[th]【慢速英语听力】New Shipping Rules Aim to Reduce... & 共同见证：第 22天-178
AS IT IS
New Shipping Rules Aim to Reduce Air Pollution, But Could Harm Seas
October 30, 2019
FILE - A China Ocean Shipping Company (COSCO) container ship is seen at the San Antonio port in Chile August 6, 2019. (REUTERS/Rodrigo Garrido)
New shipping rules aimed at reducing air pollution will take effect in January 2020. The rules, put in place by the International Maritime Organization, or IMO, will change the kind of fuel that ships can use.
Ships, for the most part, will no longer be able to use fuels with a sulfur content above 0.5 percent. Current rules permit a sulfur content of around 3.5 percent.
The IMO’s stated goal is to reduce air pollution.
However, experts and civil society leaders warn that the rules could have a bad side effect. Ship crews might dump more sulfur and nitrates into the ocean.
After January 2020, ships will still be able to use higher-sulfur fuel if they have pollution cleaning devices called scrubbers.
There are two kinds of scrubbers: open-loop scrubbers and closed-loop scrubbers. Open-loop scrubbers use water to remove sulfur coming through a ship’s smokestack and pump the waste into the sea. Closed-loop scrubbers keep most of the water used in the cleaning process on the ship for disposal later at a port.
A few countries will ban the use of open-loop scrubbers. Singapore and Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates are two examples. China is also set to extend a ban on scrubber discharge to coastal areas.
“Were open-looped scrubbers ever a really good idea?” Bill Hemmings of the Clean Shipping Coalition asked industry figures at the IMO’s headquarters in London.
Years of studies have examined whether open-loop scrubbers hurt human and marine life by putting dangerous chemicals into the water. The results, so far, have not been clear. The IMO has supported further study into the environmental impact of scrubbers.
“It’s a bit of a blind spot, and the optics of it are not great,” said Alan Gelder to the Reuters news agency. Gelder is vice president of refining at consulting company Wood Mackenzie
“Though some studies suggest the impact of open-loop scrubbing is going to be very small given the great volume of seas, which already contain many sulphates, what it’s doing is solving air pollution by producing a marine pollutant instead.”
The stated aim of the new rules is to improve human health.
A study last year said that ship pollution with current sulfur levels caused about 400,000 premature deaths from lung cancer and cardiovascular disease. The study, which appeared in the journal Nature, also said the pollution caused about 14 million cases of childhood asthma every year. After 2020, experts think those numbers will fall to about 250,000 and 6.4 million, respectively.
Some people, however, are still doubtful of the new rules.
One oil trader told the Reuters news agency that the “huge changes” might not be as helpful as some might think.
“In the end you can still buy a piece of kit that just dumps it [pollution] in the water,” he said.
I'm John Russell.
Noah Browning reported on this story for Reuters. John Russell adapted it for Learning English. Mario Ritter Jr. was the editor.
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Words in This Story
disposal – n. the act of disposing of something: such as : the act of throwing something away
smokestack – n. a tall chimney on a factory, ship, etc., for carrying smoke away
discharge – n. a liquid or gas that flows out of something : the movement of a liquid or gas from something
impact – n. a powerful or major influence or effect
optics – n. (political context) the way the public perceives an event or course of action
volume –n. amount
kit – n. a set of tools or supplies that a person uses for a particular purpose or activity
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AS IT IS
Vietnamese Migrants’ Earnings Build Mansions Back Home
October 30, 2019
The dome of Phu Tang church is seen among newly-built houses at Do Thanh commune, in Nghe An province, Vietnam October 29, 2019. Picture taken October 29, 2019. (REUTERS/Kham)
Vietnam’s “Billionaire Village” does not sound like a place people would want to leave. However, at least three of the 39 victims found in the back of a truck in Britain last week were from there. They left to seek work and good pay.
A billion Vietnamese dong is worth about $43,000 U.S. dollars. That amount of money can buy a lot in rural Vietnam.
Many migrants from Vietnam send their earnings home to family. In the northern-central Vietnamese town of Do Thanh, migrant money has built some huge and beautiful homes for relatives living there.
“Seventy to 80 percent of the villas here have been built with remittances,” said Nguyen Van Ha. He is chairman of the rural rice-farming community in Nghe An province.
“If you work in Vietnam earning dong, it would take a long time to build a big house like this,” Ha said, pointing to the large houses near the town government building.
In Do Thanh, remittance money sent to Roman Catholic families even paid for a large, costly church.
Many of the other victims found in the truck are believed to have come from outside the town, in the surrounding area of Yen Thanh. Nineteen-year-old Bui Thi Nhung is believed to be among the dead. She left messages on social media documenting her trip through Europe in the days before she got in the truck.
The vehicle was found near London, a top city for Vietnamese migrants. The incident has brought greater attention to the dangers of trafficking people from Asia, Africa and the Middle East to the West.
Vietnamese Deputy Foreign Minister Nguyen Quoc Cuong told Reuters on Tuesday that the nationality of the victims had not been officially been confirmed. He said Vietnam and Britain were “trying to speed up identification of the bodies.”
Remittances rise
In Vietnam, a lack of jobs, environmental disasters and government pressure on Catholics are pushing people to leave.
Vietnamese migrants pay thousands of dollars to dangerous trafficking operations in order to travel to Europe. The migrants believe the money they can earn once they are there makes the trip worth the risk.
Ha, the chairman of Do Thanh, said many people from the area are living in Britain. But he added, “We have no idea what they do there to earn all this money to send back home.”
The World Bank says overseas workers sent nearly $16 billion in remittances to Vietnam in 2018. That is more than two times the Southeast Asian country’s trade surplus for the same period. The World Bank examination showed Vietnamese remittances had risen 130 percent over the last 10 years.
Drugs and nails
About 70 percent of Vietnamese trafficking cases in Britain between 2009 and 2016 were related to work in the illegal cannabis trade or in beauty services, Britain said last year.
Many migrants do find find legal work in Europe and the United States. They also find work closer to home in places like Japan, Taiwan and Laos.
Bui Van Diep is a metal worker. He told Reuters, “I didn’t have enough money to go abroad so I went to Saigon (Ho Chi Min City) instead.”
He lives in a small, home in Do Thanh. His cousin, Bui Chung, lives in a large, costly villa next door.
Bui Chung left Do Thanh for Britain in 2007. When he returned home, he built his house and started a steel trading business.
“I went from Vietnam to France legally, but from France to the UK illegally inside a container truck,” said Chung. “I chose to go to the UK because the salary is very good and so many people from Do Thanh already lived there.”
Chung worked in a cannabis farm in Britain. He also worked at a Vietnamese-run nail salon, where he said he earned around $640 a week.
“The Vietnamese community living there help newcomers to find jobs,” Chung said. “That’s why many people around here are willing to even sell their land to raise enough money to go.”
Now, he believes he made a huge mistake returning home.
“I’ve lost a lot of money doing business here. People don’t trust each other,” Chung said. “I might go back to the UK.”
I’m Ashley Thompson.
Reuters News Agency’s James Pearson reported this story. Caty Weaver adapted his report for VOA Learning English. Ashley Thompson was the editor.
We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page.
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Words in This Story
villa –n. a large house or estate that is usually located in the country
remittance –n. an amount of money that is sent as a payment for something
church –n. a building that is used for Christian religious services
average –n. a level that is typical of a group, class, or series : a middle point between extremes
abroad –n. in or to a foreign country
cannabis–n. a drug (such as marijuana or hashish) that comes from the hemp plant and is smoked illegally
nail salon –n. a business where beauty services are offered
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
US Companies Set to Have Drones Transport Food, Medicines
October 30, 2019
In this Tuesday, Aug, 7, 2018, photo a Wing Hummingbird drone carries a package of ice cream and popsicles as it leaves its launch site during a delivery flight demonstration in Blacksburg, Va. (Michael Shroyer via AP)
People in some parts of the United States could soon have medications and other products flown directly to their homes.
CVS Health Corporation is partnering with international shipping company UPS to set up a product delivery service for CVS customers. The service will involve drone aircraft.
The two companies announced plans to develop and test the system last week.
The service is expected to begin tests in one or two U.S. cities in the coming weeks, Reuters news agency reported. UPS said the program would involve direct drone deliveries of prescription drugs and other products to homes of CVS customers.
The new partnership marks the latest expansion of the UPS drone company Flight Forward. Flight Forward has been operating about 10 drone flights a day to deliver medical materials on the grounds of WakeMed Hospital in Raleigh, North Carolina. Some of the flights involved emergency blood supplies.
This month, Flight Forward received approval from the Federal Aviation Administration, FAA, to operate as the first U.S. “air carrier” with drone delivery services. After the approval, UPS announced plans to expand Flight Forward’s drone deliveries from healthcare to other industries.
Other businesses that have sought FAA approval for drove delivery services include online seller Amazon and Google’s parent company Alphabet.
Alphabet’s drone company Wing received federal approval earlier this year to fly delivery drones. Last week, Wing announced it had launched a test program that delivers non-prescription medications and other products to people in a Virginia town.
Wing’s project is a partnership with international shipper FedEx and Walgreens Boots Alliance, the owner of Walgreens drugstores. Walgreens customers in the town can order from a list of more than 100 products and get them delivered to their home by drone.
The first test flights involved drones that flew about seven kilometers from a Wing storage center to nearby houses. Each aircraft is able to travel as far as 19 kilometers on a single flight. The company says it plans to expand travel distances in the future.
In January, the FAA proposed rules that would permit drones to operate over populated areas. But final federal rules for drone use are not expected to be finalized until at least 2021.
Another company that has been testing drone deliveries is Uber. The ride-sharing company has experimented with food deliveries for its online food ordering business Uber Eats.
Uber received permission from the FAA last year to test food deliveries by air in San Diego, California. The company said the first tests involved food orders from McDonald’s restaurants.
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During testing, food orders are sent through the Uber Eats app to one of the restaurants. Workers load the food into a box, which is connected to the delivery aircraft. The drone is then programmed to fly to a special landing area. From there, an Uber worker takes the box and completes the rest of the trip on the ground.
In the future, the company plans to land drones on top of parked vehicles that Uber drivers would then use to deliver the food to customers. The company is planning also to use self-driving cars to support its future drone delivery services.
Luke Fischer is head of Uber Elevate, which is developing the service’s flight operations. He says the company is still experimenting with possible methods that would permit the drone to complete the whole delivery by itself.
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These could involve drone landings on specially-designed mailboxes or use of parachutes to drop products close to customers’ homes. But Fischer said these methods would be difficult in most big city environments.
It is not known when Uber will receive permission to expand its testing and delivery services to other parts of the country. But this week, the company released a photo of a newly-designed Uber Eats delivery drone. The company says it expects the new aircraft to take flight before the end of the year.
I’m Bryan Lynn.
Bryan Lynn wrote this story for VOA Learning English, based on reports from Reuters, the Associated Press, UPS and online sources. George Grow was the editor.
We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page.
Words in This Story
delivery – n. the act of taking goods to a person or place
customer – n. a person who buys goods or services from a business
drone – n. an unmanned aircraft guided by computers or human operators from a distance
prescription – n. an order written by a doctor that says a patient can be given a medicine or treatment
app – n. a program for a smartphone or other electronic device that performs a special operation
park – v. to bring a vehicle to a halt and leave it
photo – n. short for photograph; an image or picture
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