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(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
One of Switzerland's most popular ski areas has been covering mountain areas with cloth material in an effort to reduce ice melt over the summer.
Workers have placed large blankets of material around Mount Titlis, a ski area near the Swiss mountain town of Engelberg.
The area contains a glacier1 that has been losing large amounts of ice over the past 20 years. The protective cloth, made of polyester material, is designed to block the sun.
Putting the blankets over the glacier provides "a natural protective shield," Gian Darms explained to Reuters. He oversees2 snow conditions and mountain security in the area.
Decreasing snow cover resulting from higher temperatures presents a serious threat to ski areas across Europe. Having a glacier can provide some protection from climate change. It can help keep large snow supplies on the mountain year-round. This snow can later be moved to fill in areas where it is needed.
But the Swiss government has predicted that 90 percent of the country's remaining 1,500 glaciers3 will disappear by the end of the century if nothing is done to cut man-made pollution emissions5.
Darms said he has had to continually increase the size of the blankets over the glacier in recent years to save what is left.
A small group of employees works over five-to-six weeks to cover parts of the glacier. At the end of the summer, the workers spend weeks removing the covers.
Currently, the reflective material covers about 100,000 square meters, which is about the size of 14 football fields. The blankets help radiate the sun's energy back into the atmosphere.
Collected snow is used to fill openings in the glacier that could open up along the area's ski runs. The snow also helps support lift structures that are fixed6 into the ice.
Words in This Story
ski – v. to move over snow wearing skis (a pair of long, think pieces of wood of plastic worn on the bottom of boots
blanket – n. a thick layer of cloth material
glacier – n. a large mass of ice that moves very slowly, usually down a hill of valley
shield – n. a person or thing used as protection
emission4 – n. the act of producing or sending out something (such as energy or gas) from a source; something that is sent out or produced by something
reflect – v. to send back or bounce off
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1
glacier
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n.冰川,冰河 | |
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2
oversees
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v.监督,监视( oversee的第三人称单数 ) | |
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3
glaciers
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冰河,冰川( glacier的名词复数 ) | |
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4
emission
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n.发出物,散发物;发出,散发 | |
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5
emissions
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排放物( emission的名词复数 ); 散发物(尤指气体) | |
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6
fixed
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adj.固定的,不变的,准备好的;(计算机)固定的 | |
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