2006年NPR美国国家公共电台六月-China Races to Rescue Its Shrinking Wetla

One not so sudden problem that Chinese media have been reporting a serious shortage of water. Some worry that it could derail the country's rapid economic growth. China's per capita water resources are only a quarter of the world average and the problem is aggravated 1 by pollution, fouling 2 China's rivers and lakes. The country's wetland environments and their unique way of life are especially threatened. NPR's Anthony Kuhn traveled 100 miles from Beijing and visited north China's largest wetland ecosystem 3.

Instead of one lake with people living on its shores, Lake Baiyangdian is composed of 143 small lakes with dozens of fishing villages scattered 4 on the lake's many islands. Traditionally, at least, the life of the people was inseparable from the life of the lake. That interdependence survives in a unique local tradition, fishing with birds.

Sixty-year-old fisherman Zhang Shuiyuan unties 5 6 cormorants from their perches near his home and hoists them into his flat-bottomed rowboat. The big birds have webbed feet and a throat pouch 9, good gear for fishing. With the birds riding shotgun, Zhang heads for the open water. Out on the lake, lotus leaves and lily pads form a lush green carpet. The tall reeds rustle 10 in the wind. Before sending the cormorants 6 after the fish, Zhang first ties a piece of straw around each bird's neck so it won't swallow its catch. Zhang urges the birds on, splashing his oars 11 and stamping his feet on the boat. The birds dive and stay under for the better part of a minute. When they surface, Zhang hoists 8 them aboard with a pole and empties the fish from their gullets.

"These birds are domesticated 12 animals. We don't raise them for the fun of it. We used to use them to make a living, but now there are faster ways to catch fish."

Baiyangdian's wetland ecosystem performs vital functions. It catches floodwaters and moderates the weather. It maintains the biodiversity of plant and animal species. It's China's easternmost rest stop for migratory 13 birds and it cleans the rivers that flow through it, earning it the nickname 'North China's Kidney'.

The channels in islands of Baiyangdian are like the broad avenues and narrow lanes of a great city. 74-year-old boatman Wang Dabang knows them all intimately.

"I knew how to swim from about the same time I knew how to run and play. I played in the water all day. Back then the water was really clean. We all just scooped it up and drank it."

Now Wang has to bring drinking water from village wells when he goes out on the lake. Over the past two decades, he's seen cars driving on the dry lake bed, he's seen pollution turn the water the color of soy sauce, he's seen once plentiful 15 mandarin 16 fish and turtles disappear, but he's also seen the standard of living rise.

"Life is definitely better now. Then we could barely stave off hunger. Now we have everything, rice, white flour. Back then, we only got to eat white flour at Chinese New Year."

Over the past four decades, Baiyangdian's waters have shrunk by a third to their current size of about 140 square miles. Most of the nine rivers that used to feed the lake have run dry due to climate change and the building of dams and reservoirs upstream. The lake receives tons of sewerage and industrial waste from Baoding, a city of 10 million people upstream. But some experts feel the damage is reversible. Fisherman Zhang agrees that with a little help, Baiyangdian may yet be able to heal itself.

"The turtles and the mandarin fish are gone, but if the water can be cleaned, they will naturally reappear by themselves. Even the most experienced fishermen can't explain this. It's just nature. "

The Chinese government has recently announced a ten-year, a billion-dollar effort to clean up Baiyangdian. Anthony Kuhn, NPR News, Lake Baiyangdian.
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per capita:used to describe the average amount of something in a particular place, calculated according to the number of people who live there; 每人, 照人数分配的
wetland:an area of land that is partly covered with water, or is wet most of the time; 潮湿的土壤, 沼泽地
ecosystem:all the animals and plants in a particular area, and the way in which they are related to each other and to their environment; 生态系统
interdependence:a situation in which people or things depend on each other; 互相依赖
cormorant:a large black sea bird which has a long neck and eats fish; 鸬鹚, 贪婪的人
perch:a branch or stick where a bird sits; 栖木, 人所居的高位, 有利的地位, 杆, 河鲈
hoist:to raise, lift, or pull up something, especially using ropes; 提升间, 升起
webbed:webbed feet or toes have skin between the toes; 作成蜘蛛网状的, 有蹼的
pouch:a fold of skin like a bag which animals such as hamsters or squirrels have inside each cheek to carry and store food; 小袋, 烟草袋, 钱袋, 育儿袋
lush:plants that are lush grow many leaves and look healthy and strong; 青葱的, 味美的, 豪华的, 繁荣的
rustle:if leaves, papers, clothes etc rustle, or if you rustle them, they make a noise as they rub against each other ;发出沙沙声, 奋力工作, 急速移动
splash:if a liquid splashes, it hits or falls on something and makes a noise; 溅, 泼, 溅湿
gullet:the tube at the back of your mouth through which food goes down your throat ;食道, 咽喉, 水道, 峡谷, 锯齿间空隙
domesticated:domesticated animals are able to work for people or live with them as pets;驯化的
biodiversity:the variety of plants and animals in a particular place;区域动植物多元化
scoop up:铲起
mandarin fish:鳜鱼或桂鱼
stave off:to keep someone or something from reaching you or affecting you for a period of time; 避开, 挡开, 延迟
back then:a long time ago when things were different
reversible: a change that is reversible can be changed back to how it was before;可逆的