五大湖遭受旱灾影响

The uNPRecedented drought has hit hard The Yangtze River Valley. This year's rainfall has been about 70 to 80 percent less than normal. The great lakes along The Yangtze are also victims of the drought.
空前的旱灾严重袭击长江流域。今年的降雨量大约只有往年的70%—80%。长江流域五大湖也遭受旱灾的影响。

This is the Nature Protection Zone of East Dongting Lake, a name on the List of Ramsar wetlands of international importance. Severe drought has shrunk the water area. The protection zone, which normally reaches nearly 300 square kilometers, has declined to merely 44 square kilometers. 85% of it is in severe drought.
这是洞庭湖自然保护区，列入拉姆萨国际重要湿地名录。严重旱灾已经减少了水域面积。这个保护区的水域面积通常达到将近300平方千米，现在已经减少到只有44平凡千米。85%的面积严重干旱。

Chen Jiakuan, Visiting Professor of Fudan University, said, "I have never seem the lake like this. It is devastating. Poyang, Dongting and Honghu Lakes were in good shape. But now they are so tiny that they can't be called lakes anymore. This is very serious"
复旦大学客座教授陈家宽说：“我从没见过湖变成这样。这是毁灭性的灾害。鄱阳湖，洞庭湖和洪湖本来都很好。但是现在这些湖的水都太少而不能称为湖泊。这是非常严重的。”

Ecologists are very worried about the serious consequences of the continuous drought on the Eco system of the lakes as well as the whole Yangtze River Valley. A shrinking lake will not only impact on people living around it, but also all the lives it sustains.
生态学家非常担心持续干旱会对湖泊的生态系统和整个长江流域造成严重后果。减少的水域面积不只影响周围的居民，而且影响它所维持的生命。

Wang Ding, Researcher of Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Science, said, "I went to have a look at East Dongting lake. It is almost dried up. All the living thing particularly the fish will be hugely impacted over the next year. Besides, the consequences can pass through the food chain and effect other lives such as birds and mammals."
中国科学院水生生物研究所研究人员王丁说：“我去看了东洞庭湖。它几乎干涸了。下一年的生物，尤其是鱼将受到严重的影响。此外，这种后果将透过食物链影响到其他生物，如鸟和哺乳动物。”

Wetland, the birthplace of lives. East Dongting Lake has been famous for its great size and beauty throughout Chinese history. It's hard to imagine such a huge lake has lost most of its body. What is gone is not only the area of water, but also part of Mother Nature and the Ecosystem.
湿地是生命的出生地。东洞庭湖在中国历史上一直以它的壮观和美丽著称。很难想象这么一个大湖失去了主要部分。失去的不只是水域面积，而且是大自然和生态系统的一部分。