏功能的火车运输的。

ANNIE: I hadn’t thought of trains. Thanks.

安妮：我之前没想到火车。谢谢。

JACK: Shall we have a separate section on domestic fridges?

杰克：我们要不要单用一个部分讲家用冰箱？

After all, they’re something everyone’s familiar with.

毕竟，这是大家都熟悉的内容。

ANNIE: What about splitting it into two?

安妮：咱们把它分成两部分怎么样？

You could investigate 19th- and 20th century fridges, and I’ll concentrate on what’s available these days, and how manufacturers differentiate their products from those of their competitors.

你可以调查一下19和20世纪的冰箱。我来负责现代冰箱，还有冰箱制造厂商如何制造与竞争者不同的产品。

JACK: OK, that’d suit me.

杰克：可以，这个工作很适合我。