VOA慢速英语--气候变化导致威尼斯洪水恶化

Venice, Italy, is known for its beautiful buildings and waterways, or canals. But the way that the 1,600-year-old city was built makes it especially at risk of damage from sea-level rise.

Rising sea levels are increasing the number of floods during high tides. And for many years, Venice has been slowly sinking.

Climate scientists and world leaders plan to meet later this month in Scotland for a major United Nations climate conference. They will be thinking of the future of coastal¹ cities like Venice.

Last month, the European Geosciences Union released a new study on Venice. It found that the Italian city could see a sea-level rise of 120 centimeters by the end of the century. That is 50 percent higher than the worst-case average that U.N. scientists have predicted for worldwide rising sea levels by 2100.

One of the most famous places in Venice is St. Mark's Basilica. The religious building sits at Venice's lowest area. It offers scientists a chance to observe the effects of rising seas on the city. The square floods during an 80-centimeter rise. Water gets into the building itself at 88 centimeters.

Carlo Alberto Tesserin is the building's chief caretaker. He told The Associated Press that flooding no longer happens from time to time. He said, "It is an everyday occurrence."

Floods above 1.1 meters are called "acqua alta," or "high water." Venice has experienced 163 such floods in the past 20 years. That is almost as many as the city faced during the 100 years before that.

Exceptional floods over 140 centimeters are also increasing. That mark has been hit 25 times since Venice started keeping records in 1872. Two-thirds happened in the last 20 years. One-fifth happened during a disastrous² flooding period in late 2019.

The Venice Water Authority built a special system of moveable underwater barriers to help protect the city. The system is known as MOSE. The project cost nearly $7 billion. It has faced many years of cost overruns, delays and corruption³ and is still officially in the testing phase.

Since October 2020, MOSE's barriers have been raised 20 times. The system currently protects the cities from some but not all floods.

Elisabetta Spitz is one of the head officials of the project. She said the project's completion has been delayed until 2023. She said $580 million in spending for "improvements" will make sure of its long-term effectiveness.

Paolo Vielmo is an engineer. He notes that when MOSE was first proposed, sea-level rise was projected at 22 centimeters. That is far below U.N. scientists current worst-case prediction of 80 centimeters.

Current plans say that MOSE barriers will not raise for floods of 1.1 meters until the project receives final approval. That leaves St. Mark's Basilica in danger.

Annapaola Lavena has a business along the square in front of St. Mark's. She and other business owners there increasingly see themselves at the center of the climate crisis.

"The acqua alta is getting worse, and it completely blocks business. Venice lives thanks to its artisans and tourism. If there is no more tourism, Venice dies," she said.

"We have a great responsibility in trying to save it," Lavena added, "... but we are suffering a lot."

Words in This Story

tide – n. the regular upward and downward movement of the level of the ocean that is caused by the pull of the Sun and the Moon on the Earth

occurrence – n. something that happens

scandal – n. an occurrence in which people are shocked and upset because of behavior that is morally or legally wrong

phase – n. a part or step in a process: one part in a series of related events or actions

contention⁴ – n. a situation in which you have a chance to win something that you are trying to win

tourism – n. the activity of traveling to a place for pleasure

responsibility – n. a duty or task that you are required or expected to do

1 coastal   

adj.海岸的，沿海的，沿岸的

参考例句：

• The ocean waves are slowly eating away the coastal rocks.大海的波浪慢慢地侵蚀着岸边的岩石。
• This country will fortify the coastal areas.该国将加强沿海地区的防御。

2 disastrous   

adj.灾难性的，造成灾害的；极坏的，很糟的

参考例句：

• The heavy rainstorm caused a disastrous flood.暴雨成灾。
• Her investment had disastrous consequences.She lost everything she owned.她的投资结果很惨，血本无归。

3 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

4 contention   

n.争论，争辩，论战；论点，主张

参考例句：

• The pay increase is the key point of contention. 加薪是争论的焦点。
• The real bone of contention,as you know,is money.你知道，争论的真正焦点是钱的问题。