張宇
Passage 1
Traces of microplastics and hazardous chemicals found in majority of snow and ice samples taken earlier this year.
Plastic and traces of hazardous chemicals have been found in Antarctica, one of the world’s last great wildernesses, according to a new study. 1
Researchers spent three months taking water and snow samples from remote areas of the continent earlier this year.
These have now been analysed and researchers have confirmed the majority contained “persistent hazardous chemicals” or microplastics.
The findings come amid growing concern about the extent of the plastic pollution crisis which scientists have warned risks “permanent contamination” of the planet.
Earlier this week, the UN warned it is one of the world’s biggest environmental threats and said although 60 countries were taking urgent action more needed to be done.
The new report by researchers at Greenpeace is part of global campaign to create the world’s biggest ocean sanctuary in the seas around Antarctica to protect the fragile ecosystem from industrial fishing2 and climate change.
Frida Bengtsson, of Greenpeace’s Protect the Antarctic campaign, said the findings proved that even the most remote areas of the planet were not immune from the impact of manmade pollution.
“We need action at source, to stop these pollutants ending up in the Antarctic in the first place, and we need an Antarctic ocean sanctuary to give space for penguins, whales and the entire ecosystem to recover from the pressures they’re facing,” she said.
Seven of the eight sea-surface water samples tested contained microplastics such as microfibres. Seven of the nine snow samples tested contained detectable concentrations of the persistent hazardous chemicals.
Researchers said the chemicals are widely used in many industrial processes and consumer products and have been linked to reproductive and developmental issues in wildlife. They said the snow samples gathered included freshly fallen snow, suggesting the hazardous chemicals had come from contaminated rain or snowfall.
Prof Alex Rogers, a specialist in sustainable oceans at the Oxford Martin school, Oxford University, said the discovery of plastics and chemicals in Antarctica confirmed that manmade pollutants were now affecting ecosystems in every corner of the world. And he warned the consequences of this pervasive contamination remained largely unknown.
“The big question now is what are the actual consequences of finding this stuff here? Many of these chemicals are pretty nasty and as they move up the food chain they may be having serious consequences for the health of wildlife, and ultimately humans. The effects of microplastics on marine life, likewise, are largely not understood,” he said.
There is relatively little data on the extent of microplastics in Antarctic waters, and researchers said they hoped this new study would lead to a greater understanding of the global extent of plastic and chemical pollutants.
Bengtsson said: “Plastic has now been found in all corners of our oceans, from the Antarctic to the Arctic and at the deepest point of the ocean, the Mariana trench. We need urgent action to reduce the flow of plastic into our seas and we need large-scale marine reserves—like a huge Antarctic ocean sanctuary which over 1.6m people are calling for—to protect marine life and our oceans for future generations3.”
【注釋】
1. 本句中的be found in 表示“存在”。one of the world’s last great wildernesses 是Antarctica的同位語(yǔ)。同位語(yǔ)也是CATTI考試的測(cè)試重點(diǎn)之一。
同位語(yǔ)的翻譯一般采取以下兩種方法:(一)同位語(yǔ)較短的,就按源語(yǔ)順序翻譯即可;(二)較長(zhǎng)的同位語(yǔ),則需要譯為句子,將同位語(yǔ)的先行詞(如本句中的Antarctica)作主語(yǔ)或增加代詞主語(yǔ),謂語(yǔ)動(dòng)詞用“是”。因此本句可處理成:
南極洲是世界上僅剩的荒原之一。一項(xiàng)新的研究表明,南極洲存在著塑料和有害化學(xué)物質(zhì)的痕跡。(重復(fù)“南極洲”)
又如:
a) With water levels falling rapidly at the peak of the dry season, a giant school of bass, a tasty fish that fetches a good price at markets, was swimming right into the nets being cast from a dozen small canoes here. (2005年5月CATTI二級(jí)筆譯實(shí)務(wù)真題)(2分)
當(dāng)時(shí)的評(píng)分標(biāo)準(zhǔn)說(shuō)明是:①school 若理解錯(cuò)誤,扣1分;②a tasty fish…同位語(yǔ),可放在后面,另起一句。若照搬原文結(jié)構(gòu),譯文別扭,扣1分。譯文:
旱季缺水高峰,河水迅速下降。十幾只小船正在河里撒網(wǎng),一大群鱸魚(yú)正游進(jìn)網(wǎng)里。鱸魚(yú)味道鮮美,能在市場(chǎng)上賣(mài)個(gè)好價(jià)錢(qián)。
b) South Asians such as Haque have transformed Bethany, a neighborhood north of Beaverton. It is dense with immigrants from Gujarat, a state in India and primary source for the first wave of Beaverton’s South Asian immigrants. (2013年11月三級(jí)筆譯實(shí)務(wù))
許多像哈克這樣的南亞人使得比佛頓市北部的貝瑟妮街區(qū)改頭換面。這里聚居著來(lái)自印度古吉拉特邦的移民,該邦也是比佛頓首批南亞移民的主要來(lái)源地。
2. 本句中的industrial 不能譯為“工業(yè)的”。同樣的內(nèi)容在2005年5月CATTI二級(jí)筆譯實(shí)務(wù)試卷中已經(jīng)考過(guò),即industrial fishing boats。評(píng)分標(biāo)準(zhǔn)是這樣說(shuō)的:industrial譯成“工業(yè)的”,扣1分。由于英語(yǔ)中,commercial與 industrial是同義詞,經(jīng)常換用,所以commercial fishing經(jīng)常由industrial fishing來(lái)替代。故本文應(yīng)該譯為“商業(yè)捕撈”或“規(guī)模捕撈”,而不是“工業(yè)捕撈”。
3. 本句中的like a huge Antarctic ocean sanctuary which over 1.6m people are calling for又是一個(gè)插入語(yǔ)。我們可以按上文講解的方法將其置于句尾,即:要為子孫后代保護(hù)好海洋生物和海洋,我們還需要建立大規(guī)模的海洋保護(hù)區(qū),就像160多萬(wàn)人正在呼吁的那種大型南極海洋保護(hù)區(qū)一樣。
【譯文】
今年早些時(shí)候采集的大部分冰雪樣本中發(fā)現(xiàn)了塑料微粒和有害化學(xué)物質(zhì)。
南極洲是世界上僅剩的荒原之一。一項(xiàng)新的研究表明,南極洲存在著塑料和有害化學(xué)物質(zhì)的痕跡。
今年年初,科研人員從遙遠(yuǎn)的南極采集水和雪的樣本,歷時(shí)3個(gè)月。
通過(guò)對(duì)這些樣本進(jìn)行分析,科研人員證實(shí),其中大多數(shù)含有“持久性有害化學(xué)物質(zhì)”,也叫塑料微粒。
這些發(fā)現(xiàn)正值人們對(duì)塑料污染危機(jī)程度日益憂慮之際;科學(xué)家們警告說(shuō),塑料污染危機(jī)可能會(huì)給地球帶來(lái)“永久性污染”的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)。
本周早些時(shí)候,聯(lián)合國(guó)警告稱(chēng),塑料污染是世界上最嚴(yán)重的環(huán)境威脅之一,并表示,盡管有60個(gè)國(guó)家正在采取緊急行動(dòng),但還是需要采取更多的措施。
綠色和平組織的研究人員發(fā)布的新報(bào)告是全球保護(hù)運(yùn)動(dòng)的一部分,該運(yùn)動(dòng)旨在在南極周?chē)S蚪⑵鹗澜缟献畲蟮暮Q蟊Wo(hù)區(qū),以保護(hù)脆弱的生態(tài)系統(tǒng)免受商業(yè)捕魚(yú)(規(guī)模捕撈)和氣候變化的影響。
綠色和平組織的“保護(hù)南極洲運(yùn)動(dòng)”成員弗麗達(dá)·本特松稱(chēng),研究發(fā)現(xiàn)證明:即使是地球上最偏遠(yuǎn)的地區(qū),也無(wú)法避免人為污染的影響。
她說(shuō):“我們需要從源頭采取行動(dòng),首先要阻止這些污染物最終流到南極,我們還需要建立一個(gè)南極海洋保護(hù)區(qū),為企鵝、鯨魚(yú)和整個(gè)生態(tài)系提供生存空間,好讓它們從正在面臨的壓力中恢復(fù)過(guò)來(lái)?!?/p>
在檢測(cè)的8個(gè)海面水樣本中,7個(gè)含有微纖維等塑料微粒。在檢測(cè)的9個(gè)雪樣本中,7個(gè)樣本均可檢測(cè)出持久性有害化學(xué)物質(zhì)的濃度。
研究人員稱(chēng),這些化學(xué)品廣泛應(yīng)用于多種工業(yè)加工工藝和消費(fèi)品中,并導(dǎo)致野生動(dòng)物的生殖和發(fā)育問(wèn)題。他們又稱(chēng),所采集的雪樣本中也有剛下的雪,這表明有害化學(xué)物質(zhì)源自受污染的雨水或降雪。
牛津大學(xué)馬丁學(xué)院的海洋可持續(xù)發(fā)展研究專(zhuān)家亞歷克斯·羅杰斯教授稱(chēng),南極洲發(fā)現(xiàn)的塑料和化學(xué)制品證實(shí)了人為污染物正在影響世界各個(gè)角落的生態(tài)系統(tǒng)。他警告道,這種無(wú)所不在的污染導(dǎo)致的后果,很大程度上仍不為人所知。
羅杰斯說(shuō):“目前最大的問(wèn)題是,在南極洲發(fā)現(xiàn)這些有害化學(xué)物質(zhì)的實(shí)質(zhì)性后果是什么?這些化學(xué)物質(zhì)中有許多相當(dāng)有害,當(dāng)其沿著食物鏈向上移動(dòng)時(shí),對(duì)野生動(dòng)物的健康可能會(huì)產(chǎn)生嚴(yán)重后果,最終會(huì)危害人類(lèi)健康。塑料微粒對(duì)海洋生物的影響,同樣在很大程度上也不為人知?!?/p>
有關(guān)南極水域塑料微粒程度的研究數(shù)據(jù)相對(duì)較少,因此研究人員表示,他們希望這項(xiàng)新研究會(huì)使人們更深入地認(rèn)識(shí)全球塑料和化學(xué)污染物的程度。
本特松說(shuō):“從南極到北極,甚至于海底最深處馬里亞納海溝,海洋的各個(gè)角落都能發(fā)現(xiàn)塑料。因而我們需要采取緊急行動(dòng),減少流入海洋的塑料。要為子孫后代保護(hù)好海洋生物和海洋,我們還需要建立大規(guī)模的海洋保護(hù)區(qū),就像160多萬(wàn)人正在呼吁的那種大型南極海洋保護(hù)區(qū)一樣?!?/p>