VOA慢速英语2020 澳大利亚呼吁进行气候风险评估

Wildfires destroyed large parts of southeast Australia during the second half of 2019 and early in 2020. Late last week, Australian investigators¹ released an official report on the fires. The investigators for greater efforts to predict the effects of climate change on the country. The report noted² that fire behavior was becoming more extreme.

在2019年下半年和2020年初，野火烧毁了澳大利亚东南部的大部分地区。上周晚些时候，澳大利亚调查人员发布了一份关于火灾的官方报告。研究人员希望投入更多努力来预测气候变化对这个国家的影响。报告指出，火灾行为变得愈发极端。

The Royal Commission into National Natural Disaster Arrangements began studying the fires in February.

负责调查国家自然灾害的皇家委员会在二月份开始研究火灾。

The fire season was so destructive that it is now known as Black Summer. The fires killed at least 33 people, destroyed more than 3,000 homes and burned 19 million hectares. Thousands of people were forced to leave affected³ areas.

这场火灾季造成的破坏规模之大，以至于被人们称为“黑色夏天”。大火造成至少33人死亡，摧毁了3000多座房屋，烧毁了1900万公顷的土地。数千人被迫迁离受灾地区。

The Royal Commission said the smoke that covered much of the country, including major Australian cities, was partly to blame for hundreds of deaths.

皇家委员会表示，包括澳大利亚各大城市在内的澳洲大部分地区漂浮的烟尘是造成数百人死亡的部分原因。

The commission's 578-page report made 80 suggestions. They include greater sharing of information across Australia on climate and disaster risks.

该委员会长达578页的报告提出了80条建议。其中包括在澳大利亚各地加强气候和灾害风险信息的共享。

The report said federal and state governments should make climate projections⁴ and agree on trajectories⁵ and timelines for likely climate change. It called on states to create fire maps that are shared nationally. Without this cooperation, the report said, it is "difficult to measure risk at a national scale."

报告指出，联邦政府和州政府应该进行气候预测，并就可能发生的气候变化的轨迹和时间线达成一致。报告呼吁各州创建全国共享的火灾地图。报告还称，如果不这样合作，“很难在全国范围内评估风险”。

These measures will "improve the ability to predict or estimate the likelihood of extreme" wildfires, the report said.

报告还指出，这些措施将“提高预测或评估发生极端火灾可能性的能力”。

Mark Howden is a professor at the Australian National University's Climate Change Institute. He said the fire risk in some areas was a result of both fuel loads and climate. A fuel load is the amount of dead wood that can easily burn.

马克·豪登（Mark Howden）是澳大利亚国立大学气候变化研究所的教授。他说，一些地区的火灾风险是由可燃物载量和气候双重因素造成的。“可燃物载量”是指易燃的枯木量。

Climate models were "a guide to future change and risk, but it's very clear across Australia that that change in risk is upward," Howden said. "So, it's a question...how quickly and how much that fire danger increases."

气候模型是“未来变化和风险的指南，但很明显，整个澳大利亚的风险变化在上升，”豪登说道。“所以，这是一个问题……火灾危险增加的速度和程度。”

Lawmakers in Australia's government have argued against the effect of climate change on the fire emergency. Some said the fires were set by arsonists⁷.

澳大利亚政府的立法者反对气候变化对火灾紧急情况的影响。一些人说，火灾是由纵火者所致。

The report also said there was no question that more climate change is likely over the next 20 years. It also said the number of floods and fires will increase.

报告还指出，毫无疑问，未来20年气候变化可能会更频繁。报告还表示，洪水和火灾的数量将会增加。

Former New South Wales state Fire and Rescue Commissioner⁸ Greg Mullins agreed with the report's look at climate change.

前新南威尔士州消防和救援专员格雷格·马林斯（Greg Mullins）同意这份报告对气候变化的见解。

"The main point made in this report is that the Black Summer bushfires would not have happened if not for the effects of climate change and a warming planet," he said.

他说:“这份报告的主要观点是，如果没有气候变化和全球变暖的影响，“黑色夏季”这场森林大火就不会发生。”

The report also recommended that Australia develop its own aerial firefighting abilities and send water bombers⁹ to where they are needed most. The country now brings in firefighting airplanes from the Northern Hemisphere during its fire season. But, as a result of climate change, fire seasons in the two hemispheres often happen at the same time now.

报告还建议澳大利亚发展自身的空中灭火能力，并向最需要的地方派遣灭火飞机。该国现在在火灾季节从北半球引进灭火飞机。但是，由于气候变化，南、北半球的火灾季节经常同时发生。

The report said that the prime minister should be given new legal power to declare a state of emergency. This, it said, would make it easier for the federal government to act during the wildfire season.

报告说，应该赋予总理宣布紧急状态的法律权力。报告称，这将使联邦政府更容易在火灾季节采取行动。

Words in This Story

page – n. each piece of paper in a book or report

trajectory¹⁰ – n. the direction

arsonist⁶ - n. someone who deliberately¹¹ sets a fire

scale – n. the weight of something or its importance

aerial - adj. pertaining¹² to flight or the skies

hemisphere - n. one half of the earth, either southern or northern

1 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

3 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

4 projections   

预测( projection的名词复数 )； 投影； 投掷； 突起物

参考例句：

• Their sales projections are a total thumbsuck. 他们的销售量预测纯属估计。
• The council has revised its projections of funding requirements upwards. 地方议会调高了对资金需求的预测。

5 trajectories   

n.弹道( trajectory的名词复数 )；轨道；轨线；常角轨道

参考例句：

• To answer this question, we need to plot trajectories of principal stresses. 为了回答这个问题，我们尚须画出主应力迹线图。 来自辞典例句
• In the space program the theory is used to determine spaceship trajectories. 在空间计划中，这个理论用于确定飞船的轨道。 来自辞典例句

6 arsonist   

n.纵火犯

参考例句：

• You're pretty sure you can identify a single arsonist?你确信你能鉴别出一个特定的纵火者？
• The arsonist confessed that he set fire to six businesses.那纵火犯承认他给6家商场纵过火。

7 arsonists   

n.纵火犯( arsonist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The factory was destroyed in a fire started by arsonists. 工厂在纵火犯引起的火灾中烧毀了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Australian Attorney-General Robert McClelland said suspected arsonists could face murder charges. 澳大利亚总检察长罗伯特麦克莱兰说，怀疑纵火犯可能面临谋杀指控。 来自互联网

8 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

9 bombers   

n.轰炸机( bomber的名词复数 )；投弹手；安非他明胶囊；大麻叶香烟

参考例句：

• Enemy bombers carried out a blitz on the city. 敌军轰炸机对这座城市进行了突袭。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Royal Airforce sill remained dangerously short of bombers. 英国皇家空军仍未脱离极为缺乏轰炸机的危境。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 trajectory   

n.弹道，轨道

参考例句：

• It is not difficult to sketch the subsequent trajectory.很容易描绘出它们最终的轨迹。
• The path followed by a projectile is called its trajectory.抛物体所循的路径称为它的轨道。

11 deliberately   

adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地

参考例句：

• The girl gave the show away deliberately.女孩故意泄露秘密。
• They deliberately shifted off the argument.他们故意回避这个论点。

12 pertaining   

与…有关系的，附属…的，为…固有的(to)

参考例句：

• Living conditions are vastly different from those pertaining in their country of origin. 生活条件与他们祖国大不相同。
• The inspector was interested in everything pertaining to the school. 视察员对有关学校的一切都感兴趣。