VOA新闻杂志--黄石公园的洪水可能永远改变了公园

搜索

复制

Flooding in Yellowstone May Have Changed Park Forever

Severe flooding in America's Yellowstone National Park has caused widespread damage and may have resulted in permanent changes.

The recent floodwaters changed the path of a river popular for fishing. It also destroyed homes, bridges and roadways.

Yellowstone became America's first national park in 1872. It is known for its natural beauty that includes mountains, rivers and lakes. The forces of fire and ice shaped the park over thousands of years. It is a place where visitors can get close to different kinds of wildlife.

Most of the 9,000 square-kilometer park is in the state of Wyoming. But parts of it also stretch into Montana and Idaho.

Flooding caused by heavy rains and melting mountain snow resulted in widespread destruction¹. It drove more than 10,000 visitors out of the park. The rain also damaged hundreds of homes in nearby communities. No one has been reported hurt. Yellowstone officials have said the park could remain closed for up to one week. Some entrances may not open all summer.

The chief administrator² of Yellowstone is Superintendent³ Cameron Sholly. He told The Associated Press, "I've heard this is a 1,000-year event, whatever that means these days." He added that these kinds of weather events "seem to be happening more and more frequently."

The water washed away camp structures, flooded small towns and cut power to parts of southern Montana and northern Wyoming. The event happened as the park was beginning its busy summer season. Yellowstone receives millions of summer visitors. This year, the park is celebrating its 150th anniversary⁴.

Some of the worst damage happened in the northern part of the park and nearby communities in southern Montana.

The Yellowstone River was running at a historically high level of 4.9 meters as it flowed past Billings, Montana's largest city. The city gets its water from the river and was forced to close its treatment plant because it cannot operate effectively with water levels that high.

Billings officials said the city only had a 24- to 36-hour supply of water. They were asking citizens to conserve⁵ water until the river could drop and the plant could restart⁶ operations.

"None of us planned a 500-year flood event on the Yellowstone when we designed these facilities," said Debi Meling, the city's public works⁷ director.

The sudden, severe flooding pushed a popular fishing river off its natural path, possibly permanently⁸. It may also force park officials to rebuild destroyed roadways a safer distance away.

Yellowstone officials say the northern half of the park is likely to remain closed over the summer. This will greatly affect local economies that depend on summer tourists.

Bill Berg is a local government official in Park County⁹, Montana. He told the AP that businesses in the town of Gardiner had just started to recover from the drop in visitors during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"It's a Yellowstone town, and it lives and dies by tourism, and this is going to be a pretty big hit," he said. "They're looking to try to figure out how to hold things together."

As the floodwaters ease¹⁰, parks officials are turning their attention to the effort of rebuilding many kilometers of ruined roads and hundreds of washed-out bridges. Yellowstone officials say workers will not be able to fully¹¹ investigate the damage until next week.

Kelly Goonan is a professor at Southern Utah University and an expert in running national parks and recreation areas. She said the rebuilding operation will take a very long time.

"This is something we're definitely¹² going to feel the impacts¹⁴ of for the next several years," Goonan said.

Words in This Story

frequent – adj. happening often

conserve – v. to use something in a way that does not waste it

facility – n. part of a system or machine that makes it possible to do something

tourist – n. someone who visits a place for pleasure and does not live there

figure out – v. to finally understand something or someone after giving it a lot of thought

impact¹³ – n. the effect that a person, event or situation has on someone or something

1 destruction   

n.破坏，毁灭，消灭

参考例句：

• The enemy bombs caused widespread destruction.敌人的炸弹造成大面积的破坏。
• Overconfidence was his destruction.自负是他垮台的原因。

2 administrator   

n.经营管理者，行政官员

参考例句：

• The role of administrator absorbed much of Ben's energy.行政职务耗掉本很多精力。
• He has proved himself capable as administrator.他表现出管理才能。

3 superintendent   

n.监督人，主管，总监；(英国)警务长

参考例句：

• He was soon promoted to the post of superintendent of Foreign Trade.他很快就被擢升为对外贸易总监。
• He decided to call the superintendent of the building.他决定给楼房管理员打电话。

4 anniversary   

n.周年(纪念日)

参考例句：

• They celebrate their wedding anniversary annually.他们每年庆祝一番结婚纪念日。
• Today is my parents'30th wedding anniversary.今天是我父母结婚30周年纪念日。

5 conserve   

vt.保存，保护，节约，节省，守恒，不灭

参考例句：

• He writes on both sides of the sheet to conserve paper.他在纸张的两面都写字以节省用纸。
• Conserve your energy,you'll need it!保存你的精力，你会用得着的！

6 restart   

vt.重新开始，重新启动；vi.重新开始，重新启动

参考例句：

• Restart the computer in Safe mode or VGA mode.重新启动计算机在安全模式或VGA模式。
• After the restart the program continues to run automatically.重启后，程序仍然自动运行。

7 works   

n.作品，著作；工厂，活动部件，机件

参考例句：

• We expect writers to produce more and better works.我们期望作家们写出更多更好的作品。
• The novel is regarded as one of the classic works.这篇小说被公认为是最优秀的作品之一。

8 permanently   

adv.永恒地，永久地，固定不变地

参考例句：

• The accident left him permanently scarred.那次事故给他留下了永久的伤疤。
• The ship is now permanently moored on the Thames in London.该船现在永久地停泊在伦敦泰晤士河边。

9 county   

n.县，郡

参考例句：

• When the good news reached there,the whole county rejoiced.喜讯传到那里时，全县的人都欢欣鼓舞起来。
• In that year county after county fell to the enemy.那一年一个又一个的县城沦入敌人手中。

10 ease   

n. 安乐,安逸,悠闲; v. 使...安乐,使...安心,减轻,放松

参考例句：

• His mind was at ease and he felt confident in the future. 他心情舒畅,对前途很有信心。
• You should ease up on the child and stop scolding her. 你应该对那个孩子宽松些,不要再骂她了。

11 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

12 definitely   

adv.一定地，肯定地；明确地，确切地

参考例句：

• The team will definitely lose if he doesn't play.如果他不参加比赛，这个队肯定会输。
• I shall definitely be home before six o'clock.6点以前，我一定回家。

13 impact   

n.冲击，碰撞；影响；vt.装紧，压紧

参考例句：

• The computer had made a great impact on modern life.计算机对现代生活产生了巨大的影响.
• How will the war impact on such a poet?战争对这样一个诗人会产生什么影响？

14 impacts   

影响，作用( impact的名词复数 )； 碰撞； 冲击； 撞击

参考例句：

• In particular, what alternatives and environmental impacts must be discussed? 特别是，必须讨论哪些替代方案以及哪些环境影响。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
• The position of barycentre on plane directly impacts the stabilization and manipulation of plane. 飞机重心位置直接影响飞机的稳定和操纵特性。