2022年12月24日 VOA慢速英語(yǔ)：男子環(huán)游世界拍攝融化的冰川

 

Not too long ago, 41-year-old Garrett Fisher flew in a small airplane close to the surface of Europe's largest glacier, which is in Norway.
不久前，41 歲的加勒特·費(fèi)舍爾 (Garrett Fisher) 駕駛一架小型飛機(jī)飛近位于挪威的歐洲最大冰川表面。
 
A glacier is a huge area of snow and ice that moves slowly down a mountain side.
冰川是一塊巨大的冰雪區(qū)域，沿著山坡緩慢移動(dòng)。
 
In that environment, the plane carrying a man who chases glaciers seemed almost like a toy.
在那樣的環(huán)境下，載著冰川追逐者的飛機(jī)簡(jiǎn)直就是一個(gè)玩具。
 
Fisher combines two activities he loves, flying and photography, trying to photograph every glacier on Earth. He wants his photos to show the beauty of glaciers before some of them disappear.
費(fèi)舍爾將飛行和攝影這兩項(xiàng)他熱愛(ài)的活動(dòng)結(jié)合起來(lái)，試圖拍攝地球上的每一處冰川。他希望他的照片能夠在冰川消失之前展示冰川的美麗。
 
Scientists say many glaciers are melting or getting smaller because the Earth's average temperature is increasing. Information from the European Environmental Agency, or EEA, says glaciers in the Alps Mountains have lost about half of their volume since 1900. The melting has gotten faster since the 1980s.
科學(xué)家說(shuō)，許多冰川正在融化或變小，因?yàn)榈厍虻钠骄鶞囟日谏?。?lái)自歐洲環(huán)境署 (EEA) 的信息稱，自 1900 年以來(lái)，阿爾卑斯山脈的冰川體積減少了大約一半。自 1980 年代以來(lái)，融化速度加快。
 
The EEA said that by 2100, the size of European glaciers could decrease by between 22 percent and 84 percent. Another EEA estimate suggests that up to 89 percent could melt. The EEA also says nearly all small glaciers in Norway will likely disappear.
歐洲經(jīng)濟(jì)區(qū)表示，到 2100 年，歐洲冰川的面積可能會(huì)減少 22% 至 84%。歐洲經(jīng)濟(jì)區(qū)的另一項(xiàng)估計(jì)表明，高達(dá) 89% 的物質(zhì)可能會(huì)融化。歐洲經(jīng)濟(jì)區(qū)還表示，挪威幾乎所有的小冰川都可能消失。
 
Roderik van de Wal is a glacier expert at Utrecht University in the Netherlands. He said that scientists have good historical records of the size of glaciers in Europe and New Zealand. He added that those records show that glaciers are now melting faster.
Roderik van de Wal 是荷蘭烏得勒支大學(xué)的冰川專家。他說(shuō)，科學(xué)家對(duì)歐洲和新西蘭冰川的大小有很好的歷史記錄。他補(bǔ)充說(shuō)，這些記錄表明冰川現(xiàn)在融化得更快。
 
For Fisher, this means that time is running out. The melting pushes him to try to photograph the glaciers before it is too late.
對(duì)于費(fèi)舍爾來(lái)說(shuō)，這意味著時(shí)間不多了。融化促使他在為時(shí)已晚之前嘗試拍攝冰川。
 
As a child, Fisher lived next door to a small airport in the state of New York. His grandfather was a pilot and took Fisher on plane rides when he was a young child. The older man would tell him: "Whatever you set your mind to, you can do."
小時(shí)候，費(fèi)舍爾住在紐約州一個(gè)小機(jī)場(chǎng)的隔壁。他的祖父是一名飛行員，小時(shí)候曾帶著費(fèi)舍爾乘坐飛機(jī)。年長(zhǎng)的人會(huì)告訴他：“只要你下定決心，你就能做到。”
 
In the late 1990s, a friend told Fisher that the world's glaciers were disappearing. This pushed him to combine his love of flying and photography to photograph the Earth's remaining glaciers. He believed he was in a race against time.
1990 年代后期，一位朋友告訴費(fèi)舍爾，世界上的冰川正在消失。這促使他結(jié)合自己對(duì)飛行和攝影的熱愛(ài)來(lái)拍攝地球上僅存的冰川。他相信自己是在與時(shí)間賽跑。
 
He believes his photographs could be of great value to future generations. So, he has launched Global Glacier Initiative, a non-profit group to support and show his work. He plans to open his photos to the public for research.
他相信他的照片對(duì)子孫后代具有重要價(jià)值。因此，他發(fā)起了全球冰川倡議，這是一個(gè)支持和展示他的工作的非營(yíng)利組織。他計(jì)劃向公眾開(kāi)放他的照片以供研究。
 
Fisher flies a small plane called a Piper Super Cub which can carry two people. The plane smells of oil and feels like an old car. It is his choice for the dangerous flying over the glaciers.
費(fèi)舍爾駕駛一架名為 Piper Super Cub 的小型飛機(jī)，可以搭載兩個(gè)人。飛機(jī)聞起來(lái)有油味，感覺(jué)就像一輛舊車。飛越冰川的危險(xiǎn)，是他的選擇。
 
"The weather's bad, extremely cold, the winds are very strong and the flying's extremely technically challenging," Fisher said. "And to photograph glaciers, we're getting very close to all of this action. So, it requires a lot of skill, time and determination."
“天氣惡劣，極度寒冷，風(fēng)很大，飛行在技術(shù)上極具挑戰(zhàn)性，”費(fèi)舍爾說(shuō)。“要拍攝冰川，我們離所有這些動(dòng)作都非常近了。因此，這需要大量的技巧、時(shí)間和決心。”
 
He added: "I've been told by many pilots that I'm crazy."
他補(bǔ)充說(shuō)：“許多飛行員都告訴我，我瘋了。”
 
He has detailed plans in case of a crash on a glacier. He estimates he can survive for about 24 hours if he goes down. And he has measured the tail of the plane to be sure he can stay inside it while waiting for help.
他有詳細(xì)的計(jì)劃以防冰川墜毀。他估計(jì)自己倒下后還能活 24 小時(shí)左右。他還測(cè)量了飛機(jī)的尾部，以確保他在等待幫助時(shí)可以呆在里面。
 
Some people would ask, why risk flying over glaciers when satellites already give pictures of them? Fisher said that satellite images don't capture the beauty of glaciers the way his photos can. His photos show the colors, shapes, and shadows as the light from the sun hits the glaciers.
有人會(huì)問(wèn)，既然衛(wèi)星已經(jīng)給出了冰川的照片，為什么還要冒險(xiǎn)飛越冰川呢？費(fèi)舍爾說(shuō)，衛(wèi)星圖像無(wú)法像他的照片那樣捕捉到冰川之美。他的照片展示了陽(yáng)光照射冰川時(shí)的顏色、形狀和陰影。
 
"Science has all of the data we need…The problem is, it's not beautiful," he said.
“科學(xué)擁有我們需要的所有數(shù)據(jù)……問(wèn)題是，它并不漂亮，”他說(shuō)。
 
Fisher has paid for his glacier photography with his own money. But it is costly. Money is running out and Fisher is looking for people who will help support his work.
費(fèi)舍爾用自己的錢支付了他的冰川攝影費(fèi)用。但這是昂貴的。錢快用完了，費(fèi)舍爾正在尋找能幫助支持他工作的人。
 
He hopes his photos will make people care more about glaciers. He is chasing the perfect image; one so beautiful it can make people and policymakers act.
他希望他的照片能讓人們更加關(guān)心冰川。他追求完美的形象；一個(gè)如此美麗以至于可以讓人們和決策者采取行動(dòng)。
 
"We can live without them. We will live without them," Fisher says. "However, it hurts us to lose them."
“沒(méi)有他們我們也能活。沒(méi)有他們我們也能活，”費(fèi)舍爾說(shuō)。“但是，失去他們讓我們很傷心。”