46 亚洲环境问题亟待解决（在线收听）

Catastrophic Environmental Changes Brewing in Asia

Alisha Ryu

Hong Kong

19 Jun 2001 09:55 UTC

Experts in Asia say 1)catastrophic environmental changes now brewing in the region could cause as many as a billion people to move into cities in the next 15 years. Concerns are mounting as mass population shifts threaten to deepen 2)poverty and sharply raise pollution levels throughout the region.

A new United Nations report blames 3)globalization for much of Asia's current environmental 4)woes.

The report says for 5)decades, many countries have 6)sacrificed their forests, air, water and land in a 7)relentless drive to become modern export economies. The 1997 Asian economic crisis further 8)hastened the environmental destruction as governments 9)slashed budgets that had been set 10)aside for 11)conservation and environmental projects.

A spokesman for the U.N.'s Asia Pacific Economic and Social Commission, Ravi Sawhney, says a myriad of environmental and 12)ecological problems are threatening virtually every country in the region from Central Asia to the Pacific islands. "Cultivated land, which has been degraded, has increased in the region. It has some 460 million hectares which has been 13)degraded," Sawhney said. "There is also a problem of 14)deforestation and a growing problem of water scarcity. There is a heavy dependence on solid 15)fossil fuel, which is a major source of pollution and we also see a threat to the 16)mangrove forests", Sawhney continued. "About 60 percent of the forests have become breeding grounds for fisheries." The United Nations warns that loss of arable land and water supplies could 17)accelerate the pace of migration into cities at unsustainable levels. The urban population of the region is already at about 1.5 billion, many of them desperately poor. Mr. Sawhney says future urban growth in Asia could be 18)equivalent to setting up a new city of 150,000 people, every day, for the next 15 years.

The U.N. report concludes that governmental support and funding must continue for environmental research and projects. It estimates some $10 19)trillion will be needed in the next 25 to 30 years just to maintain current conditions.

(1)      catastrophic[ 9kAtE`strCfIk ]adj.悲惨的, 灾难的

(2)      poverty[5pRvEtI]n.贫穷, 贫困, 贫乏, 缺少

(3)      globalization[9^lEJbElaI`zeIFEn;-lI`z-]n.全球化,全球性

(4)      woe[wEJ]n.悲哀

(5)      decade[5dekeId]n.十年, 十

(6)      sacrifice[5sAkrIfaIs]n. v.牺牲, 献身, 祭品, 供奉

(7)      relentless[rI`lentlIs]adj.无情的

(8)      hasten[5heIs(E)n]v.催促, 赶紧, 促进, 加速

(9)      slash[slAF]v.猛砍, 鞭打, 砍伤, 大量削减n.猛砍, (大幅度)削减

(10)      aside[E5saId]adv.在旁边, 到旁边

(11)      conservation[kRnsE5veIF(E)n]n.保存, 保持, 守恒

(12)      ecological[9i:kE`lCdVIkEl]adj.生态学的, 社会生态学的

(13)      degraded[ dI`^reIdId ]adj.被降级的, 退化的, 堕落的

(14)      deforestation n.采伐森林, 森林开伐

(15)      fossil[5fRs(E)l]n.化石, 僵化的事物adj.化石的, 陈腐的, 守旧的

(16)      mangrove[5mAN^rEJv]n.[植]红树林

(17)      accelerate[Ek5selEreIt]v.加速, 促进

(18)      equivalent[I5kwIvElEnt]adj.相等的, 相当的n.等价物, 相等物

(19)      trillion[5trIljEn]num.万亿