国家地理 拉响关于水质的警报(4)

Let's look at Puerto Rico. The water situation there was unacceptable -- the worst in the nation -- even before Hurricane Maria in 2017. An analysis by my organization, the Natural Resources Defense¹ Council (NRDC), showed that almost all of Puerto Rico's residents in 2015 got their water from systems that violated the Safe Drinking Water Act and nearly 70 percent of them got their tap water from sources contaminated with coliform bacteria, disinfection by-products, and more.

看看波多黎各，该处的水令人难以下咽，甚至在2017年玛莉亚飓风袭击前就已是全美最糟。我管理的自然资源防护委员会（NRDC）分析指出，2015年在波多黎各，几乎所有居民的水源都来自违反《安全饮用水法案》的供水系统，其中将近70%的人获得的自来水，源头都受到大肠杆菌、消毒副产品和其他物质的污染。

Maria created a full-blown humanitarian² crisis. People had no choice but to get their drinking water from toxic³ sources, and scores ended up in emergency rooms with gastrointestinal illnesses. Even now, more than a year after the storm, Puerto Ricans are still warned to boil water before drinking it.

玛莉亚飓风带来了全面的人道危机。人民别无选择，只能从有毒水源提取饮用水，最后造成许多人因肠胃疾病而被送往急诊室。即使到现在飓风已离去一年多了，波多黎各人在喝水之前仍被提醒要先把水煮沸。

As climate change increases the intensity⁴ and duration of hurricane season, Puerto Rico will likely find itself in even more dire⁵ circumstances. That means we need to invest significant resources now in the island's water and power infrastructure⁶, which remains⁷ fragile at best.

随着气候变化加剧，飓风的强度增强，飓风季也跟着延长，波多黎各可能会陷入更严峻的局势。这意味着如今我们必须在波多黎各的水电基础设施上投入大量资源，因为这些建设即使在最佳状态，也是脆弱不堪。

1 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

2 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。

3 toxic   

adj.有毒的，因中毒引起的

参考例句：

• The factory had accidentally released a quantity of toxic waste into the sea.这家工厂意外泄漏大量有毒废物到海中。
• There is a risk that toxic chemicals might be blasted into the atmosphere.爆炸后有毒化学物质可能会进入大气层。

4 intensity   

n.强烈，剧烈；强度；烈度

参考例句：

• I didn't realize the intensity of people's feelings on this issue.我没有意识到这一问题能引起群情激奋。
• The strike is growing in intensity.罢工日益加剧。

5 dire   

adj.可怕的，悲惨的，阴惨的，极端的

参考例句：

• There were dire warnings about the dangers of watching too much TV.曾经有人就看电视太多的危害性提出严重警告。
• We were indeed in dire straits.But we pulled through.那时我们的困难真是大极了，但是我们渡过了困难。

6 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

7 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。