伊拉克上空出现甲烷云，谁是罪魁祸首？以下纯干货，预计阅读时长6分钟。
Hush hush: methane leaks
嘘：甲烷泄露
Part Ⅰ
第一段
This weekBloombergreported thata large methane cloud hovered over part of Iraq in July.
本周彭博社报道称，7 月份伊拉克部分地区上空盘旋着巨大的甲烷云。
⊙句子主干
This week Bloomberg reported that ...
本周彭博社报道称……
⊙ 重点词汇
★Bloomberg
彭博社
（截图取自维基百科）
★ methane
/ˈmiː.θeɪn/ 音标附上。n. 甲烷（化学名词）
★ hover
v. 盘旋
例句：
A hawk hovered in the sky, waiting to swoop down on its prey.
一只老鹰在天空中盘旋，要伺机俯冲捕捉猎物。
Its appearance coincided almost exactly with a leakof liquified petroleum gas—which often contains methane—from a pipeline operated by Oil Pipelines Co, a state-owned company.
甲烷云的出现几乎与国有石油管道公司的液化石油气（通常含有甲烷）泄露事件相吻合。
⊙ 句子主干
Its appearance coincided almost exactly with a leak ...
甲烷云的出现和一起泄露事件相吻合。
⊙ 重点词汇
★ coincide
/ˌkoʊ.ɪnˈsaɪd/ 音标附上。v. 相吻合，相一致
例句：
If our schedules coincide, we'll go to Spain together.
如果我们的日程安排一致，就能一起去西班牙。
★ liquified petroleum gas
n. 液化石油气（化学名词）
The companyswearsthatit had nothing to do with the methane cloud.
这家公司誓不承认这件事和甲烷云有关系。
⊙ 句子主干
The company swears that ...
这家公司发誓……
⊙ 重点词汇/句型
★ swear
v. 发誓
★ have nothing to do with ...
和……之间没有关系
→相关句型：have something to do with 和……之间有关系。
But such leaks are worryingly common and too often go unreported.
但令人担忧的是，这种泄漏非常普遍，却极少有相关报导。
⊙ 重点词汇
★ worryingly
adv. 令人担忧地
例句：
But whatever they are called, they are worryingly common.
令人担忧的是，尽管名称更易频繁，实质内容却大同小异。
Part Ⅱ
第二段
Though it hangs around for less time, methane warms the planet far faster than carbon dioxide.
尽管甲烷停留的时间更短，但甲烷使地球变暖的速度远远快于二氧化碳。
⊙ 句子主干
Methane warms the planet far faster than carbon dioxide.
甲烷使地球变暖的速度远远快于二氧化碳。
⊙ 重点词汇
★ hang around
v. 停留
→相关短语：hang out 闲逛
If the methane release in Iraq—with an estimated rate of more than 160 tonnes an hour—lasted a full day, it would have the same impact on the climate as the annual emissions of 200,000 cars.
如果伊拉克的甲烷释放量（估计每小时 160 吨以上）持续一整天，它对气候的影响将与 200,000 辆汽车的年排放量相同。
The latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a UN-funded body, released this month, emphasises that only by rapidly reducing methane emissions (along with carbon dioxide) does the world stand a chance of keeping temperatures less than 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels before 2050.
联合国下属的政府间气候变化专门委员会（IPCC）本月发布的最新报告强调，只有通过迅速减少甲烷排放（同时减少二氧化碳排放），世界才有可能在 2050 年之前将全球平均气温相比工业化前水平的增幅限制在 1.5°C 水平。
⊙ 句子主干
The latest report from the IPCC emphasises that ...
IPCC 最新报告强调……
⊙ 重点短语
★ stand a chance of ...
有……的可能性。此处的 chance 指的是可能性。
今天职业病犯了，腰痛，希望大家注意身体。
