Yaël: Hey Don, whatch'a doing?

嘿，Don, 你在干什么？Don: Booking a trip to Glacier National Park. I want to go there before the glaciers disappear.

訂張去冰川國家國家公園的票。在冰川融化之前我想去那兒一趟。

Y: What do you mean?

你是什么意思?。?/span>D: Scientists predict that within twenty years the park's remaining glaciers will melt away.

科學家們預測20年之內這個公園內的冰川將漸漸融化。

Y: Why?

為什么??？

D: Whether it's because of human industry or natural cycles, temperatures are rising. And when temperatures rise, glaciers melt.

不管是因為人類工業還是自然循環，氣溫都在逐漸上升。而當氣溫上升時，冰川就會融化。

Y: Forgive me for sounding insensitive, but so what? Glaciers are nice to look at, but what difference will it make if they melt?

原諒我的后知后覺，但是那又如何？冰川看起來很漂亮，但是如果它們融化又會有什么不同呢？

D: Glaciers are more than just pretty pictures. They're the main sources for many rivers that people depend on for drinking water, irrigation, and hydroelectric power.

冰川不只是壯美這么簡單。它們是許多河流的源頭。人們的飲用水、灌溉和水力電氣的能源都需要依賴這些河流。

Y: So are rivers drying up?

那么，河流會變得干涸嗎？D: Not yet, but the amount of glacier water affects a river's flow volume.

還不確定，但冰川水的量會影響河水的流量。

The lower the flow volume the less water there is for drinking, power, and everything else people depend on rivers for.

流量越少，供人們飲用，發電以及做其他一切事的水就會越少。

Also, greater water volume helps dilute a river's chemical content.

另外，豐富的水量可以幫助稀釋河流內的化學物質。

The less water a river has, the higher the chemical concentration, which can pollute a lake fed by the river.

一條河的水量越少，其內的化學物質濃度就會越高。這會污染這條河注入的湖泊。Y: I didn't know that. But how about this...Higher temperatures mean that more water will evaporate from the oceans, which means more precipitation, including snow.

我倒不清楚那個。但這個呢？溫度越高就意味著海洋的水將會有更多被蒸發，也就是說降水量也會增多，包括雪。

So maybe some glaciers will actually grow even though it's getting warmer.

所以說盡管氣候是在變暖，但冰川的數量還可能會增加。D: Some scientists make that argument, but most don't buy it.

有些科學家做出了那樣的論斷，但大部分人并不認同。

Sure, some glaciers are growing temporarily thanks to unusual amounts of snow, but they're the exception to the rule.

確實，一些冰川的暫時性生長是因為不尋常的降雪數量，但這只是冰川生成過程中的例外情況。

Generally, glaciers grow when the amount of snow that melts in the summer is less than the amount that falls in the winter.

一般來說，夏天雪融化的數量少于冬天降雪的數量時才會生成冰川。

Right now, more snow is melting than falling.

現在，融化的雪量比降雪量多。

Y: I guess you should book that trip.

我想你該訂下這趟旅程。