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United States
美國(guó)版塊
A perfect storm
屋漏偏逢連夜雨
Light a candle for the kids
為孩子們點(diǎn)一支蠟燭
The freeze in Texas exposes America’s infrastructural failings
得州的凍結(jié)暴露了美國(guó)基礎(chǔ)設(shè)施的缺陷
When it rains, it pours, and when it snows, the lights turn off. Or so it goes in Texas. After a winter storm pummelled the Lone Star State with record snowfall and the lowest temperatures in more than 30 years, millions were left without electricity and heat. At the worst moment on February 16th, 4.5m Texan households were cut off from power, as providers were overloaded with demand and tried to shuffle access to electricity so the entire grid did not collapse.
不雨則已, 一雨傾盆；不雪則已，一雪燈滅。得克薩斯州也是這樣。在一場(chǎng)冬季暴風(fēng)雪以創(chuàng)紀(jì)錄的降雪量和30多年來(lái)最低的氣溫襲擊了孤星州（得州別名）之后，數(shù)百萬(wàn)人失去了電和熱。在2月16日最糟糕的時(shí)刻，450萬(wàn)得州家庭被切斷了電力供應(yīng)，因?yàn)楣╇娚痰碾娏π枨蟪?fù)荷，并試圖改變供電方式，以免整個(gè)電網(wǎng)崩潰。
Whole skylines, including Dallas’s, went dark to conserve power. Some Texans braved the snowy roads to check into the few hotels with remaining rooms, only for the hotels’ power to go off as they arrived. Others donned skiwear and remained inside, hoping the lights and heat would come back on. Across the state, what were supposed to be “rolling” blackouts lasted for days. It is still too soon to quantify the devastation. More than 20 people have died in motor accidents, from fires lit for warmth and from carbon-monoxide poisoning after using cars to get warm. The storm has also halted deliveries of covid-19 vaccines and may prevent around 1m vaccinations from happening this week. Several retail electricity providers are likely to go bankrupt, after being hit with surging wholesale power prices.
所有的高樓大廈全部變暗以節(jié)省電力，達(dá)拉斯地區(qū)也未能幸免于難。一些得州人冒著雪路，住進(jìn)了幾家還有剩余房間的旅館，結(jié)果旅館的電源在他們到達(dá)時(shí)就斷了。其他得州人則穿上滑雪服呆在家里，盼望著燈光和暖氣能恢復(fù)。本應(yīng)實(shí)行輪流停電的得州各地區(qū)停電數(shù)日。現(xiàn)在量化此次災(zāi)難的破壞程度還為時(shí)過(guò)早。超過(guò)20人死于交通事故、取暖引起的火災(zāi)以及用汽車取暖后的一氧化碳中毒。這場(chǎng)暴風(fēng)雪還中斷了新冠疫苗的運(yùn)送，并可能阻止本周約100萬(wàn)人接種疫苗。在受到批發(fā)電價(jià)飆升的沖擊后，幾家零售電力供應(yīng)商可能會(huì)破產(chǎn)。
Other states, including Tennessee, were also covered in snow, but Texas got the lion’s share and ground to a halt. Texans are rightly furious that residents of America’s energy capital cannot count on reliable power. Everyone is asking why.
包括田納西州在內(nèi)的美國(guó)其他州也被雪覆蓋，但得州遭遇了最大的積雪覆蓋和城市癱瘓。得州人感到憤怒是理所當(dāng)然的，畢竟他們身為美國(guó)能源之都的居民，卻無(wú)法指望可靠的電力。每個(gè)人都在問(wèn)為什么。
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