工业带给我们的奇迹真是令人陶醉，因而，我们对由于自己对地球资源贪婪、无知的开发而遭受的惩罚视而不见。北京，中国的首都和政治、经济、文化中心，无时不遭受沙尘暴的威胁。与二十世纪八十年代相比，中国在九十年代遭遇了更多的沙尘暴，并且在2000年达到顶点。沙漠正以惊人的速度向我们逼近。人们在痛苦中学会适应坏天气。

We have been enjoying the wonders industry has brought to us so much so that we seldom notice its punishment on our greed and ignorance in exploiting the resources on this planet. Beijing, the capital of China and center of its politics, economics and culture, is under constant threat from the approaching desert. More and more sandstorms have hit Beijing during the past decade than in the l980's, and the peak came in the year 2000. Deserts are approaching us at a frightening pace. Citizens are getting used to the bad weather in a hard way. 

华北大大小小的许多河流都干涸了，只留下遍布沙砾的河床。风暴不费多大力气就可以将光秃秃的河床吹得面目全非。曾孕育了华夏文明的黄河已经干涸见底了。历史上文人墨客曾描述过的宏伟的黄河景象现在几乎不可能重现了。根据中科院的报告，1997年，黄河极度干枯，有330天没有一滴水注入黄海。该报告向人们发出警告，下个世纪，黄河的状况会给黄河流域的经济造成威胁。目前，黄河的断流对沿岸人民是一大难题，进而也会动摇该地区的社会稳定。

In Northern China, many rivers large and small have dried up, leaving sandy beds there. It is rather easy for windstorms to blow away the bare riverbeds. The Yellow River, which gave birth to the Chinese civilization, is all but dry now. Throughout history, many a man of letters has described its great scene. But at present, the situation is nearly impossible to recur. In 1997, the Yellow River was so dry that for 330 days, no water emptied into the Yellow Sea, according to the China Academy of Science. The reports warn that the situation threatens the Yel1ow River valley in the next century. For the time being, the dry-up of the river will be a harsh prob1em for the riverside population, as a result, social stability will be shaken. 

生态环境的恶化对人民的正常生活带来极大威胁。2001年，华北和北京地区发生的大型沙尘暴就达数十次之多。沙尘暴所到之处，不仅人双眼难睁，鼻孔堵塞，而且发动机也熄灭。甚至连太阳发出的光也变成惨淡的蓝色，有时，能见度仅为30米。沙尘暴是由于华北地区沙漠扩大引起的。每年，沙漠平均吞噬掉中国2460平方公里的土地。现在，沙漠占中国国土面积的百分之二十七点三。

The worsening of ecological situation poses great threat to the normal life of the people. In the year 200l, dozens of major sandstorms have swept across northern China and Beijing. They blinded vision, filled nostrils and b1ocked engines. Even the sun was transformed into a faint blue glow, and sometimes, visibility was reduced to little more than 30 meters. Sandstorms are caused by the expansion of deserts in northern China. Each year, China suffers an average loss of 2460 km2 of land to deserts. In China, 27.3 % of the land is now desert.