VOA慢速英语 曼谷在不久的未来将被淹没（在线收听）

AS IT IS 2015-08-05 Bangkok Could Soon Be Underwater 曼谷在不久的未来将被淹没

The Italian city of Venice and the American city of New Orleans, Louisiana are slowly sinking.

意大利威尼斯市，美国新奥尔良市和路易斯安那正在慢慢地下沉。

So is Bangkok, home to about 10 million people.

曼谷也是如此，曼谷有1000万居民。

Officials in the city and scientists say they do not know how long people will be able to continue living in the Thai capital.

曼谷市的官员和科学家表示，他们不知道还能在泰国首都住多久。

Thailand's military rulers are considering action.

泰国军事统治者正在考虑采取行动。

The National Reform Council wants the government to form a committee to deal with warnings that Bangkok could be permanently underwater many years from now.

曼谷可能多年后将永远位于水下，“国家改革委员会”希望政府成立委员对这一警告采取应对措施。

The Saen Saeb canal was built in Bangkok in the late 1830s.

19世纪30年代，曼谷建造了赛桑运河。

In a neighborhood near the waterway, walkways are breaking up.

社区附近的航道正在断裂。

Walls on homes, small businesses and an Islamic center appear to be bending.

楼房的墙壁，小公司和一家伊斯兰中心看起来在倾斜。

The area is sinking about two centimeters a year.

该地区每年下沉2厘米。

That is two times the average rate for the rest of Bangkok.

那是曼谷其他地区下沉平均速度的2倍。

“I don't know what to do,” says Vijitri Puangsiri.

Vijitri Puangsiri说，“我不知道该怎么办”。

She has lived in the neighborhood for 44 years.

她在社区里生活了44年。

She asks: “Who will help us? I don't know.”

她问：“谁来帮我们呢？我可不知道。”

Her home needs to be repaired every year because of the sinking ground.

因为地面下沉，她的房子每年都需要整修。

The walkway in front of her century-old house where she operates a small restaurant must also be repeatedly repaired.

她在有百年历史的房子里开了家小饭店，房子前面的走道也经常要修理。

Somsak Kongpeeng is one of her neighbors, and a community volunteer.

Somsak Kongpeeng是她的一位邻居，也是社区里的志愿者。

“If you travel on the canal boats, you can see how this is all hollow,” he says.

他说：“如果你乘运河船，就可以看到这儿都全凹陷下去了。"

“The buildings are sinking because they were not built on solid foundations.”

建筑物在下沉，因为地基不够坚固。

He jokes that if we come back to see him again in 20 years, the water level will be almost as high as his head.

他开玩笑说，如果我们20年后再来看他，水可能都浸到他头顶了。

But he is also partly serious.

但是他是半开玩笑的。

That might be only a small overstatement in a city that is, on average, just two meters above sea level.

说城市里的水位平均高于海平面2米可能有点夸大其词了。

Many homes and other structures were built on soft clay.

许多住房和其他建筑物都是用软黏土建造的。

Observers say two reasons for the sinking are a rising sea level and too much pumping of groundwater.

观察家表示下沉有2个原因：一是海平面上升和过去抽取地下水。

Another reason, they say, is the decision by developers to build so many high-rise homes and offices.

他们说另一个原因是，开发商作出的建众多高楼大厦的决定。

Developers keep building these high-rises because they earn a lot of money doing so.

开发商一味地建造这些高楼大厦，因为这样做他们可以挣很多钱。

This kind of development worries those who are concerned about the rising water levels.

那些担心水位上升的人对此种开发十分担忧。

Sucharit Koontanakulvong heads the Water Resources System research Unit at Chulalongborn University.

Sucharit Koontanakulvong是楮拉隆可大学水资源系统研究单位的主任。

“If we don't do anything, everybody will lose.

如果我们无动于衷的话，每个人都会损失。

Because if the land itself is sinking, the value of land will also go down.”

因为如果地面在下沉，那么地价也就会下跌。

He and others predict that, if no action is taken, repeated and long-term flooding will begin in the next 20 years.

他和其他人预测，如果不采取任何行动，接下来20年将开始经常性地长期闹洪灾。

Such floods could last for two or three months, and would cause serious damage to Bangkok's economy.

这样的洪灾可能持续两三个月，从而严重损害到曼谷的经济。

The most recent major flooding happened during the rainy season in 2011.

最近发生的大洪灾是在2011年的雨季。

Thirteen million people were affected.

波及到了1300万人。

More than 800 died.

800多人死亡。

The World Bank says the flooding four years ago caused more than $45 billion in damage to the Thai economy.

世界银行表示4年前的洪灾给泰国经济造成的损失超过450亿美元。

Last month, the Bangkok Post newspaper published an editorial called “Stop the City Sinking.”

上个月，曼谷邮报发表了一篇社论“阻止城市下沉”。

The editorial said that, even with the recent floods and new warnings, most Thais seem unconcerned.

社论说，面对最近的洪灾和许多的新警告，大多数泰国人看似并不关心。

The newspaper called for the expansion of the city to be stopped.

报纸呼吁停止城市扩张。

And it called for a complete halt of groundwater pumping.

报纸还呼吁全面停止抽取地下水。

There are also calls to build seawalls to protect the city, which already suffers from frequent flooding.

也有提倡建立防波堤来保护这座频繁遭受洪灾的城市。

Such a project would cost billions of dollars.

这一工程将耗资数十亿。

And even if the walls are built, nature could still eventually reclaim everything people have built in some unprotected low-lying areas.

而且就算建好了防波堤，大自然最终还是会把人们在一些未设防的低洼地区建造的一切收回。

Words in This Story

canal – n. a long, narrow waterway used to supply water to fields and crops; also used by small boats

hollow – adj. empty

foundation(s) – n. a solid structure that supports a building