2017年翻译资格考试初级（笔译）考前模拟冲刺试题（一）

　　Section 1： English-Chinese Translation (50 points) For generations,coal has been the lifeblood of this mineral-rich stretch of eastern Utah.Mining families proudly recall all the years they toiled underground. Supplycompanies line the town streets. Above the road that winds toward the mines, asoot-smudged miner peers out from a billboard with the slogan “Coal = Jobs.”

　　But recently, fearhas settled in. The state’s oldest coal-fired power plant, tucked among thecanyons near town, is set to close, a result of new, stricter federalpollutionregulations. As energycompanies tack away from coal, toward cleaner, cheaper natural gas, people herehave grown increasingly afraid that their community may soon slip away. Dozensof workers at the facility here, the Carbon Power Plant, have learned that theymust retire early or seek other jobs. Local trucking and equipment outfits arepreparing to take business elsewhere. “There are a lotof people worried,” said Kyle Davis, who has been employed at the plant sincehe was 18. Mr. Davis, 56, worked his way up fromsweeping floors to managing operations atthe plant, whosefurnaces have been burning since 1954.

　　“I would haveliked to be here for another five years,” he said. “I’m too young to retire.” But Rocky MountainPower, the utility that operates the plant, has determined that it would be tooexpensive to retrofit the aging plant to meet new federal standards on mercuryemissions. The plant is scheduled to be shut by April 2015. “We had beenworking for the better part of three years, testing compliance strategies,”said David Eskelsen, a spokesman for the utility. “None of the ones weinvestigated really would produce the results that would meet the requirements.”

　　For the last several years, coal plants have been shutting down across the country, drivenby tougher environmental regulations, flattening electricity demand and a moveby utilities toward natural gas. This month, theboard of directors of the Tennessee Valley Authority, the country’s largestpublic power utility, voted to shut eight coal-powered plants in Alabama andKentucky and partly replace them with gas-fired power. Since 2010, more than150 coal plants have been closed or scheduled for retirement. The EnvironmentalProtection Agency estimates that the stricter emissions regulations for theplants will result in billions of dollars in related health savings, and willhave a sweeping impact on air quality. In recent weeks,the agency held 11 “listening sessions” around the country in advance ofproposing additional rules for carbon dioxide emissions.

　　“Coal plants are the single largest source of dangerous carbon pollution in the United States,and we have ready alternatives like wind and solar to replace them,” said BruceNilles, director of the Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal campaign, which wants to shut all of the nation’s coal plants. For many here,coal jobs are all they know. The industry united the area during hard times, too, especially during the dark days after nine men died in a 2007 mining accident some 35 miles down the highway. Virtually everyone around Price knew the men, six of whom remain entombed in the mountainside.

　　But there is quietacknowledgment that Carbon County will have to change — if not now, soon. David Palacios’sfather, Pete, who worked in the mines for 43 years, has seen coal roar and fadehere. Now 86, his eyes grew cloudy as he recalled his first mining job. He was12, and earned $1 a day. “I’m retired, so I’llbe fine. But these young guys?” Pete Palacios said, his voice trailing off.