Wildfires in the UK 英國夏日野火燒遍荒野

註：本節目視頻於2018年7月18日制作，沙德伍茲濕地餘火現已全滅。

本集內容

Wildfires in the UK 英國夏日野火燒遍荒野

學習要點

有關“火 fire”的詞匯

邊看邊答

Which chemicals do the on-board instruments show in the smoke?

文字稿

More than two weeks after the fire on Saddleworth Moor started, it continues to smoulder. And scientists say the summer drought could bring many more wildfires in the UK and across Europe. So, these researchers are taking to the smoky air, in a laboratory on a plane, to find out what that will mean for the air that we breathe.

在英國沙德伍茲濕地大火發生後的兩個多星期，餘火仍在悶燃。而科學傢們說今夏的幹旱可能會給英國和歐洲各地帶來更多野火災害。所以，這些研究員們乘坐飛機飛向這片煙霧彌漫的天空，在機艙中的一間實驗室裡研究大火對我們呼吸的空氣有何影響。

Professor James Lee, University of York
So, this is obviously… it’s a converted passenger plane… would normally seat about a hundred people, but most of the seats have been ripped out and replaced with a load of instruments that you can see, basically, so we can sample the constituents of the air.

詹姆斯·李教授英國約克大學
“所以，這顯然是一架由客機改裝的飛機，原本可載客一百人，但大部分座位都已被拆除並換上瞭大量的儀器，基本上，這樣我們就能收集空氣成分的樣本瞭。”

Entire ecosystems have been wiped out in two major fires that are still burning in the north of England. Incidents that the fire service has described as some of the worst it’s ever seen.

整個生態系統都已被在英格蘭北部兩場仍在燃燒的大火徹底摧毀，這兩起火災被消防部門稱作史上最嚴重的事故。

Shona Wilde, atmospheric chemist
We look at live data from the aircraft to identify when we think we’re going through a plume. And once I think we’re in a plume, then we hit a button and that will take a sample of air from outside the aircraft, which we collect for analysis.

舒娜·懷爾德大氣化學傢
“我們通過觀察這架飛機收集的實時數據來識別我們何時在穿過煙氣羽流。而一旦我確認已處於煙氣羽流中，我們就會按下一個按鈕，以從機外采集一份空氣樣本，然後對此進行分析。”

On-board instruments show some of the chemicals in the smoke, including methane, an important greenhouse gas, and the air pollutant carbon monoxide. Only back on the ground will the team be able to work out its exact chemical makeup and how it affects the air that we’re breathing.

機上儀器顯示，煙霧中含有部分化學物質，包括重要的溫室氣體甲烷以及空氣污染物一氧化碳。隻有回到地面上後，研究團隊才能查出具體的化合物構成以及它如何影響我們所呼吸的空氣。

This flight is part of a much bigger global study of greenhouse gas emissions. Today though, it’s captured samples that will eventually reveal exactly what’s drifting into our towns and cities.

這次飛行是一項更大的針對全球溫室氣體排放研究的一部分。然而今天，該研究捕捉到的樣本將揭示飄到我們城市和市中心的具體物質是什麼。

詞匯

smoulder 悶燃
wildfires 野火
smoky 煙霧彌漫的
plume 煙氣流
drifting 漂浮

你知道嗎？

In order to ignite, a fire needs three things: a flammable material, such as wood, a source of heat, and oxygen. The removal of one of these elements will extinguish the fire.

火需要三個條件才能燃燒：可燃材料，比如木頭，熱源和氧氣。在這三個元素中少瞭任意一個，火就會立刻熄滅。