VOA慢速英语2019 G7承诺拨款救助亚马逊火灾（在线收听）

World Leaders Promise Millions to End Amazon Wildfires

World leaders have promised tens of millions of dollars to help South American countries fight wildfires burning in the Amazon rainforest.

世界各国领导人承诺提供数千万美元帮助南美国家扑灭亚马逊雨林的火灾。

Leaders of seven industrial countries offered $20 million on Monday at the G7 meetings in France. The Associated Press reported that Canada’s prime minister separately offered $11 million in aid and to send firefighting airplanes to Brazil. It is unclear how exactly the money would be spent.

周一，7个工业国的领导人在法国举行的七国集团会议上提出提供2千万美元。美联社报道称，另外，加拿大总理单独提供1100万美元，并向巴西派遣灭火飞机。目前还不清楚这笔资金的具体用途。

Brazil’s environment minister said the aid was welcome and that his government should decide how the resources would be used.

巴西环境部长表示，对这些援助表示欢迎，巴西政府应该决定如何使用这些资源。

Earlier, French President Emmanuel Macron and Chilean President Sebastian Pinera spoke to reporters at the G7 meetings. Pinera was a visitor to the summit.

早些时候，法国总统马克龙和智利总统皮涅拉在七国集团会议上对记者发表了讲话。皮涅拉受邀参加此次峰会。

The two leaders likened the Amazon to the "lungs" of the planet. They noted how the rainforest takes in carbon dioxide gas and creates oxygen.

两位领导人将亚马逊比作“地球之肺”。他们特别提到了亚马逊雨林如何吸收二氧化碳并产生氧气。

Macron said France will provide military support to fight the fires. He had threatened to block a European Union trade deal with Latin American countries unless Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro took serious steps to fight the fires.

马克龙表示，法国将为灭火行动提供军事支持。他曾威胁称，如果巴西总统博尔索纳罗不认真采取措施扑灭大火，他将阻止欧盟与拉美国家达成一项贸易协议。

In the past, Bolsonaro has questioned the science behind the idea of climate change. Under pressure from other countries to protect the rainforest, the Brazilian leader on Sunday sent two C-130 Hercules aircraft to help put out the fires.

过去，博尔索纳罗曾质疑气候变化概念背后的科学依据。迫于其他国家要求保护热带雨林的压力，巴西总统周日派出两架C-130运输机帮助灭火。

Macron said the United States supported the aid offer to the South American countries. However, U.S. President Donald Trump did not attend the G7 meetings on the environment.

马克龙称，美国支持向南美国家提供援助。然而，美国总统特朗普并没有出席G7环保会议。

In 2019, more than 75,000 fires have been reported in the Amazon, with many of them starting in the past month. Some observers have accused farmers of setting the fires to clear lands for farming.

据报道，2019年亚马逊地区发生7.5万多起火灾，其中多起火灾发生在过去一个月内。一些观察人士指责农民烧林以开垦农田。

At first, Bolsonaro said the fires were not a problem. He then questioned if environmental groups might have started the fires in an effort to damage the standing of his government. Bolsonaro has called for an easing of environmental rules in the world’s largest rainforest to increase development.

起初，博尔索纳罗称火灾不足为患。随后，他质疑环保组织是否为了损坏其政府声誉而纵火。博尔索纳罗呼吁放宽对这片世界最大热带雨林的环境规定，以促进发展。

Thousands of people have demonstrated in cities across Brazil and around Brazilian embassies around the world. The hashtag #PrayforAmazonia has become a trending topic on social media.

数千人在巴西各大城市以及世界各地的巴西大使馆附近游行示威。“为亚马逊祈祷”已经成为社交媒体上的热门话题。

On Friday, Brazil’s president announced he would send 44,000 soldiers to help fight the fires. The fires seem to be mostly burning in parts of the Amazon that have been deforested, perhaps illegally, for farming.

周五，巴西总统宣布将派遣4.4万名士兵帮助灭火。火灾似乎主要发生在亚马逊的部分地区，这些地区可能是非法砍伐森林用于农业生产。

Some people say Bolsonaro’s decision came too late.

有人表示，博尔索纳罗的决定为时已晚。

“No (Brazilian) democratic government has suffered such international criticism as Bolsonaro is going through,” said Mauricio Santoro. He is an international relations professor at Rio de Janeiro State University.

毛里西奥·桑托罗（Mauricio Santoro）说:“没有哪届（巴西）民主政府像博尔索纳罗这般招致国际社会的批评。他是巴西里约热内卢州立大学的国际关系教授。

“Brazil has been discredited…and unable to exercise any…leadership on the international stage,” he added.

“巴西已然名誉扫地……而且无法……在国际舞台上发挥领导作用。”

Brazilian military planes began dropping water on fires in the Amazon state of Rondonia over the past few days. A few hundred troops were deployed directly into the fire zone.

过去几天，巴西军用飞机开始扑灭亚马逊朗多尼亚州的大火。数百名士兵被直接派遣到受灾区。

On Sunday, many Brazilians protested in Rio de Janeiro and other cities to demand the government do more. Some held signs that read: “Bol$onaro is burning our future.”

周日，许多巴西人在里约热内卢和其他城市举行抗议，要求政府积极应对火灾。一些人举着标语写着：“博尔（钱）纳罗正在烧毁我们的未来。”

Bolsonaro has described rainforest protections as a problem for Brazil’s economic growth. Critics say the large number of fires this year has been caused by his encouragement of farmers and others to increase efforts to remove trees from the forest.

博尔索纳罗称，雨林保护是巴西经济增长的一大阻碍。批评人士表示，今年发生的多起火灾归因于他鼓励农民和其他人加大毁林还耕。

“The international pressure today has a bigger impact than the demonstrations by Brazilians on the streets,” Santoro said.

桑托罗称：“今日的国际压力比巴西人上街游行的影响更大。”

Brazil’s National Space Research Institute watches for signs of deforestation across the country. It has recorded more than 77,000 wildfires in Brazil this year, an 85-percent increase over this time last year. About half of the fires have been in the Amazon.

巴西国家空间研究所正在观察该国各地毁林的迹象。记录显示，今年巴西发生了超过7.7万起野火，叫去年同期增加了85%。大约一半的火灾发生在亚马逊地区。

Brazil’s federal police said Sunday it would investigate reports that some farmers had organized a “day of fire” to show support for Bolsonaro’s efforts to ease environmental rules.

周日，巴西联邦警察表示将调查一些报道，报道称一些农民组织了“火灾日”，以示对博尔索纳罗放宽环境法规措施的支持。

Justice Minister Sergio Moro said on Twitter that “the criminal fires will be severely punished.”

司法部长塞尔吉奥·莫罗(Sergio Moro)在推特上表示，“犯罪分子将受到严惩。”

Words In This Story

resource – n. a supply of something (such as money) that someone has and can use when it is needed?

trending topic – n. an issue or idea that has become popular on social media

encouragement – n. the act of making something more appealing or more likely to happen

impact – n. the act of making something more appealing or more likely to happen