侯冬意

The sight of lighted lanterns slowly drifting up into the night sky can create a beautiful， magical scene. Youve likely heard of the popular festivals where hundreds， even thousands of lanterns are released in celebration， or to honor the memory of dear loved ones. Or perhaps youve seen them at weddings， graduations， and charity events. Sky lanterns are made of rice paper， string， and a frame of bamboo or wire. When the candle in the lantern is lit， it causes the lantern to rise into the air like a hot air balloon. They might seem fun and harmless， but as we all know， what goes up must also come down， and when they do， these dangerous lanterns can damage the environment and harm animals.

點(diǎn)燃的燈緩緩升入夜空的景象可以營造出一幅美麗的奇景。你可能聽說過在一些流行節(jié)日里的慶祝活動時(shí)，或者在紀(jì)念親愛的人時(shí)，會放出成百上千的燈?；蛘吣阋苍S也能在婚禮、畢業(yè)典禮和慈善活動時(shí)看到它們。天燈是由宣紙、繩子和竹制或金屬絲制骨架制成的。當(dāng)燈籠里的蠟燭被點(diǎn)燃時(shí)，燈籠會像熱氣球一樣上升到空中。它們可能看起來有趣而又無害，但我們都知道，升到天空的東西一定會掉下來，而當(dāng)它們掉下來時(shí)，這些危險(xiǎn)的燈會破壞環(huán)境并傷害到動物。

Sky Lanterns Being Labeled as “Biodegradable1” Is Misleading2.

The term “biodegradable” has been placed on products for years. You can find biodegradable balloons， paper cups and dishes， and now， sky lanterns. Sure， items marked as biodegradable might eventually break down over time， but it doesnt always happen as fast as you think. One sky lantern company states that the rice paper will biodegrade3 in a few days once it gets wet （which requires rain）， but that the remaining bamboo and string4 will biodegrade “in due time”. So， what does “in due time” mean？

稱天燈“可生物降解”有誤導(dǎo)性。

多年來，“生物降解”一詞已應(yīng)用于各種產(chǎn)品上。你能找到可生物降解的氣球、紙杯和餐具，以及現(xiàn)在的天燈。當(dāng)然，標(biāo)志為可生物降解的物品可能會隨著時(shí)間的推移而被分解，但分解并不總是像你想象的那么快。一家制作天燈的公司聲稱只要被打濕（這需要雨），宣紙會在幾天里生物降解掉，但是殘余的竹篾和繩子到了“適當(dāng)?shù)臅r(shí)候”也會被生物降解。那么，“適當(dāng)?shù)臅r(shí)候”又是什么時(shí)候呢？

Theyre a Fire Hazard That Destroys Property and Wild Habitats.

A live flame floating through the air， completely uncontrolled， is incredibly dangerous， yet the people who plan these festivals and sell the products assure people that theyre perfectly safe. The lanterns can fly up to 3，000 feet into the air and stay afloat5 for up to ten minutes， or whenever the flame burns out. But a simple malfunction6 can cause the lantern to hit the ground while its still lit.

Recently， 15 people were severely injured in India when a sky lantern landed on a shop， causing the four neighboring houses to burst into flames. In 2013， the release of a single sky lantern in Washington resulted in a 500-acre wildfire， and it took 100 firefighters to extinguish7 the flames. That same year， a recycling plant was set on fire in the UK because of sky lanterns. The fire was so intense， it took three days to extinguish.

These tragic stories represent just a few of the reported incidents where fires were started by sky lanterns， but its certainly enough to show that theyre a hazard. Its exactly why fire marshals8 have spoken up about the dangers of sky lanterns and why people are working so hard to get them banned. In the U.S.， sky lanterns have been banned in 29 states. And many different countries have carried out full bans on these dangerous lanterns.

它們是毀壞財(cái)產(chǎn)和野生動物棲息地的火災(zāi)隱患。

一簇浮在空中燃著的火焰，完全無法控制，這是極其危險(xiǎn)的，而安排這些節(jié)日計(jì)劃和銷售產(chǎn)品的人向人們保證他們是安全的。這些燈可以飛到3000英尺的空中，最多可以在空中漂浮十分鐘，或者飄到火焰熄滅時(shí)為止。但是一點(diǎn)小問題就會導(dǎo)致燈在蠟燭燃著的時(shí)候撞到地上。

最近，在印度，一個(gè)天燈掉到了一家商店里，造成四棟相鄰的房屋起火及15人重傷。2013年，在華盛頓，一個(gè)單獨(dú)燃放的天燈導(dǎo)致了500英畝范圍的野火，動用了100名消防隊(duì)員才被撲滅。同年，英國的一家回收工廠因?yàn)樘鞜舳鸹??；饎萏土?，花了三天時(shí)間才撲滅。

這些慘劇只是天燈引發(fā)的火災(zāi)的一部分，但這足以證明它們的危險(xiǎn)。這也正是為什么消防隊(duì)長們宣稱天燈危險(xiǎn)，以及人們?yōu)槭裁磁谷挤盘鞜舻脑?。在美國?9個(gè)州禁止燃放天燈。其他一些國家也全面禁止燃放這些危險(xiǎn)的燈。

This Dangerous Litter Is Harming Animals and the Environment.

They might look pretty in the sky， but when sky lanterns fall to the ground， they pose a risk to wildlife and domestic9 animals. Particularly， birds can get entangled10 in the string or frames. Wildlife and domestic animals have also been harmed by eating the wire by mistake （when lanterns have landed on farmland）， which can damage the throat， stomach， and intestines， leading to immense pain and eventual death. Even the paper itself can cause harm when animals eat it， mistaking it for food.

這種危險(xiǎn)的垃圾正給動物和環(huán)境帶來危害。

天燈在空中看起來很漂亮，但是當(dāng)它們落到地上的時(shí)候，它們會對野生動物和家畜造成危害。特別是鳥類，會被繩子或者燈籠骨架纏住。野生動物和家畜也會因誤吃金屬線而受到傷害（在燈籠降落在農(nóng)田上的時(shí)候），這會弄傷它們的咽喉、胃和腸，導(dǎo)致它們遭受巨大的痛苦和最終死亡。甚至動物把紙當(dāng)作食物誤食時(shí)也會對它們造成傷害。

After you weigh all of the factors， its easy to see that sky lanterns simply arent worth the risk. They pose a danger to the environment by starting fires， result in excessive litter that is not only unsightly but can harm animals， and place humans in danger. There are plenty of other things to help raise money， celebrate an event， or memorialize your loved ones. By choosing greener ones you can help keep people， animals， and our beautiful planet safe from harm.

在權(quán)衡了所有因素之后，很容易明白人們冒險(xiǎn)燃放天燈根本不值得。它們會因引發(fā)火災(zāi)對環(huán)境造成危害，帶來大量垃圾，不僅有礙觀瞻，而且會傷害動物，使人類處于危險(xiǎn)之中?？梢酝ㄟ^許多其他方式去幫助籌集資金、舉行慶祝、紀(jì)念你所愛的人。選擇更環(huán)保的方式，你可以幫助人們、動物和我們美麗的星球免受傷害。

Notes：

1. biodegradable adj. 能進(jìn)行生物降解的

2. misleading adj. 令人誤解的；引入歧途的

3. biodegrade vt. & vi. 生物遞降分解

4. string n. 線，弦，細(xì)繩

5. afloat adj. 飄浮的

6. malfunction n. 故障；失靈

7. extinguish vt. 熄滅

8. marshal n. 隊(duì)長；長官

9. domestic adj. 國內(nèi)的；家庭的；馴養(yǎng)的

10. entangle vt. 使糾纏；卷入；使混亂