"The next pandemic": drought is a hidden global crisis, UN says

“下一场全球大流行”：联合国指出干旱是潜在的全球性危机

Drought is a hidden global crisis that risks becoming "the next pandemic" if countries do not take urgent action on water and land management and tackling the climate emergency, the UN has said.

联合国表示，如果各国不采取紧急行动，进行水土资源管理、应对气候危机，干旱作为潜在的全球危机，可能会变成“下一场全球大流行”。

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Mami Mizutori, the UN secretary general's special representative for disaster risk reduction, said: "Drought is on the verge of becoming the next pandemic and there is no vaccine to cure it. Most of the world will be living with water stress in the next few years. Demand will outstrip supply during certain periods. Drought is a major factor in land degradation and the decline of yields for major crops."

联合国减少灾害风险办公室的秘书长特别代表水鸟真美说：“干旱即将成为下一场全球大流行，而且没有疫苗可以医治。接下来的几年里，世界上大部分地区都会面临用水压力。在某些时期，甚至会出现供不应求的局面。干旱是造成土地退化以及主要农作物减产的一个重要因素。”

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She said many people had an image of drought as affecting desert regions in Africa, but that this was not the case. Developed countries have not been immune. The US, Australia and southern Europe have experienced drought in recent years.

她说，许多人对干旱的印象还停留在影响非洲沙漠地区，但事实并非如此。发达国家也不能幸免于此。美国、澳大利亚和南欧近几年也深受干旱影响。

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Drought also goes beyond agriculture, said Roger Pulwarty, a co-author of Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction: Special Report on Drought 2021. He pointed to the Danube in Europe, where recurring drought in recent years has affected transport, tourism, industry and energy generation.

《减少灾害风险全球评估报告：2021 年干旱特别报告》的合著者罗杰·普瓦蒂表示，干旱也不只影响农业。他指出，近年欧洲多瑙河地区屡发旱灾，交通、旅游、工业以及能源发电产业都受到了波及。

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Changing rainfall patterns as a result of climate breakdown are a key driver of drought, but the report also identifies the inefficient use of water resources and the degradation of land under intensive agriculture and poor farming practices as playing a role.

气候崩溃导致的降雨模式变化是干旱的关键诱因，但是报告也指出，低效的水资源利用与集约化农业和不良耕作方式下的土地退化也对干旱产生了影响。

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Mizutori called for governments to take action to help prevent drought by reforming and regulating how water is extracted, stored and used, and how land is managed.

水鸟真美呼吁各国政府采取行动，通过改革和规范水资源开采、储存和使用以及土地管理方式，来预防干旱。

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主编：Raven、虾仁

品控：Raven

审核：Felicity

重点词汇

drought

/draʊt/

n. 旱灾，干旱

例句：This summer, with much of the West in extreme drought, is expected to be another dangerous fire season.（来自于《纽约时报》）

take action

采取行动

搭配短语：to take urgent action（采取紧急行动）

相关词汇：urgent（adj. 紧急的，急迫的）

搭配短语：to take immediate action（立即采取行动）

搭配短语：to take swift action（迅速采取行动）

tackle

/ˈtæk.əl/

v. 应对，处理

词义辨析：deal with, address, tackle

deal with 是相对日常的表达，具有一定延续性，表示“解决问题”，但最终不一定能够解决好；address 表示“开始着手解决问题”，强调处在解决问题的初始阶段、设法了解问题；tackle 用于表示“解决非常棘手的问题”，并且解决问题的决心更加强烈。

英文释义：to make a determined effort to deal with a difficult problem or situation

搭配短语：to tackle domestic violence（解决家暴问题）

be on the verge of

在……边缘，濒于……

相关词汇：verge（n. 边缘，边）

近义词：edge

例句：She was on the verge of tears.（她快要哭了。）

例句：She was on the verge of crying.（她快要哭了。）

cure

/kjʊr/

v. 治愈，治好；解决（问题）

例句：He was cured of the disease.（治愈）

同义词：solve（v. 解决）

例句：This problem is difficult to cure.（解决）

词性拓展：cure（n. 解决办法）

例句：This is a problem that has no easy cure.

live with

接受，忍受（令人讨厌的事）；与……生活在一起

例句：I live with a roommate.（我和室友住在一起。）

英文释义：to accept or tolerate something unpleasant

例句：We all have to learn to live with the pain.（每个人都要学会接受这种痛苦。）

outstrip

/ˌaʊtˈstrɪp/

v. 超越；（在数量、程度或成就上）超过，胜过

词根词缀：out-（表示“超过，胜过”）

相关词汇：strip（可以表示“快速移动”）

近义词：exceed

例句：Supply outstripped demand.（供大于求。）

yield

/jiːld/

n. 产出

词性拓展：yield（v. 屈服，顺从；产出，得出）

近义词：surrender（v. 投降，屈服）

搭配短语：to yield to temptation（屈服）

例句：Good soil could yield good crops.（产出）

be not the case

不是这个情况，不是这样

相关词汇：case（n. 情况；案件）

近义词：situation

反义短语：be the case（是如此，是这样）

例句：If that is the case, we will switch to Plan B.

immune

/ɪˈmjuːn/

adj. 对……不受影响的；免疫的

搭配短语：be immune to

例句：The vaccine will make you immune to the virus.（免疫的）

搭配短语：be immune to criticism（对……不受影响、无动于衷）

例句：No one is immune to his / her charm.（对……不受影响、无动于衷）

go beyond

不只是……

英文释义：to do more than something

例句：We need to go beyond merely talking about the problem.

recurring

/rɪˈkɝː.ɪŋ/

adj. 反复出现的，再次发生的

相关词汇：recur（v. 反复出现，再次发生）

词根词缀：re-（表示“重新，再次”）

相关词汇：occur（v. 发生）

例句：This theme recurs many times throughout the TV series.

例句：This is a recurring theme throughout the TV series.

climate breakdown

/ˈklaɪ.mət ˌbreɪk.daʊn/

n. 气候崩溃，气候危机

相关词汇：breakdown（n. 崩溃，破裂）

近义词：collapse

搭配短语：the breakdown of law and order（法制的崩溃）

近义词组：climate emergency（气候危机）

identify

/aɪˈden.t̬ə.faɪ/

v. 认出，识别出

相关词汇：identity（n. 身份）

搭配短语：identity card（身份证）

搭配短语：to identify one's own suitcase

搭配短语：to identify the customers' real needs

搭配短语：to identify with sb.（理解、认同某人）

英文释义：to feel that you can understand and share someone else's feelings

搭配短语：to identify with the hero of the novel or movie

call for

号召，呼吁

搭配短语：call for sth.（呼吁某事）

例句：Johnson calls for roll-out of CPR training after Eriksen collapse.（来自《卫报》，参考 6 月 27 日的课程）

搭配短语：call for sb. to do sth.（呼吁某人做某事）

例句：Johnson calls for the government to roll out CPR training after Eriksen collapse.

extract

/ɪkˈstrækt/

v.（用力）取出，提取；拔出

英文释义：to remove or take out, especially by effort or force

例句：He just got a wisdom tooth extracted.

搭配短语：to extract oil from peanuts