Dale Johnston opens the gate to his neat suburban garden on the western fringes(边缘地带) of Newport in South Wales. There’s a trampoline and a slide on the lawn for his grandchildren, and chairs for him and his wife. He should be enjoying the light draining from the perfect autumnal sky – but almost his entire view is blotted out(遮挡、遮蔽) by a vast expanse of prefabricated(预制的) panels.
戴尔·约翰斯顿打开院门，他位于南威尔士纽波特西郊的郊区花园整洁有序。草坪上摆着给孙辈玩的蹦床和滑梯，还有他和妻子坐的椅子。他本该享受秋日晴空下渐渐褪去的光线——但几乎整个视野都被一大片预制板遮挡。
The 23 metre-high grey hulk(庞然大物) looming(赫然耸现) over him and his neighbours is a hyperscale datacentre. It is heralded by the area’s Labour politicians as a job creator, yet all Johnston can think about is what he has lost(当地工党政客将其誉为就业创造者，但约翰斯顿满脑子想的都是自己失去了什么。): “Before, the sun used to come around here and it was lovely.” The way residents have been treated is “disgusting”.
这座23米高的灰色庞然大物笼罩着他和邻居们，它是一个超大规模数据中心。当地工党政客将其誉为就业创造者，但约翰斯顿满脑子想的都是自己失去了什么：“以前，阳光会照到这里，很美。”居民们受到的对待“令人恶心”。
Johnston, who used to work for a chemical company in the city, worries what their lives will be like when the centre is switched on: the 36 sets of air blast coolers, needed to stop the chips inside overheating, most likely generate a constant drone, while regular testing of 60 back-up diesel generators, to prevent costly interruption to the flow of data, could produce harmful fumes(36组鼓风冷却器（用于防止内部芯片过热）很可能会产生持续不断的嗡嗡声，而60台备用柴油发电机（用于防止数据流出现代价高昂的中断）的定期测试可能产生有害废气。). He already has to keep his bathroom window closed to stop the low hum(低沉的嗡嗡声) from another facility on the rapidly expanding 46-acre datacentre campus that borders the small enclave(飞地、孤立的小区域) of 27 houses. His wife, a nurse who works night shifts, can barely sleep already. He shakes his head in despair: “We just don’t know what’s going to happen.”
约翰斯顿曾在该市一家化工公司工作，他担心数据中心启用后他们的生活会变成什么样：36组鼓风冷却器（用于防止内部芯片过热）很可能会产生持续不断的嗡嗡声，而60台备用柴油发电机（用于防止数据流出现代价高昂的中断）的定期测试可能产生有害废气。他已经不得不关着浴室窗户，以阻挡隔壁另一处设施传来的低沉嗡鸣——那个设施位于迅速扩张的46英亩数据中心园区内，园区紧挨着这个只有27户人家的小聚居区。他的妻子是一名上夜班的护士，现在已经几乎睡不着觉。他绝望地摇摇头：“我们根本不知道会发生什么。”