有錢任性：阿聯酋富翁計劃將南極冰山運回國解決供水危機
把南極冰山拖到阿聯酋供水？這不是開玩笑。
阿聯酋的一位富翁計劃耗資10億元將南極一塊冰山拖回阿聯酋，而且今年他就將嘗試把冰山拖到澳大利亞或南非。這位富翁表示，冰山能供應新鮮飲用水，能改善氣候，還能拉動旅遊業，一舉多得。
An inventor and entrepreneur from the UAE plans to drag an iceberg to Australia or South Africa later this year - at a cost of $80million.
阿聯酋的一位發明家兼企業家計劃今年晚些時候將一座冰山拖到澳大利亞或南非，預計耗資8000萬美元（約合人民幣5.5億元）。
Abdulla Alshehi says a chunk of Antarctic ice will be towed to either Cape Town or Perth at some point in 2019.
阿卜杜拉·阿爾謝希稱，今年將把一塊南極冰山拖到開普敦或珀斯。
The mission will act as a test run for a much more ambitious project which he hopes will end with a hunk of ice measuring 1.2miles by 550 yards being taken to the UAE.
此次任務只是試水，未來還有更加宏偉的計劃。他希望最後能將一大塊長1.2英里（1.9千米）寬550碼（0.5千米）的冰山帶回阿聯酋。
The aim would be to provide the Emirates with a steady supply of fresh drinking water, along with a tourist attraction.
這一計劃的目標是爲阿聯酋提供新鮮飲用水的穩定來源，並將冰山作爲一個旅遊景點。
Speaking to Euronews's Inspire Middle East, Alshehi said: 'As per our analysis, it will be cheaper to bring in these icebergs rather than using desalination water (gained by stripping the salt out of sea water.)
阿爾謝希對歐洲新聞電視臺啓迪中東頻道的記者說：“據我們的分析，把冰山運過來比使用淡化的海水更便宜。”
as per: 按照，依據；如同
desalination[,di,sælɪ'neʃən]: n. （海水的）脫鹽，淡化
'Desalination plants require a huge amount of capital investment and mean pumping a huge amount of sea water to the gulf, killing fish and marine life.
“海水淡化廠需要鉅額資金投入，同時也意味着要把大量海水注入海灣，殺死魚和其他海洋生物。”
'We believe it will be economically better and more environmentally friendly to use the icebergs, not just for the United Arab Emirates, but throughout the world.'
“我們認爲用冰山供水更經濟實惠，也更環保，不只是對阿聯酋，對整個世界都是如此。”
Alshehi points out that similar schemes were trialled before by the likes of Saudi Arabia, but their project failed in 1977 due to technical difficulties.
阿爾謝希指出，沙特阿拉伯此前也試行過類似的計劃，但因爲技術難關在1977年失敗了。
He plans to overcome these difficulties using a metal 'belt' which will be constructed around the ice, before using a boat to drag the block across the ocean.
阿爾謝希克服技術難關的計劃是在冰山四周建起一個金屬“帶”，然後用一艘船穿越海洋將冰山拖回來。
The block selected for use by the UAE will be chosen via satellite and could measure as much as 1.2miles long and 550 yards across.
阿聯酋將通過衛星選定目標冰山，尺寸大概是1.2英里長550碼寬。
It is expected to lose around 30 percent of its mass during its ten-month journey from Heard Island, near Antarctica, to the Fujairah coast.
將冰山從南極洲附近的赫德島拖到富查伊拉海岸，在長達10個月的旅途中預計會損失約30%的體積。
Even so, the block will provide millions of litres of fresh drinking water to the Arab kingdom, as well as bringing natural rain clouds by releasing cool, damp air.
即使如此，餘下的冰山仍會爲阿聯酋提供數百萬升新鮮飲用水，還能通過釋放溼冷空氣形成天然雨雲。
Alshehi hopes the block will also prove to be a major tourist attraction.
阿爾謝希希望這座冰山還能成爲一個主要旅遊景點。
The final project will cost between $100million and $150million, in addition to the $60million to $80million spent on the test run.
除去試水工程所花費的6000萬至8000萬美元，最終的工程將耗資1億至1.5億美元。
The UAE is one of the most arid countries and one of the top 10 most water-scarce in the world, due to its extremely arid climate, which receives less than four inches (100 mm) of rainfall per year.
由於極度乾旱的氣候，阿聯酋是世界上最乾旱的國家之一，也是全球最缺水的十個國家之一，每年降水還不到4英寸（100毫米）。
Despite that, it consumes more water than double the global national average putting the country at severe risk of droughts over the next 25 years.
儘管如此，阿聯酋消耗的水量卻是全球平均水平的兩倍多，這將使其在未來25年出現嚴重旱災風險。
drought[draʊt]: n. 乾旱
An average iceberg contains more than 20 billion gallons of water, according to the company.
根據這家公司的數據，一座冰山平均含有超200億加侖的水。
They take a long time to melt as 80 percent of their mass is underwater, while the white ice above reflects sunlight and deflects its heat.
冰山融化需要很長的時間，因爲80%的部分都在水面下，而水面上的白色冰層會反射太陽光，分散熱量。
Upon arrival at a specially constructed processing facility, workers will 'mine' the icebergs for their water supplies.
一旦冰山到達專門的處理廠，工人就會從冰山“開採”水資源來供水。
Blocks of ice will be chipped off and placed in giant tanks, before being filtered and processed.
工人將從冰山上鑿下一塊塊的冰，放入巨大的水箱中，進行過濾和處理。
'This is the purest water in the world', Mr Al Shehi added.
阿爾謝希補充道：“這是世界上最純淨的水。”
He also claims the iceberg's presence could provide a more moist micro-climate in the area, perhaps even prompting rainfall.
他還聲稱，冰山的存在將爲該地區提供更溼潤的小氣候，甚至可能帶來降雨。
And the project may prove a boost for tourism if it proves a success, with people travelling to see the unusual sight of an iceberg off the coast of the Arabian Gulf.
如果冰山成功運回，這一項目或許還能帶動旅遊業，人們會遠道而來，觀賞阿拉伯灣海岸邊不同尋常的冰山。
