世界公民－美國人對節約能源沒概念 - 趣味新聞網

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    Americans in the dark about energy use

    Americans aren't known for their energy-thrift ways. Maybe that's because they have little idea as to how much energy things use. While people are generally able to rank items according to energy use - i.e. the dryer uses more than the toaster - they are way off the mark when it comes to gauging by just how much, according to a recent study from researchers at Columbia University and elsewhere.

    說到節能，美國人還差得遠，因為他們對電器産品耗電量沒什麼概念；雖然很多人能依電器耗電量多寡排齣順序，像吹風機比烤麵包機耗電多，但究竟多多少，大多數的人還是搞不清楚。

    Example: Most people knew that a laptop computer uses less energy than a desktop. But few knew the lap used one-third the amount. Nearly 20% said that turning off the lights was the biggest thing they could do to save energy. In reality, turning off the lights saves just a small amount of energy compared to things like insulating your house or buying more efficient appliances.

    舉例：大部分的人知道筆記型電腦比桌上型電腦省電，但很少人知道它的用電量隻有桌上型的1／3。約有20%的人認為把燈關掉是最省電的方式，但事實上，比起裝隔熱設備或用省電産品，關燈隻能省掉一點點的電而已。

    “People's perceptions were off by an order of magnitude,” said Shahzeen Attari, one of the study's authors and a fellow at the Columbia's Earth Institute and Center. “Correcting perceptions is critical if people are going to make informed decisions.”

    多數人對節能的觀念都不正確，沒有注意到用電的數量級。如果節能的正確決定，導正觀念是當前重要的課題。哥倫比亞大學地球研究所研究員Shahzeen Attari說。

    ◎order of magnitude：數量級，物理學名詞，簡言之是一個估計量。

    Americans tended to slightly overestimate how much energy small things like lights and laptops use, and greatly underestimate how much is consumed by big items like dishwashers and air conditioners. They also tended to say that curtailment activities - not using the lights, not using the car - had more of an effect than investing in more efficient items.

    美國人容易高估小型電器産品的用電量，比如燈和筆電，卻大大低估瞭像是洗碗機和空調等大型電器産品的耗電量。他們以為不開燈、不開車，比投資省電産品更具節能效果。

    “It's what they can do now, and it's easier to incorporate that without an up front cost,” said Attari.

    這是每個人都可做的、沒有什麼成本，又很容易融入的省電習慣。Attari說。

    Also surprising: the study found that people who said they practiced conservation fared worse on the quiz than the public at large. The study has generated some controversy, with some questioning the numbers Attari used to decide what activity saved more energy. She has posted detailed links to the information used in her study, although she conceded that there are lots of assumptions that go into the numbers.

    研究還有一項新發現，節能測驗時，那些自認為有省電習慣錶現反而低於平均水準。但這個研究中，Attari用來判定這些節能行為的數據也有爭議。她已經在網路上貼瞭一些研究資料的連結，不過她也承認有很多計算是假設性的。

    A native of Dubai who studied engineering in college, Attari said she is now focused on the intersection of engineering and psychology as a better means of enabling the public to take advantage of scientific advances to curb greenhouse gas emissions.

    在杜拜齣生長大，大學主修工程學的Attari說，她目前主要想利用工程學與心理學，讓大傢更能利用科學的進步來減少溫室氣體排放。

    “We study the engineered system, but we don't study how people interact with it,” she said. She stressed her study isn't meant to suggest people stop doing things like turning off the lights, but rather also look to other areas where there could be even more energy savings.

    “We need both, curtailment and energy efficiency,” she said.

    「我們研究的是這個建構係統，而非人如何與此係統的互動。」她強調，並非建議大傢就不必關燈省電，而是希望也能找齣更多有效節省能源的領域。我們兩者都需要：減量，以及提高節能效率。

    In the Dark-

    「在黑暗裏」，意思是搞不清楚狀況。這裏用"in the dark"這個成語比喻美國人以為關燈是節能最好的辦法，一暗一亮，相映成趣。

    ●注意1：如果是不清楚狀況，意思就比較像沒有真的去探討，或更深入的瞭解。例如文章描述的美國人，他們不是對省電沒概念，有可能是因為沒有嘗試去理解，所以這裏用"in the dark".

    例：John's dad is in the dark about a lot of things regarding his son.

    John的爸爸對他的很多事都不瞭解。

    這句可以說John的爸爸本身沒去做更多瞭解他兒子的事，所以對兒子的狀況不清楚；也可以說他爸爸因為有被隱瞞，所以對於他兒子真正的情況不瞭解。

    ●注意2：如果是描述刻意不讓對方知道真相，就需要"Keep"這個動詞來描述持續隱瞞的動作，讓對方一直在「黑暗裏」，也就是說，使對方在狀況外，不讓真相曝光。

    例：John kept his father in the dark about his drug addiction.

    John對他爸爸隱瞞瞭他有毒癮的事。

    ●注意3：除瞭上麵兩個用法之外，比較少用來當問句或否定句，除非是描述「不想要」。

    例1：Can you keep my secret in the dark for me? (×)

    你能幫我保密嗎？

    例2：I don't want to be kept in the dark anymore, tell me the truth! (○)

    我不想一直被隱瞞真相瞭。告訴我事實！

    Up front

    up front有很多意思，是一個很常見、受用的俚語。但也因為它意思太多，常讓人搞混。

    ●注意1：Up front第一個意思是"in advance"預先，在本文就是這個意思。隨手關燈很簡單，每個人都可以做，又沒有up front cost。不需投資任何成本。

    例句：

    I'll be up front with the driver. 我會先付給司機錢。

    The more you pay up front, the less you'll have to finance. 你先付多一點錢，將來負擔就輕一點。

    ●注意2：Up front也可以當直率地、坦率地。

    I wish the salesman had been more up front about it.

    ●注意3：Up front也用來指最前麵，用在軍事上，意思是最前綫。

    She got on the bus and picked a seat up front. 她上瞭公車，找瞭個最前麵的座位。

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