美国国家公共电台 NPR After Hurricane's Wrath, Puerto Rico's Green Forests Turn Bare Brown

 

LULU GARCIA-NAVARRO, HOST:

The once-green hillsides of Puerto Rico are now brown. Hurricane Maria stripped bare the lush forests of the island. While it may look depressing in the near term, NPR's John Burnett reports the forests will likely recover.

JOHN BURNETT, BYLINE¹: A laborer² named Angel Ramos (ph) used to gather mango and avocado that grew wild in the hills above the city of Cayey. The woods were verdant³. They smelled of fecundity⁴, and they made him feel part of creation. And then the hurricane came.

ANGEL RAMOS: (Through interpreter) I climbed up to see what the mountain looks like - the sadness. I see the uprooted⁵ trees, the naked limbs. It makes you want to cry when you see it. How it's destroyed - it's torturous⁶ to look at.

BURNETT: The site is distressing⁷. Puerto Rico's trees are spectacular - or they were. The African tulip tree with its fiery⁸, orange-red, cup-shaped flowers, majestic⁹ ceiba trees, giant ficus trees with their woody vines. The storm obliterated¹⁰ the island's vegetation temporarily. Don't despair, says a distinguished¹¹ tropical ecologist tramping up a hill in the heat.

ARIEL LUGO: I guess we want to go straight up because the forest is on the other side.

BURNETT: He is Ariel Lugo - 74 years old, director of the International Institute of Tropical Forestry¹². Part of the USDA Forest Service, Lugo has been studying Puerto Rican forests and the effects of hurricanes for 54 years.

LUGO: The wind was so strong, most leaves could not stay on the trees. So when you ask me who got defoliated, everybody did.

BURNETT: We're standing¹³ on a hill in a thousand-acre nature preserve in the heart of San Juan. Looking south, we can clearly see the high rises and shopping centers and sports stadiums.

LUGO: Normally, you don't see the city. Normally, the city doesn't see us. After a hurricane, everything gets exposed.

BURNETT: So will this forest come back?

LUGO: Oh, absolutely. It will be beautiful again - the whole thing.

BURNETT: Through an accident of weather and geography, Puerto Rico has perhaps the best research on the interaction between hurricanes and tropical forests in the Western Hemisphere. In 1989, Hurricane Hugo passed over the eastern third of the island as a strong Category 3. As it happens, since 1943, scientists had been studying the same forests that were lashed¹⁴ by Hugo. What Ariel Lugo and other scientists learned is that regrowth was two to three times as robust¹⁵ and productive as in a healthy forest. The trees race upwards¹⁶ to regain¹⁷ their choice positions in the canopy¹⁸ to photosynthesize the sunlight. The tallest are the victors. But it took the forest three to four years to recover after Hugo. And it probably will for Maria.

LUGO: Every Puerto Rican is aware that this island is looking different. And everybody wants the green island because that's where we love, and what's we are used to.

BURNETT: And what will you tell them?

LUGO: Well, unfortunately, when I'm telling them, it's the same thing that they're telling them when they're waiting for gas and food and water - is be patient. This is going to come back (laughter). But we have to be patient. But it's not going to be long.

BURNETT: Since the defoliation of Puerto Rico, the natural world has been topsy-turvy. Bees are buzzing around, crazily looking for pollen¹⁹ and flowers that were blown away. Confused birds, from the lizard²⁰ cuckoo to the pearly eyed thrasher to the endangered Puerto Rican parrot, have lost their nests and favorite perches²¹. Anole lizards²² that camouflage²³ themselves in the foliage²⁴ are now exposed to passing hawks²⁵. Yet the forest is impatient to reinvent itself. Ariel Lugo stands admiringly under a huge ceiba tree in the institute's lawn that was decapitated by the destructive winds. Nine days later, you can see green sprouting²⁶ from the tips of intact branches.

LUGO: You see this proliferation of brand-new leaves that are already coming out. And it's amazing to us because it just demonstrates how each species has its own way of coming back.

BURNETT: As he says, nature finds a way to express itself. John Burnett, NPR News, San Juan.

1 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。

2 laborer   

n.劳动者，劳工

参考例句：

• Her husband had been a farm laborer.她丈夫以前是个农场雇工。
• He worked as a casual laborer and did not earn much.他当临时工，没有赚多少钱。

3 verdant   

adj.翠绿的，青翠的，生疏的，不老练的

参考例句：

• Children are playing on the verdant lawn.孩子们在绿茵茵的草坪上嬉戏玩耍。
• The verdant mountain forest turns red gradually in the autumn wind.苍翠的山林在秋风中渐渐变红了。

4 fecundity   

n.生产力；丰富

参考例句：

• The probability of survival is the reciprocal of fecundity.生存的概率是生殖力的倒数。
• The boy's fecundity of imagination amazed his teacher.男孩想像力的丰富使教师感到惊异。

5 uprooted   

v.把（某物）连根拔起( uproot的过去式和过去分词 )；根除；赶走；把…赶出家园

参考例句：

• Many people were uprooted from their homes by the flood. 水灾令许多人背井离乡。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The hurricane blew with such force that trees were uprooted. 飓风强烈地刮着，树都被连根拔起了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 torturous   

adj. 痛苦的

参考例句：

• His breathing was torturous.他的呼吸充满痛苦。
• This is a torturous agonizing way to kill someone.这是一种让人受尽折磨、痛苦难忍的杀人方法。

7 distressing   

a.使人痛苦的

参考例句：

• All who saw the distressing scene revolted against it. 所有看到这种悲惨景象的人都对此感到难过。
• It is distressing to see food being wasted like this. 这样浪费粮食令人痛心。

8 fiery   

adj.燃烧着的，火红的；暴躁的；激烈的

参考例句：

• She has fiery red hair.她有一头火红的头发。
• His fiery speech agitated the crowd.他热情洋溢的讲话激动了群众。

9 majestic   

adj.雄伟的，壮丽的，庄严的，威严的，崇高的

参考例句：

• In the distance rose the majestic Alps.远处耸立着雄伟的阿尔卑斯山。
• He looks majestic in uniform.他穿上军装显得很威风。

10 obliterated   

v.除去( obliterate的过去式和过去分词 )；涂去；擦掉；彻底破坏或毁灭

参考例句：

• The building was completely obliterated by the bomb. 炸弹把那座建筑物彻底摧毁了。
• He began to drink, drank himself to intoxication, till he slept obliterated. 他一直喝，喝到他快要迷糊地睡着了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 distinguished   

adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的

参考例句：

• Elephants are distinguished from other animals by their long noses.大象以其长长的鼻子显示出与其他动物的不同。
• A banquet was given in honor of the distinguished guests.宴会是为了向贵宾们致敬而举行的。

12 forestry   

n.森林学；林业

参考例句：

• At present, the Chinese forestry is being at a significant transforming period. 当前, 我国的林业正处于一个重大的转折时期。
• Anhua is one of the key forestry counties in Hunan province. 安化县是湖南省重点林区县之一。

13 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。

14 lashed   

adj.具睫毛的v.鞭打( lash的过去式和过去分词 )；煽动；紧系；怒斥

参考例句：

• The rain lashed at the windows. 雨点猛烈地打在窗户上。
• The cleverly designed speech lashed the audience into a frenzy. 这篇精心设计的演说煽动听众使他们发狂。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 robust   

adj.强壮的，强健的，粗野的，需要体力的，浓的

参考例句：

• She is too tall and robust.她个子太高，身体太壮。
• China wants to keep growth robust to reduce poverty and avoid job losses,AP commented.美联社评论道，中国希望保持经济强势增长，以减少贫困和失业状况。

16 upwards   

adv.向上，在更高处...以上

参考例句：

• The trend of prices is still upwards.物价的趋向是仍在上涨。
• The smoke rose straight upwards.烟一直向上升。

17 regain   

vt.重新获得，收复，恢复

参考例句：

• He is making a bid to regain his World No.1 ranking.他正为重登世界排名第一位而努力。
• The government is desperate to regain credibility with the public.政府急于重新获取公众的信任。

18 canopy   

n.天篷，遮篷

参考例句：

• The trees formed a leafy canopy above their heads.树木在他们头顶上空形成了一个枝叶茂盛的遮篷。
• They lay down under a canopy of stars.他们躺在繁星点点的天幕下。

19 pollen   

n.[植]花粉

参考例句：

• Hummingbirds have discovered that nectar and pollen are very nutritious.蜂鸟发现花蜜和花粉是很有营养的。
• He developed an allergy to pollen.他对花粉过敏。

20 lizard   

n.蜥蜴，壁虎

参考例句：

• A chameleon is a kind of lizard.变色龙是一种蜥蜴。
• The lizard darted out its tongue at the insect.蜥蜴伸出舌头去吃小昆虫。

21 perches   

栖息处( perch的名词复数 )； 栖枝； 高处； 鲈鱼

参考例句：

• Other protection can be obtained by providing wooden perches througout the orchards. 其它保护措施是可在种子园中到处设置木制的栖木。
• The birds were hopping about on their perches and twittering. 鸟儿在栖木上跳来跳去，吱吱地叫着。

22 lizards   

n.蜥蜴( lizard的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Nothing lives in Pompeii except crickets and beetles and lizards. 在庞培城里除了蟋蟀、甲壳虫和蜥蜴外，没有别的生物。 来自辞典例句
• Can lizards reproduce their tails? 蜥蜴的尾巴断了以后能再生吗？ 来自辞典例句

23 camouflage   

n./v.掩饰，伪装

参考例句：

• The white fur of the polar bear is a natural camouflage.北极熊身上的白色的浓密软毛是一种天然的伪装。
• The animal's markings provide effective camouflage.这种动物身上的斑纹是很有效的伪装。

24 foliage   

n.叶子，树叶，簇叶

参考例句：

• The path was completely covered by the dense foliage.小路被树叶厚厚地盖了一层。
• Dark foliage clothes the hills.浓密的树叶覆盖着群山。

25 hawks   

鹰( hawk的名词复数 )； 鹰派人物，主战派人物

参考例句：

• Two hawks were hover ing overhead. 两只鹰在头顶盘旋。
• Both hawks and doves have expanded their conditions for ending the war. 鹰派和鸽派都充分阐明了各自的停战条件。

26 sprouting   

v.发芽( sprout的现在分词 )；抽芽；出现；（使）涌现出

参考例句：

• new leaves sprouting from the trees 树上长出的新叶
• They were putting fresh earth around sprouting potato stalks. 他们在往绽出新芽的土豆秧周围培新土。 来自名作英译部分