在澳大利亚，每年都有森林火灾。但是今年的火灾特别严重，不仅有很多伤亡，而且野生动物也遭了殃。那么，为什么今年的火灾如此严重呢？
Why Australian bushfires are so bad this season
by Sarah Newey
Australia is no stranger to wildfires, but this season has been unprecedented in scale and intensity. So far at least 17 people have died in blazes that have swept the country, more than 1,200 homes have been destroyed and 55,000 square kilometres of land has been burnt. So what has caused the blazes which have devastated（彻底破坏） huge swathes（大片土地） of the country?
wildfire /ˈwaɪldfaɪə(r)/ n. 野火、山林大火
unprecedented /ʌnˈpresɪdentɪd/ adj. 史无前例的
scale /skeɪl/ n. 规模
intensity /ɪnˈtensəti/ n. 强度
blaze /bleɪz/ n. 大火
sweep /swiːp/ v. 横扫、席卷（swept是过去分词）
cause /kɔːz/ v. 造成、引起
Australia's deadly fires have been fuelled by a combination of extreme heat, prolonged drought and strong winds. The country is in the grip of a heatwave, with record-breaking temperatures over the last three months. In mid-December the nation saw the hottest day in history – the average temperature was 41.9 degrees Celsius.
deadly /ˈdedli/ adj. 致命的、致死的
fuel /ˈfjuːəl/ v. 提供燃料
combination /ˌkɒmbɪˈneɪʃ(ə)n/ n. 组合（由combine加后缀-ation变成名词）
extreme /ɪkˈstriːm/ adj. 极端的
prolonged /prəˈlɒŋd/ adj. 拖了很长时间的
drought /draʊt/ n. 干旱
grip /ɡrɪp/ n. 控制、支配
heatwave /ˈhiːtˌweɪv/ n. 热浪
record-breaking 破纪录的
mid- 前缀，表示“在…中间”
nation /ˈneɪʃ(ə)n/ n. 国家
degree Celsius /ˈselsiəs/ 摄氏度
These conditions, which show few signs of abating（减轻） in the next few weeks, have been accompanied by brisk（活跃的） winds which fan the flames and push the smoke across Australia's major cities. On Monday wind speeds were recorded at 97 kilometres per hour.
condition /kənˈdɪʃ(ə)n/ n. 状态、状况
accompany /əˈkʌmpəni/ v. 陪伴、伴随
fan /fæn/ v. 吹动
flame /fleɪm/ n. 火焰
major /ˈmeɪdʒə(r)/ adj. 主要的
record /rɪˈkɔːd/ v. 记录
All this follows the country's driest spring since records began 120 years ago, with much of New South Wales and Queensland experiencing rainfall shortfalls since early 2017. Trees, shrubs（矮树） and grasslands have turned into the perfect tinder（易燃物） for flames.
record /ˈrekɔːd/ n. 纪录（它做名词和做动词时发音不同）
New South Wales 新南威尔士（澳大利亚东南部的州）
Queensland 昆士兰（澳大利亚东北部的州）
rainfall /ˈreɪnfɔːl/ n. 降雨、降水
shortfall /ˈʃɔːtfɔːl/ n. 缺口、短缺量
grassland /ˈɡrɑːslænd/ n. 草地
turn /tɜːn/ v. 变成
Bushfires are a regular feature in Australia's calendar – often triggered by natural causes such as lightning strikes – and cannot be blamed on climate change alone. But experts say that the changing climate is key to understanding the ferocity（凶猛） of this year's blazes – hotter, drier conditions are making the country's fire season longer and much more dangerous.
bushfire /ˈbʊʃˌfaɪə(r)/ n. 灌木火灾、森林火灾
feature /ˈfiːtʃə(r)/ n. 特性、特色
calendar /ˈkæləndə(r)/ n. 日历
trigger /ˈtrɪɡə(r)/ v. 引发
cause /kɔːz/ n. 原因、起因
lightning /ˈlaɪtnɪŋ/ n. 闪电
strike /straɪk/ n. 袭击、击打
key /kiː/ adj. 关键的
And Australia's climate is definitely changing. According to the country's Bureau of Meteorology, temperatures have already risen by more than one degree Celsius since 1920 – with much of the increase taking place since 1950.
definitely /ˈdefɪnətli/ adv. 肯定地、毫无疑问地
Bureau of Meteorology 气象局
So far the response has been largely reactive – aimed at evacuating（撤离） residents to safety and stopping the blazes from spreading. Australia relies on hundreds of thousands of volunteer firefighters, who have been working around the clock to try and bring the fires under control for months.
response /rɪˈspɒns/ n. 响应、应对
largely /ˈlɑːdʒli/ adv. 在很大程度上、基本上（由large加后缀-ly变成副词）
reactive /rɪˈæktɪv/ adj. 做出反应的、被动应付的（由react加后缀-ive变成形容词）
resident /ˈrezɪd(ə)nt/ n. 居民
safety /ˈseɪfti/ n. 安全、安全地带
spread /spred/ v. 扩散
rely /rɪˈlaɪ/ on 依靠
volunteer /ˌvɒlənˈtɪə(r)/ n. 志愿者
around the clock 夜以继日地
under control 被控制住
The armed forces have now also been deployed to fight the fires and evacuate residents and the United States, Canada and New Zealand have also sent resources including firefighters to help stem the blazes.
the armed forces 武装力量、军队
deploy /dɪˈplɔɪ/ v. 部署
New Zealand /ˈziːlənd/ 新西兰
resource /ˈriːsɔːs/ n. 资源
stem /stem/ v. 遏制、封堵
But in the long term, experts have said that there should be a review of building standards in bushfire zones to create resilient homes and larger buffer（缓冲物） zones between the bush and properties. There have also been calls for emphasis on traditional fire management techniques used by Indigenous（原住民的） communities and a paid fire service less reliant on volunteers.
in the long term 从长期看
review /rɪˈvjuː/ n. 回顾、评估
standard /ˈstændəd/ n. 标准、质量标准
resilient /rɪˈzɪliənt/ adj. 能快速复原的
bush /bʊʃ/ n. 灌木、灌木地带
property /ˈprɒpəti/ n. 房产
call /kɔːl/ n. 呼吁、要求
emphasis /ˈemfəsɪs/ n. 重点
management /ˈmænɪdʒmənt/ n. 管理（由manage加后缀-ment变成名词）
technique /tekˈniːk/ n. 技艺、技术
community /kəˈmjuːnəti/ n. 社区
reliant /rɪˈlaɪənt/ adj. 依靠…的（由rely加后缀-ant变成形容词）
The country's government and Prime Minister Scott Morrison have been widely denounced（谴责） for their response to the crisis – particularly the insistence（顽固坚持） that fires are nothing new and climate change is irrelevant. And Mr Morrison was criticised for taking a family holiday to Hawaii in December despite the infernos（无法控制的大火）.
Prime Minister 总理
widely /ˈwaɪdli/ adv. 广泛地、普遍地（由wide加后缀-ly变成副词）
crisis /ˈkraɪsɪs/ n. 危机
irrelevant /ɪˈreləv(ə)nt/ adj. 不相干的（由relevant加上表示否定的前缀ir-）
criticise /ˈkrɪtɪsaɪz/ v. 批评
Hawaii /həˈwaɪiː/ n. 夏威夷
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