2月2日午间英语新闻：全球地下水正在加速枯竭 71%的含水层系统水位下降

Groundwater levels are rapidly declining around the world

全球地下水正在加速枯竭 71%的含水层系统水位下降

Many parts of the world are experiencing a rapid depletion in the subterranean reserves of water that billions of people rely on for drinking, irrigation and other uses, according to new research that analyzed millions of groundwater level measurements from 170,000 wells in more than 40 countries.

新研究显示，全球许多地区的地下水正在快速枯竭。地下水是数十亿人赖以饮用、灌溉和供应其他用途的水源。这项研究对40多个国家的17万口井中测得的数百万个地下水位数据进行了分析。

It’s the first study to piece together what’s happening to groundwater levels at a global scale, according to the researchers involved, and will help scientists better understand what impact humans are having on this valuable underground resource, either through overuse or indirectly by changes in rainfall linked to climate change.

研究人员指出，这是首个展现全球地下水位现状的研究，有助于科学家更好地了解人类对这一宝贵的地下资源产生的影响。地下水减少一方面是由于人类滥用地下水，另一方面是由气候变化引起的降雨量减少间接导致。

Groundwater, contained within cracks and pores in permeable bodies of rock known as aquifers, is a lifeline especially for people in parts of the world where rainfall and surface water are scarce, such as northwest India and the southwest United States.

储存在可渗透的岩体中的裂缝和气孔（也就是所谓的含水层）中的地下水是雨水和地表水稀缺地区（比如印度西北部和美国西南部）居民的生命线。

Reductions in groundwater can make it harder for people to access freshwater to drink or to irrigate crops and can result in land subsidence.

地下水的减少让人们更难以获得可饮用或灌溉的淡水，并可能导致地面沉降。

The authors found that groundwater levels declined between year 2000 and 2022 in 71% of the 1,693 aquifer systems included in the research, with groundwater levels declining more than 0.1 meter a year in 36%, or 617, of them.

研究者发现，2000年至2022年间研究涵盖的1693个含水层系统有71%出现水位下降，其中36%（617个）的地下水位每年下降超0.1米。

The Ascoy-Soplamo Aquifer in Spain had the fastest rate of decline in the data they compiled — a median decline of 2.95 meters per year, said study coauthor Scott Jasechko, an associate professor at the Bren School of Environmental Science and Management at University of California Santa Barbara.

研究报告的合著者、加州大学圣塔芭芭拉分校布伦环境科学与管理学院副教授斯科特·杰斯克可指出，根据研究人员编纂的数据，西班牙的Ascoy-Soplamo含水层水位下降最快，每年下降的中位数为2.95米。

Several aquifer systems in Iran were among those with the fastest rate of groundwater decline, he added.

他补充道，伊朗的几个含水层系统也是地下水枯竭最快的。

The team wasn’t able to gather data from much of Africa, South America and southeast Asia because of a lack of monitoring, but Jasechko said the study included the countries where most global groundwater pumping takes place.

由于监测不足，该团队无法收集到非洲、南美洲和东南亚大部分地区的数据，但是杰斯克可表示，研究涵盖了全球大多数开采地下水的国家。

重点词汇：

1.depletion

英/dɪˈpliːʃn/

美/dɪˈpliːʃ(ə)n/

n.损耗，耗尽

2.subterranean

英/ˌsʌbtəˈreɪniən/

美/ˌsʌbtəˈreɪniən/

adj.地下的；秘密的；隐蔽的

n.地下工作者

3.permeable

英/ˈpɜːmiəb(ə)l/

美/ˈpɜːrmiəb(ə)l/

adj.能透过的；有渗透性的

4.aquifer

英/ˈækwɪfə(r)/

美/ˈɑːkwɪfər/

n.地下水层，渗透性含水石层

5.scarce

英/skeəs/

美/skers/

adj.缺乏的，不足的；稀有的，少见的；故意缺席的

Industrial profits continue to improve in December

2023年工业企业利润保持恢复态势

Profits at China's industrial firms have extended gains for a fifth consecutive month in December, in a further sign of economic upswing.

12月，中国工业企业利润连续5个月实现正增长，进一步表明我国经济正在回升向好。 

Data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed on Saturday that industrial enterprises with annual revenue of at least 20 million yuan ($2.8 million) saw their total profits increase 16.8 percent year-on-year in December after a 29.5 percent rise in November.

中国国家统计局1月27日公布的数据显示，12月份，中国全国规模以上工业企业（年主营业务收入在2000万元以上的工业企业）利润总额同比增长16.8%，11月同比增长29.5%。

In 2023, firms of industrial firms fell 2.3 percent year-on-year to 7.69 trillion yuan, narrowing from the 4.4 percent drop in the first 11 months, the bureau said.

国家统计局的数据显示，中国规模以上工业企业去年全年实现利润总额7.69万亿元，比上年下降2.3%，降幅比1至11月份的4.4%收窄。

NBS statistician Yu Weining said the data point to a continued recovery trend in industrial profits, adding that more efforts should be made to consolidate the recovery trend and the promotion of high-quality development of the industry.

国家统计局工业司统计师于卫宁表示，数据表明规模以上工业企业效益持续恢复，应该进一步巩固复苏势头，推动工业经济高质量发展。

Among the 41 major industrial sectors surveyed, 27 saw year-on-year growth in their profits in 2023.

2023年，在调查涵盖的41个工业大类行业中，有27个行业利润比上年增长。

Last year, profits recorded by industrial firms that offer supplies of electricity, heat, gas and water grew by 54.7 percent year-on-year, up from the 47.3 percent rise in the first 11 months.

2023年，规模以上工业企业电力、热力、燃气及水生产和供应业利润比上年增长54.7%，涨幅相比1至11月份的47.3%进一步上升。

Meanwhile, profits recorded by mining firms and manufacturing companies shrank 19.7 percent and 2 percent, respectively, compared to the 18.3 percent and 4.7 percent contraction in the first 11 months.

2023年，采矿业和制造业利润分别比上年下降19.7%和2.0%，相比之下，1至11月份采矿业和制造业利润同比分别下降18.3%和4.7%。

Notably, profits at equipment manufacturing enterprises rose by 4.1 percent last year, up from the 2.8 percent rise in the first 11 months, NBS data showed.

值得注意的是，国家统计局数据显示，2023年装备制造业利润同比增长4.1%，涨幅相比1至11月份的2.8%进一步上升。

According to a breakdown of the NBS data, State-owned firms saw earnings fall 3.4 percent year-on-year last year. Foreign firms booked a 6.7 percent decline and private-sector companies recorded a 2 percent growth.

对国家统计局数据的分析显示，2023年，规模以上工业企业中，国有控股企业利润同比下降3.4%，外商及港澳台商投资企业利润同比下降6.7%，私营企业利润同比增长2.0%。

重点词汇：

1.upswing

英/ˈʌpswɪŋ/

美/ˈʌpswɪŋ/

n.上升；增加；向上摆动

vi.提高；回升；向上摆动

2.consolidate

英/kənˈsɒlɪdeɪt/

美/kənˈsɑːlɪdeɪt/

v.使巩固，使加强；合并，统一