VOA慢速英语听力：破纪录的炎热夏天只过去了一半 Record-breaking Hot Summer Is Only Half Over

VOA慢速英语听力：破纪录的炎热夏天只过去了一半 Record-breaking Hot Summer Is Only Half Over.

At about summer's halfway point, scientists say the world’s record-breaking heat and weather extremes are both unprecedented and unsurprising.

在夏季过了一半的时候，科学家们表示，世界上创纪录的高温和极端天气现象既是前所未有的，又并不令人意外。

American and European meteorologists also expect a hotter-than-normal August and September.

美国和欧洲的气象学家还预计，八月和九月将比正常情况更炎热。

Gavin Schmidt is a NASA climate scientist. He told The Associated Press, “The heat waves that we’re seeing in the U.S. and in Europe, in China are demolishing records left, right and center. This is not a surprise.”

加文·施密特是美国宇航局的气候科学家。他告诉美联社：“我们在美国、欧洲和中国看到的热浪正在打破各种记录。这并不令人意外。”

“We’re going to be seeing this pretty much this year and into next year," Schmidt said. Along with human-caused climate change, there is also the natural El Nino warming of the Pacific Ocean.

施密特说：“今年和明年我们将很有可能继续看到这种情况。”除了人为引起的气候变化，还有太平洋的自然厄尔尼诺现象导致海水变暖。

Here is a look at what has happened so far this summer:

以下是迄今为止的夏季情况：

Record-breaking heat

创纪录的高温

The month of June this year was the hottest June on record in the world. Scientists say July has been so hot that even before the month was over they could say it was the hottest month on record. In some places, the heat has been deadly.

今年六月份是世界上有记录以来最热的六月。科学家表示，七月份的天气如此炎热，即使在月底之前他们也可以说这是有记录以来最热的一个月。在一些地方，高温已经导致了人员伤亡。

In Phoenix, Arizona, the last day of June and each day of July has been at least 43 degrees Celsius. The area also set records for the longest period with temperatures at 32 and higher.

在亚利桑那州的菲尼克斯市，六月份的最后一天和七月的每一天至少都有摄氏43度的高温。该地区还创下了连续32摄氏度及以上高温的最长记录。

El Paso, Texas, had 44 days of 37-degree heat. Schools closed in Nuevo Leon state in northern Mexico a month earlier than normal as temperatures reached 45 degrees.

德克萨斯州的埃尔帕索市有44天高温达到37摄氏度。墨西哥北部的新莱昂州由于温度达到摄氏45度，比往年提前一个月关闭了学校。

Beijing, China experienced 27 days of 35 degrees in July. That came after three 40-degree days in June.

中国的北京在七月份经历了27天的摄氏35度高温。这是在六月份经历了三天40摄氏度高温后发生的。

Heat records fell all over southern Europe. Sardinia, Italy, hit 47 degrees. Palermo in Sicily broke a record that goes back to 1791 by 2 degrees.

南欧各地纷纷打破了高温记录。意大利的撒丁岛达到了摄氏47度。西西里的巴勒莫市打破了1791年的记录，高出2摄氏度。

Spain reported nearly 1,000 extra deaths from the heat by mid-July, mostly among older people.

西班牙在七月中旬报告了近1000起额外的高温死亡案例，主要是老年人。

Too much rain

More than 10,000 people had to be evacuated in central Hunan province in China. Heavy rainfall there caused at least 70 houses to collapse. In Yichang, rain caused a landslide that buried a construction site and killed at least one person.

降雨过多

中国湖南省中部有10,000多人不得不疏散。那里的暴雨导致至少70栋房屋倒塌。在宜昌，暴雨引发了一场山体滑坡，掩埋了一个工地，造成至少一人死亡。

Australia’s Queensland desert got 13 times its normal monthly July rain in just one day.

澳大利亚昆士兰州的沙漠在短短一天内降下了月平均降雨量的13倍。

Thousands of people were evacuated from Delhi in India as rains caused floods and landslides. Heavy rain and flooding caused several deaths in northeastern states of the U.S.

印度德里有数千人因降雨引发洪水和山体滑坡而被疏散。大雨和洪水在美国东北部的一些州造成了多人死亡。

Wildfires and smoke

Too little rain in Greece and Spain worsened wildfires. In the Canary Islands, a fire caused 4,000 people to evacuate and 400 firefighters battling it.

野火和烟雾

希腊和西班牙的降雨过少加剧了野火。在加那利群岛，一场大火导致4,000人疏散，400名消防员正在与火灾作斗争。

Hot and dry conditions caused about 160 wildfires to break out in Israel in early June.

6月初，炎热干燥的天气导致以色列发生了大约160起野火。 

In northern Quebec, Canada, wildfire smoke spread to create the world’s dirtiest air in cities like New York and Washington, D.C.

在加拿大魁北克北部，野火烟雾蔓延，使纽约和华盛顿特区等城市成为全球最脏的空气。

As of late July, more than 600 wildfires were out of control in Canada. A record 123,000 square kilometers burned, and fire season is not nearly done. That is an area larger than North Korea.

截至七月下旬，加拿大有600多处野火失控。烧毁的面积达到创纪录的12.3万平方公里，而且火灾季节还远未结束。这一面积比朝鲜还大。

Water temperatures

Water temperatures in the Florida Keys and off the Everglades hit the high 30s.

佛罗里达群岛和埃弗格莱兹湿地附近的水温达到30摄氏度以上。

The North Atlantic had hot spots that alarmed scientists. The world’s oceans as a whole were the hottest ever in June and got even hotter in July. In Antarctica, sea ice broke record-low levels.

北大西洋出现了让科学家担忧的热点。全球的海洋在六月份创下了有史以来最高温度，并且七月份的温度更高。在南极洲，海冰破了历史最低水平。

Ocean temperatures take a long time to warm up and cool down, said Victor Gensini who teaches meteorology at the University of Northern Illinois. He added that it does not look good for the rest of the summer.

伊利诺伊北方大学气象学教授维克多·根西尼表示，海洋温度需要很长时间才能升温和降温。他还表示，夏季的余下时间看起来不乐观。

A hot forecast

U.S. National Weather Service meteorologist Matt Rosencrans expects above normal temperatures for the next three months.

美国国家气象局气象学家马特·罗森克兰斯预计接下来三个月的温度将高于正常水平。

The only possible relief he sees, especially in the hot Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico, is if a hurricane or tropical storm moves through. But the height of hurricane season in September has not even started.

他唯一看到的可能缓解措施，尤其是在炎热的大西洋和墨西哥湾，就是如果有飓风或热带风暴经过。但是九月份的飓风季节还没有开始。

With the summer’s weather extremes so far, University of Pennsylvania climate scientist Michael Mann had one question: “How on God’s Earth are we still burning fossil fuels after witnessing all this?”

迄今为止，随着夏季天气的极端情况，宾夕法尼亚大学气候学家迈克尔·曼恩有一个问题：“在看到这一切之后，我们还是怎么能继续燃烧化石燃料呢？”

I’m Dan Novak.

我是丹·诺瓦克。

Words in This Story

unprecedented — adj. not done or experienced before

meteorologist — n. a scientist that deals with the atmosphere and with weather

demolish — v. to damage so that it cannot be repaired

evacuate — v. to remove from a dangerous place

hurricane — n. an extremely large, powerful, and destructive storm with very strong winds that occurs especially in the western part of the Atlantic Ocean

fossil fuel — n. energy in the form of gas, coal and oil that is taken from the ground and comes from the breakdown of old matter