美国国家公共电台 NPR--Northern Europe is bracing for unusually high temperatures this week

Northern Europe is bracing¹ for unusually high temperatures this week

Transcript²

As the heat wave in southern Europe shows some signs of abating³, temperatures in northern Europe are soaring. Record highs are expected in the U.K. where officials have declared a national emergency.

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Have you heard? It is very hot in Europe.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Record highs are expected in the U.K. And authorities have declared a national emergency. They're warning of heat-related deaths even among fit and healthy people. Southern European countries face wildfires after a heat wave.

MARTIN: We're joined now by Esme Nicholson in Berlin. Esme, good morning.

ESME NICHOLSON, BYLINE⁴: Good morning.

MARTIN: What's it like in Berlin where you are?

NICHOLSON: Well, it's only just starting to warm up here, Rachel. It's - and we're expecting highs in the mid-90s here today, so not as hot as elsewhere. But I've already shut all the windows and drawn⁵ the blinds because, like many here in northern Europe, we have no air conditioning.

MARTIN: I mean, this is really it, right? I mean, everywhere is getting hotter, in the U.S., too. It's expected to reach 111 degrees in Phoenix⁶, Ariz., today. But especially in northern Europe, this is really dangerous.

NICHOLSON: Yeah, of course. And lack of air conditioning is just part of it. Northern Europe wasn't built for this kind of heat. And while well-insulated houses can keep out some of the heat as well as they keep out the cold, cities here are not designed to provide the kind of shade you find built into southern European cities. Then there's the issue of behavior. Northern Europeans don't take siestas⁷ and don't know how to pace themselves, myself included. And this is why weather officials in the U.K., for instance, as you mentioned, have issued a national emergency alert, as hospitals there are already overrun with an uptick in COVID patients.

MARTIN: And it's not just the north, right? What's going on in the southern half of the continent?

NICHOLSON: That's right. First of all, both Spain and Portugal have seen hundreds of heat-related deaths. Spain's health authorities say at least 510 people have died from heat over the past week alone. And while temperatures are dropping in some parts of southern Europe, this is having no impact at all on the wildfires currently raging in Spain, in Portugal and France, parts of Greece, parts of northern Italy. Conditions are far drier than usual at this time of year, which means fires are spreading faster and burning for longer. And, Rachel, even here in Germany, firefighters as far north as Hamburg say dry conditions pose a major risk of wildfires.

MARTIN: So we can safely assume that these extreme conditions are just an example of what's to come, right? I mean, this is where the trend lines are moving. So how are authorities in Europe thinking about it in that long-term way?

NICHOLSON: Well, yeah, as you say, scientists say this is just the beginning. Global warming is driving up temperatures and changing the paths weather patterns, which is why we're seeing droughts and forest fires in northern Europe. And not to mention the flash flooding that destroyed entire villages in western Germany exactly a year ago. So - and just last week, the federal disaster agency here in Germany warned that some parts of the country are on the verge⁸ of becoming uninhabitable because of the risk of extreme weather conditions. Yet, at the same time, the German government, which is co-led by the Green Party, is scrambling⁹ to replace Russian gas. Now, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was here in Berlin yesterday. And he issued a stark¹⁰ warning, saying the world has a choice, collective action or collective suicide.

MARTIN: Reporter Esme Nicholson in Berlin. Esme, thank you. We appreciate it.

NICHOLSON: Thank you.

1 bracing   

adj.令人振奋的

参考例句：

• The country is bracing itself for the threatened enemy invasion. 这个国家正准备奋起抵抗敌人的入侵威胁。
• The atmosphere in the new government was bracing. 新政府的气氛是令人振奋的。

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 abating   

减少( abate的现在分词 )； 减去； 降价； 撤消（诉讼）

参考例句：

• The storm showed no signs of abating. 暴风雨没有减弱的迹象。
• The recent public anxiety about this issue may now be abating. 近来公众对这个问题的焦虑心情现在也许正在缓和下来。

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

6 phoenix   

n.凤凰，长生(不死)鸟；引申为重生

参考例句：

• The airline rose like a phoenix from the ashes.这家航空公司又起死回生了。
• The phoenix worship of China is fetish worship not totem adoration.中国凤崇拜是灵物崇拜而非图腾崇拜。

7 siestas   

n.（气候炎热国家的）午睡，午休( siesta的名词复数 )

参考例句：

8 verge   

n.边，边缘；v.接近，濒临

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• She was on the verge of bursting into tears.她快要哭出来了。

9 scrambling   

v.快速爬行( scramble的现在分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞

参考例句：

• Scrambling up her hair, she darted out of the house. 她匆忙扎起头发，冲出房去。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• She is scrambling eggs. 她正在炒蛋。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 stark   

adj.荒凉的；严酷的；完全的；adv.完全地

参考例句：

• The young man is faced with a stark choice.这位年轻人面临严峻的抉择。
• He gave a stark denial to the rumor.他对谣言加以完全的否认。