有關大自然的英語美文

　　全球生態環境的惡化,不僅威脅著人類的生存,而且也直接破壞著人類的一部分文明。文化資源與大自然環境是不可割分的整體。下面是小編帶來的，歡迎閱讀!

　　篇一

　　澳洲希利爾粉色湖

　　Fly over Western Australia for a rare visual treat: nestled among dense emerald-green woodlands surrounded by the deep blue of the Southern Ocean are a series of lakes in a shocking shade of bubblegum pink.

　　為了去尋求一個珍稀的視覺盛宴，飛越西澳大利亞：深藏在濃密的祖母綠樹林裡，被深藍色的南大洋半包圍著的是一片口香糖粉色的湖群。

　　One of the most well known is Lake Hillier, a 600m-long lake on the edge of Middle Island in the Recherche Archipelago off Western Australia’s south coast. Surrounded by a thin ring of sand and an expansive forest of paperbark and eucalyptus trees, the rosy pink lake punctuates a stunning landscape.

　　其中最著名的是長達600米的希利爾湖，它位於西澳南海岸邊的勒謝什群島中的一座——中央島邊緣。這片玫瑰粉色的湖泊被細細的環形沙和大片千層樹和桉樹所包圍，其景相當壯觀。

　　But even more surprising than its Pepto-Bismol shade is that “nobody seems to be able to definitively explain its distinctive colour,” according to Quora user Garrick Saito. Possible causes include the presence of green algae that can accumulate high levels of beta-carotene, a red-orange pigment; haloarchaea, a type of microorganism that appears reddish in large blooms; or a high concentration of pink brine prawn.

　　Quora使用者加里克•薩伊託說，然而比它那佩託比斯摩***Pepto-Bismol，美國一種粉紅包裝藥物品牌***外形更令人詫異的是“幾乎沒有人能解釋那獨一無二的粉色湖水成因。”可能的原因有：湖水中的綠藻含大量β胡蘿蔔素，這種胡蘿蔔素有橘紅色染色功能;一種只要大量聚集就能呈現紅色的微生物;或是大量聚集的粉紅色鹽水蝦。

　　Most tourists admire the chromatic splendour of Lake Hillier from a helicopter or plane ride. For on-the-ground visitors, there’s an added treat: Lake Hillier is highly saline but the water isn't toxic, so pack your swimsuit and go for a swim. Thanks to its high salinity, you’ll bob like a cork.

　　大多數乘直升機或客機鳥瞰希利爾湖的遊客都對它那獨一無二的色彩讚不絕口。而對於在陸上的遊客，希利爾湖則另有一番風情：希利爾湖雖然含鹽度極高，但湖水並沒有毒，因此趕緊帶上你的泳裝，來游泳吧。由於它的高鹽度，你能輕鬆地浮在水面。

　　篇二

　　奈米比亞精靈圈

　　Across the arid grasslands of the Namib Desert lies an eerie sight: millions of circular patchesof land void of plants, each between 2m and 15m in diameter, arranged in a honeycomb-likepattern across 2,500km of land. These disks of bare soil, known as fairy circles, pockmark thelandscape in Namibia, as if giant moths ate through the vast carpets of grassland.

　　在荒蕪的奈米布沙漠中，有一樣怪異的景觀：在寸草不生的土地上有數百萬的圓形補丁，每每相隔2到15米的直徑，在縱橫2500千米的沙漠中聚整合蜂巢形狀。在奈米比亞，這些被稱為精靈圈的沙碟塑造出凹痕景觀，就好像巨型蛾子在大片沙漠毯子上肆虐吞食。

　　Adding to the mystery, no one knows for certain what causes these otherworldly formations,writes Quora user Prem Rathaur. But there’s no shortage of theories.

　　更為神祕的是，沒有人知道這鬼斧神差般傑作的成因，Quora使用者普雷姆•拉索爾這樣寫道。但是一直有很多關於它的理論。

　　Scientists have suggested radioactive soil, or that toxins released from plants kills thevegetation in circular patterns. Others believe the circles are the work of sand termites. Tostore water, they burrow in the soil in ring-like patterns and consume the roots of vegetationto allow underlying grains of sand to absorb falling rain.

　　科學家們考慮過是放射性土壤導致的，或者是某種植物釋放的毒素殺死了圓形植被造成的。有人則認為是沙地中的白蟻搗的鬼。為了儲存水，他們在土壤中挖出環狀凹坑，吮食植物根莖，以便下層沙粒能夠吸收降水。

　　Another hypothesis ascribes the circles to competition for resources. In harsh landscapes,plants compete for water and nutrients. As weaker plants die and stronger ones grow,vegetation “self-organizes” into unusual patterns.

　　另一種猜測認為這些環狀物與資源爭奪相關。在艱苦的條件下，植物為水分和養分而相互爭鬥。在適者生存的過程中，植被自我調節到這種不尋常的模式。

　　Considering the eerie beauty of these phenomena, perhaps the most fitting theory is that oflocal bushmen, who say fairy circles are nothing less than the footprints of gods.

　　而對於這怪異而美麗的自然現象，大概能給出最合適的解釋的是當地的布須曼人——他們說精靈圈是上帝的腳印。

　　篇三

　　如何讓世界免遭自然災害?

　　How should the world protect itself from natural disasters and climate change? And whoshould be paying for this kind of protection? These and other questions are being asked at theUnited Nations World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction. The conference is taking placethis week in Sendai, Japan. A powerful earthquake and tsunami struck the area four years ago.

　　A cold wind blows sand along the coast of Sendai. Japanese police officers are searching forevidence in the area. They are examining material washed up on the sand for signs of theMarch 2011 tsunami. Huge waves struck northern Japan and killed close to 16,000 people. Morethan 2,500 others are missing and thought to be dead.

　　Officer Hidenori Kashahara is taking part in the search effort. He says Japan owes it to thefamilies of the missing to keep looking.

　　"We have not found anyone for a while in this area," he says. "We sometimes find bones, butthey are usually the remains of animals."

　　United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon visited Sendai earlier this week. He praised therecovery effort as a model for others.

　　"Sustainability starts in Sendai. The disaster risk reduction can be a frontline against theclimate change."

　　Last week, Cyclone Pam struck the island nation of Vanuatu. The powerful storm changed itsexpected path at the last minute. The president of Vanuatu told the UN conference thatdevelopment in his country had been stopped -- "wiped out" were his exact words.

　　Michel Jarraud is the head of the World Meteorological Organization. He told VOA that earlywarning systems had saved lives in the South Pacific. He spoke about Cyclone Pam.

　　"This kind of cyclone is very unusual. We are not even sure at this stage because we still needto wait to see what was the exact strength of this cyclone, but it's very unusual. And it's evenmore challenging for a country to deal with hazards which don't happen regularly."

　　In late 2004, an earthquake hit the northwestern coast of Indonesia, causing a tsunami acrossthe Indian Ocean. More than 200,000 people were killed. The tsunami led the United Nations toapprove a 10-year program for reducing disaster risk. It is called the Hyogo Framework forAction. That 10-year period is ending this week. Delegates to the conference are trying toreach a new agreement.

　　Tom Mitchell works at the Overseas Development Institute, an environmental and humanitarianpolicy group. He says the cost of natural disasters should force agreement.

　　"Three hundred billion dollars of losses from disasters every year -- so it's very much at stakethat you've got this big financial toll, but in some ways, you know, this isn't causing thegalvanizing effect that we want to see in terms of investment in resilience."

　　Mr. Mitchell says a few issues have slowed progress toward an agreement.

　　"Finance, who's gonna pay for the scale of the problem, particularly given that climate change isramping this up and there's an expectation on the richer, polluting countries to pay a bit more.That's a sticking point. Issues of whether we are talking about conflict risk and disaster risktogether and the link between those ***are*** really problematic for some countries, particularly inthe Middle East."

　　Delegates mostly agree that natural disasters are causing bigger problems. But they are havinga difficult time deciding how to reduce the risks. The severe damage caused by Cyclone Pam inVanuatu is pressuring them to reach an agreement on how the world should deal with naturaldisasters.