“地狱之火”亟待熄灭
Turkmenistan President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov is shutting down one of the country's few tourist attractions — the Darvaza gas crater. Also known as the Gates of Hell, the fire has been burning for decades some 260 kilometres from the country’s capital of Ashgabat.
土库曼斯坦总统别尔德穆哈梅多夫称，该国屈指可数的旅游景点之一——达尔瓦扎天然气坑洞，即将遭到封闭的命运。这座距该国首都阿什哈巴德约260公里远的坑洞，也被称作“地狱之门”，其中的熊熊烈火已经持续燃烧了数十年。
At a televised government meeting this month, Berdymukhamedov argued that the flaming pit was burning up an “enormous volume of gas” that could be otherwise be used “to ensure the prosperity of [Turkmen] people”.
在本月某次经由电视转播的政府会议上，别尔德穆哈梅多夫总统声称，这座不断燃烧的坑洞已经燃尽了大量的天然气，如此巨量的天然气本可以用于保障土库曼人民的福祉。
In a Jan. 8 appearance on Turkmenistan's state TV channel, President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov urged officials to "find a solution to extinguish the fire," citing concerns for the health of people living near the flaming crater, as well as lost business opportunities, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.
据法新社报道，总统于1月8日出席土库曼斯坦国家电视台时，敦促政府官员寻找灭火方案，并对火坑附近居民的健康状况及逐渐丧失的天然气商机表示了担忧。
“地狱之门”为何降临人间？
The cavern appeared in the early 1970s after a Soviet drilling rig spudded an exploration well that hit a large concealed cave below the surface. The gates are a large hole in the desert measuring roughly 230 feet (70 meters) wide and at least 65 feet (20 meters) deep.
20世纪70年代初，前苏联的某台钻机本试图开凿一口探井，结果却在地表之下凿就了这座巨大而隐蔽的洞穴。“地狱之门”即便在广袤的沙漠中也显得十分巨大，其宽约有230英尺(70米)，其深有至少65英尺(20米)。
Exact records of what happened next are not available but the ground beneath the rig is believed to have collapsed into a wide crater, burying the rig but resulting in no casualties.
此后的事情虽无确切的记录，但据信，钻井平台下的地面陷入了一个大坑，平台遭到掩埋，但人员并无伤亡。
As the story goes, geologists then decided to ignite the gas in the crater, mistakenly believing that it would quickly burn away. The spectacular if unwelcome fire that has burned ever since is so renowned that state TV showed President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov speeding around it in an off-road truck in 2019.
而后，地质学家决定将坑洞中喷出的气体点燃——他们误以为气体不久即会燃尽。然而自那以来，这场“不速之火”的燃烧未曾断绝，且变得广为人知。在2019年，国家电视台甚至播放了总统驾驶越野车在火坑周围疾驰的画面。
Known by some as the Door to Hell, the crater with burning gas seeps has been increasingly marked as a must-see destination in Turkmenistan, along with the country’s ancient towns, Karakum desert and large mosques.
这座凭“地狱之门”之名而广为人知的，散发着燃烧气体的坑洞，已逐渐与土库曼斯坦的古镇、卡拉库姆沙漠和大型清真寺并列，成为该国的必看景点。
如何将“地狱之门”封印？
In 2010, Berdymukhamedov issued his first order to extinguish the crater.However, that plan was soon buried somewhere in the long corridors of shiny white administrative buildings in Ashgabat, as tourists and even the president himself continued to flock to the infernal attraction.
2010年，别尔德穆哈梅多夫首次下令将“地狱之门”的火焰熄灭。然而不久之后，这项计划就被扼杀在了白光熠熠的首都行政大楼的长廊中。因为游客摩肩接踵地涌向这个富有地狱气息的的景点——甚至连总统本人都是这些游客的一员。
The president said environmental and health considerations also weighed on his decision to invest into an expensive and technically challenging operation to extinguish the burning gas. Deputy Prime Minister Shakhym Abdrakhmanov has been charged with obtaining consultations from Turkmen scientists and also bringing in international experts to implement the president’s latest order, according to reports in Ashgabat.
总统表示，出于对环境和健康因素的考虑，他决定投资于一种昂贵而富有技术挑战性的手段，以此将熊熊燃烧的天然气熄灭。据首都阿什哈巴德方面报道，为执行总统的最新命令，副总理沙希姆·阿卜杜拉赫曼诺夫将负责对土库曼科学家进行有关咨询以及引进国际专家。
难点词汇与表达
1）conceal：vt. 隐匿，隐藏 prevent from being seen or discovered
例句：The paintings were concealed beneath a thick layer of plaster.
2）casualty：n.伤亡 a person who is killed or injured in war or in an accident
例句：Both sides had suffered heavy casualties.
3） ignite：v.(使)燃烧，着火 to start to burn; to make sth start to burn
例句：A spark ignites the fuel in a car engine.
4）administrative：adj.管理的;行政的 connected with organizing the work of a business or an institution
例句：I spend a lot of my time on administrative duties.
5）infernal：adj.地狱的 characteristic of or resembling Hell
例句：Our biggest competition is B. F. Goodrich and his infernal zippers.
原文链接：
https://www.npr.org/2022/01/08/1071565479/turkmenistan-gates-of-hell-fire
https://www.upstreamonline.com/environment/turkmenistan-to-seal-the-gates-of-hell/2-1-1142178
https://www.livescience.com/turkmenistan-gates-of-hell-finally-closed
编译 | 郝喜桓
排版 | 郝喜桓
