關於霧霾的表達可是個技術活，英語中關於“霧”“霾”“煙”等的詞彙可謂形形色色，一定要鬧清楚了，下面舉幾個比較常見的詞彙，具體情況如下，更多訊息請關注應屆畢業生網!
fog 霧
牛津詞典給出的解釋是這樣的: thick cloud of tiny drops of water close to or just above land or sea;一般指靠近或懸浮於陸地或海洋上空的濃霧，能見度低。由此可見它的主要成分是水，常常指自然現象中的霧，對人體是無害的。
一般用thick, dense, light等形容詞形容。
Dense fog is covering roads in the north and visibility is very poor.
濃霧籠罩了北部的公路, 能見度很低。
mist 薄霧
牛津詞典給出的解釋：cloud of minute drops of water vapour hanging just above the ground, less thick than fog but still difficult to see through;一般指薄霧、霧靄、霧氣，這裡已經很清楚地指出了，mist比fog輕、淡，但能見度仍然不是很高，所以，fog = thick mist。
一般用thick, dense, light等形容詞形容。
early morning mists in autumn
秋日清晨的薄霧
haze 霾
The Free Dictionary給出的解釋：Atmospheric moisture, dust, smoke, and vapor that diminishes visibility，a partially opaque covering;一般是由大氣溼度、塵、煙、水汽等降低能見度的物體或不透明的懸浮顆粒引起的，而霾是指原因不明的大量煙、塵等微粒懸浮而形成的渾濁現象，核心物質是空氣中懸浮的灰塵顆粒。因此，一定程度上來說haze包括霾，也可以用haze來表示霧霾。此外，haze還有薄霧、迷糊的意思。
一般用thick, dense, light等形容詞形容。
a haze of cigarette smoke 香菸煙氣
smog 煙霧
牛津詞典給出的解釋是mixture of fog and smoke ，即霧和煙的混合物。朗文詞典給出的解釋是dirty air that looks like a mixture of smoke and fog, caused by smoke from cars and factories in cities，明確指出了是由汽車尾氣、工廠廢氣等煙氣引起的空氣汙染，對人體是有害的;由此可見，用smog來形容霧霾是最貼切的。
可用dense、choking(令人窒息的)、noxious(有毒的)等形容詞修飾。
而BBC、VOA、CNN等國外主流媒體對於霧霾的報道也是普遍傾向於用smog一詞。
霧霾關鍵詞：
Smog: 霧霾 (就是smoke+fog)
It's very smoggy: 霧霾很重
Mask, face mask: 口罩
Air quality issue: 空氣質量問題
Environmental protection: 環境保護
There're good days. There're bad days: 有些時候比較好，有些時候情況很差
To bike: 騎自行車
Skeptical: 懷疑的、持懷疑態度
I don't think it's gonna do anything: 我不覺得它有用
空氣質量
Cancer: 癌
Lungs: 肺
PM2.5 (Particulate Matter):顆粒物
AQI (Air Quality Index): 空氣質量指數
It can get into your blood stream: 它會進入你的血液
Air purifier:空氣淨化機
I keep my windows closed: 保持窗戶關閉
It smells like gas: 聞起來像煤氣的味道
It smells like burning coal:聞起來像燒煤的味道
Central heating: 中央供暖
It takes a few generations to fix the environment: 治理環境需要幾代人的努力
新能源
To peak: 達到峰值、限制
Greenhouse gas emission: 溫室氣體排放
Clean energy/alternative energy: 清潔能源
Natural gas: 天然氣
Fuel: 燃料
Petrol: 石油
Electric cars: 電動車
Hybrid: 混合動力車
Tesla: 特斯拉
Electric car subsidies: 電動車補貼
Public buses:公交車
氣候變化
Global warming:全球氣候變暖
Climate change: 氣候變化
Temperature: 溫度
Celcius:攝氏度
Fahrenheit: 華氏度
It's not the best solution: 並不是最好的`解決辦法
Developmental stage: 發展階段
Feasible: 可操作性、可能性
Consensus: 共識
Something needs to be done to save the environment: 一定要採取措施，保護環境
美國的霧霾危機
L.A. had a big smog problem in the 70's: 洛杉磯70年代也有過霧霾問題
It's situated in a valley surrounded by mountains: 洛杉磯地處山谷中，被群山環繞
The smog gets trapped inside the city: 霧霾都凝結在城裡，散不掉
Visibility: 能見度
Research: 研究
Emission: 尾氣排放
Leaded fuel: 含鉛汽油
Polluted: 被汙染的
與霧霾搭配的動詞
與霧霾搭配的動詞一般是用籠罩，而英語中表達籠罩意思的也很微妙，一般常見的有shroud, cover, blanket, envelop等。
而在此次關於北京首發空氣質量紅色預警的外媒報道中，出現頻率較高的則是shroud。
shroud (覆蓋)
Since Tuesday, the city had been shroudedin grey smog, reducing visibilities to a few hundred metres.
週二以來，這個城市就被灰色霧霾籠罩，可見度降到僅有幾百米。
engulf (吞噬、使陷入)
Beijing was againengulfedin heavy smog on Tuesday, sending air pollution readings soaring.
北京週二又深陷嚴重霧霾之中，空氣汙染指數飆升。
blanket(籠罩)
Much of northern China has been blanketedin thick smog after Beijing issued its highest air pollution alert of the winter in the capital.
北京釋出了今冬最嚴重的空氣汙染預警後，華北大部分都籠罩在濃濃霧霾中。
envelop(包裹、包圍)
Residents of north-eastern China donned gas masks and locked themselves indoors on Sunday after their homes were envelopedby some of the worst levels of smog on record.
史上最嚴重的霧霾包圍了中國東北部，居民都戴上了防毒面具，或把自己關在家裡。
Authorities are under fire for failing to issue a red-alert last week when Beijing was alsocoveredby dangerous smog.
上週，北京同樣遭受重度霧霾汙染而並未釋出紅色預警，對此，官方倍受指責
【拓展閱讀】
北京霧霾
For nearly 15 years the Chinese government has been talking about improving the air quality in Beijing, and by its own measures it seems to have done a pretty good job.
Since the city launched a campaign in 1998 to clean up the atmosphere, the number of “blue sky days” recorded by the government increased each year until 2011, when it achieved a record 286 days with supposedly clean air, compared with 100 in 1998.
But as anyone who has lived for long in Beijing can attest, “blue sky” is a somewhat redundant concept when applied to the celestial capital.
Over the weekend, air pollution readings in the city were the worst since records began about four years ago, with the concentration of fine particulates reaching a level 75 times greater than that considered healthy under the latest US standards.
A thick layer of toxic fog blanketing Beijing for days blotted out the sun and disrupted traffic as residents were warned to stay inside and avoid any strenuous activity to minimise their exposure to the hazardous fumes.
Despite years of official rhetoric and a couple of years when there was a noticeable improvement, the air seems to be getting worse and could even present the new administration of Xi Jinping with a credibility crisis. Chinese and international experts say one of the biggest problems the government faces is the willingness of officials at all levels to sacrifice environmental concerns for the overriding imperative of economic growth.
A lack of accountability, the weakness of agencies tasked with tackling the issue and the ease with which data collection and presentation is manipulated all compound the problem.
“China’s national leaders have ordered an improvement in air quality but thanks to misreporting and manipulation of data at the lower levels, they often aren’t aware of the severity of the problem,” says Steven Andrews, an environmental consultant who exposed official manipulation of air pollution data in Beijing in the run-up to the 2008 Olympic Games.
“For lower-level officials, they can often get the same results by manipulating the data as they do by enforcing emissions standards.”
Since enforcing these standards means confronting powerful state enterprises and power producers – many of which have emissions-treatment equipment installed but choose not to use it because of costs – many officials prefer to massage the numbers, Mr Andrews says.
Chinese scientists who have conducted independent studies on air quality say all sorts of tricks are used by the authorities in order to provide data that show improvements.
These range from blatantly changing the readings to putting city air monitoring stations in places where pollution levels are lowest, such as in parks.
Another problem is that China’s definition of unhealthy pollution levels seems designed to downplay the issue – the highest concentration of toxic particulates regarded as “excellent” in China is three times higher than the US considers healthy.
That many Beijing residents are even aware the “fog”?they?breathe is bad for them already marks a huge leap forward compared with just one year ago.
