文本选自：The Economist（经济学人）
作者：Unknown
原文标题：A winter drought grips southern Europe
原文发布时间：14 Apr. 2023
A winter drought grips southern Europe
The small town of Vallon-Pont-d'Arc in southern France sits on the winding Ardèche river, just before it enters a deep limestone gorge. Fringed by red-tiled two-storey new-build homes, it has a gently growing population, which is boosted in the summer months by an influx of tourists and their kayaks. After yet another period of low rain, however, concern about dwindling water supplies has prompted Thierry Devimeux, the local prefect, to limit not just the use of water, but the expansion of the town altogether. It makes Vallon-Pont-d'Arc the 22nd commune in the surrounding département in which all new building has been banned.
Southern Europe is experiencing its second major drought in less than a year. This time it is an unusual one: a winter drought. For 32 consecutive days in January and February no rain fell anywhere in France—the longest dry spell in winter since monitoring began in 1959. In Italy the areas on either side of the river Po, which is carrying 61% less water than usual at this time of year, account for about a third of the country's agricultural output. Skiers have found that the snow cover in the Alps this season has been even patchier than in the already disappointing previous one, with Switzerland reporting record snow lows on many of its slopes.
The Alps are Europe's water-tower. They provide 25-50% of the water running through the continent's main rivers, the Danube, the Po, the Rhine and the Rhône. With so little snow to melt in the coming months, river levels are likely to be unusually low, and with them water supplies for the people and plants along their banks.
欧洲南部遭遇冬季干旱
精听党背景导读
根据哥白尼气候变化服务，在2022年12月至2023年2月期间，平均气温比1991-2020年的平均气温高1.4℃（2.5℉）。特别是在2023年2月，高温加上缺雨，欧洲西部和南部经历了比平均水平更干燥的条件——几个地区的土壤湿度很低。
文本选自：The Economist（经济学人）作者：Unknown原文标题：A winter drought grips southern Europe原文发布时间：14 Apr. 2023关键词：干旱 欧洲 少雨
精听党带着问题听
1.“蜿蜒的河流”用英语可以如何表达？2. 如何理解第二段的“spell”？3. 欧洲的水塔是哪个山脉？
精听党选段赏析
标题解读
A winter drought grips southern Europe
欧洲南部遭遇冬季干旱
drought n. 长期缺乏，严重短缺；<古>口渴；干旱，旱灾；1. Week after week the drought continued. 干旱持续了好多个星期。
grip vt. 握紧，夹住；（尤指通过摩擦力）牢牢地附着，紧贴；使感兴趣，吸引住（某人）的注意；对…产生强有力的影响；1. The entire community has been gripped by fear. 整个社区都笼罩在恐惧之中。
段一
The small town of Vallon-Pont-d’Arc in southern France sits on the winding Ardèche river, just before it enters a deep limestone gorge. Fringed by red-tiled two-storey new-build homes, it has a gently growing population, which is boosted in the summer months by an influx of tourists and their kayaks. After yet another period of low rain, however, concern about dwindling water supplies has prompted Thierry Devimeux, the local prefect, to limit not just the use of water, but the expansion of the town altogether. It makes Vallon-Pont-d’Arc the 22nd commune in the surrounding département in which all new building has been banned.
winding adj. 曲折的，弯曲的，蜿蜒的；1. the winding river 蜿蜒的河流；
limestone n. [岩] 石灰岩；
gorge n. 峡，峡谷；1. Three Gorges Dam 三峡大坝；
fringe vt. 在…上装以缘饰，加穗于；形成…的边缘；被…环绕；
storey n. 楼层，层；
boost vt. 使增长，推动；
influx n.（人或物的）大量涌入，大量流入；；
kayak n. 独木舟，单人划子，皮艇；
dwindling adj. 逐渐减少的；
prompt vt. 促使，导致；鼓励，提示（说话者）；1. Japan's recession has prompted consumers to cut back on buying cars. 日本的经济衰退已促使消费者们削减购车花销。
prefect n. 长官，地方行政长官；级长；
commune n. 社群，群体；（共产主义国家的）公社；（尤指欧洲一些国家的）最小行政区；
参考译文
位于法国南部的瓦隆蓬达克小镇坐落在蜿蜒的阿尔代什河上，后面，这条河进入一个很深的石灰岩峡谷。在红色瓷砖的两层新建房屋的环绕下，人口实现了缓慢增长。在夏季的几个月里，游客和他们的皮划艇的涌入增加了人口。然而，在经历了又一段少雨时期后，对供水减少的担忧促使当地长官蒂埃里·德维默（Thierry Devimeux）不仅限制了用水，还限制了城镇的扩张。这使得瓦隆蓬达克成为周围省第22个禁止新建建筑的市镇。
段二
Southern Europe is experiencing its second major drought in less than a year. This time it is an unusual one: a winter drought. For 32 consecutive days in January and February no rain fell anywhere in France—the longest dry spell in winter since monitoring began in 1959. In Italy the areas on either side of the river Po, which is carrying 61% less water than usual at this time of year, account for about a third of the country’s agricultural output. Skiers have found that the snow cover in the Alps this season has been even patchier than in the already disappointing previous one, with Switzerland reporting record snow lows on many of its slopes.
consecutive adj. 连续的，不间断的；
spell n. 一段时间；（疾病突然的）一次发作；1. There has been a long spell of dry weather. 天气干燥已持续很长一段时间了。
account for （比例）占；1. Computers account for 5% of the country's commercial electricity consumption. 计算机占全国商业用电量的5%。
output n. 产量，作品；产生，生产过程；1. Government statistics show the largest drop in industrial output for ten years. 政府的统计数字显示出10年来工业产量最大幅度的下降。
skier n. 滑雪者；
patchy adj. 零散的；分布不匀的；不完整的；参差不齐的；局部地区的；
disappointing adj. 令人失望的，令人扫兴的；1. the disappointing result 令人失望的结果；
slope n. 倾斜，斜坡；
参考译文
在不到一年的时间里，南欧正在经历第二次严重干旱。这一次是不寻常的一次：冬季干旱。在一月和二月，法国连续32天没有下雨——这是自1959年开始监测以来最长的冬季干旱期。在意大利，波河两岸的地区，今年这个时候的水量比平常少61%，这些地区约占该国农业产量的三分之一。滑雪者们发现，与本已令人失望的上一季相比，阿尔卑斯山脉本季的积雪更加零星，瑞士报告称其许多斜坡的降雪量创历史新低。
段三
The Alps are Europe’s water-tower. They provide 25-50% of the water running through the continent’s main rivers, the Danube, the Po, the Rhine and the Rhône. With so little snow to melt in the coming months, river levels are likely to be unusually low, and with them water supplies for the people and plants along their banks.
melt vi. 熔化，融化；（逐渐）减少，消失；
bank n. 河岸；斜坡；
参考译文
阿尔卑斯山是欧洲的水塔。它们提供了流经欧洲大陆主要河流——多瑙河、波河、莱茵河和罗讷河的25-50%的水量。由于未来几个月几乎没有积雪融化，河流水位可能会异常低，从而影响两岸居民和植物的供水。
精听党每日单词
drought
/draʊt/ n. 长期缺乏，严重短缺；<古>口渴；干旱，旱灾；
grip
/ɡrɪp/ vt. 握紧，夹住；（尤指通过摩擦力）牢牢地附着，紧贴；使感兴趣，吸引住（某人）的注意；对…产生强有力的影响；
winding
/ˈwaɪndɪŋ/ adj. 曲折的，弯曲的，蜿蜒的；
limestone
/ˈlaɪmstoʊn/ n. [岩] 石灰岩；
gorge
/ɡɔːrdʒ/ n. 峡，峡谷；
fringe
/frɪndʒ/ vt. 在…上装以缘饰，加穗于；形成…的边缘；被…环绕；
storey
/ˈstɔːri/ n. 楼层，层；
boost
/buːst/ vt. 使增长，推动；
influx
/ˈɪnflʌks/ n.（人或物的）大量涌入，大量流入；；
kayak
/ˈkaɪæk/ n. 独木舟，单人划子，皮艇；
dwindling
/ˈdwɪndlɪŋ/ adj. 逐渐减少的；
prompt
/prɑːmpt/ vt. 促使，导致；鼓励，提示（说话者）；
prefect
/ˈpriːfekt/ n. 长官，地方行政长官；级长；
commune
/ˈkɑːmjuːn; kəˈmjuːn/ n. 社群，群体；（共产主义国家的）公社；（尤指欧洲一些国家的）最小行政区；
consecutive
/kənˈsekjətɪv/ adj. 连续的，不间断的；
spell
/spel/ n. 一段时间；（疾病突然的）一次发作；
account for
（比例）占；
output
/ˈaʊtpʊt/ n. 产量，作品；产生，生产过程；
skier
/ˈskiːər/ n. 滑雪者；
patchy
/ˈpætʃi/ adj. 零散的；分布不匀的；不完整的；参差不齐的；局部地区的；
disappointing
/ˌdɪsəˈpɔɪntɪŋ/ adj. 令人失望的，令人扫兴的；
slope
/sloʊp/ n. 倾斜，斜坡；
melt
/melt/ vi. 熔化，融化；（逐渐）减少，消失；
bank
/bæŋk/ n. 河岸；斜坡；
精听党文化拓展
干旱的影响在法国、西班牙、英国和意大利北部尤为明显，并引起了人们对水供应、农业和能源生产的关注。
SMOS卫星携带了一个新颖的干涉式辐射计，可以捕捉到“亮度温度”图像。这些图像被用来得出每三天一次的全球土壤湿度图，在大约50公里的空间分辨率可达到4%的精度——相当于检测到一茶匙混在一把土壤中的水。
西欧大部分地区经历了低于平均水平的土壤湿度，许多地区的土壤湿度低于平均水平4%以上。西班牙和土耳其的部分地区的土壤湿度比平均水平低8%以上。
欧洲刚刚经历了有记录以来的第二个最温暖的冬天。这一系列由哥白尼哨兵2号拍摄的图像显示了干旱对卢瓦尔河的影响—法国最长的河流。在2023年2月27日拍摄的最新图像中，干旱的影响，包括大面积的河床裸露清晰可见。
虽然生长季节初期的植被和农作物还没有受到明显的影响，但如果2023年春季气温和降水不足的情况持续下去，情况可能会在未来几个月变得更严重。
SMOS是欧洲空间局的地球探索者任务之一，构成了生命星球计划的科学和研究部分。在其13年多的在轨运行中，SMOS不仅超过了其计划的寿命，也超越了其最初的科学目标，该任务已被延长至2025年。
精听党每日美句
Those that make the best use of their time have none to spare.
充分利用时间的人不会有余暇。