VOA常速英语2016--世界最大淡水湖乍得湖或将消失

世界最大淡水湖乍得湖或将消失

Lake Chad, which is bordered by four African nations: Cameroon, Niger, Nigeria and Chad, was once one of the world's largest. But a combination of climate change, drought and bad use of resources, have shrunk the basin by 90 percent in the past four decades.

曾是全球最大淡水湖的乍得湖与4个非洲国家接壤，分别是：喀麦隆、尼日尔、尼日利亚和乍得。然而，由于气候变化、旱灾、滥用资源等的共同作用，乍得湖水域在过去的40年间已萎缩了90%。

The drying up of the lake has not only caused an ecological¹ catastrophe² but a humanitarian³ one looms⁴ as well. The director for the Land and Water division at FAO, Parviz Koohafkan, says there are enormous consequences for the populations who live in the lake region.

乍得湖的干涸不仅引起了生态灾难，人道主义灾难也将接踵而至。联合国粮食与农业组织水土部负责人帕尔维兹表示，这对居住在乍得湖区域的人来说后患无穷。

"Between 20 and 30 million people are affected⁵, especially from the point of view of food security," said Parviz Koohafkan. "They are the poorest of the poor and they are most insecure in terms of food and nutrition."

有2-3千万人口受到影响，尤其是在食品安全方面。他们是全球最贫困的人群，在食品与营养方面最易受到威胁。

He says something must be done urgently to reverse the tragic⁶ disappearance⁷ of Lake Chad if the livelihoods⁸ of this vast area are to be safeguarded. He explains some of the steps that need to be taken.

帕尔维兹表示，要保护乍得湖广大区域的人口安全，就必须采取紧急措施扭转乍得湖的消失。他提到了一些必须采取的措施。

"Helping⁹ the local communities to better use resources, through participatory approach, through development, through capacity building, through helping them in coping with water scarcity¹⁰, with land degradation¹¹, development projects but particularly in investment," he said.

帮助当地人口更好地利用资源，比如通过参与、发展、能力建设，帮助他们解决缺水、土地退化、开发项目，尤其是投资方面。

One project being considered at the moment is the transfer of water from the Lake Congo basin to the Lake Chad basin. The minister of Energy and Water in Congo, Jean Richard Itoua, says this is an option that needs to be carefully examined.

其中一个正在考虑的项目就是将刚果河的水引渡到乍得湖。刚果能源水利部的让表示，这一选择应谨慎考虑。

"We need to do this feasibility study; we need also an impact study to be sure that the consequences of transferring water will not be bigger than the solution we're trying to bring to Lake Chad," Itoua said.

我们需要做可行性研究；也需要做影响评估，以确保引渡水资源的后果不会大于挽救乍得湖的好处。

 

Experts say it is urgent to address the problem because at the current rate, Lake Chad could dry up and disappear in 20 years.

一些专家表示，急需解决这个问题，因为以现在的干涸速度来看，不到20年，乍得湖就会干涸消失。

1 ecological   

adj.生态的，生态学的

参考例句：

• The region has been declared an ecological disaster zone.这个地区已经宣布为生态灾难区。
• Each animal has its ecological niche.每种动物都有自己的生态位.

2 catastrophe   

n.大灾难，大祸

参考例句：

• I owe it to you that I survived the catastrophe.亏得你我才大难不死。
• This is a catastrophe beyond human control.这是一场人类无法控制的灾难。

3 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

4 looms   

n.织布机( loom的名词复数 )v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的第三人称单数 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近

参考例句：

• All were busily engaged,men at their ploughs,women at their looms. 大家都很忙，男的耕田，女的织布。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The factory has twenty-five looms. 那家工厂有25台织布机。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 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。

6 tragic   

adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的

参考例句：

• The effect of the pollution on the beaches is absolutely tragic.污染海滩后果可悲。
• Charles was a man doomed to tragic issues.查理是个注定不得善终的人。

7 disappearance   

n.消失，消散，失踪

参考例句：

• He was hard put to it to explain her disappearance.他难以说明她为什么不见了。
• Her disappearance gave rise to the wildest rumours.她失踪一事引起了各种流言蜚语。

8 livelihoods   

生计，谋生之道( livelihood的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• First came the earliest individualistic pioneers who depended on hunting and fishing for their livelihoods. 走在最前面的是早期的个人主义先驱者，他们靠狩猎捕鱼为生。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• With little influence over policies, their traditional livelihoods are threatened. 因为马赛族人对政策的影响力太小，他们的传统生计受到了威胁。

9 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

10 scarcity   

n.缺乏，不足，萧条

参考例句：

• The scarcity of skilled workers is worrying the government.熟练工人的缺乏困扰着政府。
• The scarcity of fruit was caused by the drought.水果供不应求是由于干旱造成的。

11 degradation   

n.降级；低落；退化；陵削；降解；衰变

参考例句：

• 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。
• Gambling is always coupled with degradation.赌博总是与堕落相联系。