Forests on Fire
美音、自然拼读、分级阅读与词汇复习
Table of Contents Yellowstone on Fire.
火上黄石目录.
4 Costs of Fire.
4 火灾费用。
6 Causes of Fire.
6 火灾原因。
8 People and Fire.
8人与火相会.
9 Adapted to Fire.
9 适应"火".
10 Too Much Fuel.
10 燃料过多。
12 Rethinking Fire.
12再想火来.
15 Glossary.
15 词汇。
16 Yellowstone on Fire Yellowstone is America’s oldest national park and one of its best loved.
16"火上黄石"是美国最古老的国家公园,也是其最受爱戴的公园之一.
With its hot, dry summers and close-packed lodgepole pines, the park is no stranger to forest fires.
以其炎热干燥的夏季和紧紧地包装的小林地松,公园对森林火灾并不陌生.
Until 1988, the park’s largest fire on record covered 25,000 acres.
直到1988年,该公园有史以来最大的火灾已覆盖了25,000英亩.
At more than 2.
超过2岁
2 million acres, Yellowstone is big enough to handle such fires now and then.
200万英亩,黄石公园的面积 足以应付这种火灾
During the summer of 1988, though, the park saw a set of huge fires.
不过1988年夏天,公园里看到了一系列巨大的火灾.
Most of the fires were started by lightning.
火灾大多由闪电引发.
Careless people started others.
粗心大意者起彼众生.
Some fires started in forests outside the park and burned their way in.
一些火灾从公园外的森林中起火并烧毁了它们入场的道路.
Firefighters tried to control the fires caused by people from the start, but other fires were allowed to burn.
消防员从一开始就试图控制由人引起的火灾,但其他火灾被允许被烧毁.
Then on July 14, winds up to 80 miles per hour (129 kph) swept in.
后于7月14日,风速高达每小时80英里(129克夫)被冲入.
Many park visitors were ordered to leave.
许多公园游客被命令离开.
In their place, 25,000 firefighters from all over the country came in to fight the fires.
代替他们的是来自全国各地的25,000名消防员来扑灭大火.
Areas Burned Within Yellowstone in the 1988 Fires Wyoming Montana UNITED STATES Idaho N EW S Key Areas burned Park boundaries State boundaries 50 miles 50 km The 1988 Yellowstone fires set two world records.
1988年蒙大拿州大火中被烧入黄石内部的地区 美国 Idaho NEW S 关键区域烧毁了公园边界 50英里50公里的国界 1988年黄石大火创造了两个世界纪录.
They were the most expensive, costing taxpayers $120 million; and they burned the most acres in a single day—165,000.
他们是最昂贵的,耗费了纳税人1.2亿美元;他们在一天之内就烧毁了最多英亩的土地——165 000。
Yet the fires were just getting started.
但火才刚刚起火
Every afternoon, high winds sent embers high into the sky.
每天下午,高风会把高温的火药送入天空.
They landed and started more fires.
他们降落后引发了更多的火灾.
On August 20, fierce winds caused 165,000 acres to burn in just one day—a day that came to be known as Black Saturday.
8月20日,狂风在一天之内导致165 000英亩地被烧毁,这一天被称为"黑色星期六"。
Firefighters fought the flames for nearly two months.
消防员与火焰战斗了近两个月.
By September 11, rain and early snow finally came to the rescue, dampening fires that thousands of firefighters could not.
到了9月11日,雨水和早雪终于来到救援站,抑制了上千名消防员无法扑灭的火灾.
By then, 44.
那时,44。
5 percent of the park had burned.
5%的公园被烧了
Including the forests surrounding the park, 1.
包括公园周围的森林, 1.
2 million acres—an area nearly the size of the state of Delaware—had burned.
200万英亩——几乎相当于特拉华州的面积——被烧毁。
Viewing the devastation, many observers criticized the park’s decision to let the natural fires burn.
许多观察者批评公园让自然火灾燃烧的决定。
They described the park as “ruined.”
他们将公园描述为“已拆除。 “
Those fires raised many questions.
这些火灾提出了许多问题。
Was Yellowstone ruined?
黄石公园被毁了吗?
When does it make sense to let a wildfire burn?
何时放出野火来有道理?
Does a wildfire serve any purpose except to destroy?
野火除了毁灭还有其他作用吗?
Costs of Fire Forest fires are often destructive and sometimes deadly.
森林火灾的代价往往具有破坏性,有时是致命的。
In the case of severe forest fires, superheated gases can reach 1,600°F (871°C).
在严重森林火灾的情况下,超热气体可达1600°F(871°C).
Blasts of heat have cracked boulders in half and melted chainsaws.
爆炸的热量使巨石碎裂成两半并融化了链锯.
Do You Know?
你知道吗?
One square mile equals 640 acres.
一平方英里等于640英亩.
The 1.
一号
2 million acres that burned in 1988 are equal to 1,875 square miles (4,856 square km).
1988年被烧毁的200万英亩等于1,875平方英里(4856平方千米).
Types of Fire There are three types of forest fires: ground fires, surface fires, and crown fires.
火灾类型 森林火灾有三种:地上起火,地表起火,冠地起火.
A ground fire travels low to the ground and sometimes underneath it.
地上起火时会低地行到地上,有时也会从地下行到地上.
It feeds on ground fuel and rarely shows a flame.
它以地上燃料为生,很少显示出火焰.
You might walk right over it and not even know it’s there.
你可能会走过去,
A surface fire stays low but burns hotter, burning trees and brush.
地表起火量低,但燃烧得更热,会燃烧树木和刷子.
When it grows fierce enough, it turns into a crown fire.
当它变得足够凶猛时,它会变成花冠火.
Crown fires are the big fires.
冠火为大火.
They can travel 10 miles (16 km) per hour.
它们可以每小时出行10英里(16公里).
Flames can reach up to 300 feet (91 m).
火焰可达300英尺(91米).
A single forest fire can include all three types of fires.
单一的森林火灾可以包括所有三种类型的火灾.
In five to fifteen minutes, a fire can release as much energy as an atomic bomb.
在5到15分钟内,一起火灾可以释放出与原子弹一样多的能量.
Less severe fires can destroy property, homes, and the lives of humans and other animals.
不太严重的火灾可以摧毁财产,房屋,以及人类和其他动物的生命.
When fire has burned the plants that hold the ground in place, the landscape becomes more vulnerable to flooding and landslides.
当大火烧毁了坚守地面的植物后,地貌变得更容易遭受洪水和山体滑坡.
Smoke from big fires causes pollution and breathing problems.
大火产生的烟会引发污染和呼吸问题.
Even hundreds of miles away, the sky turns brown and smells of smoke.
乃至去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去去
Nationwide, wildfires burn millions of acres each year.
全国范围内,野火每年会燃烧上百万英亩.
The United States spends more than $1 billion to fight them.
美国为此花费了10多亿美元。
Causes of Fire In the United States, the western region has the most forest fires.
火灾原因 在美国,西部地区森林火灾最多.
This part of the country has many forests and hot, dry summers during which lightning is common.
这片地區多有森林和炎热干燥的夏季,放出放电是常见的.
Lightning is the leading natural cause of wildfires.
闪电是野火的主要自然原因.
People start many forest fires, too, but usually not on purpose.
人们也引发多起森林火灾,但通常不是故意的.
Many are accidents, possibly started by a campfire that wasn’t put out properly.
许多人是意外,
Some are even less direct, such as a spark from a passing train’s wheels igniting dry grass or nearby woods.
有些甚至不那么直接,例如从过往火车轮子上发出的火花会点燃干草或附近的树林.
Most fires go out by themselves.
大部分的火都是自己熄灭的.
Usually only a few acres burn, and some of those fires never even touch trees.
通常只有几亩地被烧毁,有些火灾甚至从未触及过树木.
Of course, a few fires grow huge.
当然,几起火灾会变得巨大。
Do You Know?
你知道吗?
Lightning strikes 8 million times around the world each day.
闪电每天在全世界打击800万次.
Every year in the United States, lightning is the cause of an estimated 17,400 fires.
每年在美国,闪电是估计有17400起火灾的原因.
Acres Burned (millions) Number of Fires and Acres Burned in the United States Year Source: National Interagency Fire Center Recently, although the number of total fires in the United States has decreased, the total number of acres burned has increased.
资料来源:国家机构间火灾中心。 最近,虽然美国总起火量已经减少,但被烧毁的地亩总数却有所增加.
People and Fire Forest fires are nothing new, but attitudes toward them have changed over time.
人民和森林火灾并非新鲜事,
The Europeans who settled the West in the 1800s fought them at every turn.
1800年代定居西方的欧洲人,在每一个转弯都与他们相会.
Until then, fires and forests had managed to find a balance.
在此之前,火灾和森林已设法取得平衡。
Nobody fought the wildfires, in part because nobody owned the forests.
没有人与野火战斗, 部分原因是没有人拥有森林。
When Yellowstone became a national park in 1872 and for a long time after, both visitors and the people who ran the park continued to see fire as destructive.
1872年黄石公园成为国家公园并相隔很长一段时间后,游客和园区管理者都继续将火灾视为破坏性.
The early caretakers of national parks and forests thought that putting out fires was just good stewardship.
国家公园和森林的早期看守人员认为灭火只是良好的管理。
In 1935, the U.
1935年,吴会.
S.
师曰.
Forest Service established a rule about putting out all fires the day after they started.
森林局制定了一条规则,在火灾开始的第二天扑灭所有火灾.
This all sounded sensible at the time.
这听起来很明智
After all, putting out fires protects the forest.
毕竟灭火能保护森林
Right?
对吧?
Adapted to Fire Actually, many forests are equipped to survive forest fires.
适应了火灾 实际上,许多森林都配备了能活过森林火灾的设备.
In fact, fire often benefits the native plants and animals in these forests.
事实上,火灾往往使这些森林中的原生动植物受益.
Fire fights invasive plants and kills harmful insects.
火能扑灭入侵植物并杀死有害的昆虫.
Ash from the burned plants, which is rich in nutrients, dissolves back into the soil.
被焚毁的植物的灰烬 有丰富的营养物质 溶入了土壤
Fire can improve habitat for wildlife by replacing dark, crowded stands of trees with open, sunny vistas and helping grass grow, which provides food for animals.
火能改善野生动物的栖息地,方法是用开阔、阳光明媚的外观来取而代之的黑暗而拥挤的树木,并帮助为动物提供食物的草地生长。
Early firefighters in South Dakota use sand to manage a fire.
南达科他州的早期消防员使用沙子来管理起火.
Sand can put out a fire, help slow it down, or stop it from spreading.
沙能扑出一活火来,能帮助减慢活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活活
Jeff Henry holds a picture he took during the 1988 Yellowstone fire.
Jeff Henry拿着他在1988年黄石公园大火中拍摄的照片.
He’s standing by new trees in 2008 in the same spot where he took the photograph of the historic fire twenty years before.
他站在2008年的新树上,
For thousands of years, fire has been one of the forces that have shaped certain forests—not just lodgepole forests, but other kinds as well.
数千年来,火力一直是塑造出某些森林的力量之一——不仅仅是小林地,还有其他种类。
Fire burns the forest here and there until it has cycled through the entire landscape.
火烧了这里和那里的森林,直到它循环了整个地貌.
Burned areas become grassy meadows that eventually grow new trees.
被烧毁的地区会变成草地,最终会长出新树.
Together, these different areas create a system of food and shelter for many species.
这些不同的地区共同为许多物种创造了食物和住所系统.
Different forests complete this cycle in different spans of time.
不同的森林在不同的时间范围内完成这个周期.
One type of forest might take a thousand years, while another type may only take a hundred years.
一种类型的森林可能需要上千年时间,而另一种类型的森林可能只需要上百年时间.
In these forests, many plant species are adapted to fire.
在这些森林中,许多植物物种被适应起火.
The very trees that burned in Yellowstone offer a great example because some lodgepole pines need fire to reproduce.
黄石公园被烧毁的树木就是一个很好的例子 因为有些小松需要火来繁殖
Fire allows the pinecones to open and release their seeds.
火能使松果开出并放出种子.
Without fire, the cones just sit and wait.
没有火,锥子只是坐等.
Within a month of Yellowstone’s 1988 monster fire, snow covered the park.
在黄石1988年怪物起火后一个月内,公园被雪覆盖.
When the snow melted the following spring, it watered the roots and seeds that had survived underground.
次年春雪融化后,给地下幸存下来的根和种子取水.
Nutritious grasses sprouted from the charred earth, attracting elk and deer.
从被烧焦的地上生出营养草,吸引了麋鹿和鹿.
Wildflowers bloomed the next spring and summer.
野花花开来春夏.
As it turned out, the burned park wasn’t ruined after all.
被烧毁的公园并没有被摧毁。
Too Much Fuel Many people can find it hard to adapt to fire.
燃料过多 许多人会发现很难适应起火.
Everyone knows fire is dangerous and can cause great damage.
人人都知道火是危险的,可以造成巨大的破坏.
People’s view of the forest can vary greatly.
人们对于森林的看法会有很大的不同。
Some may see the forest only as a source of wood, grass for cattle grazing, or a beautiful spot to pitch a tent—not as an ecosystem that sometimes needs to burn.
有些人可能认为森林只是木头、牧牛用草地的来源,
Viewed that way, it seems only logical to put out forest fires.
从这一点来看,扑灭森林火灾似乎是合乎逻辑的。
Yet not letting fires run their course can cause a problem for forests and people alike.
然而,不放火烧他们的行道,对森林和人民都会造成问题。
Without fire, needles, brush, and logs build up over time.
没有起火,针头,刷子,和木头逐渐积累起来.
Once a fire does start, the built-up debris on the forest floor causes the fire to become more severe.
一旦起火,林地上积起的残骸使起火更严重.
Too much fuel can make a fire almost impossible to control.
太多的燃料可以使起火几乎无法控制.
Fire removes undergrowth to allow light to reach the forest floor and foster the growth of new plants.
火能去除下生长,使光能到达林地并培育出新植物.
Firefighters may spray a fire with water, do controlled burns, or clear plants to create a break in the fire.
消防员可能会用水喷出火花,进行可控烧伤,或者清除出植物来造成火灾的破裂.
Too Many People So why not let some of these fires burn?
太多人了 , 这么多人 为什么不放点火?
In some remote places, that’s possible.
在一些遥远的地方,这是可能的。
The trouble is, there aren’t as many remote places as there once were because people keep moving in.
问题是,没有那么多的偏远地方,
Since 1990, areas near U.
1990年起,U.附近地区.
S.
师曰.
wildlands are being developed at a rate of 2 million acres per year.
每年以200万英亩的速度开发荒地。
That’s about three acres per minute.
大约每分钟三英亩。
Between 1990 and 2008, 10 million homes were built in U.
1990年至2008年间,U共建造了1000万所住宅.
S.
师曰.
wildlands near urban areas.
市区附近的野地.
Many are at high—or very high—risk of wildfire.
许多人处于野火的高度或高度危险。
It’s no surprise, then, that more homes are burning.
更多房屋被烧毁,
In the 1960s, about 200 homes a year were lost to wildfires.
1960年代,每年约有200所房屋被野火所损失.
By the 2000s, an average of 2,700 homes burned in wildfires each year.
到2000年代,平均每年有2700所房屋被野火烧毁.
In California alone, wildfires destroy an average of 700 homes every year.
仅在加利福尼亚州,野火平均每年会摧毁700所房屋.
That state spends $165 million each year on homes lost to or damaged by wildfire.
该州每年花费1.65亿美元建造被野火所损失或损坏的房屋.
California spends millions more trying to keep those homes from burning in the first place.
加州花费了上百万人 试图防止这些房屋被烧毁
Letting fires burn near these homes is risky.
让火灾在这些房屋附近燃烧是危险的。
Yet we now know that it’s also risky if none of these fires are allowed to burn.
现在,我们知道,如果这些火灾都不允许燃烧,那也很危险。
A home in Santa Barbara, California, is threatened by an approaching wildfire in 2009.
加利福尼亚州圣巴巴拉的一所住宅被2009年一场临近的野火所威胁.
Many severe forest fires have burned across the West in recent years.
近年来西方各地多起严重森林火灾被烧毁.
While other factors, such as climate change, have also played a role, most forest experts agree that these severe fires are caused by too much fuel on the ground—and stamping out so many wildfires is to blame.
虽然气候变化等其他因素也发挥了作用,但大多数森林专家都同意,这些严重火灾是由地上燃料过多所造成,而且扑灭了这么多野火是应该责备的。
Fighting fires is also expensive.
灭火费用也很高。
Since 1960, the annual cost to federal, state, and local governments to fight wildfires has grown from less than $100 million to more than $3.
自1960年起,联邦,州,地政府每年去打野火的费用从不到一亿美元增加到了超过三美元.
3 billion.
30亿.
This huge expense takes money away from programs that clear trees and brush in high-risk areas— programs that would prevent, or at least reduce, the scope and severity of fires.
这笔巨额开支占用了在高风险地区清除树木和刷子的方案的资金,这些方案将防止或至少减少火灾的范围和严重性。
Rethinking Fire When a wildfire burns, it’s hard to remember that something so destructive is also so productive.
重新思考火灾 当野火燃烧时,人们很难记得,破坏力如此巨大的东西也如此富有成效。
Yellowstone is living proof that it is.
黄石就是活生生的证明
After the 1988 Yellowstone fire, dead gray stands of lodgepole pines covered the mountains for miles.
1988年"黄石"大火后,死灰地的花岗岩松被山覆盖了数英里.
Today, those trees’ seedlings form lush stands of young trees that grow taller every year.
如今,这些树苗形成了年长高的年轻树丛。
Someday, their offspring will do the same— thanks to fire.
将来,他们的子孙也将受火刑。
Wildfire serves a role in nature.
野火在大自然中起到作用。
People need to consider that role.
人们需要考虑这一作用。
In some cases, we might do well to stand back and let the fire do its work.
在某些情况下,我们最好退后让火来做它的工作。
Glossary acres (n.)
词汇面积(n.)
a standard measure of land area equal to 4,840 square yards; an area slightly smaller than a football field (p.
面积比足球场略小(p.
4) adapted (adj.)
4) 适应(adj.)
adjusted to new or particular conditions (p.
根据新的或特定条件调整(第2页)
11) climate change the long-term, lasting changes in Earth’s (n.)
11)气候变化 地球的长期、持久变化(n.)
weather patterns or the weather patterns of a region (p.
一个区域的天气模式或天气模式(p.
13) cycled (v.)
13) 循环(五.
went through a repeated series of events (p.
经历了一系列反复的事件(p.
11) debris (n.)
11) 碎片(n.)
scattered pieces of something that are left after the rest has been destroyed or is gone (p.
所留下的零散的碎片,其余的被破坏或已经消失(p.
12) devastation (n.)
12) 破坏(n.)
great damage or destruction (p.
重大损害或破坏(第5页)
5) ecosystem (n.)
(5) 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.
12) embers (n.)
12) 乳头 (n.
pieces of wood or coal from a fire that glow with heat (p.
来自发热发光之火(p.
5) invasive (adj.)
5) 入侵 (adj.
related to moving into a new area or body with harmful or disruptive effects; not native (p.
(一) 与进入具有有害或破坏性影响的新区域或新身体有关;
10) reproduce (v.)
10)再生(五.
to make offspring that are similar to the original living thing (p.
使后代与原始活物相类似(p.
11) stewardship (n.)
11) 指导(n.)
the management of something in a protective and responsible way by a caretaker (p.
(b) 由看守以负责的方式对某种物品进行管理(p.
9) wildfire (n.)
9) 野火 (n.
a fire that spreads very quickly in forests or other wild areas.
火灾在森林或其他野外迅速蔓延
(p.
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5) Visitors to Yellowstone can witness the natural cycle of trees growing out of the ashes of the massive fire in 1988.
5)到黄石公园的游客可以见证出1988年大火后从灰烬中长出树木的自然循环.