美国国家公共电台 NPR While The Eastern U.S. Freezes, It's Too Warm In Alaska

 

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

It is too warm in rural Alaska. In the state's southwestern region, high temperatures of 10 to 20 degrees above average are affecting everything from recreation to survival¹. From member station KYUK in Bethel, Anna Rose MacArthur reports.

(SOUNDBITE OF DOGS BARKING)

ANNA ROSE MACARTHUR, BYLINE²: Last weekend, Maurice Andrews won the Kuskokwim River’s first sled dog race of the season.

MAURICE ANDREWS: It felt awesome³, man. Finally. Finally good to be out.

MACARTHUR: The race had been scheduled to happen two weeks before, but warm weather just above freezing made the trails unsafe. The entire race usually runs 35 miles up the frozen⁴ river, but this time it had to run over land. That's because, in some areas, the river ice is only inches thick, where in past years, it was feet. In other places, there's open water. This is a problem in a region with no roads connecting one village to another and where locals refer to the river as an ice highway. Mark Leary has measured the river ice for decades as a volunteer in the village and submits the data to the National Weather Service. He's seeing more open holes and bigger open holes than ever before.

MARK LEARY: We're way behind. We're way behind on winter. I don't know if we've ever seen anything like this.

MACARTHUR: Sixty miles away in the village of Quinhagak, hunting, trapping and fishing grounds lay to the north across the river, but only inches of ice have formed on it. For Ferdinand Cleveland Jr., that means his family can't drive their snowmobile across the river to set their blackfish trap.

FERDINAND CLEVELAND JR.: They usually pick up their trap, like, two or three times a week.

MACARTHUR: Cleveland also can't hunt wolves and wolverines right now to sell their pelts⁵ like he normally would. Less hunting and trapping means less money and more expensive trips to the grocery store. In the worst cases, the river's open water is fatal. Two people died last month when their snowmobiles fell through open holes. Volunteers are working to mark the open holes by putting small trees next to them with blue reflectors. People are hoping it gets colder before winter is over. For NPR News, I'm Anna Rose MacArthur in Bethel, Alaska.

(SOUNDBITE OF TVARVAGEN'S "RUNNING OUT OF TIME")

1 survival   

n.留住生命，生存，残存，幸存者

参考例句：

• The doctor told my wife I had a fifty-fifty chance of survival.医生告诉我的妻子，说我活下去的可能性只有50%。
• The old man was a survival of a past age.这位老人是上一代的遗老。

2 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

3 awesome   

adj.令人惊叹的，难得吓人的，很好的

参考例句：

• The church in Ireland has always exercised an awesome power.爱尔兰的教堂一直掌握着令人敬畏的权力。
• That new white convertible is totally awesome.那辆新的白色折篷汽车简直棒极了.

4 frozen   

adj.冻结的，冰冻的

参考例句：

• He was frozen to death on a snowing night.在一个风雪的晚上，他被冻死了。
• The weather is cold and the ground is frozen.天寒地冻。

5 pelts   

n. 皮毛，投掷, 疾行 vt. 剥去皮毛，（连续）投掷 vi. 猛击，大步走

参考例句：

• He did and Tibetans lit bonfires of the pelts. 他做到了，藏民们点起了篝火把皮毛都烧了。
• Description: A warm cloak fashioned from thick fabric and wolf pelts. 一个由厚布和狼皮做成的暖和的斗篷。