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。