2024年考研英语一阅读 Text 4 原文翻译及答案解析

The miracle of the Chesapeake Bay lies not in its depths, but in the complexity of its natural construction, the interaction of fresh and saline waters, and the mix of land and water. The shallows provide homes for hundreds of species while storing floodwaters, filtering pollutants from water, and protecting nearby communities from potentially destructive storm surges.

切萨皮克湾的奇迹不在于其深度，而在于其自然构造的复杂性、淡水与咸水的相互作用，以及陆地与水域的混合。浅滩为数百种物种提供家园，同时储存洪水、过滤水中的污染物，并保护附近社区免受可能具有破坏性的风暴潮的侵袭。

All this was put at great risk late last month, when the U.S. Supreme Court issued a ruling in an Idaho case that provides the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) far less authority to regulate wetlands and waterways. Specifically, a 5-4 majority decided that wetlands protected by the EPA under its Clean Water Act authority must have a “continuous surface connection to bodies of water.” This narrowing of the regulatory scope was a victory for builders, mining operators and other commercial interests that are often at odds with environmental rules. And it carries “significant repercussions for water quality and flood control throughout the United States,” as Justice Brett Kavanaugh observed.

所有这些在上个月底面临巨大风险，当时美国最高法院在一起爱达荷州案件中作出裁决，大幅削弱了美国环境保护局（EPA）对湿地和水道的监管权限。具体而言，5比4的多数决定，EPA依据《清洁水法》保护的湿地必须与水体有“持续的表面连接”。这一监管范围的缩小对建筑商、矿产经营者和其他商业利益集团来说是一场胜利，这些集团常与环保规则发生冲突。正如布雷特·卡瓦诺大法官所观察到的，这对“全美水质和防洪控制具有重大影响”。

In Maryland, the good news is that there are many state laws in place that provide wetlands protections. But that's a very short-sighted view, particularly when it comes to the Chesapeake Bay. The reality is that water, and the pollutants that so often come with it, don't respect state boundaries. The Chesapeake draws from a 64,000-square-mile watershed that extends into Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York, West Virginia, the District of Columbia and Delaware. Will those jurisdictions extend the same protections now denied under Sackett v. EPA? Perhaps some, but all? That seems unlikely.

在马里兰州，好消息是有许多州法律提供湿地保护。但这是一种非常短视的观点，尤其是涉及到切萨皮克湾时。现实是，水以及常随其而来的污染物不尊重州界。切萨皮克湾的流域面积达64,000平方英里，延伸至弗吉尼亚州、宾夕法尼亚州、纽约州、西弗吉尼亚州、哥伦比亚特区和特拉华州。这些司法管辖区是否会像Sackett诉EPA案中被拒绝的那样提供相同的保护？或许一些会，但全部？这似乎不太可能。

It is too easy, and misleading, to see such court rulings as merely standing up for the rights of landowners when the consequences can be so dire for their neighbors. And it's a reminder that the EPA's involvement in the Chesapeake Bay Program has long been crucial as the means to transcend the influence of deep-pocketed special interests in neighboring states. Pennsylvania farmers, to use one telling example, aren't thinking about next year's blue crab harvest in Maryland when they decide whether to spread animal waste on their fields, yet the runoff into nearby creeks can have enormous impact downstream.

将此类法院裁决仅仅视为维护土地所有者权利是过于简单且具有误导性的，尤其是当其后果对邻居可能如此严重时。这也提醒我们，EPA参与切萨皮克湾计划长期以来至关重要，作为超越邻州富有特殊利益集团影响力的一种手段。以一个鲜明的例子来说，宾夕法尼亚州农民在决定是否将动物粪便撒在田地里时，并不会想到明年马里兰州的蓝蟹收获，但径流流入附近溪流可能对下游产生巨大影响。

And so we would call on state lawmakers from Richmond to Albany to consider reviewing their own wetlands protections and see for themselves the enormous stake involved. We can offer them a visit to Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge in Dorchester County where bald eagles fly over tidal marshes so shallow you could not paddle a boat across them but teeming with aquatic life. It's worth the scenic drive.

因此，我们呼吁从里士满到奥尔巴尼的州立法者考虑审查他们自己的湿地保护措施，并亲眼看看所涉及的巨大利害关系。我们可以为他们提供一次访问多尔切斯特县黑水国家野生动物保护区的机会，在那里白头鹰飞过潮汐沼泽，沼泽如此之浅以至于你无法划船穿越，但充满了水生生物。值得一游的风景驾驶。