国家地理 阿尔卑斯山见证气候变化危机

It's time for these men to get ready for work, and work means hanging off a cliff at 10,000 feet.

这些人工作的时间到了，工作意味着悬挂在10,000英尺高的悬崖上。

High in the Austrian Alps, these men are trying to rescue a historic weather station from the weather itself.

在奥地利境内高高的阿尔卑斯山上，这些人试图拯救一个历史性的气象站免于天气破坏。

"It was a couple of years ago, we saw this crack and this whole supporting structure is based on 5 pillars.

“大约两年前，我们看到了这个裂缝，整个支持结构由5根柱子支撑。

This one lowered itself about 4 or 5 millimeters. This meant to us the mountain is moving."

而这一根下降了四五毫米。这说明山体移动了。”

For more than a hundred years, Sonnblick Observatory¹ has taken the Alps temperature.

100多年来，Sonnblick气象台一直记录阿尔卑斯山的气温。

"So the whole climate change which it could observe in the twentieth century was observed here. "

“所以20世纪所有能够观察到的气候变化都是在这里观测到的。”

And in the past few decades it’s measured a slow but steady increase.

在过去的几十年里，气温缓慢但是稳步上升。

Lue Rasser has been watching the weather data at Sonnblick for more than 20 years.

Lue Rasser在Sonnblick观测气象数据已经有20多年的历史。

"A lot of facts show the climate is changing dramatically and it is a tragic² change.

“多项事实表明，气候确实在急剧变化，而且是灾难性的变化。

A good example is average temperature. It's moved up by more than 1 degree centigrade."

其中一个例子就是平均气温上升了1摄氏度以上。”

And from here Lue can watch it all in real time.

在这里Lue可以进行实时观测。

"This is the meteor data system and you can read all the weather measurements right here.

“这是流星数据系统，你可以在这里读取到所有的测量结果。

For example we can show precipitation, snow levels on glaciers³, wind temperature, global and sky radiation and a whole lot more."

例如，我们可以进行预测，冰川雪线，风温，全球和前空辐射，所有的预测都可以进行。”

But now the warmer weather is melting glaciers and hitting meteorologists right where they live.

但是现在气候变暖，冰川融化，直接威胁到气象学家居住的地方。

Sonnblick's peak used to be held together by mountain permafrost,

由于永久冰冻，Sonnblick顶峰一向是聚集成一个整体，

but with rising temperatures the permafrost was melting and the rock under the station was crumbling⁴ away.

但是由于气温升高，永久冰冻融化，气象站的岩石逐渐分裂。

"When I started here in 1980 precipitation was snow or sleet⁵,

“从1980年我到这里开始，预报结果一般是降雪或者冰雹，

but for the last 15 years the temperature is so high that at least for a month each year we only have rain."

但是从15年前开始，由于气温升高，每年至少有一个月能够预测到降雨。”

"And this rain caused freezing and refreezing and melting within the cracks and this of course splits up the cracks, you know."

“雨水引起裂缝中产生冰冻，重复冰冻和融化，你知道，这样会加大裂缝。”

So the workers drilled holes deep into the mountain top, searching for rock that wasn't cracked.

所以工人们们在山顶向山体钻孔，希望寻找到没有开裂的岩石。

They built a web of steel and concrete to hold the mountain together, and maybe, just maybe, keep the station standing⁶.

他们建造了一个钢筋混凝土网络，希望重新把山体连接在一起，或许，只是有可能，保持气象站稳定。

Up here the weather can change in an instant and that's why Sonnblick really does tower above most other observatories⁷ because it's seen it all.

在这里气候瞬息万变，这就是Sonnblick气象站能够比其他观测站观测更好的原因。

It is the oldest mountain observatory in 3000 meters in the whole world, and it collected data since 1886.

这是全世界最古老的高山气象站，位于海拔3000米的高山上，从1886年开始收集数据。

And the data show the warmer weather is giving no signs of slowing down, not just at Sonnblick but all through the Alps.

数据表明，气候变暖没有任何变缓的迹象，并不只是在Sonnblick，而是整个阿尔卑斯山。

Even mighty⁸ mountains are no match for a little rising thermometer.

即使是强有力的高山也承受不了一点点升温。

So for now, for the people at Sonnblick, fighting the effects of climate change is an uphill battle.

所以，现在，对Sonnblick的人们来说，抵抗气候变暖的影响的战争悦来越艰巨。

1 observatory   

n.天文台，气象台，瞭望台，观测台

参考例句：

• Guy's house was close to the observatory.盖伊的房子离天文台很近。
• Officials from Greenwich Observatory have the clock checked twice a day.格林威治天文台的职员们每天对大钟检查两次。

2 tragic   

adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的

参考例句：

• The effect of the pollution on the beaches is absolutely tragic.污染海滩后果可悲。
• Charles was a man doomed to tragic issues.查理是个注定不得善终的人。

3 glaciers   

冰河，冰川( glacier的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Glaciers gouged out valleys from the hills. 冰川把丘陵地带冲出一条条山谷。
• It has ice and snow glaciers, rainforests and beautiful mountains. 既有冰川，又有雨林和秀丽的山峰。 来自英语晨读30分（高一）

4 crumbling   

adj.摇摇欲坠的

参考例句：

• an old house with crumbling plaster and a leaking roof 一所灰泥剥落、屋顶漏水的老房子
• The boat was tied up alongside a crumbling limestone jetty. 这条船停泊在一个摇摇欲坠的石灰岩码头边。

5 sleet   

n.雨雪；v.下雨雪，下冰雹

参考例句：

• There was a great deal of sleet last night.昨夜雨夹雪下得真大。
• When winter comes,we get sleet and frost.冬天来到时我们这儿会有雨夹雪和霜冻。

6 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

7 observatories   

n.天文台，气象台( observatory的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• John Heilbron, The Sun in the Church: Cathedrals as Solar Observatories, 3-23. 约翰．海耳布隆，《教会里的太阳：教堂即太阳观测台》，第3-23页。 来自互联网
• Meteorologists use satellites, land observatories and historical data to provide information about the weather. 气象学家使用卫星、上天文台和历史资料来提供有关天气的信息。 来自互联网

8 mighty   

adj.强有力的；巨大的

参考例句：

• A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。
• The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。