《經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)人》雙語(yǔ):澳大利亞達(dá)令河為何漂浮數(shù)百萬(wàn)條死魚(yú)?
原文標(biāo)題:
Australian rivers
Death on the Darling
Climate change and mismanagement imperil Australia’s biggest river system
澳大利亞河流
達(dá)令河的死魚(yú)
氣候變化和管理不善使澳大利亞最大的河流系統(tǒng)面臨威脅
[Paragraph 1]
YABBIES,
FRESHWATER lobsters native to Australia, thrive in the outback for a
reason. They can tolerate high temperatures and drought, and need hardly
any oxygen in their water.
雅比是澳大利亞本土的淡水龍蝦,它們能夠耐受高溫和干旱,水中含氧量低也能存活,因此它們可以在內(nèi)陸地區(qū)大量繁殖。
Yet
even for them the Darling river, which snakes through western New South
Wales, is proving uninhabitable. Swarms of yabbies were recently seen scrambling out of its murky water.
然而,即使對(duì)于它們來(lái)說(shuō),也已經(jīng)無(wú)法在達(dá)令河(流經(jīng)新南威爾士州西部)生存了。最近,有大批淡水龍蝦從渾濁的水中爬出來(lái)。
On March 17th the river was blanketed by millions of dead freshwater fish, herring, perch and cod, near the town of Menindee.
3月17日,在梅寧迪鎮(zhèn)附近,達(dá)令河里有數(shù)百萬(wàn)條淡水死魚(yú)浮出水面,包括鯡魚(yú)、鱸魚(yú)和鮭魚(yú)。
Graeme McCrabb, a local, estimates the “l(fā)ine of dead fish” stretches over 100km. “It has an odour that’s pretty unique,” he says.
當(dāng)?shù)鼐用窀窭啄贰溈死脊烙?jì),“漂浮的死魚(yú)”長(zhǎng)達(dá)100公里,“散發(fā)出一種非常獨(dú)特的臭味”。

[Paragraph 2]
The mass fish death is the latest illustration of how climate change is combining with mismanagement to blight Australia’s fragile environment.
大規(guī)模的魚(yú)類死亡事件是氣候變化與管理不善的最新體現(xiàn),這些問(wèn)題正在破壞澳大利亞脆弱的環(huán)境。
The Darling forms one arm of the Murray-Darling basin, a vast river system that covers much of Queensland and South Australia.
達(dá)令河是墨累-達(dá)令盆地的一條支流,這是一個(gè)覆蓋昆士蘭和南澳大利亞大部分地區(qū)的龐大水系。
It could hardly be more important—the system supports 40% of Australia’s agricultural production and breathes life into the vast, arid outback. But it is in desperate state.
這個(gè)水系的重要性不言而喻--它支撐著澳大利亞40%的農(nóng)業(yè)生產(chǎn),并為廣闊而干燥的內(nèi)陸地區(qū)注入生命力。但是現(xiàn)在它處于非常糟糕的狀態(tài)。
[Paragraph 3]
Climate change is bringing more extreme heat and drought, which caused the previous “mass mortality” in the Darling river system in 2018 and 2019.
氣候變化帶來(lái)了更加極端的炎熱和干旱情況,這也是早在2018年和2019年達(dá)令河水系發(fā)生“大規(guī)模死亡”的原因。
Drought brought the river to a standstill, depleting its oxygen.
旱災(zāi)使河流成為一潭死水,水中氧氣被耗盡。
But the warming climate is also bringing more extreme precipitation and flooding, which is behind the latest die-off.
但溫暖的氣候也帶來(lái)了更加極端的降雨和洪水,這是最近魚(yú)類死亡事件的原因。
[Paragraph 4]
Eastern Australia has had three years of heavy rainfall.
澳大利亞?wèn)|部連續(xù)3年遭遇強(qiáng)降雨。
This summer the Darling burst its banks, submerging towns and washing tonnes of chemicals and organic matter into the water.
今年夏天達(dá)令河決堤,淹沒(méi)了城鎮(zhèn),將大量的化學(xué)物質(zhì)和有機(jī)物質(zhì)沖入水中。
That
has caused bacteria to flourish, sapping oxygen from it, says Richard
Kingsford, an ecologist at the University of New South Wales.
新南威爾士大學(xué)的生態(tài)學(xué)家理查德·金斯福德稱,這導(dǎo)致細(xì)菌大量繁殖,并耗盡了水中的氧氣。
A heatwave may have exacerbated this “blackwater event”, since warm water holds less oxygen.
熱浪可能加劇了這次“黑水事件”,因?yàn)闇厮械暮趿扛佟?br>
The many dams and weirs that line the Darling then made it hard or impossible for stricken fish to escape to healthier water.
許多沿達(dá)令河的水壩和堰壩使受災(zāi)的魚(yú)難以逃到更健康的水域。
So millions died; and their decomposition in turn drew more oxygen from the river, worsening the cycle.
因此數(shù)百萬(wàn)條魚(yú)死亡,死魚(yú)分解反過(guò)來(lái)從河中吸取更多的氧氣,加劇了河流的污染。
[Paragraph 5]
Over-exploitation of the Murray-Darling’s waters has made the system especially vulnerable to such shocks.
澳大利亞的墨累-達(dá)令流域的水資源過(guò)度開(kāi)發(fā),使系統(tǒng)特別容易受到此類沖擊的影響。
Four states fight over them.A
water-sharing initiative launched in 2012 was supposed to help
conservation, yet there is little evidence that it has improved the
basin’s health.
4個(gè)州在爭(zhēng)奪這些水資源。2012年推出的水資源共享計(jì)劃旨在幫助保護(hù)環(huán)境,但幾乎沒(méi)有證據(jù)表明它改善了流域的健康狀況。
For
Robert McBride, who owns a vast sheep station near Menindee, the
Darling is paying “the supreme sacrifice for total mismanagement of the
river system”.
羅伯特·麥克布賴德在梅寧迪附近擁有一個(gè)廣闊的牧羊場(chǎng),他說(shuō),達(dá)令河正在為“水系的全面管理失誤付出最大代價(jià)”。
After the recent deluge, water quotas were lifted so high that farmers could in theory drain some tributaries.
最近的洪水之后,水配額被提得很高,以至于理論上農(nóng)民可以將一些支流排干。
(恭喜讀完,本篇英語(yǔ)詞匯量457左右)
原文出自:2023年3月25日《The Economist》Asia版塊
精讀筆記來(lái)源于:自由英語(yǔ)之路
本文翻譯整理: Irene本文編輯校對(duì): Irene
僅供個(gè)人英語(yǔ)學(xué)習(xí)交流使用。

【補(bǔ)充資料】(來(lái)自于網(wǎng)絡(luò))
達(dá)令河Darling river位于澳大利亞?wèn)|南部,為墨累河最長(zhǎng)支流,同時(shí)也是墨累-達(dá)令河水系中的最長(zhǎng)河流,源頭由大分水嶺新英格蘭山脈西麓的幾條溪流匯成,靠近新南威爾士-昆士蘭邊界,離東海岸不遠(yuǎn),向西南流經(jīng)新南威爾士州,于維多利亞州邊界上的文特沃斯(Wentworth)匯入墨累河,由最長(zhǎng)支流算起,河流全長(zhǎng)2844公里,流域面積609283平方公里。達(dá)令河上游部分河段為昆士蘭和新南威爾士二州界河,重要支流有右岸的巴朗河、沃里戈河等,水量季節(jié)變化大。伯克以下河段雨季可通航。沿河有多處水利灌溉設(shè)施。
水配額Water quota
可以指代在特定時(shí)間段內(nèi)一個(gè)人或一個(gè)社區(qū)允許使用的水量。這種限制通常是由政府或其他管理機(jī)構(gòu)設(shè)定的,旨在確??沙掷m(xù)使用水資源并減少浪費(fèi)。例如,政府可能會(huì)要求居民在每個(gè)月只使用特定數(shù)量的自來(lái)水,或者在干旱期間限制草坪灌溉的時(shí)間和頻率。此外,一些國(guó)家還通過(guò)向企業(yè)征收水資源稅等方式來(lái)鼓勵(lì)節(jié)水,促進(jìn)可持續(xù)水資源管理。
【重點(diǎn)句子】(3?個(gè))
The
mass fish death is the latest illustration of how climate change is
combining with mismanagement to blight Australia’s fragile environment.
大規(guī)模的魚(yú)類死亡事件是氣候變化與管理不善的最新體現(xiàn),這些問(wèn)題正在破壞澳大利亞脆弱的環(huán)境。
But the warming climate is also bringing more extreme precipitation and flooding, which is behind the latest die-off.
但溫暖的氣候也帶來(lái)了更加極端的降雨和洪水,這是最近魚(yú)類死亡事件的原因。
Over-exploitation of the Murray-Darling’s waters has made the system especially vulnerable to such shocks.
澳大利亞的墨累-達(dá)令流域的水資源過(guò)度開(kāi)發(fā),使系統(tǒng)特別容易受到此類沖擊的影響。
