国家地理-2008-08-02 阿尔卑斯山见证气候变化危机

It’s time for these men to get ready for work, and work means hanging off a cliff at 10,000 feet. High in the Austrian Alps, these men are trying to rescue a historic weather station from the weather itself.

 “It was a couple of years ago, we saw this crack and this whole supporting structure is based on 5 pillars. This one lowered itself about 4 or 5 millimeters. This meant to us the mountain is moving.”

 For more than a hundred years, Sonnblick Observatory¹ has taken the Alps temperature.

 “So the whole climate change which it could observe in the twentieth century was observed here. ”

 And in the past few decades it’s measured a slow but steady increase. Lue Rasser has been watching the weather data at Sonnblick for more than 20 years.

 “A lot of facts show the climate is changing dramatically and it is a tragic² change. A good example is average temperature. It’s moved up by more than 1 degree centigrade.”

 And from here Lue can watch it all in real time. “This is the meteor data system and you can read all the weather measurements right here. For example we can show precipitation, snow levels on glaciers³, wind temperature, global and sky radiation and a whole lot more.”

 But now the warmer weather is melting glaciers and hitting meteorologists right where they live. Sonnblick’s peak used to be held together by mountain permafrost, but with rising temperatures the permafrost was melting and the rock under the station was crumbling⁴ away.

 “When I started here in 1980 precipitation was snow or sleet⁵, but for the last 15 years the temperature is so high that at least for a month each year we only have rain.”

 “And this rain caused freezing and refreezing and melting within the cracks and this of course splits up the cracks, you know.”

 So the workers drilled holes deep into the mountain top, searching for rock that wasn’t cracked. They built a web of steel and concrete to hold the mountain together, and maybe, just maybe, keep the station standing⁶.

 Up here the weather can change in an instant and that’s why Sonnblick really does tower above most other observatories⁷ because it’s seen it all.

 It is the oldest mountain observatory in 3000 meters in the whole world, and it collected data since 1886.

 And the data show the warmer weather is giving no signs of slowing down, not just at Sonnblick but all through the Alps. Even mighty⁸ mountains are no match for a little rising thermometer. So for now, for the people at Sonnblick, fighting the effects of climate change is an uphill battle.

1 observatory   

n.天文台，气象台，瞭望台，观测台

参考例句：

• Guy's house was close to the observatory.盖伊的房子离天文台很近。
• Officials from Greenwich Observatory have the clock checked twice a day.格林威治天文台的职员们每天对大钟检查两次。

2 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。

3 glaciers   

冰河，冰川( glacier的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Glaciers gouged out valleys from the hills. 冰川把丘陵地带冲出一条条山谷。
• It has ice and snow glaciers, rainforests and beautiful mountains. 既有冰川，又有雨林和秀丽的山峰。 来自英语晨读30分（高一）

4 crumbling   

adj.摇摇欲坠的

参考例句：

• an old house with crumbling plaster and a leaking roof 一所灰泥剥落、屋顶漏水的老房子
• The boat was tied up alongside a crumbling limestone jetty. 这条船停泊在一个摇摇欲坠的石灰岩码头边。

5 sleet   

n.雨雪；v.下雨雪，下冰雹

参考例句：

• There was a great deal of sleet last night.昨夜雨夹雪下得真大。
• When winter comes,we get sleet and frost.冬天来到时我们这儿会有雨夹雪和霜冻。

6 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

7 observatories   

n.天文台，气象台( observatory的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• John Heilbron, The Sun in the Church: Cathedrals as Solar Observatories, 3-23. 约翰．海耳布隆，《教会里的太阳：教堂即太阳观测台》，第3-23页。 来自互联网
• Meteorologists use satellites, land observatories and historical data to provide information about the weather. 气象学家使用卫星、上天文台和历史资料来提供有关天气的信息。 来自互联网

8 mighty   

adj.强有力的；巨大的

参考例句：

• A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。
• The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。