On the Lookout
美音、自然拼读、分级阅读与词汇复习
Forest fires can spread quickly and do a lot of damage.
森林火灾会迅速蔓延并造成大量破坏.
Keeping our forests safe are fire lookouts—men and women who spend their summers deep in the woods.
保护我们的森林安全是防火哨——在森林深处度过夏天的男女。
They keep a sharp eye out for smoke, ready to alert firefighters at the first sign of danger.
他们对烟雾保持了敏锐的警惕,准备在危险第一迹象时警告消防员.
Steve Kalling (KAL-ling) has been a fire lookout since 1990.
史蒂夫·卡林(英语:Steve Kalling (KAL-ling))自1990年起就是一个火警.
Every summer, he spends three months atop a tower in the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness area.
每年夏天,他在塞尔韦-比特罗特荒野地区的一个塔台上度过了三个月.
This huge forest covers parts of Montana and Idaho.
这个巨大的森林覆盖了蒙大拿州和爱达荷州的部分地区.
Steve hikes a ridge not far from his tower on Bear Mountain.
史提夫从熊山上塔台不远处爬了一条山脊.
The Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness area is the third-largest wilderness area in the United States outside of Alaska.
塞尔韦-比特罗特 荒野地区是美国阿拉斯加以外的第三大荒野地区.
Its 1.
1号
3 million acres (5,300 sq km) include parts of the Bitterroot National Forest, Clearwater National Forest, Lolo National Forest, and the Nez Perce National Forest.
300万英亩(5,300 sq km)包括了Bitterroot国家森林,Clearwater国家森林,Lolo国家森林和Nez Perse国家森林等部分.
Interviewer: How did you become a lookout?
采访者: 你怎么变得这么小心的?
Steve: I was hiking and met a wilderness ranger.
史蒂夫:我在徒步旅行,遇到一个野外护林员.
We were talking about her job, which was to hike around and check trails and campsites.
我们在谈论她的工作, 就是四处走走, 检查小径和营地。
I thought that sounded like a great way to spend the summer.
我觉得这听起来是一个伟大的方法 度过夏天。
The Forest Service wasn’t hiring any rangers, but they had a fire lookout quit that morning.
森林局没有雇用护林员,
I went into the ranger station and asked if I could be a lookout.
我去了护林站 问我能不能当个看管员
It was that simple in those days.
那段日子就那么简单了
Park rangers help protect state and national parks, the animals within them, and the people who visit them.
公园护林员帮助保护了州和国家公园,园内动物,以及参观者.
Interviewer: What is your station like?
采访者: 你的车站怎么样?
Are there different kinds?
有不同的种类吗?
Steve: My lookout is a wooden tower 50 feet (15 m) tall with a cabin on top.
史蒂夫:我的外观是一座50英尺(15米)高的木塔,顶上有一个木屋.
It’s 14 by 14 feet (4 × 4 m) with a peaked roof and a deck around the outside of it.
它有14英尺(4×4米)高地,
It has four walls of windows—in good light, I can see 60 to 80 miles (97–129 km) in some directions.
它有四道窗墙——在明亮的光线下,我可以看到一些方向的60至80英里(97至129公里).
There are other styles; some are cabins right on the high ground.
还有其它风格;有些是位于高地上的木屋.
A snowy morning is a welcome sight at the end of a long fire season.
一个多雪的早晨是漫长的火灾季节末期的受人欢迎的景象.
Interviewer: How do you travel to and from the station?
采访者: 你如何往返车站?
Steve: It’s an 8-mile (13 km) hike.
8英里(13公里)的远行。
At the beginning of the year, I’ll get a helicopter ride to fly up with all of my supplies.
我将搭乘直升机,
Every month they drop off more stuff, and that’s almost always with a helicopter.
他们每个月都会送更多东西,
They bring food and things like paint or a new window if I’ve broken one.
如果我打破一扇窗户,
A helicopter comes in for a landing carrying another month’s worth of supplies.
一架直升机飞来降落,载有一个月的物资。
Interviewer: What is a day at the station like?
采访者: 在车站的一天是什么样子的?
Steve: I wake up when it gets light, which is what happens when you have four walls of windows.
(掌声) 史蒂夫:当它变得光亮时,我醒来,这就是当你有四道窗户墙时会发生的情况。
First thing in the morning is a good time to take a look around.
明早的第一件事,是一个很好的时间 四处看看。
You might spot a small fire that you can watch for later in the day.
你可能会发现一个小火 在白天晚些时候,你可以观看。
After that first look around, I hike about half a mile (1 km) to get water from a spring.
第一次环顾四周,我爬了大约半英里(1公里)去取泉水。
Then I make breakfast.
然后,我做早餐。
The forest ranger will check in on the radio and read the weather.
护林员将登上收音机,看天气.
Wind, high temperatures, and low humidity are the things that worry firefighters the most because they can make fires worse.
风能,高温和低湿度是消防员最担心的事物,因为他们可以使火灾更严重.
Scorched tree trunks show where a fire burned through the area in the past.
干枯的树干显示过去有火烧穿了该地区的地方.
After breakfast is a good time to take care of repairs or painting.
早餐后是修理或作画的好时机.
In the afternoon, there are more likely to be fires as the day warms up.
到了下午,随着白天的暖化,火灾的可能性更大.
When my eight-hour duty day is done, I’m free to take a hike or do whatever I want.
当我8小时的值班日结束,
I’m a musician, and I bring several instruments and practice while I watch.
我是一个音乐家,
If I get a spell of wet weather, I’ll read books.
我将阅读书籍。
In the evenings, I come back up, cook dinner, and watch the sunset.
傍晚来接回,煮了晚饭,看日出.
Inside, the tower has a bed, a kitchen, and equipment to help a lookout call in the exact location of a fire.
内部,塔内有床,厨房,以及设备来帮助在一起起起火的确切位置发出警戒呼叫.
Interviewer: Besides the radio, do you have other ways of talking to people?
采访者: 除了收音机,你还有别的跟人说话的方法吗?
Steve: Cell phones don’t work on my tower, and I don’t have Internet.
(掌声) 史蒂夫:手机不在我的塔上工作,我没有互联网。
Some other towers have both.
其他一些塔也有两者.
Steve radios in details about a fire in the distance as he watches it through binoculars.
史蒂夫在通过望远镜观看时 详细记录了一场距离的火灾
Interviewer: What starts forest fires in remote areas?
采访者: 是什么引发了偏远地区的森林火灾?
Steve: Mostly the weather.
史蒂夫:主要是天气.
When it’s hot and dry, the fire danger is higher.
当热而干燥时,火灾危险会更高.
In that kind of weather, a chain dragging behind a truck can make sparks.
在那种天气中,一串被拖到卡车后面的链能产生火花.
Careless campers or loggers can also start a fire.
粗心的露营者或伐木者也可以起火.
Sometimes a lightning storm with a little rain starts a fire.
有时一阵有小雨的闪电风暴会起起火来.
The rain keeps it small for days or even weeks, and then it’ll pop up.
雨会持续数天甚至数周,
So if we’ve had any lightning, there’s more need to watch carefully.
因此,如果我们有闪电,就更需要仔细观察。
Small fires can grow big quickly if conditions are right.
如果条件合适,小火会迅速蔓延。
Interviewer: Once you spot a fire, can you do anything else to help firefighters?
采访者: 一旦你发现了一起火灾 你能做点什么来帮助消防员吗?
Steve: Yes.
对
After I call in a fire, I’ll watch the smoke and look for changes.
之后我会看着烟雾,
You can tell things from the color and the amount of smoke.
从颜色和烟量中可以分辨事物.
White or light blue smoke is a small fire that isn’t as hot.
白色或浅蓝色的烟雾,
As a fire gets bigger and hotter, it goes from white to blue to brown to black.
随着一起起火越来越大更热,它从白色到蓝色再到棕色再到黑色.
If I can see the base of the fire, I can also talk about how it’s moving.
如果我能看到火的底部,
Interviewer: Have you ever had to escape a fire?
采访者: 你曾经不得不逃离一起火灾吗?
Steve: Yes.
对
It’s happened three times— twice on Bear Mountain Lookout.
在熊山望去两次,
I had to leave the tower in 1994 and then again in 2012.
1994年我不得不离开塔楼,2012年再次离开.
The tower didn’t burn either time.
塔没有燃烧。
It wasn’t really scary until I was flying away in the helicopter afterward.
直到我在直升机上飞走,
Then the danger I was in hit me.
之后我遇到的危险就袭击了我
Before that, I needed to pay attention to my job and tell firefighters about the fire.
在此之前,我需要注意我的工作,并告诉消防员火灾的情况.
Interviewer: How often are there big fires?
采访者: 多久有大火发生?
Steve: More and more often in the last few years because the climate has changed.
史蒂夫:过去几年中,由于气候发生了变化,越来越频繁.
It’s hotter and drier and windier.
更热更干燥,
Oftentimes they’ll allow small fires to burn because it’s a natural part of a healthy ecosystem.
通常它们会让小火燃烧,
Last summer, everything was so hot and dry that as soon as fires were spotted, they grew very quickly.
去年夏天,一切都非常炎热干燥,一旦发现大火,它们就会迅速生长.
Smoke billows from a large fire as it spreads over a ridge in the distance.
烟斗从大火中喷出 当它散布在远处的山脊上
Interviewer: What’s the best thing about being a lookout, and what’s the hardest thing?
采访者: 做个守望者有什么好处,
Steve: Well, the best thing is living on top of a mountain.
史蒂夫:嗯,最好的是住在山上。
I spend the whole summer between the earth and the sky.
我整个夏天都在地上和天空之间
The days are really long and slow.
日子很长很慢
The light comes sideways into the windows at sunset.
在日出时灯光从侧面进入窗户.
It’s beautiful!
这是美丽的!
Wilderness areas offer moments of unspoiled beauty.
荒野地带提供了未被破坏的美景
The other really wonderful thing about being a lookout is helping to care for the land—taking care of nature and making sure it’s there in the future.
照顾自然, 确保未来自然。
Large, wild places are important for people to enjoy recreationally.
大型的,野生的地方对人们享受娱乐非常重要.
They’re also where our drinking water comes from and where oxygen comes from.
他们也是我们的饮用水的来源,
We need to protect our environment.
我们需要保护我们的环境。
Helping to care for that is a really great feeling.
帮助照顾它 是一个真正的伟大的感觉。
One of the hardest things is coming back to the world after the summer.
最难的一件事就是夏后回到人世.
It’s hard to leave my family and friends, but then coming back is so jarring.
但回来后却充满了争议。
Everything moves so quickly, and the world feels so busy and loud and cluttered.
一切动得如此之快,而世界感觉如此忙碌而吵闹而混乱.
You get used to the quiet.
你习惯了安静。
Indian paintbrush wildflowers decorate a hillside within view of the tower.
印度的漆刷野花在塔的视野内装饰了一座山坡.
Glossary alert (v.)
词汇警示(五.
to warn or inform (p.
警告或通知(第5页)。
3) climate (n.)
(3) 气候(不详)
the weather conditions in an area over a long period of time (p.
一个地区的长期天气条件(p.
13) damage (n.)
13)损害(n.
harm done to someone or something (p.
伤害他人或某事(第5页)。
3) ecosystem (n.)
3) 生态系统(不详)
a community of living things together with their habitat (p.
生物群落及其栖息地(p.
13) environment (n.)
13) 环境(n.)