中国生态文明建设（中英对照）连载之二十四
生态空间优美
本书由北京语言大学出版社出版，2014（教学课件光盘版） 作者 蒋高明
3.1.4生态空间优美
3.1.4 Beautiful ecological space
笔者小时候，家住村北头，房子后面就是一大片森林，有国槐、刺槐、核桃、垂柳和板栗。印象最深的是，国槐树上经常有一些金黄色的小鸟跳来跳去。鸟的身子是黄色的，但脖子是翠绿色的，漂亮极了！这样可爱的小鸟引来了淘气的孩子们，他们拉开弹弓去打鸟。但小黄鸟太机灵了，还没等你拉开弓呢，它们欢叫着跳到了更高的地方，浓密的树叶遮住了孩子们的视线……
In my childhood I lived in the north of a village. Behind my house lay a large forest, in which various kinds of trees were planted—pagoda trees, acacias, walnuts, weeping willows and chestnuts. I was deeply impressed by some golden birds hopping in the pagoda trees. The birds’ bodies were yellow, but their necks were green. So beautiful! The lovely birds were so attractive that some naughty kids often shot at them with a slingshot. But the yellow little birds were really smart. They would hop to a higher spot before a boy could release the shot and then hide themselves safely behind the thick leaves.
如今，这些让人内心温暖的画面，已经成了回忆了。现在的孩子看不到这种小鸟了，因为农村的本地森林已经基本消失了。
But now, those heart-warming scenes are fading from memory. Kids cannot see the little birds anymore, because the indigenous forest in the rural areas has almost vanished.
几十年前，中国河流里的水捧起来就能喝，而且是在城市郊区、农村等人类活动相对频繁的地方。即使人类活动频繁，但由于当年没有工业污染，生态环境是健康的。这种健康的生态，源自生态系统结构完善，生态功能完备，生态过程顺畅，生物多样性丰富，远离人类制造的化学污染物。现在看来，这正是中共十八大所提出的“生态空间优美”的状态。生态空间优美，生活空间宜居，这应是最根本的民生，是人类最能共享的一种幸福了。
Decades ago, the water in the rivers of China could be drunk directly, even in the suburbs and the countryside where human activities were relatively frequent. That was because there was no industrial pollution and the ecological environment was healthy. And this was the result of the well-structured ecosystem, complete ecological functions, smooth ecological processes and diversity of species. Besides, they are far from the chemical contaminants emitted by humans. That is just the state the 18th CPC National Congress advocated: beautiful ecological space. Beautiful ecological space and habitable living space are the most fundamental undertakings for people’s well being, and constitute the happiness that all human beings can easily share.
