Chinese people are being urged to stop using so many chopsticks due to the burden they are placing on the world's forests.

　　鉴于中国对世界森林所造成的压力，中国人被要求停止使用过量的筷子。

　　Residents of the largest country on the planet are believed to use an astonishing 80billion pairs of disposable wooden chopsticks every year.

　　这个世界上人口最多的国家据称每年要使用惊人的800亿双一次性木筷子。

　　Now a leading official has called for diners to start reusing their cutlery - and has even suggested that the Chinese should turn to knives and forks instead of chopsticks.

　　如今有领导人号召就餐者开始反复使用餐具―这被认为是要求中国人从使用筷子转而开始使用刀叉。

　　For the past 4,000 years, chopsticks have been the primary method of eating within China, and in the minds of many they are practically synonymous with Chinese cuisine.

　　在过去的4000年里，筷子一直都是中国人饮食的主要工具，在很多中国人的脑海里，筷子和中国菜肴世界上是同义的。

　　But the country's rising prosperity and increasing environmental awareness means the volume of wood used could be about to reach a tipping point.

　　但是随着国家不断增长的财富和环境意识，这意味着树木的使用总量可能即将达到临界点了。

　　Bo Guangxin, chair of a state-owned timber company, told the annual parliament that it was time for China to turn away from wooden chopsticks.

　　中国国有木业集团公司董事长Bo Guangxin在人大会议上说，中国是时候摆脱木质筷子的时代了。

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　　He pointed out that since a mature tree yields around 4,000 pairs of chopsticks, the nation used up the equivalent of 20million trees in the past year.

　　Bo Guangxin指出，一棵成熟的树木大概能够生产4000双左右的筷子，而中国在过去一年损耗了相当于2000万棵树。

　　The chopsticks used and thrown away in China over the course of the year would fill Tiananmen Square 360 layers deep, he told the National People's Congress.

　　Bo Guangxin在中国人大会议上说，在中国一年使用和扔掉的筷子可以填360层深的天安门广场面积的地方。

　　'We must change our consumption habits and encourage people to carry their own tableware,' Mr Bo said to delegates.

　　Bo Guangxin对人大代表说，“我们必须改变我们的消费习惯，鼓励人们自带餐具。”

　　He continued by saying that diners might have to adopt the Western habit of using metal or plastic knives and forks to cut down on wood usage.

　　Bo Guangxin继续说道，为了减少木材的使用量，用餐者可能不得不使用西方习惯用的金属质或是塑料的刀具。

　　The congress is considered a rubber-stamp body with little decision-making power, but the speeches made there can provide clues to the future policies of the ruling Communist Party.

　　中国人大会议被认为是有极少决策权力的一个例行公事的会议，但是在人大会议上的讲话一般能够体现出执政党中国GCD的未来政策思路。

　　This is not the first time that authorities have raised concerns about the use of chopsticks in China.

　　这已经不是第一次中国政府关心中国筷子使用量的问题了。

　　In 2006, a five per cent tax was imposed on all disposable chopsticks and wooden flooring, but it evidently had little long-term effect.

　　2006年，中国队所有的一次性筷子和木质地板加收了5%的税，但是这显然没有产生什么长久的效益。

　　And in 2011, a British campaign group warned that China was importing 180million cubic meters of timber every year to feed its runaway economic development.

　　而在2011年，一个英国竞选团体警告称，中国每年进口18000万立方米的木材，以满足自己急速增长的经济需要。

　　The activists claimed that 10 per cent of the country's wood imports came from illegal sources, and concluded that 'the fate of much of the world's natural forests is in China's hands'.

　　有行动主义者宣称，中国10%的木材进口来自于非法的渠道，并且总结称，“世界自然树木的命运大部分都掌握在中国的手中。”