时代周刊:力挽狂澜(1)

Turn the Tide

力挽狂澜

By Aran Baker¹

文/阿兰·贝克

For Mick Baron², the giant kelp forests of Tasmania were a playground, a school and a church.

对米克·巴伦来说，塔斯马尼亚的巨型海藻森林是一座游乐场、也是一所学校，一座教堂。

The former marine³ biologist runs a scuba-diving center on the Australian island's east coast,

这位前海洋生物学家在这个澳大利亚岛屿的东海岸经营着一家潜水中心，

and rhapsodizes about the wonders of the seaweed's dense⁴ habitats.

兴奋地诉说了这个充满海藻的地方的奇妙之处。

"Diving in kelp is one of the most amazing underwater experiences you can have,"

“在海藻里潜水是世界上最赞的水下体验之一，”

the 65-year-old says, likening it to flying through the canopy⁵ of a terrestrial rain forest.

这位65岁的老人说，称其好比从陆地上热带雨林的树冠上飞过一般。

"You won't find a single empty patch in a kelp forest ...

“到了海藻林里，你就连一块空地找不出来……

From the sponge gardens on the seafloor all the way up to the leaves on the surface, it's packed with life."

从海底海绵一般的花园一直到水面上的各种叶子，中间活跃着各种生物。”

Or rather, it was.

更确切地说是，曾经活跃着各种生物。

In late 2015, a marine heat wave hit eastern Australia,

2015年末，一股海洋热浪袭击了澳大利亚东部，

wiping out a third of the Great Barrier Reef, and the kelp forests Baron had been exploring for most of his life.

足足摧毁了三分之一个大堡礁，还有巴伦探索了大半生的海藻林。

"We were diving in a nice thick forest in December," says Baron.

“12月份我们还在一片茂密的（海藻）森林里潜水，”巴伦说。

"By end of March, it looked like an asphalt driveway."

到了3月底，那里就已经像个沥青车道似的了。”

Recurring⁶ heat waves have prevented kelp and coral from recovering;

反复出现的热浪妨碍了海藻和珊瑚的恢复；

marine temperatures on Australia's east coast are on average 2°C higher than a century ago,

澳大利亚东海岸的平均海洋温度已经比一个世纪前高出了2°C，

an increase scientists attribute to rising greenhouse-gas emissions⁷.

科学家们将上升原因归结到了温室气体排放增加这一问题之上。

"The ocean is deceptively fragile," says Baron.

“海洋并没有看上去那么顽强，”巴伦说。

"Two degrees doesn't sound like much,

“两度听起来不算多，

but not many species can handle that kind of temperature change."

但能适应这一温度变化的生物并不多。”

Baron, a gregarious⁸, bearded and perennially⁹ sunburned Australian,

巴伦，一个爱交际，留着胡子，常年晒得黝黑的澳大利亚人，

introduced generations of divers¹⁰ to Tasmania's kelp cathedrals.

将塔斯马尼亚的海藻教堂推荐给了一代又一代的潜水爱好者。

His own grandchildren, he says, will have to learn about them from his YouTube videos.

但他自己的孙儿孙女，他说，却只能从他的YouTube视频中了解这一海藻教堂了。

Nearly 95% of eastern Tasmania's kelp forests are gone, a preview of what is to come for the ocean as a whole.

塔斯马尼亚东部近95%的海藻森林都已经消失，整个海洋的命运可见一斑。

"Tasmania's kelp forests are the poster child for what climate change means for our oceans," he says.

“气候变化对我们海洋意味着什么，塔斯马尼亚的海藻森林就是典范，”他说。

"What is happening here is what will happen everywhere else in a decade or two."

“这里正在发生的事情就是其他地方一二十年后会发生的事情。”

1 baker   

n.面包师

参考例句：

• The baker bakes his bread in the bakery.面包师在面包房内烤面包。
• The baker frosted the cake with a mixture of sugar and whites of eggs.面包师在蛋糕上撒了一层白糖和蛋清的混合料。

2 baron   

n.男爵；(商业界等)巨头，大王

参考例句：

• Henry Ford was an automobile baron.亨利·福特是一位汽车业巨头。
• The baron lived in a strong castle.男爵住在一座坚固的城堡中。

3 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

4 dense   

a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的

参考例句：

• The general ambushed his troops in the dense woods. 将军把部队埋伏在浓密的树林里。
• The path was completely covered by the dense foliage. 小路被树叶厚厚地盖了一层。

5 canopy   

n.天篷，遮篷

参考例句：

• The trees formed a leafy canopy above their heads.树木在他们头顶上空形成了一个枝叶茂盛的遮篷。
• They lay down under a canopy of stars.他们躺在繁星点点的天幕下。

6 recurring   

adj.往复的，再次发生的

参考例句：

• This kind of problem is recurring often. 这类问题经常发生。
• For our own country, it has been a time for recurring trial. 就我们国家而言，它经过了一个反复考验的时期。

7 emissions   

排放物( emission的名词复数 )； 散发物（尤指气体）

参考例句：

• Most scientists accept that climate change is linked to carbon emissions. 大多数科学家都相信气候变化与排放的含碳气体有关。
• Dangerous emissions radiate from plutonium. 危险的辐射物从钚放散出来。

8 gregarious   

adj.群居的，喜好群居的

参考例句：

• These animals are highly gregarious.这些动物非常喜欢群居。
• They are gregarious birds and feed in flocks.它们是群居鸟类，会集群觅食。

9 perennially   

adv.经常出现地；长期地；持久地；永久地

参考例句：

• He perennially does business abroad. 他常年在国外做生意。 来自辞典例句
• We want to know what is perennially new about the world. 我们想知道世上什么东西永远是新的。 来自互联网

10 divers   

adj.不同的；种种的

参考例句：

• He chose divers of them,who were asked to accompany him.他选择他们当中的几个人，要他们和他作伴。
• Two divers work together while a standby diver remains on the surface.两名潜水员协同工作，同时有一名候补潜水员留在水面上。