联合国称印度洋岛屿的环境恶化

 

UN Says Environment of Indian Ocean Islands Degraded

联合国称印度洋岛屿的环境恶化

 

The United Nations Thursday warned that pollution and natural disasters are degrading the environments of island nations in the Indian Ocean. U.N. officials said the recent tsunami¹ has made existing environmental problems much worse.

 

In four reports released ahead of an international conference on the future of small island nations, the U.N. Environment Program, or UNEP, gives dire² warnings for the Maldives, Comoros, Seychelles, and Mauritius.

 

UNEP says all the islands face severe freshwater shortages because of factors such as overuse, a disease that affects trees, and the el-Nino current.

The little water there is, says the U.N., is largely contaminated by fertilizers and industrial and human waste, causing water-borne diseases such as cholera³.

 

The head of UNEP's assessment⁴ branch, Ivar Baste⁵, told reporters that the islands are also vulnerable to sea level rises due to climate change and natural disasters such as tsunamis⁶.

 

He specifically referred to the Maldives, where he said 80 percent of the islands are less than one meter above sea level.

 

Ivar Baste: One of the scenarios⁷ outlined is that large areas of the Maldives could be under water in 30 years of time, and with the entire community submerged by 2100.

 

UNEP officials said the recent Asian tsunami has greatly exacerbated⁸ existing environmental problems, especially in Seychelles and the Maldives.

 

UNEP spokesman Eric Falt to explains.

 

Eric Falt: In some of the coastal⁹ areas, we believe that farmers as far as five kilometers inland may have been affected¹⁰ and, in some cases, have had their crops destroyed by salt water. Mud and sand have covered many of the affected areas. The expeditious¹¹ removal of the massive amount of waste and debris¹² is really crucial to prevent further environmental pollution and the risk to the human health that it entails¹³.

 

Mr. Falt said his agency is concerned that chemical storage sites, ports, oil refineries¹⁴, and other sites along coastal areas of the countries may be contaminating the environment, especially if damaged by the tsunami.

 

Next week, the U.N. is holding a meeting in Mauritius to review development plans for the world's small island nations. These include countries such as Cuba, Jamaica, Papua New Guinea, and Suriname.

 

Cathy Majtenyi, for VOA news, Nairobi.

 

注释：

degrade [di5^reid] v. (使)退化

contaminate [kEn5tAmineit] v. 污染

fertilizer [5fE:ti7laizE] n. 肥料

submerge [sEb5mE:dV] v. 浸没，淹没

expeditious [ekspi5diFEs] adj.  迅速的

coastal [5kEustl] adj. 海岸的

1 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。

2 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。

3 cholera   

n.霍乱

参考例句：

• The cholera outbreak has been contained.霍乱的发生已被控制住了。
• Cholera spread like wildfire through the camps.霍乱在营地里迅速传播。

4 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？

5 baste   

v.殴打，公开责骂

参考例句：

• The paper baste the candidate for irresponsible statement.该报公开指责候选人作不负责任的声明。
• If he's rude to me again,I'll baste his coat.如果他再对我无礼的话，我就要揍他了。

6 tsunamis   

n.海啸( tsunami的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Our oceans are alive with earthquakes, volcanoes, and more recently, tsunamis. 海中充满着地震、火山，包括最近发生的海啸。 来自常春藤生活英语杂志-2006年2月号
• Please tell me something more about tsunamis! 请您给我讲讲海啸吧！ 来自辞典例句

7 scenarios   

n.[意]情节；剧本；事态；脚本

参考例句：

• Further, graphite cores may be safer than non-graphite cores under some accident scenarios. 再者，根据一些事故解说，石墨堆芯可比非石墨堆芯更安全一些。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
• Again, scenarios should make it clear which modes are acceptable to users in various contexts. 同样，我们可以运用场景剧本来搞清楚在不同情境下哪些模式可被用户接受。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

8 exacerbated   

v.使恶化，使加重( exacerbate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The symptoms may be exacerbated by certain drugs. 这些症状可能会因为某些药物而加重。
• The drugs they gave her only exacerbated the pain. 他们给她吃的药只是加重了她的痛楚。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 coastal   

adj.海岸的，沿海的，沿岸的

参考例句：

• The ocean waves are slowly eating away the coastal rocks.大海的波浪慢慢地侵蚀着岸边的岩石。
• This country will fortify the coastal areas.该国将加强沿海地区的防御。

10 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

11 expeditious   

adj.迅速的，敏捷的

参考例句：

• They are almost as expeditious and effectual as Aladdin's lamp.他们几乎像如意神灯那么迅速有效。
• It is more convenien,expeditious and economical than telephone or telegram.它比电话或电报更方便、迅速和经济。

12 debris   

n.瓦砾堆，废墟，碎片

参考例句：

• After the bombing there was a lot of debris everywhere.轰炸之后到处瓦砾成堆。
• Bacteria sticks to food debris in the teeth,causing decay.细菌附着在牙缝中的食物残渣上，导致蛀牙。

13 entails   

使…成为必要( entail的第三人称单数 )； 需要； 限定继承； 使必需

参考例句：

• The job entails a lot of hard work. 这工作需要十分艰苦的努力。
• This job entails a lot of hard work. 这项工作需要十分努力。

14 refineries   

精炼厂( refinery的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The efforts on closedown and suspension of small sugar refineries, small saccharin refineries and small paper mills are also being carried out in steps. 关停小糖厂、小糖精厂、小造纸厂的工作也已逐步展开。
• Hence the sitting of refineries is at a distance from population centres. 所以，炼油厂的厂址总在远离人口集中的地方。