文本选自：The Atlantic（大西洋月刊）
作者：Marion Renault
原文标题：French People Are Fighting Over Giant Pools of Water
原文发布时间：7 Jun. 2023
French People Are Fighting Over Giant Pools of Water
The plastic-lined cavities span, on average, 20 acres—more than 15 American football fields. Nicknamed "mega-basins," they resemble enormous swimming pools scooped into farmland; about 100 basin projects are in the works across France. In wetter winter months, the basins are pumped full of groundwater; during punishing droughts and heat waves, those waters are meant to provide "life insurance" for farmers, who are among the region's heaviest water users.
In 2020, anticipating future dry spells, federal environmental and agricultural agencies proposed prioritizing and subsidizing basins as "the most satisfactory way of securing water resources." But critics say that this so-called climate-change adaptation is, in reality, a maladaptation—a lesson in how not to prepare for water scarcity. Already, almost two-thirds of the world's population experiences a water shortage for at least one month each year, and "basins are absolutely not the solution, " Christian Amblard, a hydrobiologist and an honorary director at France's National Center for Scientific Research, told me.
Humans have, for millennia, smoothed out seasonal water availability by damming rivers or lakes to create artificial reservoirs. Jordan's Jawa Dam, the world's oldest, is 5,000 years old. But the first mega-basins in France were built only a few decades ago and, unlike traditional dams, draw some of their reserves from underground. Once on the surface, this water becomes vulnerable to evaporation (even more so as the planet warms) and to pathogens including bacteria and toxic algae.
法国人正在争夺巨大的水池
精听党背景导读
法国环境部近日发布国家应对干旱问题报告。报告认为法国今年比去年更加炎热干旱。法国气象局今年年初表示，去年已成为法国有气象记录以来的最热年份。
报告公布的地图标明了今年夏季面临干旱的省份和需要限制用水的省份。法国本土96个省份中有28个省份面临很高的干旱风险，这其中包括地中海沿岸多个省份和巴黎大区多个省份。
报告的结论主要基于今年5月发布的法国地质调查局相关数据。报告指出，从5月起，法国地下水可能会保持较低水平，直到秋天。除非有超乎寻常的降雨，否则地下水不会得到大量补充。
文本选自：The Atlantic（大西洋月刊）作者：Marion Renault原文标题：French People Are Fighting Over Giant Pools of Water原文发布时间：7 Jun. 2023关键词：法国 水域 缺水
精听党带着问题听
1.“热浪”用英语可以怎么表达？2. 如何理解段二中的“maladaptation”？3. 世界上最古老的大坝是哪个？
精听党选段赏析
标题解读
French People Are Fighting Over Giant Pools of Water
法国人正在争夺巨大的水池
giant adj. 巨大的；1. The giant statue towered over the city. 巨大的雕像高耸在城市上方。
pools n. 水池；1. The children were playing in the pools. 孩子们在水池里玩耍。
段一
The plastic-lined cavities span, on average, 20 acres—more than 15 American football fields. Nicknamed “mega-basins,” they resemble enormous swimming pools scooped into farmland; about 100 basin projects are in the works across France. In wetter winter months, the basins are pumped full of groundwater; during punishing droughts and heat waves, those waters are meant to provide “life insurance” for farmers, who are among the region’s heaviest water users.
cavity n. 洞穴；1. The cavities in the ground were filled with water. 地面上的洞穴里装满了水。
span vt. 跨越；1. The bridge spans the river. 桥梁跨越河流。
nickname vt. 绰号；1. He was nicknamed “The King” because of his talent. 由于他的天赋，他被绰号为“国王”。
resemble vt. 类似于；
scoop vt. 挖出；1. She scooped the ice cream into a bowl. 她把冰淇淋舀进碗里。
pump vt. 抽取；1. The water was pumped out of the well. 水被从井里抽了出来。
punishing adj. 惩罚性的；
drought n. 干旱；1. The region has been experiencing severe droughts. 该地区一直遭受严重的干旱。
insurance n. 保险；1. He bought insurance to protect his car. 他买了保险来保护他的汽车。
参考译文
这些内衬塑料的洞平均占地20英亩，比15个美式橄榄球场还大。它们被戏称为“巨型盆地”，就像挖进农田里的巨大游泳池；法国各地约有100个盆地项目正在进行中。在潮湿的冬季，盆地被抽满地下水；在严重的干旱和热浪期间，这些水被用来为农民提供“人寿保险”，农民是该地区用水最多的人群之一。
段二
In 2020, anticipating future dry spells, federal environmental and agricultural agencies proposed prioritizing and subsidizing basins as “the most satisfactory way of securing water resources.” But critics say that this so-called climate-change adaptation is, in reality, a maladaptation—a lesson in how not to prepare for water scarcity. Already, almost two-thirds of the world’s population experiences a water shortage for at least one month each year, and “basins are absolutely not the solution,” Christian Amblard, a hydrobiologist and an honorary director at France’s National Center for Scientific Research, told me.
anticipate vt. 预期；期望，盼望；
prioritize vt. 优先考虑；1. He was prioritizing his tasks for the day. 他在为当天的任务排序。
subsidize vt. 补贴；1. The government is subsidizing the cost of renewable energy. 政府正在补贴可再生能源的成本。
satisfactory adj. 满意的；1. The results of the test were satisfactory. 测试结果令人满意。
secure vt. 确保；1. He was securing the doors before leaving the house. 他在离开房子之前锁好门。
critic n. 批评家；1. The critics gave the movie mixed reviews. 评论家对这部电影的评价褒贬不一。
adaptation n. 适应；1. The species’ adaptation to its environment allowed it to survive. 该物种对环境的适应使其得以生存。
maladaptation n. 不适应；1. The species’ maladaptation to the changing environment led to its extinction. 该物种对环境变化的不适应导致了它的灭绝。
scarcity n. 稀缺；1. There is a scarcity of clean water in some parts of the world. 世界上某些地方缺乏清洁水。
参考译文
2020年，预计未来的干旱期，联邦环境和农业机构提出优先考虑和补贴盆地项目，将其作为“确保水资源最令人满意的方式”。但批评人士说，这种所谓的适应气候变化实际上是一种不适应，是对如何不为水资源短缺做准备的教训。法国国家科学研究中心名誉主任、水文生物学家克里斯蒂安·安布拉德告诉我，世界上近三分之二的人口每年至少有一个月缺水，而“盆地绝对不是解决缺水的办法”。
段三
Humans have, for millennia, smoothed out seasonal water availability by damming rivers or lakes to create artificial reservoirs. Jordan’s Jawa Dam, the world’s oldest, is 5,000 years old. But the first mega-basins in France were built only a few decades ago and, unlike traditional dams, draw some of their reserves from underground. Once on the surface, this water becomes vulnerable to evaporation (even more so as the planet warms) and to pathogens including bacteria and toxic algae.
millennia n. 千年；1. Humans have been using tools for millennia. 人类已经使用工具几千年了。
availability n. 可用性；1. The availability of fresh produce varies by season. 新鲜农产品的供应量因季节而异。
dam vt. 建坝拦水；1. They were damming the river to create a reservoir. 他们在河上筑坝建水库。
reservoir n. 水库；1. The city’s water supply comes from several reservoirs. 城市的供水来自几个水库。
draw vt. 抽取；1. He draws water from the well every morning. 他每天早晨从井里打水。
evaporation n. 蒸发；1. The heat caused increased evaporation of the water.高温使水的蒸发加剧。
pathogen n. 病原体；1. The water was contaminated with pathogens. 水被病原体污染。
bacteria n. 细菌；1. The food was spoiled by bacteria. 食物被细菌污染。
algae n. 藻类；1. The pond was covered in algae. 池塘里长满了水藻。
参考译文
几千年来，人类一直通过在河流或湖泊筑坝建造人工水库来缓解季节性供水问题。约旦的爪哇大坝是世界上最古老的大坝，已有5000年的历史。但法国的第一个巨型盆地是在几十年前才建成的，与传统水坝不同的是，它（巨型盆地）的一些储量来自地下。这些水一旦到达地表，就很容易蒸发（随着地球变暖，这种蒸发的情况甚至更加严重），也容易受到包括细菌和有毒藻类在内的病原体的侵害。
精听党每日单词
giant
/ˈdʒaɪənt/ adj. 巨大的；
pools
/puːlz/ n. 水池；
cavity
/ˈkævəti/ n. 洞穴；
span
/spæn/ vt. 跨越；
nickname
/ˈnɪkneɪm/ vt. 绰号；
resemble
/rɪˈzemb(ə)l/ vt. 类似于；
scoop
/skuːp/ vt. 挖出；
pump
/pʌmp/ vt. 抽取；
punishing
/ˈpʌnɪʃɪŋ/ adj. 惩罚性的；
drought
/draʊt/ n. 干旱；
insurance
/ɪnˈʃʊrəns/ n. 保险；
anticipate
/ænˈtɪsɪpeɪt/ vt. 预期；
prioritize
/praɪˈɔːrətaɪz/ vt. 优先考虑；
subsidize
/ˈsʌbsɪdaɪz/ vt. 补贴；
satisfactory
/ˌsætɪsˈfæktəri/ adj. 满意的；
secure
/sɪˈkjʊr/ vt. 确保；
critic
/ˈkrɪtɪk/ n. 批评家；
adaptation
/ˌædæpˈteɪʃ(ə)n/ n. 适应；
maladaptation
/ˌmælædəpˈteɪʃən/ n. 不适应；
scarcity
/ˈskersəti/ n. 稀缺；
millennia
/mɪˈleniə/ n. 千年；
availability
/əˌveɪləˈbɪləti/ n. 可用性；
dam
/dæm/ vt. 建坝拦水；
reservoir
/ˈrezərvwɑːr/ n. 水库；
draw
/drɔː/ vt. 抽取；
evaporation
/ɪˌvæpəˈreɪʃ(ə)n/ n. 蒸发；
pathogen
/ˈpæθədʒən/ n. 病原体；
bacteria
/bækˈtɪriə/ n. 细菌；
algae
/ˈældʒiː/ n. 藻类；
精听党文化拓展
2023年新年伊始，有报道称法国正在经历 “暖冬”——巴黎从2022年12月底至今年1月初连续20天气温超过10摄氏度，历史罕见！而在2022年，法国经历了有史以来最热的6月！
2022年6月，西南沿海城市Biaritz观测到创纪录的41度高温，巴黎地区的最高温度也达到40度的高温天气， 全年大部分月份的气温都高于以往，年均气温达14.5摄氏度。
除了异常炎热，2022年夏季也特别干燥，6月至8月，法国的降雨量比1990年至2020年同期平均降雨量少25%。高温导致干旱和缺水，法国去年降水量比常年平均减少25%，受旱土地面积达国土面积的四分之三。
持续高温下，干涸的河床和湖泊出现在法国各地，法国最长的河流卢瓦尔河水位不断下降，干旱导致很多村庄的饮用水短缺，当地渔业也受到影响。
这种情况已经持续将近一年的时间。今年3月份的卢瓦尔河畔仍没有好转，许多沙子裸露在外，还有一些船只被迫停靠在岸边。当地渔民表示，受干旱天气影响，目前河流水位太低，他们不得不暂时放弃捕鱼。
除了卢瓦尔河出现这样的状况之外，在阿尔卑斯山脉、比利牛斯山脉和其他山脉，由于降雪量远低于往常，在刚过去的冬天， 法国山区的积雪覆盖量少于往年同期，这意味着积雪融化后补充给河流的水量也大大减少，法国境内其它地区河流水位也在下降。
精听党每日美句
A fool thinks he is clever, the wise man knows himself to be a fool.
愚人认为自己很聪明，聪明人知道自己是个愚人。