VOA标准英语2008年-Parched Australia Hoping for Wet New Year

By Phil Mercer
Sydney
02 January 2008

There is cautious hope that Australia's long drought is about to break. The La Nina weather pattern has drenched¹ parts of the arid² continent in recent months. Sydney had its wettest November in more than a decade, up the coast in Queensland tropical storms have provided relief to hard-pressed farmers. From Sydney, Phil Mercer reports.

The grey skies over much of eastern Australia in recent weeks have been welcome. For the past several years, the country has been gripped by the worst drought anyone can remember.

Many farmers have gone out of business and major cities have imposed tough water restrictions³.

The drought began about six years ago, but there is now cautious optimism that the worst of so-called Big Dry may be over.

Clinton Rakich from Bureau of Meteorology says Australia's most populous⁴ state, New South Wales, enjoyed a wet end to 2007.

"We had a distinct change in our rainfall patterns in November. We experienced very much above average rainfall and above average for most of the state," he said. "December's proving to be another wet month so, yeah, it has been a distinct change from the previously⁵ very dry spring and winter period."

Experts link the wet weather in Australia's eastern states to the La Nina weather pattern.

The La Nina's cooler sea surface temperatures in the Pacific Ocean usually bring wetter weather to many countries, including Australia.

Roger Stone, professor of climatology and water resources at the University of Southern Queensland, thinks recent downpours will continue well into the new year.

"With the La Nina pattern in the Pacific Ocean there's potential for that type of general situation to continue through the Australian summer but Australia being a large country there's many parts of the nation still fairly badly affected⁶ by drought certainly in parts of western Australia and south Australia and so on," said Stone.

Some climatologists worry that La Nina may be losing its potency⁷ because it is not dumping the massive amounts of rain on Australia that it used to.

Scientists are not sure if this is a result of long-term climate change or part of a natural cycle.

Professor Stone hopes the rains will break the drought but he urges caution. He thinks many more wet months are needed to replenish⁸ Australia's dry rivers and reservoirs.

"I think because of the massive rainfall deficits⁹ built up over many, many years - decades in some instances - and because of the problems of getting dam levels up and streams flowing again - that will take a lot more than one reasonable wet season," he said.

There are hopes in cities that if the rains continue, restrictions on water use might be relaxed.

Farmers too are hoping for a damp new year.

Jock Lawrie, the president of the New South Wales Farmers Association, says recent downpours have boosted morale¹⁰ in many parts of the Outback.

"I don't think it could be timed much better. I mean, it's come in late spring," he said. "It would've been great if it had come a bit earlier but certainly the areas that have had rain it's been a significant change in the consistently bad weather pattern that we've had, so [it is] a great change."

The weather forecast for the next three months is mixed.

Australia's east and southwest can look forward to above normal rainfall. The picture is not so rosy¹¹ for central and southern parts, where the Big Dry is likely to persist.

Jock Lawrie hopes forecasters are right about more rain on the way.

"They've been predicting this change - this La Nina change - now for about six to eight months and it's taken a long while for it to get going and as we go into the change and we continue to get more and more rain we'll gradually build up a bit more confidence," he said.

 

Australia is renowned¹² for its wild and varied¹³ climate and landscape.

Australians are often at the mercy of hostile conditions, which has helped shape the national character.

Drought has challenged the people of this continent, but there now is hope that nature will relent and bring much-needed rain.

1 drenched   

adj.湿透的；充满的v.使湿透( drench的过去式和过去分词 )；在某人（某物）上大量使用（某液体）

参考例句：

• We were caught in the storm and got drenched to the skin. 我们遇上了暴雨，淋得浑身透湿。
• The rain drenched us. 雨把我们淋得湿透。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 arid   

adj.干旱的；(土地)贫瘠的

参考例句：

• These trees will shield off arid winds and protect the fields.这些树能挡住旱风,保护农田。
• There are serious problems of land degradation in some arid zones.在一些干旱地带存在严重的土地退化问题。

3 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

4 populous   

adj.人口稠密的，人口众多的

参考例句：

• London is the most populous area of Britain.伦敦是英国人口最稠密的地区。
• China is the most populous developing country in the world.中国是世界上人口最多的发展中国家。

5 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

6 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。

7 potency   

n. 效力，潜能

参考例句：

• Alcohol increases the drug's potency.酒精能增加这种毒品的效力。
• Sunscreen can lose its potency if left over winter in the bathroom cabinet.如果把防晒霜在盥洗室的壁橱里放一个冬天，就有可能失效。

8 replenish   

vt.补充；(把…)装满；(再)填满

参考例句：

• I always replenish my food supply before it is depleted.我总是在我的食物吃完之前加以补充。
• We have to import an extra 4 million tons of wheat to replenish our reserves.我们不得不额外进口四百万吨小麦以补充我们的储备。

9 deficits   

n.不足额( deficit的名词复数 )；赤字；亏空；亏损

参考例句：

• The Ministry of Finance consistently overestimated its budget deficits. 财政部一贯高估预算赤字。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Many of the world's farmers are also incurring economic deficits. 世界上许多农民还在遭受经济上的亏损。 来自辞典例句

10 morale   

n.道德准则，士气，斗志

参考例句：

• The morale of the enemy troops is sinking lower every day.敌军的士气日益低落。
• He tried to bolster up their morale.他尽力鼓舞他们的士气。

11 rosy   

adj.美好的，乐观的，玫瑰色的

参考例句：

• She got a new job and her life looks rosy.她找到一份新工作，生活看上去很美好。
• She always takes a rosy view of life.她总是对生活持乐观态度。

12 renowned   

adj.著名的，有名望的，声誉鹊起的

参考例句：

• He is one of the world's renowned writers.他是世界上知名的作家之一。
• She is renowned for her advocacy of human rights.她以提倡人权而闻名。

13 varied   

adj.多样的，多变化的

参考例句：

• The forms of art are many and varied.艺术的形式是多种多样的。
• The hotel has a varied programme of nightly entertainment.宾馆有各种晚间娱乐活动。