国家地理 保护着海岸和生命的消失的森林(6)

In February 2018 part of the embankment that holds back the Chunar River west of East Dhangmari, Bangladesh, collapsed¹ for the third time in a year. Sixteen houses were swept away in what for locals had become an almost routine tragedy. But as the catalog of misfortunes mounted over the following months, even the oldest, most judicious² residents knew these were no ordinary crises. Rice yields during the 2018 dry-season harvest were way down -- often well under a ton an acre, which pushed up food prices. In many fields, vegetables simply wouldn't grow in the salty soils.

2018年2月，孟加拉国东当马里西部丘纳尔河的部分大堤垮塌，这已经是当年的第三次了。16所房子被冲走，这种悲剧对当地人来说几乎已经习以为常。但随着接下来几个月中灾难的不断发生，即使是最年长最理性的居民也知道，这些事情的发生绝非偶然。2018年旱季的水稻产量大幅下跌--通常是一公顷略低于一吨，抬高了食品价格。在部分地区盐化的土壤上根本不生长蔬菜。

"Because of the water damage, it sometimes seems like only the carpenters have work," said farmer Bimol Sardar.

一位叫做比莫·沙达的农民说道：“由于水患灾害的影响，有时只有木匠有事可干。”

In the spring of 2018, a disease that has proliferated³ across some of southern Bangladesh struck this quiet corner of the country. Cholera⁴, thriving in the hotter temperatures and increasingly brackish⁵ waters of the Sundarbans, has come roaring back in the swamps in which it was supposedly born. When I visited, the local doctor was overwhelmed.

2018年春，一场席卷南孟加拉国的疾病打破了这个角落的寂静。霍乱，这种诞生于孙德本尔斯的高温和咸水中的疾病，又咆哮着回到了它的出生地。当我去当地参观的时候，那里的医生已经不堪重负。

1 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。

2 judicious   

adj.明智的，明断的，能作出明智决定的

参考例句：

• We should listen to the judicious opinion of that old man.我们应该听取那位老人明智的意见。
• A judicious parent encourages his children to make their own decisions.贤明的父亲鼓励儿女自作抉择。

3 proliferated   

激增( proliferate的过去式和过去分词 )； （迅速）繁殖； 增生； 扩散

参考例句：

• Books and articles on the subject have proliferated over the last year. 过去一年以来，论及这一问题的书和文章大量涌现。
• Influenza proliferated throughout the country. 流感在全国蔓延。

4 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。

5 brackish   

adj.混有盐的；咸的

参考例句：

• Brackish waters generally support only a small range of faunas.咸水水域通常只能存活为数不多的几种动物。
• The factory has several shallow pools of brackish water.工厂有几个浅的咸水池。