每日英语听力外刊精读20231021:干旱将亚马逊河流域首府变成气候反乌托邦


文本选自:The Guardian(卫报)
作者:Jonathan Watts
原文标题:Drought turns Amazonian capital into climate dystopia
原文发布时间:18 Oct. 2023
Drought turns Amazonian capital into climate dystopia
A withering drought has turned the Amazonian capital of Manaus into a climate dystopia with the second worst air quality in the world and rivers at the lowest levels in 121 years. The city of 1 million people, which is surrounded by a forest of trees, normally basks under blue skies. Tourists take pleasure boats to the nearby meeting of the Negro and Amazon (known locally as the Solimões) rivers, where dolphins can often be seen enjoying what are usually the most abundant freshwater resources in the world.
But an unusually dry season, worsened by an El Niño and human-driven global heating, has threatened the city's self-image, the wellbeing of its residents and the survival prospects for the entire Amazon basin. The forest capital has been enveloped in a murky brown haze reminiscent of China during its most polluted phase. The usually vibrant port has been pushed far out across the dried-up, rubbish-strewn mud flats. So many fires are burning in the surrounding tinder-dry forest that air-quality monitors last week registered 387 micrograms of pollution a cubic metre, compared with 122 in Brazil's economic capital of São Paulo. The only city in the world that measured worse was an industrial centre of Thailand.
A recent front page of the A Crítica newspaper showed a photograph of the drought-stricken port under the headline "Health in peril" and a story about the challenges of securing medicines and essential resources at a time when goods ships could not navigate the river. "Boiling Amazon" read the lead story of Cenarium magazine, which noted the unusually high heat and low humidity that have created dangerously dry conditions in the forest.
干旱将亚马逊河流域首府变成气候反乌托邦

精听党背景导读
巴西国家水务局当地时间10月9日发表声明,宣布在北部地区面临历史性干旱的马德拉河流域实施紧急措施。声明指出,受厄尔尼诺现象引发的干旱气候影响,数月以来作为亚马逊河主要支流和水运主要通道的马德拉河水位已经严重下降,部分水域出现枯竭迹象。为此,将采取灌溉限量用水措施和限制水电站闸口流量等措施,以缓解干旱带来的负面影响。声明宣布这些措施将持续到11月30日。
文本选自:The Guardian(卫报)作者:Jonathan Watts原文标题:Drought turns Amazonian capital into climate dystopia原文发布时间:18 Oct. 2023关键词:亚马逊 干旱 气候
精听党带着问题听
1. 是什么将亚马逊河流域首府马瑙斯变成了一个气候反乌托邦?2. 如何理解第二段的“strewn”?3. “头条新闻”用英语如何表达?
精听党选段赏析
标题解读
Drought turns Amazonian capital into climate dystopia
干旱将亚马逊河流域首府变成气候反乌托邦
Amazonian adj. 亚马逊河(流域)的;
capital n. 首都,首府,省会;
dystopia n. 反乌托邦;糟透的社会;地狱般的处境;非理想化的地方;1. dysfunction n. 功能紊乱;机能障碍;
段一
A withering drought has turned the Amazonian capital of Manaus into a climate dystopia with the second worst air quality in the world and rivers at the lowest levels in 121 years. The city of 1 million people, which is surrounded by a forest of trees, normally basks under blue skies. Tourists take pleasure boats to the nearby meeting of the Negro and Amazon (known locally as the Solimões) rivers, where dolphins can often be seen enjoying what are usually the most abundant freshwater resources in the world.
withering adj. 使干枯的;使畏缩的;极有毁灭性的;极有讽刺性的;
Manaus n. 玛瑙斯(巴西北部城市);
bask vi. 晒太阳;取暖;沉浸,沐浴;
pleasure boat 游艇;
Negro n. 内格罗河;1. n. <冒犯><旧>黑人;
abundant adj. 大量的,丰富的,充足的;1. There is an abundant supply of cheap labour. 有丰富的廉价劳动力供应。
参考译文
一场毁灭性的干旱将亚马逊河流域首府玛瑙斯变成了一个气候反乌托邦,这里的空气质量是世界上第二差的,河流水位是121年来最低的。这座拥有100万人口的城市被一片树林环绕,平时沐浴在蓝天之下。游客乘坐游船前往附近的内格罗河和亚马逊河(当地称为索利蒙斯河)交汇处,在那里经常可以看到海豚享受世界上最丰富的淡水资源。
段二
But an unusually dry season, worsened by an El Niño and human-driven global heating, has threatened the city’s self-image, the wellbeing of its residents and the survival prospects for the entire Amazon basin. The forest capital has been enveloped in a murky brown haze reminiscent of China during its most polluted phase. The usually vibrant port has been pushed far out across the dried-up, rubbish-strewn mud flats. So many fires are burning in the surrounding tinder-dry forest that air-quality monitors last week registered 387 micrograms of pollution a cubic metre, compared with 122 in Brazil’s economic capital of São Paulo. The only city in the world that measured worse was an industrial centre of Thailand.
worsen vt.(使)恶化,(使)更糟;1. worsen the country's image 损害了国家的形象;
threaten vt. 威胁,恐吓;危及,对…构成威胁;1. The newcomers directly threaten the livelihood of the established workers. 新来的人直接威胁到原有工人的生计。
wellbeing n. 幸福;福利;安乐;
survival prospects 生存前景;
envelop vt. 覆盖,包住;
murky adj.(液体)浑浊的;(尤指因浓雾而)昏暗的,阴暗的;
brown adj. 褐色的,棕色的;肤色深的,晒黑的;
haze n. 霾,烟雾;
reminiscent of 让人想起…;联想到…;令人回忆起…;
vibrant adj. 充满活力的,充满生机的,生气勃勃的;
port n. 港口,避风港;口岸,港口城市;
strewn adj. 撒满的;散播的;
mud flats 泥滩;
tinder-dry adj. 干燥的;易燃的;
cubic metre 立方米;
参考译文
但是,因厄尔尼诺现象和人类活动导致的全球变暖,进一步严重的异常干旱的季节已经威胁到城市的自我形象、居民的福祉和整个亚马逊盆地的生存前景。这座森林之都一直笼罩在暗褐色的烟雾中,让人想起污染最严重时期的中国。通常充满活力的港口已经被远远地推到了干涸的、垃圾遍地的泥滩上。在周围干燥的森林里,燃烧着如此多的火,以至于上周空气质量监测器显示每立方米的污染为387微克,而巴西经济首都圣保罗的污染在对比之下为122微克。世界上唯一更差的城市是泰国的一个工业中心。
段三
A recent front page of the A Crítica newspaper showed a photograph of the drought-stricken port under the headline “Health in peril” and a story about the challenges of securing medicines and essential resources at a time when goods ships could not navigate the river. “Boiling Amazon” read the lead story of Cenarium magazine, which noted the unusually high heat and low humidity that have created dangerously dry conditions in the forest.
front page 头版;头条;
drought-stricken adj. 遭旱灾的;受干旱严重影响的;
headline n.(报纸的)标题,大字标题;(广播或电视里的)新闻提要,头条新闻;
in peril 处于危险中;危在旦夕;
secure vt.(尤指经过努力而)获得,得到;1. Federal leaders continued their efforts to secure a ceasefire. 联邦政府的领导人们继续他们争取停火的努力。
navigate vt. 导航,引路;航行于,横渡;穿过,穿越;驾驶,操纵;
lead story 头条新闻;1. To avoid becoming the lead story on the evening news, be prepared. 为了避免成为晚间新闻的头条,出发前你必须准备好。
humidity n. 潮湿,湿气;湿度;
参考译文
《克里蒂卡报》(A Crítica)最近的头版刊登了一张遭受旱灾的港口的照片,标题为“健康危在旦夕”,并报道了在货船无法在河上航行的情况下,获取药品和基本资源所面临的挑战。“沸腾的亚马逊”是《海洋》杂志的头条新闻,该杂志指出,异常的高温和低湿度在森林中造成了危险的干燥条件。
精听党每日单词
Amazonian
 /ˌæməˈzoʊniən/ adj. 亚马逊河(流域)的;
capital
 /ˈkæpɪt(ə)l/ n. 首都,首府,省会;
dystopia
 /dɪsˈtoʊpiə/ n. 反乌托邦;糟透的社会;地狱般的处境;非理想化的地方;
withering
 /ˈwɪðərɪŋ/ adj. 使干枯的;使畏缩的;极有毁灭性的;极有讽刺性的;
Manaus
 /məˈnaʊs; mɑːˈnaʊs/ n. 玛瑙斯(巴西北部城市);
bask
 /bæsk/ vi. 晒太阳;取暖;沉浸,沐浴;
pleasure boat
 游艇;
Negro
 /ˈniːɡroʊ/ n. 内格罗河;
abundant
 /əˈbʌndənt/ adj. 大量的,丰富的,充足的;
worsen
 /ˈwɜːrs(ə)n/ vt.(使)恶化,(使)更糟;
threaten
 /ˈθret(ə)n/ vt. 威胁,恐吓;危及,对…构成威胁;
wellbeing
 /ˌwɛlˈbiɪŋ/ n. 幸福;福利;安乐;
survival prospects
 生存前景;
envelop
 /ɪnˈveləp/ vt. 覆盖,包住;
murky
 /ˈmɜːrki/ adj.(液体)浑浊的;(尤指因浓雾而)昏暗的,阴暗的;
brown
 /braʊn/ adj. 褐色的,棕色的;肤色深的,晒黑的;
haze
 /heɪz/ n. 霾,烟雾;
reminiscent of
 让人想起…;联想到…;令人回忆起…;
vibrant
 /ˈvaɪbrənt/ adj. 充满活力的,充满生机的,生气勃勃的;
port
/pɔːrt/ n. 港口,避风港;口岸,港口城市;
strewn
 /struːn/ adj. 撒满的;散播的;
mud flats
 泥滩;
tinder-dry
 /ˈtɪndər draɪ/ adj. 干燥的;易燃的;
cubic metre
 立方米;
front page
 头版;头条;
drought-stricken
 /draʊt ˈstrɪkən/ adj. 遭旱灾的;受干旱严重影响的;
headline
 /ˈhedlaɪn/ n.(报纸的)标题,大字标题;(广播或电视里的)新闻提要,头条新闻;
in peril
 处于危险中;危在旦夕;
secure
 /sɪˈkjʊr/ vt.(尤指经过努力而)获得,得到;
navigate
 /ˈnævɪɡeɪt/ vt. 导航,引路;航行于,横渡;穿过,穿越;驾驶,操纵;
lead story
 头条新闻;
humidity
 /hjuːˈmɪdəti/ n. 潮湿,湿气;湿度;
精听党文化拓展
亚马逊河位于南美洲,其源头位于秘鲁安第斯山脉的安第斯山脉南部,主要由安第斯山脉的冰川、山泉和雨水形成。亚马逊河的源头可以追溯到安第斯山脉的一条名为“维拉洪斯”的山脉,该山脉位于秘鲁南部附近的一个高原上。河流的源头区域包含着大量的湖泊、沼泽和高山湿地,形成了亚马逊河的水源。
亚马逊河流经南美洲的多个国家,包括秘鲁、哥伦比亚、厄瓜多尔、委内瑞拉和巴西等。在流经这些国家时,河流路径呈现出复杂的曲线和弯道。亚马逊河主要流经巴西,被称为“巴西之脊椎”,在这个国家内形成了一个巨大的河道网络。亚马逊河流域包括乌坎巴山脉、拉诺斯山脉和巴西高原等重要的地理特征。
河全长约6,400千米,是世界上最长的河流之一。它的流量巨大,年均径流量约为7,000立方千米,约占全球河流总流量的20%。河流的排水面积约为7,050,000平方千米,几乎相当于整个美国的面积。亚马逊河的河口位于巴西北部的亚马逊三角洲,这个三角洲是由河流带来的泥沙积累形成的,面积约为30,000平方千米。
河流从安第斯山脉逐渐降至平原地区,形成了广阔的亚马逊盆地。这个盆地被称为“亚马逊的碗”,平均海拔只有约200米。河流在盆地中形成了许多河道、沼泽、湖泊和洪泛平原。洪泛平原是亚马逊河流域的独特地形特征之一。每年的雨季,河水会涨至极高的水位,导致洪水覆盖广大的洪泛平原区域。这些洪泛平原提供了丰富的水资源和湿地生态系统,支持着亚马逊雨林的生态多样性和生态平衡。
精听党每日美句
"Success usually comes to those who are too busy to be looking for it." - Henry David Thoreau
“成功通常会降临那些忙得没有时间去寻找它的人。”——亨利·大卫·梭罗
到顶部