英国卫报：肯尼亚的学校有河马和鳄鱼出没(6)

A common theory I heard was that, as the Rift¹ valley separates, fresh groundwater has been brought to these lakes from a previously² unknown underground aquifer³.

我听到的一个常见的理论是，随着大裂谷的分离，新鲜的地下水从以前未知的地下含水层被带到这些湖泊。

When I asked Onywere whether the tectonic movement of the Rift valley could be the cause of the current expansion of the lakes, he dismissed the suggestion instantly.

当我问奥尼韦尔，大裂谷的构造运动是否可能是目前湖泊扩张的原因时，他当即否定了这个说法。

For him, the fact that Lake Victoria was also rising, despite not being on either branch of the Rift valley, disproved any tectonic theories.

对他来说，尽管维多利亚湖不在大裂谷的任何一个分支上，但它也在上升，这一事实反驳了任何构造理论。

Instead, Onywere told me, what was happening was a result of the climate crisis.

相反，奥尼韦尔告诉我，正在发生的事情是气候危机的结果。

There had been more rain in the Kenyan and Ethiopian highlands, and the volume of the rivers feeding these lakes had increased.

肯尼亚和埃塞俄比亚高原的雨量增加了，为这些湖泊提供的水量也增加了。

Since 2010, Kenya has received more rainfall than usual -- the yearly average has been significantly up on 2010’s 650mm almost every year since.

自2010年以来，肯尼亚的降雨量比往常更多--此后几乎每年的年平均降雨量都比2010年的650毫米明显增加。

In 2019, Kenya received the third most rainfall it had ever recorded.

2019年，肯尼亚迎来了有史以来第三大降雨量。

While accepting that tectonic theories do not explain Lake Victoria’s rise, Kiage isn’t completely sure that anthropogenic climate breakdown⁴ is the cause.

虽然承认构造理论不能解释维多利亚湖的上升，但Kiage并不完全确定人类活动造成的气候崩溃是原因。

“I’m not trying to downplay the role of humans,” he told me.

"我不是想淡化人类的作用，"他告诉我。

“Humans are clearly doing something, but it can’t explain the sudden rise.”

"人类显然是做了一些事情，但它不能解释突然的上升。"

What was needed, said Kiage, was a molecular⁵ investigation⁶ of the water, to determine where it was coming from.

Kiage说，需要的是对水进行分子调查，以确定它来自哪里。

For years after he first stumbled upon the problem, Onywere had also been pushing the national government to study the rising lakes and to determine how best to help the people who had been affected⁷.

在他第一次偶然发现这个问题后的几年里，奥尼韦尔也一直在推动国家政府研究不断上升的湖泊，并确定如何最好地帮助受影响的人们。

In October 2020, he got his wish.

2020年10月，他实现了自己的愿望。

The government announced the formation of a multi-agency team of geologists⁸ and hydrologists that would investigate the rise of the lakes.

政府宣布成立一个由地质学家和水文学家组成的多机构小组，负责调查湖泊的上升。

Onywere was appointed head of the team to Lake Turkana.

奥尼韦尔被任命为图卡纳湖调查小组组长。

On the hot June morning I visited, as I edged over the crest⁹ of a rocky hill, the greenish-blue hues¹⁰ of the water glinted next to the road, the desert sunlight reacting with the water’s alkali matter to give the lake its nickname, The Jade¹¹ Sea.

在我到访的那个炎热的六月早晨，当我走过一座岩石小山的山顶时，绿蓝相间的湖水在路边闪闪发光，沙漠的阳光与湖水中的碱性物质相互作用，使这个湖有了“玉海”的绰号。

In a village on its shores, the El Molo people who live there mourned the rising of the lake.

在湖岸边的一个村庄里，生活在那里的El Molo人对湖水的上涨表示哀悼。

The village elders told me how, with the movement of the water, they had been forced to move their village, Luyeni, carefully uprooting¹² their thatch¹³ houses and relocating them further from the lapping water.

村里的长者告诉我，随着湖水的变化，他们被迫搬迁他们的村庄--卢耶尼，小心翼翼地将他们的茅草房拆除，搬到离湖水更远的地方。

As we spoke¹⁴, white gulls¹⁵ floated lazily over the water, wafted¹⁶ along by a zephyr¹⁷.

在我们交谈时，白鸥懒洋洋地漂浮在水面上，被一阵阵风吹过。

1 rift   

n.裂口，隙缝，切口；v.裂开，割开，渗入

参考例句：

• He was anxious to mend the rift between the two men.他急于弥合这两个人之间的裂痕。
• The sun appeared through a rift in the clouds.太阳从云层间隙中冒出来。

2 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

3 aquifer   

n.含水土层

参考例句：

• An aquifer is a water-bearing rock stratum such as sandstone and chalk.地下蓄水层是一些有水的岩石层，如沙岩和白垩岩。
• The wine region's first water came from an ancient aquifer.用来灌溉这个地区葡萄园的第一批水来自古老的地下蓄水层。

4 breakdown   

n.垮，衰竭；损坏，故障，倒塌

参考例句：

• She suffered a nervous breakdown.她患神经衰弱。
• The plane had a breakdown in the air,but it was fortunately removed by the ace pilot.飞机在空中发生了故障，但幸运的是被王牌驾驶员排除了。

5 molecular   

adj.分子的；克分子的

参考例句：

• The research will provide direct insight into molecular mechanisms.这项研究将使人能够直接地了解分子的机理。
• For the pressure to become zero, molecular bombardment must cease.当压强趋近于零时，分子的碰撞就停止了。

6 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

7 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

8 geologists   

地质学家，地质学者( geologist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Geologists uncovered the hidden riches. 地质学家发现了地下的宝藏。
• Geologists study the structure of the rocks. 地质学家研究岩石结构。

9 crest   

n.顶点；饰章；羽冠；vt.达到顶点；vi.形成浪尖

参考例句：

• The rooster bristled his crest.公鸡竖起了鸡冠。
• He reached the crest of the hill before dawn.他于黎明前到达山顶。

10 hues   

色彩( hue的名词复数 )； 色调； 信仰； 观点

参考例句：

• When the sun rose a hundred prismatic hues were reflected from it. 太阳一出，更把它映得千变万化、异彩缤纷。
• Where maple trees grow, the leaves are often several brilliant hues of red. 在枫树生长的地方，枫叶常常呈现出数种光彩夺目的红色。

11 jade   

n.玉石；碧玉；翡翠

参考例句：

• The statue was carved out of jade.这座塑像是玉雕的。
• He presented us with a couple of jade lions.他送给我们一对玉狮子。

12 uprooting   

n.倒根，挖除伐根v.把（某物）连根拔起( uproot的现在分词 )；根除；赶走；把…赶出家园

参考例句：

• He is hard at work uprooting wild grass in the field. 他正在田里辛苦地芟夷呢。 来自互联网
• A storm raged through the village, uprooting trees and flattening crops. 暴风雨袭击了村庄，拔起了树木，吹倒了庄稼。 来自互联网

13 thatch   

vt.用茅草覆盖…的顶部；n.茅草(屋)

参考例句：

• They lit a torch and set fire to the chapel's thatch.他们点着一支火把，放火烧了小教堂的茅草屋顶。
• They topped off the hut with a straw thatch. 他们给小屋盖上茅草屋顶。

14 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

15 gulls   

n.鸥( gull的名词复数 )v.欺骗某人( gull的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• A flock of sea gulls are hovering over the deck. 一群海鸥在甲板上空飞翔。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The gulls which haunted the outlying rocks in a prodigious number. 数不清的海鸥在遥远的岩石上栖息。 来自辞典例句

16 wafted   

v.吹送，飘送，（使）浮动( waft的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The sound of their voices wafted across the lake. 他们的声音飘过湖面传到了另一边。
• A delicious smell of freshly baked bread wafted across the garden. 花园中飘过一股刚出炉面包的香味。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 zephyr   

n.和风，微风

参考例句：

• I feel very comfortable in the zephyr from the sea.从海上吹来的和风令我非常惬意。
• Zephyr,the West Wind,blew away the clouds so that Apollo,the sun god,could shine and made this flower bloom.西风之神吹散了云朵，太阳神阿波罗得以照耀它并使它开花。