冰原融化：现在采取行动是不是为时已晚？
Melting ice sheet: Is it too late?
Hello. This is 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English. I'm Neil.
大家好。这里是BBC教学英语的《六分钟英语》节目。我是尼尔。
And I'm Georgina.
我是乔治娜。
With no end in sight to the coronavirus pandemic, many people can't wait for the year 2020 to end.
冠状病毒大流行看不到尽头，许多人都迫不及待地希望2020年结束。
But with the coronavirus dominating the newspaper headlines,
但是，随着冠状病毒占据了报纸的头条，
attention has moved away from an equally serious global issue,
人们的注意力已经从一个同样严重的全球问题上转移了，
which has quietly been getting worse – climate change.
这个全球问题——气候变化——正在悄然恶化。
August 2020 saw the hottest temperature recorded anywhere in modern times
2020年8月出现了现代有记录以来的最高气温
– 54.4 degrees Celsius in California's Death Valley.
——加州死亡谷温度达到54.4摄氏度。
The same month also saw record amounts of ice melting into the oceans around Greenland and the Arctic
同月，创纪录数量的海冰融化到格陵兰岛和北极周围的海洋中
- huge icebergs breaking away from the edge of the ice sheet
——巨大的冰山从冰原边缘断裂，
– a thick layer of ice which has covered a large area for a long time.
冰原是覆盖大面积区域很长时间的厚冰层。
Greenland's ice sheet is three times the size of Texas and almost 2 kilometres thick.
格陵兰岛的冰原面积是德克萨斯州的三倍，其厚度近2千米。
Locked inside is enough water to raise sea levels by 6 metres.
被锁在里面的水足以使海平面上升6米。
But global heating and melting polar ice has many scientists asking whether it's now too late to stop.
但全球变暖和极地海冰融化让许多科学家质疑现在停手是否为时已晚。
Have we have reached the point of no return?
我们是否已经到了无法回头的地步？
In this programme we'll looking at the effects of climate change on the Arctic,
在本期节目中，我们将关注气候变化对北极的影响，
and asking if it's too late to change.
并询问现在做出改变是否为时已晚。
And learning some of the related vocabulary too.
也要学习一些相关的词汇。
Now, Georgina, you mentioned record levels of ice melt in the North Pole,
乔治娜，你刚才提到，北极海冰融化达到了创纪录的水平，
but the scale is hard to take in.
但其规模很难让人接受。
The amounts are so big they're measured in gigatonnes – that's a billion metric tonnes.
数量是如此之大，以至于以十亿吨来衡量——即十亿公吨。
Imagine a giant ice cube 1 kilometre by 1 kilometre by 1 kilometre.
想象一个巨大的冰块，长宽高都是1千米。
So my quiz question is this:
所以我的问题是：
how many gigatonnes of ice are now melting into the ocean every year?
每年有多少海冰融入海洋？
Is it: a) 450 gigatonnes, b) 500 gigatonnes, or
c) 550 gigatonnes?
是：a）4500亿吨，b）5000亿吨，还是c）5500亿吨？
I'll take a guess at b) 500 gigatonnes.
我猜是b) 5000亿吨。
OK, Georgina, we'll find out later.
好的，乔治娜，我们稍后将揭晓答案。
Now, glaciologist Michalea King has been monitoring the melting of Arctic ice by satellite.
冰河学家米凯拉·金一直在通过卫星监测北极海冰的融化情况。
Here she is answering a question from BBC World Service programme, Science in Action,
下面是她对BBC全球服务节目《科学在行动》中一个问题的回答，
on whether the destruction of the ice sheet is now unavoidable:
这个问题是：冰原的破坏现在是否是不可避免的。
If we were to say… define a tipping point as a shift from one stable dynamic state to another,
如果我们把临界点定义为从一个稳定动态到另一个稳定动态的转变，
this certainly meets that criteria,
那么这个情况肯定符合那个标准，
because we're seeing now that the ice sheet was more or less in balance prior to 2000
因为我们现在看到的是，在2000年之前冰原或多或少是保持平衡状态的，
where the amount of ice being drained from the glaciers was approximately equal to what we are gaining on the surface via snow every year.
冰川融化掉的冰量约等于每年通过下雪我们所获得的表层冰量。
Ice is made from snow falling on Greenland's glaciers - large, slow-moving masses of ice.
落在格陵兰岛冰川上的雪形成冰，冰川是大块的，缓慢移动的冰。
At the same time though, ice is also lost through melting.
与此同时，冰也会因融化而消失。
These two processes of making and melting ice kept the ice level in balance
冰形成和冰融化的这两个过程使冰量保持平衡
- having different parts or elements arranged in the correct proportions.
——不同部分或不同元素按恰当的比例排列。
Essentially the melting ice was replaced by newly frozen ice.
本质上就是，新冻结的海冰抵消了融化掉的海冰。
But now, the glaciers are shrinking faster than new ice is being accumulated,
但现在，冰川消融的速度比新形成的海冰的堆积速度还要快，
and the situation may have reached a tipping point
而且这种情况可能已经达到了一个临界点
- the time at which a change or an effect cannot be stopped.
——变化或影响无法停止的时刻。
So, does this mean that global heating and ice melting are now running automatically,
那么，这是否意味着全球变暖和海冰融化现在是自动进行的，
separate from the amount of greenhouse gases humans are pumping into the atmosphere?
与人类排放到大气中的温室气体量是分离开来的？
And does that mean should just give up on the planet?
那是否意味着我们应该放弃这个星球？
In fact the situation is far from simple,
事实上，情况远不简单，
as Michalea King explains here to BBC World Service programme, Science in Action:
正如米凯拉·金在BBC全球服务节目《科学在行动》中解释的那样：
We can definitely control the rate of mass loss,
我们绝对是可以控制住海冰大量流失的速度，
so it's definitely not a 'throw your hands up' and just not do anything about it
所以绝对不是“两手一摊”，什么都不做，
– give up on the ice sheet kind of situation
对冰原的状况持放弃态度，
– that's certainly not the message I want to send
——那当然不是我想要传递的消息，
– but it does seem likely that we will continue to lose mass…
但似乎可能海冰会继续大量流失……
but of course, a slow rate of mass loss is highly preferred to large annual losses every year.
但当然，海冰大量流失速度减缓比每年海冰大量流失更可取。
Michalea thinks that changes in human activity can still slow the rate – or speed at which something happens,
米凯拉认为，人类活动的改变仍可以减缓某些事情发生的速度，
in this case the speed of Greenland's ice sheet melting.
在这里是指格陵兰岛冰原融化的速度。
She's convinced it's not too late for collective action to save the planet,
她相信，现在采取集体行动拯救地球还为时不晚，
so it's not yet time to throw your hands up
所以还没到你“两手一摊”的时候，
– an idiom meaning to show frustration and despair when a situation becomes so bad that you give up or submit.
这个习语是指当情况变得如此糟糕以至于你放弃或屈服时所表现出的沮丧和绝望。
It's a positive message but one which calls for everyone to do what they can before it really is too late.
这是一个积极的信息，但它需要每个人在真的为时过晚之前尽己所能。
Because the rate of ice melt is still increasing, right, Neil?
因为海冰融化的速度仍在增加，对吧，尼尔？
Yes, that's right.
是的，没错。
In fact, that was my quiz question, Georgina – do you remember?
事实上那就是我的测试问题，乔治娜，你还记得吗？
Yes, you asked me how many gigatonnes of Greenland's ice sheet are now melting every year.
是的，你问我格陵兰岛现在每年融化多少冰原。
I said b) 500 gigatonnes.
我说是b) 5000亿吨。
And you were…correct!
回答正确！
In fact some of these giant ice cubes are like small towns, almost a kilometre tall!
事实上，这些巨大的冰块就像小镇那么大，几乎有1千米高！
So there's still work to be done.
所以这方面仍有工作要做。
In this programme we've been looking at the rate – or speed – of ice melt in Greenland's ice sheet
在本期节目中，我们一直在关注格陵兰岛冰原海冰的融化速度。
- the thick layer of ice covering a large area of the Arctic.
冰原是覆盖北极大部分地区厚冰层。
Previously, the melting ice was replaced by newly formed ice on glaciers – large masses of slow-moving ice.
以前，冰川上新形成的海冰——大量缓慢移动的冰——抵消了融化的海冰。
This kept the Arctic in balance – having different elements arranged in proportion.
这使北极保持了平衡——不同元素按比例排列。
But the effects of global heating have brought us close to a point of no return, called a tipping point
但是全球变暖的影响已经使我们接近了一个不可逆转的点，它被称为临界点
- the time at which a change or an effect cannot be stopped.
——变化或影响无法停止的时刻。
The situation is serious but there's still time to take action and not simply throw your hands up
虽然情况很严重，但还有时间采取行动，而不是光“两手一摊”
– show frustration and despair when you want to give up.
——当你想放弃时所表现出的沮丧和绝望。
That's all for this programme,
以上就是本期节目的全部内容，
but if you want to find out more about climate change and Greenland's ice sheets,
但如果你想了解更多关于气候变化以及格陵兰岛冰原的信息，
search BBC's Science in Action website.
请搜索BBC的《科学在行动》网站。
And for more trending topics and useful vocabulary,
想了解更多流行话题和有用词汇，
remember to join us again soon at 6 Minute English.
记得再次加入我们的《六分钟英语》啊。
Bye for now!
再见了！
Goodbye!
再见！