VOA慢速英语听力：洪水袭击多个国家，科学家警告气候变化 Flooding Strikes Several Countries, Scientists Warn of Climate Change.
India, Japan, China, Turkey, and the United States have reported severe flooding in recent days.
印度、日本、中国、土耳其和美国近日都报告了严重的洪灾。
Schools in New Delhi were closed Monday after heavy monsoon rains hit the Indian capital. At least 15 people died in landslides and flash floods over the last three days. To the north, the Beas River overflowed, carrying vehicles downstream as the river flooded neighborhoods.
新德里的学校因为大雨袭击印度首都而在周一关闭。过去三天中，至少有15人在山体滑坡和洪水中丧生。向北，比亚斯河溢出，将车辆冲入下游，同时淹没了居民区。
In Japan, heavy rain fell on the southwestern island of Kyushu, causing floods and mudslides. Two people reportedly died and at least six others were missing. Local TV showed damaged houses in the city of Fukuoka and muddy water in the Yamakuni River.
在日本，大雨袭击了九州岛的西南部，导致洪水和泥石流。据报道，有两人死亡，至少还有六人失踪。当地电视台显示了福冈市的受损房屋以及山国川中的混浊水流。
On Turkey’s mountainous Black Sea coast, heavy rains caused rivers to overflow. Landslides and flooding damaged cities in the area. In southwestern China, at least 15 people were killed by flooding in mountainous areas.
在土耳其多山的黑海沿岸，暴雨导致河流泛滥。山体滑坡和洪水破坏了该地区的城市。在中国西南部，至少有15人在山区洪水中丧生。
And in the United States, areas of New York state’s Hudson Valley and Vermont also reported heavy flooding.
而在美国，纽约州的哈德逊河谷和佛蒙特州的部分地区也报告了严重的洪水。
The Associated Press (AP) reports that scientists are saying storms are forming in a warmer atmosphere. They say this is making extreme rainfall more common. The scientists predict that additional warming will cause more bad weather.
据美联社报道，科学家表示风暴在一个更温暖的大气中形成。他们说这使得极端降雨更加普遍。科学家预测进一步的变暖将导致更多的恶劣天气。
The scientists say warmer air holds more water, or moisture. More moisture might result in storms creating more precipitation depending on several other conditions. Scientists blame carbon dioxide and methane, two forms of carbon gases, for trapping heat in the atmosphere.
科学家表示，较温暖的空气容纳更多的水或湿度。更多的湿度可能会导致风暴根据其他几个条件产生更多的降水。科学家指责二氧化碳和甲烷，这两种形式的碳气体，因为它们在大气中捕获热量。
What scientists call climate change is not the cause of the storms creating rain. Instead, they say storms are forming in an atmosphere that is becoming warmer and wetter.
科学家所称的气候变化并非是导致降雨的风暴的原因。相反，他们说风暴是在一个变得更加温暖和潮湿的大气中形成的。
Rodney Wynn is a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Tampa Bay, Florida. He said, “68 degrees Fahrenheit can hold twice as much water as 50 degrees Fahrenheit.” Wynn said warm air expands, making it able to hold more moisture.
罗德尼·温是佛罗里达州坦帕湾国家气象局的气象学家。他说：“华氏68度能够容纳的水分是华氏50度的两倍。”温表示，温暖的空气膨胀，使其能够容纳更多的湿度。
U.S. space agency NASA says on the Global Climate Change part of its website that, for every one degree Celsius that the atmosphere warms, it can hold about seven percent more moisture. NASA also says the average global temperature has increased by at least 1.1 degrees Celsius since 1880.
美国航空航天局（NASA）在其网站的全球气候变化部分表示，每当大气温度升高一摄氏度，它就能够容纳约多7%的水分。NASA还表示，自1880年以来，全球平均温度已上升至少1.1摄氏度。
Brian Soden is a professor of atmospheric sciences at the University of Miami. He said, “…As these storms form in warmer environments that have more moisture in them, the rainfall increases.”
布莱恩·索登（Brian Soden）是迈阿密大学大气科学教授。他说：“当这些风暴在更温暖且湿度更高的环境中形成时，降雨量会增加。”
“As the climate gets warmer, we expect intense rain events to become more common,” Soden said. “It’s not surprising to see these events happening, it’s what models have been predicting ever since day one.”
索登说：“随着气候变暖，我们预计强降雨事件将变得更加常见。看到这些事件发生并不令人惊讶，因为这正是模型从一开始就一直在预测的。”
Gavin Schmidt is a climate scientist and director of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York City. He said the areas that are facing the effects of climate change are different from the ones where warming gases are being released. He said the places where flooding takes place are not prepared for bad weather.
加文·施密特（Gavin Schmidt）是一位气候科学家，也是纽约市NASA戈达德太空研究所的主任。他表示，受到气候变化影响的地区与排放温室气体的地区不同。他说，发生洪水的地方并没有为恶劣天气做好准备。
Most of the effects "are happening in places that don’t have good infrastructure, that are less prepared for weather extremes and have no real ways to manage this,” Schmidt said.
施密特说：“大部分影响发生在基础设施不完善、对极端天气准备不足并且没有真正应对措施的地方。”
I’m Dan Novak.
我是丹·诺瓦克。
Words in This Story
monsoon — n. winds in the Indian Ocean and southern Asia that bring rains in the summer, the rainy season there
overflow — v. to flow over the edge or beyond the borders of a river or stream
moisture — n. an amount of liquid that makes something wet
precipitation — n. rain or snow; water that falls from the sky
meteorologist — n. a scientist who studies or reports on the weather
since day one — idiom Since the first day or very beginning of something
infrastructure — n. roads, bridges, ports, and all the other structures needed for modern civilization
