8月30日午间英语新闻：一票难求！内地奥运健儿代表团访港公开活动门票售罄

>Tickets to see mainland Olympians sell out in HK
一票难求！内地奥运健儿代表团访港公开活动门票售罄

A star-studded delegation of mainland athletes who achieved outstanding results at the Paris Olympic Games will visit Hong Kong from Thursday to Aug 31 before heading to Macao for three days.
在巴黎奥运会上取得优异成绩的内地奥运健儿代表团将于周四（8月29日）至31日到访香港，随后还将前往澳门进行为期三天的访问。

The delegation will attend a welcome reception and welcome banquet hosted by the HKSAR government, and visit the Hong Kong Sports Institute for exchange activities. Members will also attend three public events, including a Gala Show at Queen Elizabeth Stadium on August 30, and give sports demonstrations at Queen Elizabeth Stadium and Victoria Park Swimming Pool on August 31.
据了解，代表团将出席香港特区政府举行的欢迎招待会及晚宴。访港期间，代表团有三场公开活动，包括30日晚在伊利沙伯体育馆举行的“奥运健儿大汇演”，以及31日上午分别于伊利沙伯体育馆和维多利亚公园游泳池举行的两场“内地奥运健儿展风采”运动项目示范。

Over 5,000 tickets priced at HK$20 that were offered for sale from 10 am on Thursday sold out within about 40 minutes.
周四（8月22日）上午10点，内地奥运健儿代表团访港公开活动门票公开出售，超5000张售价20港币的门票在约40分钟内全部售罄。

In the first 10 minutes of ticket sales, the online system showed that nearly 50,000 people were trying to buy tickets for the badminton, gymnastics and table tennis demonstrations, more than 41,000 were waiting to buy tickets for diving and swimming demonstrations, and over 25,000 were hoping to get tickets for the gala show. 
在门票开售后10分钟，系统显示近5万人希望购买羽毛球、体操和乒乓球表演的门票，超过4.1万人希望购买跳水和游泳表演的门票，超过2.5万人希望获得汇演的门票。

The visit of national team athletes to Hong Kong is a decades-long tradition.
内地奥运健儿在奥运会结束后访港是一项延续多年的传统。

John Lee, chief executive of the HKSAR, expressed his sincere gratitude to the central government for arranging another visit of the Chinese mainland Olympians delegation, which he said "fully demonstrates its care for Hong Kong."
李家超表示，衷心感谢中央政府再次安排内地奥运健儿代表团访港，充分体现对香港的关心关爱。

"We are looking forward to the delegation's visit to share with Hong Kong people their journey of perseverance and success, and to promote the spirit of Chinese sports. Hong Kong people will be able to share the national team's joy and triumphs, thereby strengthening their patriotic passion and national spirit, especially among the younger generation," he said.
李家超说：“我们热切期待代表团到来，与香港巿民分享他们的奋进历程和成功经验，弘扬中华体育精神，让香港巿民可以一同分享国家队取得骄人成绩的喜悦，增强香港巿民尤其青少年的爱国热情和民族精神。”

>Water security under threat
水安全面临威胁

Every minute, over 1 million water bottles are sold worldwide, and the industry keeps growing, according to a report published in 2023. Global sales of bottled water are expected to nearly double by 2030.
根据2023年发布的一份报告，全球每分钟售出超过100万瓶水，而且这个行业还在不断扩张。预计到2030年，全球瓶装水的销量将翻一番。

But this global success comes at a big cost to the environment and society, according to a report by the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health, which looks into the worldwide effects of the industry.
但联合国大学的水、环境与健康研究所的一份报告指出，这种全球性的成功是以环境和社会的巨大牺牲为代价，该研究所探究了瓶装水行业的全球影响。

According to CNN, in wealthier countries, where clean tap water tends to be widely available, bottled water is frequently seen as a “luxury” item. People believe it to be healthier and tastier than tap water, an idea driven by bottled water companies. In contrast, in numerous middle- to low-income nations, the need to consume bottled water often comes from unreliable access to safe tap water.
据CNN报道，在较为富裕的国家，清洁的自来水可以广泛使用，瓶装水经常被视为“奢侈品”。人们认为瓶装水比自来水更健康、更好喝，这一想法由瓶装水公司推动产生。相比之下，在许多中低收入国家，对瓶装水的需求往往来自于他们无法获得卫生、洁净的水。

However, the industry’s emphasis on marketing bottled water as a “luxury” item can draw focus away from the real problem of public water systems that poor regions face, which can further worsen global inequities when it comes to water access. 
然而，该行业把瓶装水包装为“奢侈品”的做法可能会转移人们对贫困地区面临的公共水系统问题的关注度，这也许会进一步加剧全球水资源不平等的问题。

For example, public officials often present bottled water as a stopgap when tap water is contaminated or pipes are damaged. Yet in practice, bottled water often ends up replacing unreliable tap water for a long time, leading to the neglect of rebuilding public water systems.
例如，当自来水被污染或管道被损坏时，政府官员经常提供瓶装水作为权宜之计。然而，在实践中，瓶装水经常长期取代出了问题的自来水，导致公共水系统的重建被忽视。

Groundwater extracted to help fill billions of plastic bottles a year also poses a potential threat to drinking water resources. In India, for instance, water resources are used to make expensive bottled water for rich people, while poor people are left with little water available.
每年都抽取大量地下水来灌满数十亿个塑料瓶，这也对饮用水资源构成了潜在的威胁。例如，在印度，水资源被用来为富人制造昂贵的瓶装水，而穷人却几乎无水可用。

According to the report, the bottled water industry produced around 600 billion plastic bottles in 2021, leading to an estimated 25 million tons of plastic waste, the majority of which is not recycled and ultimately ends up in landfills. 
根据该报告，瓶装水行业在2021年生产了约6000亿个塑料瓶，产生了约2500万吨塑料垃圾，其中大部分没有被回收利用，最终被填埋。

Each bottle can take up to 1,000 years to decompose , leaking dangerous and harmful chemicals during the process. Additionally, they find their way into the ocean, contributing to a significant build-up of plastic waste that presents a severe danger to marine life.
每个瓶子需要长达1000年的时间才能分解，在这个过程中还会泄漏危险和有害的化学物质。此外，它们会进入海洋，导致塑料垃圾大量堆积，对海洋生物构成严重威胁。

The main source of bottled water is groundwater, which is declining rapidly in certain regions of the world due to factors such as excessive extraction and droughts worsened by climate change. However, the amount of water used by the bottled water industry can further strain an already decreasing water supply.
瓶装水的主要来源是地下水，由于过度开采和气候变化导致的干旱等因素，世界某些地区的地下水正在迅速减少。然而，瓶装水行业的巨大用水量可能还会加重水资源供应压力。

Many people are concerned that the effects of groundwater extraction and plastic pollution may become worse in a warmer future.
许多人担心，在全球气温变暖的未来，地下水开采和塑料污染的影响可能会更大。

“If you really need to prepare yourself for a warmer future, you need a reliable water supply in your house for everyone,” Vladimir Smakhtin, coauthor of the report, told CNN. “Bottled water will satisfy the thirst, but it will not provide a sustainable solution.” 
“如果你真想为气温变暖的未来做好准备，你需要为每个人的房子提供可靠的供水，”该报告的合著者弗拉基米尔·斯马赫金对CNN说道。“瓶装水可以解渴，但却不能提供可持续的解决方案。”

重点词汇：
delegation
英/ˌdelɪˈɡeɪʃn/ 美/ˌdelɪˈɡeɪʃn/
n.代表团；授权，委派
banquet

英/ˈbæŋkwɪt/ 美/ˈbæŋkwɪt/
n.宴会，盛宴；筵席，宴席
gymnastics
英/dʒɪmˈnæstɪks/ 美/dʒɪmˈnæstɪks/
n.体操，体操训练；技巧，技能训练
triumph
英/ˈtraɪʌmf/ 美/ˈtraɪʌmf/
n.巨大成功，重大胜利；（胜利或成功的）喜悦，狂喜
patriotic
英/ˌpætriˈɒtɪk/ 美/ˌpeɪtriˈɑːtɪk/
adj.爱国的，有爱国心的
contaminated
英/kənˈtæməneɪtɪd/ 美/kənˈtæmɪneɪtɪd/
adj.受污染的，弄脏的
extracted
英/ˈekstrækt; ɪkˈstrækt/ 美/ˈekstrækt; ɪkˈstrækt/
v.提取，提炼；取出，拔出；
landfill
英/ˈlændfɪl/ 美/ˈlændfɪl/
n.废物填埋，垃圾填埋；废物填埋场，垃圾填埋地
decompose
英/ˌdiːkəmˈpəʊz/ 美/ˌdiːkəmˈpoʊz/
v.（使）腐烂，腐败；（使）分解；（数）分解
extraction
英/ɪkˈstrækʃn/ 美/ɪkˈstrækʃ(ə)n/
n.取出，提炼；血统

>Word of the day丨regulation on glacier protection in the Xizang Autonomous Region
每日一词丨西藏自治区冰川保护条例

A regulation on glacier protection in the Xizang Autonomous Region will come into effect on Oct. 1, 2024, representing a significant achievement in the region's ecological and environmental protection legislation.
《西藏自治区冰川保护条例》将于2024年10月1日起施行，该法规是西藏生态环境保护立法的一项重要成果。

【知识点】
冰川是指地表上存在的，由降雪或者其它固态降水积累、演化形成并处于流动状态的自然冰体。为了加强冰川保护，保障生态安全，促进经济社会可持续发展，实现人与自然和谐共生，西藏自治区第十二届人民代表大会常务委员会第十一次会议审议通过《西藏自治区冰川保护条例》（下称冰川保护条例），将自2024年10月1日起施行。

冰川保护条例指出，冰川保护应当坚持山水林田湖草沙冰一体化保护，尊重冰川生态系统的自然规律，保持冰川原真风貌，遵循科学规划、统一管理、系统保护、合理利用的原则，妥善处理与冰川所在地经济社会发展、原住居民生产生活的关系。

冰川保护条例针对冰川所在地各级政府、有关部门关于冰川保护及其监督管理等活动作出具体规定，实行冰川保护目标责任制和绩效评价考核制度，并针对违反条例规定的行为制定处罚措施。

截至2024年7月底，在西藏现行有效的133件自治区级地方性法规中，涉及生态环境保护的法规有31件，占比超过23%，生态环境保护法规制度体系不断完善，为西藏筑牢国家生态安全屏障提供坚实法治保障。

【相关词汇】

生态修复
ecological restoration
生态保护补偿条例
regulations governing ecological protection compensation