2017年考研英语二阅读 Text 4 原文翻译及答案解析

Though often viewed as a problem for western states, the growing frequency of wildfires is a national concern because of its impact on federal tax dollars, says Professor Max Moritz, a specialist in fire ecology and management.

尽管野火频率不断增加通常被视为西部各州的问题，但火生态学和管理专家马克斯·莫里茨教授表示，由于其对联邦税款的影响，这已成为全国性的关切。

In 2015, the US Forest Service for the first time spent more than half of its $5.5 billion annual budget fighting fires — nearly double the percentage it spent on such efforts 20 years ago. In effect, fewer federal funds today are going towards the agency's other work — such as forest conservation, watershed and cultural resources management, and infrastructure upkeep — that affect the lives of all Americans.

2015年，美国林务局首次将其55亿美元年度预算的一半以上用于灭火——这一比例几乎是20年前的两倍。实际上，如今更少的联邦资金用于该机构的其他工作，如森林保护、流域和文化资源管理以及基础设施维护，这些工作影响着所有美国人的生活。

Another nationwide concern is whether public funds from other agencies are going into construction in fire-prone districts. As Moritz puts it, how often are federal dollars building homes that are likely to be lost to a wildfire?

另一个全国性的关切是，其他机构的公共资金是否投入到了易发火灾地区的建设中。正如莫里茨所说，联邦资金有多少次用于建造那些很可能被野火摧毁的房屋？

"It's already a huge problem from a public expenditure perspective for the whole country," he says. "We need to take a magnifying glass to that. Like, 'Wait a minute, is this OK?' Do we want instead to redirect those funds to concentrate on lower-hazard parts of the landscape?"

"从公共支出的角度来看，这对整个国家来说已经是一个巨大问题，"他说。"我们需要用放大镜来审视这一点。比如，'等一下，这样行吗？'我们是否希望将这些资金重新定向，集中用于景观中较低危险的部分？"

Such a view would require a corresponding shift in the way US society today views fire, researchers say.

研究人员表示，这种观点需要美国社会对火灾的看法发生相应的转变。

For one thing, conversations about wildfires need to be more inclusive. Over the past decade, the focus has been on climate change — how the warming of the Earth from greenhouse gases is leading to conditions that worsen fires.

首先，关于野火的讨论需要更具包容性。过去十年，焦点一直集中在气候变化上——地球因温室气体变暖如何导致火灾恶化的条件。

While climate is a key element, Moritz says, it shouldn't come at the expense of the rest of the equation.

莫里茨说，尽管气候是一个关键因素，但它不应该以牺牲其他因素为代价。

"The human systems and the landscapes we live on are linked, and the interactions go both ways," he says. Failing to recognize that, he notes, leads to "an overly simplified view of what the solutions might be. Our perception of the problem and of what the solution is becomes very limited."

"人类系统和我们居住的景观是相互关联的，互动是双向的，"他说。他指出，未能认识到这一点会导致"对可能解决方案的过度简化看法。我们对问题及其解决方案的认知变得非常有限。"

At the same time, people continue to treat fire as an event that needs to be wholly controlled and unleashed only out of necessity, says Professor Balch at the University of Colorado. But acknowledging fire's inevitable presence in human life is an attitude crucial to developing the laws, policies, and practices that make it as safe as possible, she says.

与此同时，科罗拉多大学的巴尔奇教授说，人们继续将火灾视为一个需要完全控制、只在必要时才释放的事件。但她说，承认火灾在人类生活中的不可避免的存在，是制定使其尽可能安全的法律、政策和实践的关键态度。

"We've disconnected ourselves from living with fire," Balch says. "It is really important to understand and try and tease out what is the human connection with fire today."

"我们已将自己与火灾共生的生活脱节了，"巴尔奇说。"理解并试图梳理出今天人类与火灾的联系是非常重要的。"