可能消失的古跡

Around 10，000 years ago， the ice in the area of Montanas Glacier National Park was about 1.6 kilometers deep. When the park was found in 1910， there were around 150 glaciers. But today only 25 of these giants remain， and it is suspected that all of them might be gone by 2030.

The heart of the National Park， Grinnell Glacier， has lost more than 90 percent of its ice over the past century. There is no doubt that global warming is the main cause， but the park seems to be getting hit even worse than other places： the temperature in the area has increased 1.8 times more than other areas around the globe. Whats so terrible about that is that its not just the glaciers that are in danger of disappearing. The icy streams that have always flowed from the great sheets of ice keep the ecosystem of the park going， with its wolves， herds of elk， and one of the largest populations of grizzly bears in lower America. If the glaciers go， not only will the last remnant of the Ice Age disappear， several species will find their home in shambles.

大約1萬年前，位于蒙大拿州的國家冰川公園的冰川有約1.6公里深。當(dāng)它于1910年被發(fā)現(xiàn)時，大約有150個冰川。但是現(xiàn)在，僅存下25個大塊頭，這讓人們不禁懷疑，也許到2030年它們將不復(fù)存在。

國家公園中心地帶的格林內(nèi)爾冰川在過去的一個世紀(jì)里已經(jīng)有超過90%的冰融化了。毫無疑問，全球變暖是主要原因，但國家公園的情況似乎比其他地方更糟糕：該地區(qū)的溫度上升速度大約是全球其他地區(qū)的1.8倍?？膳碌牟粌H僅只是那些冰川瀕臨消失。一直以來，從冰蓋流出的冰川溪流維持著公園的生態(tài)系統(tǒng)，這里群狼共舞，麋鹿成群，更有低海拔美洲大陸上最大的灰熊群之一。倘若冰川不在，不但冰河時代的最后一批遺址會消失，而且這些物種賴以生存的家園也將成為廢墟。

Probably， most people havent heard of the Seychelles， a group of around 115 islands not far from the well-known Madagascar. Long before， they were somehow completely uninhabited by humans until the British East India Company discovered them in the 1600s. After that， they became a haven for pirates. Today， they are known as a fantastic place where you can see the biggest fish in the sea—whale sharks. The Seychelles hold some of the earliest scientific records about the magnificent creatures， which are strictly protected.

However， the islands could be underwater in as little as half a century， largely due to the destruction of the coral barriers around the beaches. The rising temperatures destroy the coral and leave it a disturbing， almost skeleton-like white， which destroys entire ecosystems and leaves everyone who lives on the islands vulnerable to devastating events like hurricanes.

可能大多數(shù)人都沒聽說過塞舌爾群島，這是一個由115個島嶼組成，離知名的馬達(dá)加斯加很近的島群。很久之前，這些島完全就是無人居住的荒島，直到英國東印度公司在17世紀(jì)發(fā)現(xiàn)了它們。在那之后，它們就成了海盜的天堂。如今，那里是一個極妙的地方。在那里你能觀賞到海中最大的魚——鯨鯊。塞舌爾是擁有一些最早科學(xué)記錄的稀有生物瑰寶庫，而且這些生物都是被嚴(yán)格保護(hù)的。

然而，由于海灘周圍的珊瑚屏障的破壞，這些島嶼可能在半個世紀(jì)內(nèi)就會被海水淹沒。不斷上升的氣溫破壞了珊瑚，讓它呈現(xiàn)恐怖怪異甚至像骷髏般的白色。珊瑚白化不僅破壞了整個生態(tài)系統(tǒng)，還讓島上的居民更容易遭受像颶風(fēng)這樣的災(zāi)難。

Everyone whos taken a high school biology class knows about Charles Darwin and how he was inspired to devise his theory of evolution while studying the wildlife of these secluded islands. Nearly 9，000 species， many of which can be found nowhere else in the entire world， call these islands home. However， the wildlife that makes the Galapagos so unique is being seriously threatened.

As the number of immigrant workers and tourists has increased， the latter by more than 12 percent every year， so does the number of invasive species， like goats and pigs， which eat the food that the native species need to survive， and predators such as rats make off with the young and the weak. For thousands of years， there were no predators for the native species at all on the islands， and evolution works too slowly for many of these unique animals to hope to catch up in time.

任何一個上過高中生物課的人想必都知道達(dá)爾文，以及他是如何經(jīng)過啟發(fā)，在研究這些僻靜島嶼上的野生生物時構(gòu)想他的進(jìn)化論。這座島是近9000種生物生存的家園，其中很多物種在全世界的其他地方都找不到。然而，這些讓加拉帕戈斯獨具魅力的野生動物群正受到嚴(yán)重的威脅。

由于外籍勞工和游客數(shù)量的增加，后者以每年超過12%的速度增長，除此之外還有入侵物種數(shù)量的增多例如山羊和豬。山羊和豬吃掉了本地物種賴以生存的食物，而像老鼠這樣的捕食者則同它們當(dāng)中的弱小個體逃離了這座群島。千百年來，這些島上的本地物種根本沒有天敵，許多稀有物種因進(jìn)化得太慢而無法逃脫被捕食。

The name of this district of Manilla， which is the second largest city in the Philippines， means “within the walls”. Its a very appropriate moniker， considering that it has been guarded by the same walls since they were built in the 16th century. It was the original capital of the city， when the Spanish Empire still owned the territory of Manila.

In 1951， Intramuros was declared a historic monument. Slow progress has been made toward its restoration， including the return of its five original gates to their former glory. However， these ancient walls cannot keep out the modern world. Several franchises of Starbucks and McDonalds have been erected around the ancient city， and the moats surrounding it have been converted into golf courses. Historians tremble at what will come next.

市中市，即菲律賓的第二大城市馬尼拉一個區(qū)的名字，意指“圍墻中的城市”。鑒于市中市在16世紀(jì)那些城墻建成以來一直被其御護(hù)著，這無疑就是一個非常合適的名字。早在西班牙帝國殖民統(tǒng)治馬尼拉領(lǐng)域時期，市中市便是該領(lǐng)域的首都。

1951年，市中市正式被列為歷史古跡。重建工作緩慢地進(jìn)行著，其中包括5扇曾經(jīng)風(fēng)光無限的大城門的修復(fù)。然而，這些古老的城墻根本阻擋不了現(xiàn)代世界發(fā)展的大潮。星巴克和麥當(dāng)勞等一些商家已經(jīng)拿到了古城附近的經(jīng)營權(quán)，環(huán)繞的護(hù)城河也已被修成了高爾夫球場。歷史學(xué)家們對未來可能發(fā)生的情況感到擔(dān)心。

Hishams Palace was buried underneath the sand in A.D. 747 and remained there until Palestinian archeologist D.C. Baramki began excavating it in 1934. Sadly， historians fear that the site might not be around in as few as 100 years.

Intriguingly， no one is quite sure what Hishams Palace is supposed to be. All we really know for sure is that it was definitely built in the early 8th century and destroyed by a massive earthquake. Its threatened by the massive expansion from the neighboring as well as extremely vulnerable to the natural elements after being buried under the sand for so long. The sand appears to be seeking to claim it yet again. When it vanished from sight， it also seemed to vanish from any historical text. Unfortunately， we might never know the palaces secrets.

公元747年，希沙姆宮被埋葬在沙塵之下，直到巴勒斯坦考古學(xué)家D.C. Baramki于1934年開始對它進(jìn)行挖掘工作時，它才得以重見天日。不幸的是，歷史學(xué)家們表示擔(dān)心，100年內(nèi)這個古跡可能就會消失了。

有趣的是，沒有人能十分確定希沙姆宮到底是什么樣的。我們真正能肯定的是，它建于8世紀(jì)初而毀于一次大地震。它面對著來自于鄰國的大規(guī)模擴(kuò)張的威脅，而且它已經(jīng)被掩埋在沙土下很長時間，極易受到自然因素的破壞。沙塵似乎向世人宣告著，這座古城終究會再次回歸塵土。當(dāng)它從人們的視線中消失的時候，似乎也從歷史文本消失了。遺憾的是，我們可能永遠(yuǎn)不會知道王宮中的秘密了。