劍橋雅思10Test4Passage1閱讀原文翻譯 The megafires of California

劍橋雅思10Test4Passage1閱讀原文翻譯 The megafires of California

劍橋雅思10 Test4 Passage1閱讀原文翻譯

第1段

Wildfires are becoming an increasing menace in the western United States, with Southern California being the hardest hit area. There’s a reason fire squads battling more frequent blazes in Southern California are having such difficulty containing the flames, despite better preparedness than ever and decades of experience fighting fires fanned by the ‘Santa Ana Winds’. The wildfires themselves, experts say, are generally hotter, faster, and spread more erratically than in the past.

在美國西部，野火正變得越來越嚴(yán)重，南加州是受打擊最嚴(yán)重的區(qū)域。盡管準(zhǔn)備工作比以往任何時候都要好，并且有數(shù)十年對抗“Santa Ana”颶風(fēng)所煽起的火災(zāi)的經(jīng)驗，但在南加州，與更頻繁的大火作斗爭的消防隊卻很難控制火災(zāi)規(guī)模。這是有原因的。專家說，與過去相比，野火本身溫度更好，起火更快，傳播路線也更加不規(guī)則。

第2段

Megafires, also called ‘siege fires’, are the increasingly frequent blazes that burn 500,000 acres or more – 10 times the size of the average forest fire of 20 years ago. Some recent wildfires are among the biggest ever in California in terms of acreage burned, according to state figures and news reports.

超級大火也被稱為“圍攻火”，是越來越頻繁的大火。他們文章來自老烤鴨雅思燒毀了50萬英畝甚至更多的土地，是20年前森林火災(zāi)平均損毀面積的10倍。根據(jù)州數(shù)據(jù)和新聞報道，就燃燒面積而言，最近的一些野火是加州有史以來最大的火災(zāi)。

第3段

One explanation for the trend to more superhot fires is that the region, which usually has dry summers, has had significantly below normal precipitation in many recent years. Another reason, experts say, is related to the century-long policy of the US Forest Service to stop wildfires as quickly as possible. The unintentional consequence has been to halt the natural eradication of underbrush, now the primary fuel for megafires.

超高溫火災(zāi)越來越多的一種解釋是，該地區(qū)夏季通常十分干燥。近年來，其降水量大大低于正常水平。專家們說，另一個原因與美國森林服務(wù)局長達(dá)一個世紀(jì)的政策有關(guān)。該政策要求盡快撲滅野火。它意外的阻礙了對矮木叢的自然清理，而它們現(xiàn)在成為超級火災(zāi)的主要燃料。

第4段

Three other factors contribute to the trend, they add. First is climate change, marked by a 1-degree Fahrenheit rise in average yearly temperature across the western states. Second is fire seasons that on average are 78 days longer than they were 20 years ago. Third is increased construction of homes in wooded areas.

他們補(bǔ)充說，三個其他因素也加劇了這一趨勢。首先是氣候變化，西部各州的年平均氣溫升高了1華氏度。其次是火災(zāi)季節(jié)，平均比20年前長78天。第三是森林地帶房屋建筑的增加。

第5段

‘We are increasingly building our homes in fire-prone ecosystems,’ says Dominik Kulakowski, adjunct professor of biology at Clark University Graduate School of Geography in Worcester, Massachusetts. ‘Doing that in many of the forests of the western US is like building homes on the side of an active volcano.’

“我們越來越多地把自己的家建在火災(zāi)易發(fā)的生態(tài)系統(tǒng)中”，馬薩諸塞州伍斯特市克拉克大學(xué)研究生院生物學(xué)教授Dominik Kulakowski說，“在美國西部的許多森里中這樣做，就仿佛是把家安在了活火山旁邊”。

第6段

In California, where population growth has averaged more than 600,000 a year for at least a decade, more residential housing is being built. ‘What once was open space is now residential homes providing fuel to make fires burn with greater intensity,’ says Terry McHale of the California Department of Forestry firefighters’ union. ‘With so much dryness, so many communities to catch fire, so many fronts to fight, it becomes an almost incredible job.’

至少十年來，加利福尼亞平均每年人口增長超過600,000。更多的住宅被建造起來。“曾經(jīng)的開闊地帶現(xiàn)在被住宅所占據(jù)，它們?yōu)榛馂?zāi)提供燃料，使其燃燒的更為劇烈”，加利福尼亞森林消防工會的Terry Mchale說，“這么干燥的天氣，這么多的社區(qū)著火，這么多的戰(zhàn)線需要撲滅，這幾乎是一項不可能完成的工作”。

第7段

That said, many experts give California high marks for making progress on preparedness in recent years, after some of the largest fires in state history scorched thousands of acres, burned thousands of homes, and killed numerous people. Stung in the past by criticism of bungling that allowed fires to spread when they might have been contained, personnel are meeting the peculiar challenges of neighborhood—and canyon—hopping fires better than previously, observers say.

話雖如此，在一些加州歷史上最大的火災(zāi)燒焦了數(shù)千畝土地，燒毀了數(shù)千所房屋，并吞噬了無數(shù)生命之后，許多專家對加利福尼亞州近年來的備災(zāi)工作仍然給出了很高的評價。觀察家說，相關(guān)人員過去曾因失敗而飽受批評，因為他們讓本可以受到控制的火災(zāi)四處蔓延，但現(xiàn)在他們更好地應(yīng)對了奇特的挑戰(zhàn)，火災(zāi)在住宅區(qū)和峽谷中隔空蔓延。

第8段

State promises to provide more up-to-date engines, planes, and helicopters to fight fires have been fulfilled. Firefighters’ unions that in the past complained of dilapidated equipment, old fire engines, and insufficient blueprints for fire safety are now praising the state’s commitment, noting that funding for firefighting has increased, despite huge cuts in many other programs. ‘We are pleased that the current state administration has been very proactive in its support of us, and [has] come through with budgetary support of the infrastructure needs we have long sought,’ says Mr. McHale of the firefighters’ union.

州政府關(guān)于提供更新的車輛、飛機(jī)和直升機(jī)以對抗火災(zāi)的承諾都已兌現(xiàn)。過去抱怨設(shè)備損壞，消防車?yán)吓f，以及缺乏足夠消防安全藍(lán)圖的消防員工會，現(xiàn)在則對州政府的投入表示贊揚(yáng)。他們注意到，盡管許多其他計劃被大幅度削減，但用于消防的資金卻有所增加。消防工會的McHale說：“我們感到高興的是，現(xiàn)任州政府一直非常積極地支持我們，并且已經(jīng)為我們長期以來尋求的基礎(chǔ)設(shè)備需求提供了預(yù)算支持”。

第9段

Besides providing money to upgrade the fire engines that must traverse the mammoth state and wind along serpentine canyon roads, the state has invested in better command-and-control facilities as well as in the strategies to run them. ‘In the fire sieges of earlier years, we found that other jurisdictions and states were willing to offer mutual-aid help, but we were not able to communicate adequately with them,’ says Kim Zagaris, chief of the state’s Office of Emergency Services Fire and Rescue Branch. After a commission examined and revamped communications procedures, the statewide response ‘has become far more professional and responsive,’ he says. There is a sense among both government officials and residents that the speed, dedication, and coordination of firefighters from several states and jurisdictions are resulting in greater efficiency than in past ‘siege fire’ situations.

除了提供資金以更新那些必須穿越全州、并在峽谷蜿蜒的道路上行駛的車輛以外，該州還投資了更好的指揮和控制設(shè)施以及操作它們的策略。州緊急事務(wù)辦公室火災(zāi)與救援分部的主任Kim Zagaris說：“在前幾年的火災(zāi)中，我們發(fā)現(xiàn)其他轄區(qū)和州愿意提供互相幫助，但我們無法與他們進(jìn)行充分的溝通”。在委員會審查并修改了通信程序之后，全州的響應(yīng)“變得更加專業(yè)和迅速”。政府官員和居民都意識到，與過去“圍攻火災(zāi)”相比，來自多個州和轄區(qū)的消防員的速度、投入，和相互協(xié)調(diào)帶來了更高的效率。

第10段

In recent years, the Southern California region has improved building codes, evacuation procedures, and procurement of new technology. ‘I am extraordinarily impressed by the improvements we have witnessed,’ says Randy Jacobs, a Southern California-based lawyer who has had to evacuate both his home and business to escape wildfires. ‘Notwithstanding all the damage that will continue to be caused by wildfires, we will no longer suffer the loss of life endured in the past because of the fire prevention and firefighting measures that have been put in place,’ he says.

近年來，南加州地區(qū)已經(jīng)改善了建筑規(guī)范，疏散程序和新技術(shù)的采購。“我對我們所見證到的改進(jìn)印象十分深刻”，南加州的一名律師，Randy Jacobs說。他曾經(jīng)兩次撤離自己的家和辦公室以逃避野火。“盡管野火必定會繼續(xù)造成的損害，但由于采取了防火和消防措施，我們將不再遭受過去遭受的生命損失”。

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