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(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
New York City is slowly sinking.
纽约市正在慢慢下沉。
With the weight of its tall buildings, streets and people, the city is sinking at an average rate of 1 to 2 millimeters each year, a new study says.
一项新的研究表明，由于高楼、街道和人口的重量，这座城市正在以平均每年1到2毫米的速度下沉。
The sinking is called "subsidence."
这叫作“地面下沉”。
That natural process happens everywhere as ground is compressed.
当地面被压缩时，这种自然过程随处可见。
But the study published in the publication Earth's Future in May sought to estimate how the huge weight of the city itself is hurrying things along.
但今年5月发表在《地球的未来》杂志上的这项研究试图估计这座城市本身的巨大重量是如何推动事情发展的。
More than 1 million buildings are spread across the city's five boroughs1.
100多万栋建筑物分布在该市的五个行政区。
The research team found that all those structures add up to about 1.5 trillion metric tons of concrete, metal and glass.
研究小组发现，所有这些建筑物加起来大约有1.5万亿公吨混凝土、金属和玻璃。
That is equal to the mass of 4,700 Empire State buildings pressing down on the Earth.
这相当于4700座帝国大厦压在地球上的质量。
The rate of compression is different throughout the city.
整座城市的压缩率是不同的。
Midtown Manhattan's tall buildings, or skyscrapers2, are largely built on rock, which compresses very little.
曼哈顿中城的高楼（即摩天大楼）大多建在岩石上，岩石的压缩率很低。
But some parts of Brooklyn, Queens and downtown Manhattan are on looser soil and sinking faster, the study said.
但该研究发现，布鲁克林区、皇后区和曼哈顿市中心的部分地区土壤更松散，下沉速度更快。
While the process is slow, parts of the city will eventually be under water, said Tom Parsons.
汤姆·帕森斯表示，虽然过程很慢，但这座城市的部分地区最终将会被淹没。
He is the lead researcher of the U.S. Geological Survey.
他是美国地质调查局的首席研究员。
Making the problem worse is rising sea level.
使问题变得更糟的是海平面上升。
"The ground is going down, and the water's coming up. At some point, those two levels will meet," said Parsons.
帕森斯说：“地面在下沉，水位在上升。在某一时刻，这两个会相遇。”
Parsons and his team of researchers reached their conclusions using satellite imaging, data modeling and mathematical calculations.
帕森斯和他的研究团队利用卫星成像、数据建模和数学计算得出了他们的结论。
It will take hundreds of years before New York becomes Venice.
纽约要变成威尼斯还需要几百年的时间。
The city in Italy is famously sinking into the Adriatic Sea.
这座意大利城市因正在沉入亚得里亚海而闻名。
But parts of New York are more at risk.
但纽约的部分地区面临的风险更大。
Parsons said that Manhattan is at risk because of the borough's large weight.
帕森斯说，由于曼哈顿的重量太大，因此该行政区处于危险之中。
"The average elevation3 in the southern part of the island is only 1 or 2 meters above sea level — it is very close to the waterline, and so it is a deep concern."
“该岛南部的平均海拔只有1到2米——非常接近水线，因此这是一个令人深感担忧的问题。”
The ocean is rising at a similar rate that the land is sinking.
海平面上升的速度与陆地下沉的速度相似。
So the Earth's changing climate could speed up the process for parts of the city to go under water.
因此，地球不断变化的气候可能会加快这座城市部分地区被水淹没的进程。
"It doesn't mean that we should stop building buildings…," Parsons said.
帕森斯说：“这并不意味着我们应该停止建造大楼”。
"The purpose was to point this out in advance before it becomes a bigger problem."
“我们的目的是在这个问题变得更严重之前提前指出来。”
Already, New York City is at risk of flooding because of large storms.
由于大风暴，纽约市已经面临洪水泛滥的风险。
Storms like Sandy in 2012 caused the ocean to expand inland and flooded neighborhoods after a lot of rain.
诸如2012年飓风“桑迪”之类的风暴导致海洋向内陆扩张，并在大量降雨后淹没了社区。
Andrew Kruczkiewicz is a senior researcher at Columbia University's Climate School, who was not involved in the research.
安德鲁·克鲁兹凯维奇是哥伦比亚大学气候学院的高级研究员，他没有参与这项研究。
Kruczkiewicz said the study's findings could help inform policy makers4 as they plan ways to slow the rising seas.
克鲁兹凯维奇说，这项研究发现的问题有助于决策者制定减缓海平面上升的方法。
"We can't sit around and wait...," he added.
他补充道：“我们不能坐以待毙……”
New York City is not the only place sinking.
纽约市并不是唯一一个正在下沉的地方。
San Francisco, California, is also at risk because of pressure on the ground and the area's active earthquakes.
由于地面压力和该地区活跃的地震，加利福尼亚州的旧金山也处于危险之中。
In Indonesia, the government is preparing for a move from Jakarta, which is sinking into the Java Sea.
在印度尼西亚，政府正准备从正在沉入爪哇海的雅加达迁往别处。
The government is building a new capital being constructed on the higher ground of an entirely5 different island.
该国政府正在一个完全不同的岛屿的高地上建造一个新的首都。
收听单词发音 |
1
boroughs
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| （尤指大伦敦的）行政区( borough的名词复数 )； 议会中有代表的市镇 | |
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2
skyscrapers
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| n.摩天大楼 | |
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3
elevation
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| n.高度；海拔；高地；上升；提高 | |
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4
makers
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| n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式） | |
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5
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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