2022年经济学人 汤加火山爆发，简直惨绝人寰

Asia

亚洲版块

Tonga's volcanic¹ eruption²

汤加火山喷发

A kingdom cut off

被切断的王国

The scale of the damage remains³ unclear

损失的规模尚不清楚

WORD CAME at last.

消息终于传来了。

Three days after Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai volcano in the Kingdom of Tonga erupted on January 15th, the prime minister's office released a statement.

1月15日，汤加王国的洪阿汤加·洪阿哈阿帕伊火山爆发三天后，首相办公室发表了一份声明。

The eruption was an "unprecedented⁵ disaster" for the archipelago and three deaths were confirmed.

这次火山爆发对该群岛来说是一场“前所未有的灾难”，已致3人死亡。

The blast created a vast ash cloud and led to a tsunami⁶ (two people drowned across the Pacific ocean in Peru).

火山爆发形成了巨大的火山灰云团，并且引发了海啸（两人在太平洋彼岸的秘鲁溺水身亡）。

Explosions of volcanic gas were audible more than 2,000km away in New Zealand and plumes⁷ of gas rose more than 20km into the sky.

在2000多公里外的新西兰可以听到火山气体的爆炸声，气体的羽流上升到20多公里的高空。

In a biblical flourish, pebbles⁸ rained down on the Tongan capital, Nuku'alofa, located some 65km south of the volcano.

在大规模火山爆发中，鹅卵石雨点般地落在汤加首都努库阿洛法，该城位于火山以南约65公里处。

The eruption was driven by subduction, a process whereby one of Earth's tectonic plates (in this case the Pacific one) sinks beneath the edge of another (in this instance the Indo-Australian one).

这次火山喷发是由俯冲驱动的，即地球的一个板块（本例中为太平洋板块）下沉到另一个板块（本例中为印度-澳大利亚板块）边缘之下的过程。

Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai sits within the “Ring of Fire”, a geological fault line encircling the Pacific.

洪阿汤加·洪阿哈阿帕伊位于“火山带”内，这是一条环绕太平洋的地质断层线。

Tongans call the islands afflicted⁹ by the region's frequent earthquakes those which "jump back and forth¹⁰".

汤加人称受该地区频繁地震影响的岛屿叫“反复跳跃岛”。

The volcano is 1,800 metres tall (measured from the sea floor) and takes its name from the two parts of the rim⁴ of its crater¹¹, or caldera, which, before the latest blast at least, rose above the sea: Hunga Tonga and Hunga Ha'apai.

这座火山高1800米（从海底测量，至少在最近的一次爆炸之前，火山口曾高出海面），因其火山口边缘的两个部分而得名：洪阿汤加和洪阿哈阿帕伊。

Shane Cronin, a volcanologist at Auckland University, reckons that the latest eruption probably came from the caldera itself.

奥克兰大学的火山学家沙恩·克罗宁认为，最近的一次喷发可能来自火山口本身。

An eruption in December 2014 filled the gap between the volcano's two islands with ash, joining them.

2014年12月的一次火山喷发用火山灰填补了火山两个岛屿之间的空隙，将它们连接在一起。

"The island's formation also probably seeded its destruction," says James Garvin, chief scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Centre.

美国宇航局戈达德航天飞行中心首席科学家詹姆斯·加文说：“该岛的形成可能也是其毁灭的种子。”

"As it rose from the sea, layers of liquid magma filled a network of chambers¹² beneath it."

“当它从海上喷发升起时，一层层的液态岩浆填满了它下面网状的岩浆洞室。”

When the magma in those chambers erupted on January 15th, the vast explosion in the seas and skies seems to have been coupled with an implosion¹³ in the rocks below as some of those chambers collapsed¹⁴, undermining the caldera and its rim.

当这些岩浆在1月15日喷发时，海洋和天空中的巨大爆炸似乎伴随着下面岩石的内爆，其中一些洞室坍塌，破坏了火山口及其边缘。

Satellite images now show that only a chunk¹⁵ of one of the former islands remains visible.

卫星图像现在显示，只有一块以前的岛屿是可见的。

The true number of deaths among the country's 100,000 people is unknown.

该国10万人的真实死亡人数尚不清楚。

So is the extent of damage to crops, villages and livelihoods¹⁶.

农作物、村庄和生计的破坏程度也不清楚。

Communication with Tonga was possible only by satellite phone initially¹⁷; the submarine cable that connects it to Fiji and thence to the outside world was severed¹⁸.

最初只能通过卫星电话与汤加通信；接着，连接斐济和外界的海底电缆被切断。

Repairs could take weeks as the closest repair vessel¹⁹ is 2,500km away.

由于最近的维修船与之相距2500公里，维修可能需要数周时间。

Flights in and out of Tonga were suspended at first, owing to ash on the international airport's runway.

起初，由于国际机场跑道上的火山灰，进出汤加的航班暂停。

Flights carrying aid are now arriving.

现在，载有救援物资的航班已经抵达。

New Zealand and Australia have sent surveillance flights over the archipelago to assess the damage.

新西兰和澳大利亚已经在群岛上空派出了监视航班，以评估损失。

Reports suggest that roads and bridges have been destroyed, though the airport is intact.

报告显示，尽管机场完好无损，但道路和桥梁已被摧毁。

Grim satellite images show heaps of ash smothering²⁰ entire islands.

凄凉的卫星图像显示，成堆的火山灰笼罩着整个岛屿。

Emergency workers are handing out food, water and tents, according to the prime minister's office.

根据总理办公室的消息，紧急救援人员正在分发食物、水和帐篷。

Water is particularly vital: many Tongans capture fresh rainwater from their roofs to drink.

水尤其重要：许多汤加人从屋顶收集新鲜雨水饮用。

Ash has probably contaminated it.

但是火山灰可能污染了雨水。

Navy ships carrying aid from Australia and New Zealand are on the way.

载有澳大利亚和新西兰援助物资的海军舰艇正在途中。

The hope is they do not also carry covid-19.

希望他们没有携带新冠病毒。

Tonga's only case so far was caught at its border; one disaster must not lead to another.

汤加迄今为止唯一的一例是在其边境被抓获的；不要一波未平一波又起。

1 volcanic   

adj.火山的；象火山的；由火山引起的

参考例句：

• There have been several volcanic eruptions this year.今年火山爆发了好几次。
• Volcanic activity has created thermal springs and boiling mud pools.火山活动产生了温泉和沸腾的泥浆池。

2 eruption   

n.火山爆发；（战争等）爆发；（疾病等）发作

参考例句：

• The temple was destroyed in the violent eruption of 1470 BC.庙宇在公元前1470年猛烈的火山爆发中摧毁了。
• The eruption of a volcano is spontaneous.火山的爆发是自发的。

3 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。

4 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。

5 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。

6 tsunami   

n.海啸

参考例句：

• Powerful quake sparks tsunami warning in Japan.大地震触发了日本的海啸预警。
• Coastlines all around the Indian Ocean inundated by a huge tsunami.大海啸把印度洋沿岸地区都淹没了。

7 plumes   

羽毛( plume的名词复数 )； 羽毛饰； 羽毛状物； 升上空中的羽状物

参考例句：

• The dancer wore a headdress of pink ostrich plumes. 那位舞蹈演员戴着粉色鸵鸟毛制作的头饰。
• The plumes on her bonnet barely moved as she nodded. 她点点头，那帽子的羽毛在一个劲儿颤动。

8 pebbles   

[复数]鹅卵石； 沙砾； 卵石，小圆石( pebble的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The pebbles of the drive crunched under his feet. 汽车道上的小石子在他脚底下喀嚓作响。
• Line the pots with pebbles to ensure good drainage. 在罐子里铺一层鹅卵石，以确保排水良好。

9 afflicted   

使受痛苦，折磨( afflict的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• About 40% of the country's population is afflicted with the disease. 全国40%左右的人口患有这种疾病。
• A terrible restlessness that was like to hunger afflicted Martin Eden. 一阵可怕的、跟饥饿差不多的不安情绪折磨着马丁·伊登。

10 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

11 crater   

n.火山口，弹坑

参考例句：

• With a telescope you can see the huge crater of Ve-suvius.用望远镜你能看到巨大的维苏威火山口。
• They came to the lip of a dead crater.他们来到了一个死火山口。

12 chambers   

n.房间( chamber的名词复数 )；（议会的）议院；卧室；会议厅

参考例句：

• The body will be removed into one of the cold storage chambers. 尸体将被移到一个冷冻间里。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Mr Chambers's readable book concentrates on the middle passage: the time Ransome spent in Russia. Chambers先生的这本值得一看的书重点在中间：Ransome在俄国的那几年。 来自互联网

13 implosion   

n.向内破裂，内爆

参考例句：

• The population explosion is accompanied by a population implosion.人口爆炸还伴随着人口爆聚。

14 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

15 chunk   

n.厚片，大块，相当大的部分（数量）

参考例句：

• They had to be careful of floating chunks of ice.他们必须当心大块浮冰。
• The company owns a chunk of farmland near Gatwick Airport.该公司拥有盖特威克机场周边的大片农田。

16 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。

17 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

18 severed   

v.切断，断绝( sever的过去式和过去分词 )；断，裂

参考例句：

• The doctor said I'd severed a vessel in my leg. 医生说我割断了腿上的一根血管。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• We have severed diplomatic relations with that country. 我们与那个国家断绝了外交关系。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 vessel   

n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管

参考例句：

• The vessel is fully loaded with cargo for Shanghai.这艘船满载货物驶往上海。
• You should put the water into a vessel.你应该把水装入容器中。

20 smothering   

（使）窒息， （使）透不过气( smother的现在分词 )； 覆盖； 忍住； 抑制

参考例句：

• He laughed triumphantly, and silenced her by manly smothering. 他胜利地微笑着，以男人咄咄逼人的气势使她哑口无言。
• He wrapped the coat around her head, smothering the flames. 他用上衣包住她的头，熄灭了火。