一、汙染形式
（一）垃圾汙染
Pollution is the price we pay for an overpopulated， over-industrialized planet.When we come to think about it， there are only four ways you can deal withrubbish： dump it， burn it， turn it into something you can use again or attemptto produce less of it. We keep trying all these four methods， but the sheervolume of rubbish we produce worldwide threatens to overwhelm us.
汙染是我們為這個人口過密、過度工業化的星球所付出的代價。當我們開始考慮這個問題時，隻有四種處理垃圾的方法：傾倒、焚燒、把垃圾變成再生材料或試圖少產生一些垃圾。我們一直在嚐試這所有的四種方法，但是，僅僅是我們在世界範圍內所產生的垃圾的量就有把我們擊垮的威脅。
（二）化學汙染
Rubbish， however， is only part of the problem of polluting our planet. The needto produce ever-increasing quantities of cheap food leads to a different kind ofpollution. Industrialized farming methods produce cheap meat products： beef，pork and chicken. The use of pesticides and fertilizers produces cheap grain andvegetables. The price we pay for cheap food may be already too high： Mad CowDisease （BSE） in cattle， salmonella in chicken and eggs， and listeria in dairyproducts. If you think you'll abandon meat and become a vegetarian， you have thechoice of very expensive organically-grown vegetables or a steady diet ofpesticides every time you think you're eating fresh salads and vegetables， orjust having an innocent glass of water!
然而，垃圾隻是我們這個星球的汙染問題的一部分。對廉價食物日益增長的生產需求導致了一種不同形式的汙染。工業化的農作方式生產出廉價的肉類製品：牛肉、豬肉和雞肉。使用殺蟲劑和化肥生產出廉價的穀物和蔬菜。我們為廉價食物所付出的代價或許已經過於高昂：牛肉中的瘋牛病，雞肉和雞蛋中的沙門氏菌以及奶製品中的利斯特杆菌。如果你認為你會放棄肉類而成為一位素食者，那麼你可以選擇：或是選用價格非常昂貴、有機培植的蔬菜，或是每次當你認為在享用新鮮沙拉和新鮮蔬菜或隻是飲用一杯無公害水的時候，都不斷吃進殺蟲劑！
（三）噪音汙染
However， there is an even more insidious kind of pollution that particularlyaffects urban areas and invades our daily lives， and that is noise. Burglaralarms going off at any time of the day or night serve only to annoy passers-byand actually assist burglars to burgle. Car alarms constantly scream at us inthe street and are a source of profound irritation. A recent survey of theeffects of noise revealed （surprisingly） that dogs barking incessantly in thenight rated the highest form of noise pollution on a scale ranging from 1 to 7.The survey revealed a large number of sources of noise that we really dislike.Lawn mowers whining on a summer's day， late-night parties in apartment blocks，noisy neighbors， vehicles of all kinds， especially large container trucksthundering through quiet villages， planes and helicopters flying overhead， largeradios carried round in public places and played at maximum volume. Newtechnology has also made its own contribution to noise. A lot of people objectto mobile phones， especially when they are used in public places likerestaurants or on public transport. Loud conversations on mobile phones invadeour thoughts or interrupt the pleasure of meeting friends for a quiet chat.Whatever the source of noise， one thing is certain：silence， it seems， has becomea golden memory.