PBS高端访谈:日光与水的奇幻戏法

Hari Sreenivasan: Once a year, California's Yosemite National Park plays host to an impressive trick of sunlight and water on the vertical¹ rock formation known as El Capitan. But warmer weather this year led to disappointment. Christopher Booker has more.

Christopher Booker: For a few weeks each February, a natural spectacle draws thousands of people to California's Yosemite National Park. It's called Firefall. It only lasts for a few minutes at sunset when the winter light hits the park's towering Horsetail Falls. At just the right angle. But this year, there was no firefight. Patrick Gonzalez is a professor with the University of California, Berkeley. He says this year there wasn't enough water. The reason, climate change.

Patrick Gonzalez: The more snow that you have in the winter, the more water that you'll have coming over the falls. Our analysis show that total annual rainfall and snowfall has decreased across all of Yosemite National Park.

Christopher Booker: And Gonzalez says Firefall is not the only part of the park that's being impacted by climate change.

Patrick Gonzalez: Our analysis of climate data shows that human caused climate change has heated the park 1.1 degrees Celsius² or 2 degrees Fahrenheit³. That might not sound like a lot, but 1.1 degrees Celsius is the equivalent of pushing a mountain down a hundred and eighty meters or six hundred feet, more than the height of the Washington Monument, from cooler areas at high elevation⁴ to warmer areas below. In Yosemite and across the western U.S., human-caused climate change has doubled the area of wildfire burned, has doubled tree death, and has shifted trees upslope into meadows.

Christopher Booker: In recent years due to concerns over the ecological⁵ damage that come with large crowds gathering⁶ in Yosemite. The National Park Service has tried to limit the number of people who come to watch Firefall. But as the climate continues to change, such restrictions⁷ may no longer be necessary.

哈里·斯里尼瓦桑：加州约塞米蒂国家公园每年都有那么一次会在竖向的岩石结构埃尔卡皮坦上表演日光与水交错的奇幻戏法，令人过目难忘。但今年由于天气变暖，所以只能让大家失望了。下面请听克里斯多夫·布克发回的报道。

克里斯多夫·布克：每年2月都有那么几周的时间，一处自然奇观都会吸引数千人来到加州约塞米蒂国家公园的火瀑布。日落时分，奇观只会持续数分钟的时间，发生的条件是冬日的阳光与公园的高耸的马尾瀑布以正确的角度交汇。但今年却没有奇观出现。帕特里克·冈萨雷斯是伯克利加州大学的教授。帕特里克表示，今年的水不够充足。原因是气候变化。

帕特里克·冈萨雷斯：冬天的雪越多，瀑布的水就越多。我们的分析显示，约塞米蒂国家公园每年的降雨量和降雪量都减少了。

克里斯多夫·布克：冈萨雷斯表示，火瀑布不是公园里唯一一处受气候变化影响的地方。

帕特里克·冈萨雷斯：我们对气候数据的分析显示，人类引发的气候变化已经导致该公园温度上升1.1摄氏度（2华氏度）。这个数字听起来可能不多，但1.1摄氏度等同于让一座山下降180米，也就是600英尺——超过了华盛顿纪念碑的高度——从高海拔的寒冷地区到低海拔的暖和地区。在约塞米蒂国家公园和美国西部，人类引发的气候变化已经导致野火波及的地区扩大一倍，导致树木死亡数量翻番，导致树木上坡变成了草地。

克里斯多夫·布克：近年来，由于人们担心生态系统因大批人来到该公园而遭到破坏，国家公园管理局试着限制访问火瀑布的游客人数。但气候一直在变化，这样的限制措施可能不再必要。

1 vertical   

adj.垂直的，顶点的，纵向的；n.垂直物，垂直的位置

参考例句：

• The northern side of the mountain is almost vertical.这座山的北坡几乎是垂直的。
• Vertical air motions are not measured by this system.垂直气流的运动不用这种系统来测量。

2 Celsius   

adj.摄氏温度计的，摄氏的

参考例句：

• The temperature tonight will fall to seven degrees Celsius.今晚气温将下降到七摄氏度。
• The maximum temperature in July may be 36 degrees Celsius.七月份最高温度可能达到36摄氏度。

3 Fahrenheit   

n./adj.华氏温度；华氏温度计(的)

参考例句：

• He was asked for the boiling point of water in Fahrenheit.他被问到水的沸点是华氏多少度。
• The thermometer reads 80 degrees Fahrenheit.寒暑表指出华氏80度。

4 elevation   

n.高度；海拔；高地；上升；提高

参考例句：

• The house is at an elevation of 2,000 metres.那幢房子位于海拔两千米的高处。
• His elevation to the position of General Manager was announced yesterday.昨天宣布他晋升总经理职位。

5 ecological   

adj.生态的，生态学的

参考例句：

• The region has been declared an ecological disaster zone.这个地区已经宣布为生态灾难区。
• Each animal has its ecological niche.每种动物都有自己的生态位.

6 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

7 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制