2019年12月六级第1套仔细阅读 Passage 2 原文翻译及答案解析

Here's how the Pacific Northwest is preparing for "The Big One". It's the mother of all disaster drills for what could be the worst disaster in American history. California has spent years preparing for "The Big One"—the inevitable earthquake that will undoubtedly unleash all kinds of havoc along the famous San Andreas fault (断层). But what if the fault that runs along the Pacific Northwest delivers a gigantic earthquake of its own? If the people of the Cascadia region have anything to do with it, they won't be caught unawares.

以下是太平洋西北地区如何为'大地震'做准备。这可能是美国历史上最严重灾难的顶级演习。加利福尼亚州多年来一直在为'大地震'做准备——这场不可避免的地震无疑将在著名的圣安德烈亚斯断层上造成各种破坏。但如果沿着太平洋西北地区的断层也发生一场巨大地震呢？如果卡斯卡迪亚地区的民众有所准备，他们就不会措手不及。

The region is engaged in a multi-day earthquake-and-tsunami (海啸) drill involving around 20,000 people. The Cascadia Rising drill gives area residents and emergency responders a chance to practice what to do in case of a 9.0-magnitude earthquake and tsunami along one of the nation's dangerous—and underestimated—faults.

该地区正在进行一场涉及约2万人的多日地震和海啸演习。卡斯卡迪亚上升演习让当地居民和应急响应人员有机会练习在沿该国一条危险且被低估的断层发生9.0级地震和海啸时该怎么做。

The Cascadia Earthquake Zone is big enough to compete with San Andreas (it's been called the most dangerous fault in America), but it's much lesser known than its California cousin. Nearly 700 miles long, the earthquake zone is located by the North American Plate off the coast of Pacific British Columbia, Washington, Oregon and Northern California.

卡斯卡迪亚地震带足够大，可以与圣安德烈亚斯断层竞争（它被称为美国最危险的断层），但它比其加利福尼亚的对应部分远不为人所知。这条地震带长近700英里，位于北美板块沿不列颠哥伦比亚省、华盛顿州、俄勒冈州和北加利福尼亚州海岸的位置。

Cascadia is what's known as a "megathrust" fault. Megathrusts are created in earthquake zones—land plate boundaries where two plates converge. In the areas where one plate is beneath another, stress builds up over time. During a megathrust event, all of that stress releases and some of the world's most powerful earthquakes occur. Remember the 9.1 earthquake and tsunami in the Indian Ocean off Sumatra in 2004? It was caused by a megathrust event as the India plate moved beneath the Burma micro-plate.

卡斯卡迪亚是一种被称为'大型逆冲断层'的断层。逆冲断层形成于地震带——即两个板块汇聚的陆地板块边界。在一个板块位于另一个板块之下的区域，应力随时间积累。在一次逆冲事件中，所有这些应力释放，导致一些世界上最强烈的地震发生。还记得2004年印度洋苏门答腊岛附近发生的9.1级地震和海啸吗？它是由印度板块移动到缅甸微板块之下的逆冲事件引起的。

The last time a major earthquake occurred along the Cascadia fault was in 1700, so officials worry that another event could occur any time. To prevent that event from becoming a catastrophe, first responders will join members of the public in rehearsals that involve communication, evacuation, search and rescue, and other scenarios.

上一次沿卡斯卡迪亚断层发生大地震是在1700年，因此官员们担心另一次事件可能随时发生。为了防止该事件演变成灾难，急救人员将与公众一起参与涉及通讯、疏散、搜救和其他场景的演习。

Thousands of casualties are expected if a 9.0 earthquake were to occur. First, the earthquake would shake metropolitan areas including Seattle and Portland. This could trigger a tsunami that would create havoc along the coast. Not all casualties can necessarily be prevented—but by coordinating across local, state, and even national borders, officials hope that the worst-case scenario can be averted. On the exercise's website, officials explain that the report they prepare during this rehearsal will inform disaster management for years to come.

如果发生9.0级地震，预计会有数千人伤亡。首先，地震将震动包括西雅图和波特兰在内的大都市区。这可能引发海啸，在沿海地区造成破坏。并非所有伤亡都能被阻止——但通过跨越地方、州甚至国家边界的协调，官员们希望最坏情况情景能够避免。在演习网站上，官员们解释说，他们在这次演习中准备的报告将为未来多年的灾害管理提供信息。

For hundreds of thousands of Cascadia residents. "The Big One" isn't a question of if, only when. And it's never too early to get ready for the inevitable.

对于数十万卡斯卡迪亚居民来说，'大地震'不是是否会发生的问题，而是什么时候发生的问题。而且，为不可避免的事情做准备永远不会太早。