Life around the former Aral Sea today, is a harsh one.

如今，在前咸海区域的生活十分艰苦。

CORONA photos proved the Aral Sea had shrunk by 50% in 50 years.

CORONA 的照片证明咸海在 50 年内缩小了 50%。

In 1988, the lake separated into the Large Aral Sea and the Small Aral Sea.

1988年，咸海分离为大咸海和小咸海。

There are two rivers that used to feed the Aral Sea — the Amu Darya in the south and the Syr Darya in the east.

过去有两条河流为咸海提供水源——南部的阿姆河和东部的锡尔河。

Can they do anything to save the Aral Sea?

他们能为拯救咸海做点什么吗？

Hope for the Future In the 1990s, the Aral Sea continued to get smaller.

对未来的希望 1990 年代，咸海继续变小。

Exercise 2.3 So what is life like near the Aral Sea?

练习 2.3 那么咸海附近的生活是什么样的？

For all of recorded human history, the Aral Sea was the world's fourth largest lake and a vital piece of the local ecosystem that surrounded it.

在现今可考的史证中，咸海是世界第四大湖泊，也是周边地区生态系统至关重要的一环。

If the Aral Sea region were its own country, that would be the fifth-worst rate in the world, even worse than countries like Nigeria or Mali.

如果咸海地区是一个国家，那么这个数值会是世界第五高的死亡率，甚至比尼日利亚或马里等国家更糟。

Then, in 1994, five countries around the Aral Sea agreed to do something to stop the problem.

然后，在 1994 年，咸海周围的五个国家同意采取措施来阻止这个问题。

Then, during the 1980s, very little water-or sometimes no waster at all -reached the Aral Sea.

然后，在 20 世纪 80 年代，很少有水——有时甚至根本没有水——到达咸海。

The destruction of the Aral Sea has been called the worst environmental disaster of the 20th century.

咸海的破坏被称为 20 世纪最严重的环境灾难。

The Dead Sea in Jordan, Owens Lake in California, The Aral sea in Kazakhstan, all of them are drying out.

约旦的死海、加利福尼亚的欧文斯湖、哈萨克斯坦的咸海，都在干涸。

The Aral Sea was the world's fourth largest lake and a vital piece of the local ecosystem that surrounded it.

咸海是世界第四大湖，也是当地生态系统的重要组成部分。

Even more water is being used from the Aral Sea rivers to wash away the salt and the lake is just a fraction of what it once was, down to only 10% of its original size now.

咸海河域中更多的水被用来冲走土地中的盐分，而咸海湖泊面积只剩下过去的微小部分，缩小到只剩原有面积的10%。

The Disappearing Towns The water became very salty and this was not good for plant and animal life Now the water of the Aral Sea is nolonger clear There are no more fish.

消失的城镇 海水变得很咸，这对植物和动物的生活不利 现在咸海的水不再清澈 没有鱼了。