TED演讲:我在太平洋底为珊瑚之死哭泣(3)

The second time I cried underwater was on the north shore of Curaao, 2011.

我第二次在水下哭泣是2011年在库拉索岛的北岸。

It was the calmest day of the year, but it's always pretty sketchy¹ diving there.

在一个风平浪静的日子，不过在那里潜水一直是非常草率的。

My boyfriend and I swam against the waves. I watched my compass so we could find our way back out, and he watched for sharks,

我和男友逆着海浪游着。我负责看着罗盘以确保我们能回来，他负责看有没有鲨鱼，

and after 20 minutes of swimming that felt like an hour, we finally dropped down to the reef²,

经过了20分钟的游泳，感觉像游了一个小时，我们终于下潜到了珊瑚礁，

and I was so shocked, and I was so happy that my eyes filled with tears. There were corals 1,000 years old lined up one after another.

我被震惊了，我高兴到泪水在我的眼睛里打转。那些活了一千年之久的珊瑚，一个一个连成一片。

They had survived the entire history of European colonialism in the Caribbean, and for centuries before that.

它们在加勒比海经历了欧洲大殖民时期并活了下来，在那之前已经活了几个世纪。

I never knew what a coral could do when it was given a chance to thrive.

我永远不知道珊瑚生命力多旺盛直到它们有了一个繁荣的机会。

The truth is that even as we lose so many corals, even as we go through this massive³ coral die-off, some reefs⁴ will survive.

真相是即使我们损失如此多的珊瑚，甚至像我们正在经历的如此大面积的珊瑚死亡，会有一些珊瑚重新繁荣起来。

Some will be ragged⁵ on the edge, some will be beautiful. And by protecting shorelines and giving us food to eat and supporting tourism,

有些残喘的活在边边角角，有些会非常美丽。并且保护海岸线还能够增加渔业资源，促进旅游业发展，

they will still be worth billions and billions of dollars a year.

依然能够带来每年数十亿的财富。

The best time to protect a reef was 50 years ago, but the second-best time is right now.

保护珊瑚礁最好的时间是在50年前，而第二个最佳时刻就是现在。

Even as we go through bleaching⁶ events, more frequent and in more places, some corals will be able to recover.

即使我们已经经历了白化事件，即使面积更广，更加频繁，有些珊瑚是可以恢复的。

1 sketchy   

adj.写生的，写生风格的，概略的

参考例句：

• The material he supplied is too sketchy.他提供的材料过于简略。
• Details of what actually happened are still sketchy.对于已发生事实的详细情况知道的仍然有限。

2 reef   

n.礁，礁石，暗礁

参考例句：

• The ship and its crew were lost on the reef.那条船及船员都触礁遇难了。
• The ship was wrecked on a coral reef.这条船在珊瑚暗礁上撞毁了。

3 massive   

adj.巨大的，大规模的，大量的，大范围的

参考例句：

• A massive sea search has failed to find any survivors.经过大规模的海上搜救仍未找到幸存者。
• He drank a massive amount of alcohol.他喝了大量的烈酒。

4 reefs   

礁体

参考例句：

• The motorboat cut across swift currents and skirted dangerous reefs. 汽艇穿过激流，绕过险滩。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Fish are abundant about the reefs. 暗礁附近鱼很多。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 ragged   

adj.衣衫褴褛的，粗糙的，刺耳的

参考例句：

• A ragged shout went up from the small crowd.这一小群人发出了刺耳的喊叫。
• Ragged clothing infers poverty.破衣烂衫意味着贫穷。

6 bleaching   

漂白法，漂白

参考例句：

• Moderately weathered rock showed more intense bleaching and fissuring in the feldspars. 中等风化岩石则是指长石有更为强烈的变白现象和裂纹现象。
• Bleaching effects are very strong and show on air photos. 退色效应非常强烈，并且反映在航空象片上。