格陵兰在变暖的世界中占据重要地位
📖 逐句对照翻译
Greenland is the world’s largest island and a self-governed territory of Denmark.
格陵兰岛是世界上最大的岛屿，也是丹麦的一个自治领地。
About 57,000 people live there, mainly along its coasts.
大约有5.7万人居住在那里，主要分布在其沿海地区。
Most of Greenland lies north of the Arctic Circle, under thick sheets of ice.
格陵兰岛的大部分地区位于北极圈以北，覆盖在厚厚的冰层之下。
The island plays a large part in the weather experienced by billions of people every day and in climate changes around the planet, experts say.
专家表示，这座岛屿对每天数十亿人经历的天气以及全球气候变化有着重要影响。
American President-elect Donald Trump is expressing interest in buying Greenland from Denmark.
美国总统当选人唐纳德·特朗普表示有意从丹麦购买格陵兰岛。
He said something similar during his first term in office as well.
他在第一任期时也说过类似的话。
The United States has a large military base on the island.
美国在该岛上有一个大型军事基地。
Greenland’s valuable resources
格陵兰岛的宝贵资源
Geologists say Greenland has huge amounts of oil and natural gas below the ice and valuable elements known as rare earth minerals.
地质学家表示，格陵兰岛的冰层之下蕴藏着大量的石油和天然气，以及被称为稀土矿物的珍贵元素。
Rare earth minerals are needed in communication technologies, including phones.
通信技术，包括手机，都需要稀土矿物。
Most of these resources are trapped under Greenland’s ice.
这些资源大部分都困在格陵兰岛的冰层之下。
However, warming temperatures in recent years have increased melting on the island.
然而，近年来气温升高加剧了岛上的融化现象。
As more ice melts, some of these resources may become easier to reach.
随着更多冰层融化，其中一些资源可能会变得更容易获取。
Geoff Dabelko is a security and environment professor at Ohio University.
杰夫·达贝尔科是俄亥俄大学的安全与环境教授。
He thinks other countries are becoming interested in Greenland because China is currently the supplier of more than half of the world’s rare Earth minerals.
他认为其他国家之所以对格陵兰岛产生兴趣，是因为中国目前供应着全球超过一半的稀土矿物。
Melting ice
融化的冰
From 1992 to 2020, Greenland lost an average of 169 billion metric tons of ice each year, with losses reaching 444 billion metric tons in 2019.
从1992年到2020年，格陵兰岛平均每年流失1690亿公吨的冰，而2019年的流失量达到了4440亿公吨。
Mark Serreze is director of the National Snow and Ice Data Center in Boulder, Colorado.
马克·塞雷兹是科罗拉多州博尔德国家冰雪数据中心的主任。
He told The Associated Press that melting from Greenland will be a central issue through the 21st century.
他告诉美联社，格陵兰岛的融化将成为整个21世纪的核心问题。
That is because melting ice adds to rising sea levels.
那是因为冰川融化加剧了海平面上升。
Serreze noted that the amount of melting will likely increase in the future.
塞雷兹指出，未来的融化量可能会增加。
Greenland also serves as the engine for an important ocean current that influences Earth's climate in many ways, including storm activity.
格陵兰岛还是推动一股重要洋流的引擎，这股洋流在许多方面影响着地球的气候，包括风暴活动。
The current is called the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, or AMOC.
这个洋流被称为大西洋经向翻转环流，简称AMOC。
The current is slowing down because more fresh water from Greenland’s melting ice is entering the ocean, Serreze said.
塞雷兹说，由于更多来自格陵兰岛融化冰层的淡水流入海洋，洋流正在减缓。
A shutdown of the current could lead to long-term freezes in Europe and parts of North America.
当前洋流的关闭可能会导致欧洲和北美部分地区长期陷入严寒。
“If this global current system were to slow substantially or even collapse . . .as we know it has done in the past — normal temperature and precipitation patterns around the globe would change drastically,” said climate scientist Jennifer Francis of the Woodwell Climate Research Center, a non-profit based in the American state of Massachusetts.
伍德韦尔气候研究中心的的气候科学家詹妮弗·弗朗西斯表示：“如果这一全球洋流系统大幅放缓甚至崩溃……正如我们知道它在过去发生过的那样——全球正常的温度和降水模式将发生剧烈变化。”该中心是位于美国马萨诸塞州的一家非营利组织。
She added that the changes would have very damaging effects on farming and ecosystems.
她补充说，这些变化将对农业和生态系统产生非常有害的影响。
As more ice melts, Greenland is also changing color from the white of ice to the blue and green of water and land.
随着更多冰层融化，格陵兰的颜色也在发生变化，从冰的白色变为水和陆地的蓝色和绿色。
These darker colors hold more heat from the sun and can increase the speed of warming.
这些较深的颜色会吸收更多来自太阳的热量，从而加快变暖的速度。
Greenland lies in between northern Canada, northern Europe, and Russia.
格陵兰岛位于加拿大北部、北欧和俄罗斯之间。
That area may become more valuable to countries if melting in the Arctic Ocean continues to increase and more ships pass through the area.
如果北冰洋的冰层持续融化，更多船只通过该区域，那么该地区对各国的价值可能会增大。
I’m Andrew Smith.
我是安德鲁·史密斯。
Seth Borenstein wrote this story for The Associated Press.
塞思·博伦斯坦为美联社撰写了这篇报道。
Andrew Smith adapted it for VOA Learning English.
安德鲁·史密斯为VOA英语学习频道改编了它。
