英闻天下——196 Dunhuang Fights against Desertification

 　　Dunhuang in northwestern China's Gansu Province is known for its UNESCO World Heritage site, the Mogao Grottoes, or the Thousand Buddha¹ Caves.

 

　　In recent years the city has been fighting a battle against desertification.

 

　　CRI reporter Natalie Thomas has visited town and its surrounding villages to see what is being done to deal with the situation.

 

　　This is Dunhuang, at first glance it looks like your average medium sized Chinese town, but this is a settlement with a unique history. An ancient oasis² town lying on the old silk road, Dunhuang was once bustling³ trading crossroads and today is a city of huge archaeological significance.

 

　　However this oasis in the desert now finds itself slowly being claimed back by the surrounding dunes⁴.

 

　　Local officials are now fighting to prevent their town from suffering the same fate as similar towns like Loulan to the west which fell to the desert around 1500 years ago.

 

　　We spoke⁵ to Liu Zhanying, the head of the local forestry⁶ Bureau to see what they are doing to deal with the situation.

 

　　Historically Dunhuang has always been close to water, the surrounding areas had a lot of pastureland and water resources. During the Han dynasty you could row boats on the Shuluo river. But later on Dunhuang was affected⁷ by environmental change as a whole.

 

　　The main way we have been fighting desertificaion is by strictly⁸ enforcing three policies: forbidding opening up land for farming, forbidding inward migration⁹ and forbidding digging wells.

 

　　On top of these measures officials have also introduced a triple-pronged attack on desertification, planting trees, encouraging farmers to plant special crops, and raising awareness¹⁰ about environmental protection.

 

　　At the moment we are giving villages, giving every rural household a task, work units and cadres in organizations are also being given it. The first is that every single person has to pay a "green fee", the second is that every person has to take part once or twice in tree planting activities

 

　　With these measures in place local farmers have began to notice a difference to their environment

 

　　These days decertification has more or less been halted, if it hadn't been halted then now in the winter the wind would be blowing every day that means that they've increased the woodland protection belt, so we get less of it. Desertification is happening less, its not as fierce as before

 

　　The environment is better than before. In the past there was less land and less trees, these days land and trees have both increased, it's true!

 

　　But the challenges are not over yet.

 

　　It's still not looking so good. the situation is quite serious. I think firstly we still have to publicize future tree planting and greening activities We also need to put more initiatives in place if we are going to keep the Dunhuang Oasis, and slow down the speed at which the oasis shrinks.

 

　　Tomorrow her story on Dunuang's battle against desertification will continue .

1 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。

2 oasis   

n.（沙漠中的）绿洲，宜人的地方

参考例句：

• They stopped for the night at an oasis.他们在沙漠中的绿洲停下来过夜。
• The town was an oasis of prosperity in a desert of poverty.该镇是贫穷荒漠中的一块繁荣的“绿洲”。

3 bustling   

adj.喧闹的

参考例句：

• The market was bustling with life. 市场上生机勃勃。
• This district is getting more and more prosperous and bustling. 这一带越来越繁华了。

4 dunes   

沙丘( dune的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The boy galloped over the dunes barefoot. 那男孩光着脚在沙丘间飞跑。
• Dragging the fully laden boat across the sand dunes was no mean feat. 将满载货物的船拖过沙丘是一件了不起的事。

5 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

6 forestry   

n.森林学；林业

参考例句：

• At present, the Chinese forestry is being at a significant transforming period. 当前, 我国的林业正处于一个重大的转折时期。
• Anhua is one of the key forestry counties in Hunan province. 安化县是湖南省重点林区县之一。

7 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。

8 strictly   

adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地

参考例句：

• His doctor is dieting him strictly.他的医生严格规定他的饮食。
• The guests were seated strictly in order of precedence.客人严格按照地位高低就座。

9 migration   

n.迁移，移居，（鸟类等的）迁徙

参考例句：

• Swallows begin their migration south in autumn.燕子在秋季开始向南方迁移。
• He described the vernal migration of birds in detail.他详细地描述了鸟的春季移居。

10 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。