每日英語：Smog Levels in Hong Kong Hit Highs

Hong Kong’s pollution levels hit nearly decade-level highs this week, sending locals scurrying inside and obscuring the city’s skyline behind a blanket of white.

scurry：急跑，急趕　　　　

In the city’s central business district, roadside monitoring devices clocked levels of pollution as high as 210 on the city’s air pollution index yesterday, with high levels persisting through Tuesday afternoon. That figure is nearly the highest the city has experienced since 1999, with the exception of levels reached when a dust storm blew in from mainland China in 2010 and a similar high notched last year.

notch：刻痕，缺口

The education department advised schools to keep students inside and reduce any outdoor sports activities. Meanwhile, the city’s marine department warned boat captains that visibility over the water was very low, urging them to exercise “extreme caution.” The government also encouraged the elderly and infirm to stay indoors.

infirm：衰弱的，意志薄弱的

The bad weather was evident at some of the city’s prime tourist spots, where visitors like to photograph vistas of the city’s famous skyline, which so far this week has been thoroughly shrouded in smog.

shroud：覆蓋，籠罩

“Today the visibility is not very good, so we aren’t seeing many people come,” said Ivan Lo, an employee at the Sky100 Observation Deck at the International Commerce Center, which on clear days offers sweeping views of Victoria Harbour and its surroundings from a perch 100 stories up in the sky. On Tuesday, about 100 visitors purchased tickets to try and appreciate the view, down from typical traffic of about 2,000 daily visitors, said Mr. Lo.

The government said that Hong Kong’s high pollution levels this week have been exacerbated by a lack of wind, which has helped trap pollutants in the city.

exacerbate：加劇，惡化　　　　

Sum Kwong, CEO of the Clean Air Network, said another problem was that the existing wind was coming from the north, from the direction of mainland China, and collecting pollutants along the way. “Once in Hong Kong, because of all the skyscrapers, all the pollutants get trapped,” said Ms. Kwong. “You add in our own traffic pollution and this is the result.”

skyscrapers：摩天大樓，摩天大廈　　　　

While city leader Leung Chun-ying has proposed creating a $1.3 billion subsidy plan to help take the city’s old, diesel-powered trucks off the streets, such a plan hasn’t yet become operational. The government also needs to do more to enhance inspection of existing devices fitted onto the city’s taxis and minibuses to ensure they are filtering nitrogen dioxide properly, said Ms. Kwong.

subsidy：補貼，津貼