VOA慢速英语: 菲律宾渔民用玻璃纤维制造新船

菲律宾渔民用玻璃纤维制造新船

When Typhoon Haiyan devastated Philippines’ Leyte Island one year ago, many local fishermen lost their wooden boats.

Last year, a typhoon seriously damaged Leyte Island in the Philippines. More than 7,300 people died or are missing. Four million Filipinos lost their homes, and many of them lost their incomes.

去年，台风严重破坏菲律宾的莱特岛。大概有7300多人死亡或失踪。400万人失去他们的家园，很多人失去收入来源。

Many fishermen were among them. They lost their wooden boats. Without them, they had no way to make money.

其中包括很多渔民，他们的木船遭受损失。没有船，他们便失去挣钱的门路。

The fishermen used boats called “bancas.” These boats were made from wood taken from the island’s forests. But the forests were damaged by the powerful storm, making it difficult to quickly rebuild the boats.

渔民过去使用的船叫做“班卡船”。那些造船的木头是从岛上森林中砍伐的，但是森林被强台风破坏，很难快速地再造新船。

So a large, non-governmental environmental protection group is helping the fishermen rebuild their boats using a material made of glass and plastic. The material is called fiberglass. The group says fiberglass lasts longer than the wood and plywood materials the fishermen have traditionally used to build their boats.

因此，一个非政府的环保组织帮助这些渔民使用一种由玻璃和塑料材料来造船。这种材料叫做玻璃纤维。该组织人员称玻璃纤维的造船比渔民使用传统的木头和胶合板造船使用的寿命长。

Patrick Vincent Co manages the bancas rebuilding project for the WWF. He and his employees are teaching fishermen how to build boats with fiberglass.

帕特克·文森特是世界自然基金会中班卡船重建项目的负责人，他和其它员工教渔民如何使用玻璃纤维造船。

“We feel that this is simply the next step forward, both out of necessity and out of practicality to use fiberglass rather than wood and plywood, and also something that is essentially ecologically sound.”

“我们认为这是进一步的发展，不论是出于必要性还是实用性的考虑，使用玻璃纤维而不用木头或者胶合板造船，在一定程度上来说听起来更生态环保。”

Ramon Binamira is a boat-building expert. He says many of the fishermen were worried about using fiberglass to build boats. He says they asked many questions.

雷蒙·本那米亚是造船专家。他说很多渔民对使用玻璃纤维造船感到担心。他们问了很多问题。

“Is it strong enough? Will it be able to take the day-to-day abuse that the traditional boats have proven to be capable of taking?”

“玻璃纤维船是否够稳固？能否具有传统船只的那种日复一日使用的承载能力？”

The fishermen tested the fiberglass bancas with a heavy tool called a “sledgehammer.” The fisherman used it to hit the sides of the fiberglass boats to see if the new boats were as strong as their wooden boats.

渔民是用一种“长柄锤”的大型工具来检测玻璃纤维船。渔民使用长柄锤来敲打玻璃纤维船的边缘，来检测这种新船是否比他们的木头船更稳固。

Norberto dela Torre is a 78-year old fisherman. He says he was surprised by the strength of the fiberglass bancas.

诺维托·戴拉·托伊是位78岁的渔民。他说他对玻璃纤维的班卡船的性能感到惊讶。

Mr. dela Torre says the fiberglass boats are durable. He says they are stronger in water than wooden boats. And he notes wooden boats get dirty easily.

戴拉·托伊说玻璃纤维船持久耐用。它们在水中比木头船更稳固，而且木头船在水中很容易脏。

The new fiberglass bancas are now being used only for small-scale fishing. But the World Wildlife Fund hopes the new boat-building skills that fishermen are learning will help them design and create larger fiberglass boats. The WWF says the technology will help them better-prepare for climate change and reduce the need for wood from forests damaged by Typhoon Haiyan.

新的玻璃纤维班卡船现在只能用在小规模的捕鱼。但是世界自然基金会希望造新船的技能可以帮助渔民设计和建造更大型的玻璃纤维船。世界自然基金会称这项技术会帮助他们更好地应对气候变化，同时减少对受台风“海燕”破坏的林木的需求。

I’m Jonathan Evans.

我是乔纳森·伊凡斯。

______________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

durable – adj. staying strong and in good condition over a long period of time

fiberglass – n. a light, strong material that is made from thin threads of glass; it is used to make different products

plywood – n. a strong board that is made by joining thin sheets of wood with glue

typhoon – n. an extremely large, powerful and destructive storm that happens especially in the area of the Philippines