【英语时差8,16】湛蓝深湖成为阿富汗首座国家公园

 A cascading¹ collection of deep-blue high-mountain lakes became Afghanistan's first provisional national park, as the violence-plagued nation took a big first step toward protecting one of its finest natural treasures. Coinciding with Earth Day, officials in the Central Asian country signed a decree to create Band-e-Amir National Park, encompassing² six mountain-fed lakes held back by natural calcified³ dams. Located in the country's peaceful central highlands, the lakes were a popular tourist destination before the Taliban's 1996-2001 rule, and officials hope they can attract tourists from around the world. Band-e-Amir is located in Bamiyan province, which has been relatively⁴ unaffected by the violence that plagues eastern and southern Afghanistan, where Taliban fighters and other militants⁶ control swathes of land and regularly clash with international and Afghan forces. The capital of Bamiyan is where Taliban fighters in spring 2001 blasted away two towering ancient Buddha⁷ statues carved into the region's red cliffs. Officials believe that Band-e-Amir and the remnants of the statues can combine for a powerful tourist attraction if Afghan, U.S. and NATO forces can reduce militant⁵ violence. Making Band-e-Amir a national park will give the four park rangers⁸ who now patrol the area's shores more enforcement powers to protect the lakes, said Peter Smallwood, the country director for the Wildlife Conservation Society, which played a large role in helping⁹ the government prepare Band-e-Amir for national park status.

1 cascading   

流注( cascade的现在分词 )； 大量落下； 大量垂悬； 梯流

参考例句：

• First of all, cascading menus are to be avoided at all costs. 首先，无论如何都要避免使用级联菜单。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓
• Her sounds began cascading gently. 他的声音开始缓缓地低落下来。

2 encompassing   

v.围绕( encompass的现在分词 )；包围；包含；包括

参考例句：

• Being too large and all-encompassing is a common defect among state-owned enterprises. 过分追求大而全，是国企的一大通病。 来自互联网
• Our services are: all-encompassing, love justice and high quality. 我们的服务目标是：全方位、真情义、高质量。 来自互联网

3 calcified   

v.（使）钙化，（使）硬化( calcify的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The rock calcified over the centuries. 经过几个世纪，石头发生了钙化。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• By age 10, 50% of patients have calcified cortical tubers. 10岁的时候，50%的病人出现钙化结节。 来自互联网

4 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

5 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

6 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

7 Buddha   

n.佛；佛像；佛陀

参考例句：

• Several women knelt down before the statue of Buddha and prayed.几个妇女跪在佛像前祈祷。
• He has kept the figure of Buddha for luck.为了图吉利他一直保存着这尊佛像。

8 rangers   

护林者( ranger的名词复数 )； 突击队员

参考例句：

• Do you know where the Rangers Stadium is? 你知道Rangers体育场在哪吗？ 来自超越目标英语 第3册
• Now I'm a Rangers' fan, so I like to be near the stadium. 现在我是Rangers的爱好者，所以我想离体育场近一点。 来自超越目标英语 第3册

9 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。