2020年经济学人 加州:危机未平,野火又起(1)

United States

美国版块

Natural disasters

自然灾害

The condor¹’s cry

加州秃鹰的哀号

California has been roiled² by covid-19, drought, heatwaves and now two of the biggest fires on record

疫情、干旱、热浪和有史以来两次最大规模的野火吞噬了加利福尼亚州

The webcam above her nest shows Iniko, a four-month-old California condor, high in the trees of the Ventana wilderness³ area, looking out as flames advance towards her. She is part of a 20-year breeding programme to reintroduce the giant birds, which were extinct in the wild, to California’s central coast. She is alone—her parents have fled the danger—and cannot yet fly. At 10:40pm on August 20th the webcam shows a flash of wing feathers, then the live stream goes dark, as the flames, presumably, engulf⁴ the nest.

鸟巢上方的网络摄像机显示，有一只四个月大的加州秃鹰伊尼科，高高地站在文塔纳荒野地区的树上，在火苗向她逼近时，她正在向外张望。她是一项为期20年的繁殖计划的一部分，该计划旨在将这种在野外濒临灭绝的巨型鸟类重新引入加州的中央海岸。她的父母都已经逃离了危险，只剩下无法飞行的她自己。8月20日晚上10点40分，网络摄像机显示羽翼一闪而过，然后直播镜头暗了下来，大概是火焰吞噬了鸟巢。

Had the fire been in a previous year, Iniko would probably have been old enough to fly: the worst of the fire season takes place in September or October. But the season of 2020 has started early and with astonishing force. The California Department of Forestry⁵ and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) said that there had been over 700 wildfires between August 15th and 26th, burning 1.3m acres (500,000 hectares). That is two-thirds as much, in just 12 days, as burned as in the whole of 2018, the worst year to date, and the season has not yet reached its peak. The two biggest conflagrations⁶, one east of San Jose, the other north of San Francisco, are the state’s second- and third-largest on record. Gavin Newsom, the governor, was not exaggerating when he said: “We simply haven’t seen anything like this in many, many years.”

若这场野火的发生时间同前一年，伊尼科可能长大到足以飞行了：加州野火最严重的季节是在9月或10月。但在2020年，野火季开始的很早，而且威力惊人。加州林业和消防局表示，8月15日至26日期间发生了700多起野火，烧毁了130万英亩林地（合50万公顷）。在短短12天内野火发生的数量就达到了2018年全年发生的三分之二，这是迄今为止最严重的一年，而且今年的野火季尚未到达顶峰。加州发生的两次最大型的火灾，一次是在圣何塞以东，另一次是在旧金山以北，是该州有记录以来的第二大规模和第三大规模的火灾。加州州长加文·纽森毫不夸张地表示：“我们已经有很多，很多年没有见过这么大的野火了。”

Some previous fires have been manmade. One started when a car tyre blew and the wheel’s metal rim⁷ scraped the pavement. This year’s fires are the latest and starkest⁸ example of a different man-made influence: climate change.

以前的一些火灾是人为造成的。其中有一次是汽车爆胎，车轮的金属轮缘刮擦了人行道引发了野火。而今年的野火是最新且最明显的例子，即不是由人为诱发，而是受到气候变化的影响。

1 condor   

n.秃鹰；秃鹰金币

参考例句：

• The condor soars above the mountain heights.禿鹰翱翔于高山之上。
• A condor prepares to fly in Colombia.一只兀鹰在哥伦比亚准备振翅高飞。

2 roiled   

v.搅混（液体）( roil的过去式和过去分词 )；使烦恼；使不安；使生气

参考例句：

• American society is being roiled by the controversy over homosexual marriage. 当今美国社会正被有关同性恋婚姻的争论搞得不得安宁。 来自互联网
• In the past few months, instability has roiled Tibet and Tibetan-inhabited areas. 在过去的几个月里，西藏和藏人居住区不稳定。 来自互联网

3 wilderness   

n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠

参考例句：

• She drove the herd of cattle through the wilderness.她赶着牛群穿过荒野。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

4 engulf   

vt.吞没，吞食

参考例句：

• Floodwaters engulf a housing project in the Bajo Yuna community in central Dominican Republic.洪水吞没了多米尼加中部巴杰优那社区的一处在建的住房工程项目。
• If we are not strong enough to cover all the minds up,then they will engulf us,and we are in danger.如果我们不够坚强来抵挡大众的意念，就会有被他们吞没的危险。

5 forestry   

n.森林学；林业

参考例句：

• At present, the Chinese forestry is being at a significant transforming period. 当前, 我国的林业正处于一个重大的转折时期。
• Anhua is one of the key forestry counties in Hunan province. 安化县是湖南省重点林区县之一。

6 conflagrations   

n.大火（灾）( conflagration的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Friction makes sparks and sparks start great creative conflagrations. 摩擦产生星星之火，星星之火点燃伟大创意的燎原巨焰。 来自互联网

7 rim   

n.(圆物的)边，轮缘；边界

参考例句：

• The water was even with the rim of the basin.盆里的水与盆边平齐了。
• She looked at him over the rim of her glass.她的目光越过玻璃杯的边沿看着他。

8 starkest   

（指区别）明显的( stark的最高级 )； 完全的； 了无修饰的； 僵硬的

参考例句：

• Among the starkest-and the most worrying-have been measures of world trade. 而最典型也是最让人担心的是世界贸易的方式。
• Climate change and the depleted ozone layer are among the starkest examples. 气候变化和臭氧层耗减就是其中最明显的例子。