Salar de Uyuni: Out of this World 人间仙境──玻利维亚盐沼

课文朗读

课文讲解 

繁體中文譯本

It’s the closest you can get to walking on an alien world without actually traveling into space. Bolivia’s Salar de Uyuni, the largest and highest salt flat on Earth, is a positively otherworldly place. Irregularly shaped tiles of salt, left behind by an ancient sea, shine bright white in the sunlight and stretch on as far as the eye can see.

这是最接近你走在一个陌生的世界而无需真的去太空旅行的经验。地球上规模最大、最高的盐沼──玻利维亚的乌尤尼盐沼，绝对是一处超脱尘俗的地方。古老的海洋所遗留下不规则状的盐砖，在阳光下闪耀着亮白色的光芒，在目光所及处绵延开来。

Salar de Uyuni is located in southwest Bolivia, overlooked by the slopes of the Andes. Rainfall, coupled with a lack of drainage outlets, keeps the salt flat almost perfectly level. The elevation across the never-ending plain doesn’t vary by more than a meter on average, which makes it a perfect place to calibrate satellites.

乌尤尼盐沼位于玻利维亚西南部，为安第斯山脉的山坡所俯瞰。降雨因素再加上缺乏排水渠道，让这片盐原保持几乎理想的平坦地面。一望无际的平原，高度变化平均不会超过一公尺，使盐沼成为校准卫星的完美地点。

Forty thousand years ago, this area was part of Lake Minchin, a huge prehistoric body of water. Over time, the lake dried out, leaving behind two different lakes, Poopo and Uru Uru, and two large salt flats. It is estimated that Salar de Uyuni contains about 10 billion tons of salt, and only 25,000 tons of that is gathered to be sold on an annual basis. The lakes, colored shades of red by bacteria, green by arsenic, and white by minerals, have become a breeding ground for pink flamingos each November. In the center of the Salar sit a few islands, which are actually the remnants of the tops of ancient volcanoes once submerged beneath the waves of Lake Minchin.

四万年以前，盐沼这个地区是巨大的史前水体──Minchin湖的一部分。随着时间的推移，湖泊渐渐干涸，留下了两座不同的湖泊，Poopo和Uru Uru，以及两大片盐沼。据估计，乌尤尼盐沼蕴含约100亿吨的盐，而每年只有25,000吨的盐被采集作为贩卖用。因细菌而呈现红色，因砷呈现绿色，因矿物质而呈现白色，进而构成色彩多层的湖区，已成为粉红火鹤每年11月的繁殖地。在乌尤尼盐沼的中心坐落着几座小岛，实际上，这些岛屿是曾经被淹没在Minchin湖下的古火山顶遗迹。

Vocabulary

单词发音

Salar de Uyuni 乌尤尼盐沼(位于玻利维亚西南部)

alien [ˋelɪən] adj. 截然不同的; 非常怪异的

salt flat 盐沼 a flat expanse of salt left by the total evaporation of a body of water

positively [ˋpɑzətɪvlɪ] adv. 无疑

otherworldly [ˋʌðɚˋwɝldlɪ] adj. 超脱尘俗的

tile [taɪl] n. 瓦；瓷砖

overlook [͵ovɚˋlʊk]  v. 眺望；俯瞰 to look over or at from a higher place

drainage [ˋdrenɪdʒ] outlet [ˋaʊt͵lɛt] 排水口

elevation [͵ɛləˋveʃən] n. 高度；海拔

calibrate [ˋkælə͵bret] v. 校准

breeding [ˋbridɪŋ] n. 生殖；繁殖

flamingo [fləˋmɪŋgo] n. 红鹤

remnant [ˋrɛmnənt] n. 遗迹

课文朗读

课文讲解 

Salar de Uyuni is also rich in something besides salt – something that most everyone uses on a daily basis, perhaps without even realizing it. The substance is lithium, an indispensable component in batteries. The Salar, which means “salt flat,” is thought to hold about half of the world’s lithium reserves. The lithium is concentrated in a brine lake that sits beneath the thick layer of salt, and is pumped out and refined. The salt plains also house large deposits of sodium, potassium, and magnesium, which have their own vital applications.

除了盐之外，乌尤尼盐沼还富含一种多数人每日都会用到，却从未意识到的东西，该物质就是在电池中不可或缺的一部分──锂。Salar，意指「盐沼」，被认为含有世界上约一半锂资源的储量。锂集中于盐水湖一层厚盐的下方的沉积物，并被抽出和精炼。盐原更蕴藏了大量、有重要运用的钠、钾及镁。

Not only is the Salar of the utmost economic importance to the people who live around it, but it is also a commonly used thoroughfare. Locals use it as a means to travel between towns, and tourists venture onto its vast expanse to marvel at its natural beauty. If you do find yourself driving across its brilliant white plain, be sure to stop by the Tayka Salt Hotel, a lodging made entirely by pure salt extracted from the surrounding landscapes. Also, take notice of the mounds of salt seen throughout the plain. These are not natural formations, mind you, as they are collections of salt crystals scraped up from the surface of the ancient lake bed and left to dry in the sun by local salt miners.

乌尤尼盐沼对附近居民来说不仅具有高度的经济重要性，它也是一条常用的干道。当地人用盐沼作为来回城镇之间的一种途径，而游客到此广阔的盐沼探险，惊叹于它的自然之美。如果你开车穿越这辉煌的雪白平原，此外，注意那些遍布盐原上的盐堆。请留意，它们并非自然形成的，因为它们是当地盐矿工费心从古湖床的表面刮起，让它们在太阳底下晒干的盐晶体。

If you are planning a trip to Salar de Uyuni, be sure to go between November and March, as it can get quite cold there during the winter months. This will be one experience you won’t have to take with a grain of salt.

如果您计划去一趟乌尤尼盐沼，一定要安排在十一月至三月，因为当地在冬季期间可是相当寒冷的。乌尤尼盐沼之旅将是一种让你无庸置疑的经验。

－by Joe Henley

Vocabulary

单词发音

lithium [ˋlɪθɪəm] n. 锂

indispensable [͵ɪndɪsˋpɛnsəb!] adj. 必不可少的

reserve [rɪˋzɝv] n. 储备（物）

brine [braɪn] n. 浓盐水

utmost [ˋʌt͵most] adj. 最大的

thoroughfare [ˋθɝo͵fɛr] n. 大道

venture [ˋvɛntʃɚ] n. 冒险

brilliant [ˋbrɪljənt] adj. 光辉的；明亮的

lodging [ˋlɑdʒɪŋ] n. 寄宿; 住所

Idiom

片语发音

pump out 用泵抽出  to remove something from someone or something by force or suction

marvel at 对…惊叹不已, 惊叹…  to express wonder or surprise at someone or something

stop by 顺便走访 to visit some place, usually briefly

take notice of 注意到   to notice the presence or existence of someone or something

mind you 请注意  a phrase introducing something that should be taken into consideration

scrape up sth.  积攒; 凑齐, 勉强凑足

take it (or sth.) with a grain of salt 对某事采取保留的态度 to consider something to be not completely true or right

Reading Questions

1.    Which of the following statements about Salar de Uyuni is NOT true?

(A)  It has a few different lakes.

(B)  It contains billions of tons of salt.

(C)  Its elevation does not very much.

(D)  It is completely devoid of life.

2.    If you had visited the area of Salar de Uyuni 40,000 years ago, what would you have seen?

(A)  A very large lake.

(B)  A really tall mountain.

(C)  A thriving civilization.

(D)  A barren wasteland.

3.   How much of the world’s lithium can be found at Salar de Uyuni?

(A)  Very little.

(B)  Almost all of it

(C)  Around 50 percent.

(D)  About a quarter.

4.    What is NOT mentioned as something you’ll find on the salt flat?

(A)  Large cities.

(B)  Hotels.

(C)  Tourists.

(D)  Minerals.

devoid [dɪˋvɔɪd] adj. 缺乏的；沒有的[F][（+of）]

Uyuni Salt Lake

tayka   

Answer