一条线，两种冬天
Why is there no heating in southern China?
Name: ________________ Date: ________
一月的一个晚上，北京的小赵在家里只穿一件薄薄的衣服，还觉得有点儿热。同一个晚上，上海的小陈在家里穿着羽绒服，手里抱着热水袋，说：“我家比外面还冷。”
他们两家的区别，来自一条线。这条线沿着秦岭和淮河，大概把中国分成了北方和南方。上世纪五十年代，中国的能源很紧张，国家决定，只给这条线以北的城市集中供暖。从那时候起，这条线以北的城市，冬天家家都有暖气；以南的上海、武汉、长沙，一般都没有。
南方的冬天温度不太低，可是空气很湿，房子也不太保暖，家里有时候不到十度。很多人说，南方的冷是“魔法攻击”，穿多少件衣服都没用。
所以，几乎每年冬天，都有人问：南方要不要也有暖气？
支持的人说，现在中国已经比几十年前富多了，南方人也有权利过上暖和的冬天。反对的人说，这要建很多管道，花很多钱，还要烧更多的煤和气，对环境不好；而且南方冷的日子不长，用空调就够了。
到现在，这个问题还没有一个标准答案。如果你住在南方，你支持吗？
Key words
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 抱 | bào | to hold in one's arms; to hug; to embrace |
| 区别 | qūbié | difference; distinction; to distinguish; to differentiate |
| 世纪 | shìjì | century |
| 紧张 | jǐnzhāng | nervous; tense |
| 温度 | wēndù | temperature |
| 低 | dī | low; to lower (one's head) |
| 空气 | kōngqì | air |
| 支持 | zhīchí | to support; to back; support |
| 暖和 | nuǎnhuo | warm; nice and warm; to warm up |
| 反对 | fǎnduì | to oppose; to object to; to be against |
| 气 | qì | air; gas |
| 够 | gòu | enough; sufficient |
English (for the teacher)
One evening in January, Xiao Zhao in Beijing is wearing just one thin layer at home and still feels a bit hot. That same evening, Xiao Chen in Shanghai is wearing a down jacket at home, hugging a hot-water bottle, and says, “My flat is colder than outside.”
The difference between their two homes comes from a line. Running along the Qinling Mountains and the Huai River, this line roughly splits China into north and south. In the 1950s, energy was short in China, and the state decided to provide central heating only to cities north of the line. Since then, cities north of the line have had heating in every home in winter; south of it, in Shanghai, Wuhan and Changsha, homes generally have none.
Southern winters aren’t especially cold, but the air is very damp and the houses don’t keep heat well, so indoors it is sometimes under ten degrees. Many people say the southern cold is a “magic attack”: however many layers you wear, it’s no use.
So almost every winter someone asks: should the south have heating too?
Supporters say China is much richer than it was decades ago, and southerners have a right to a warm winter too. Opponents say it means building lots of pipes and spending lots of money, and burning more coal and gas, which is bad for the environment; and since the cold days in the south are few, air conditioners are enough.
So far, the question has no standard answer. If you lived in the south, would you support it?