《中英對照讀新聞》Sinking feeling: Philippine cities facing ’slow-motion disaster’ 不祥預感：菲律賓城市面臨「緩慢的災難」

菲律賓馬尼拉灣沿海超抽地下水，導致地層下陷及海水倒灌。（法新社檔案照）

◎孫宇青

When Mary Ann San Jose moved to Sitio Pariahan more than two decades ago, she could walk to the local chapel. Today, reaching it requires a swim.

當瑪莉．安．聖荷西20多年前搬到西堤歐帕里翰時，她還能走路到當地的禮拜堂，如今卻得游泳才能到達。

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The main culprit is catastrophic subsidence caused by groundwater being pumped out from below, often via unregulated wells for homes, factories, and farms catering to a booming population and growing economy.

主因是抽取地下水造成的災難性地層下陷，通常是經由未受管制的家庭、工廠和農田水井抽取，目的是應付人口暴增及經濟成長所需。

The steady sinking of coastal towns in the northern Philippines has caused Manila Bay’s water to pour inland and displace thousands, posing a greater threat than rising sea levels due to climate change.

菲國北部沿海城鎮持續下陷，讓馬尼拉灣的海水湧向內陸，造成數千人無家可歸，威脅更甚於氣候變遷所引發的海平面上升。

The provinces of Pampanga and Bulacan have sunk between four and six centimeters annually since 2003, according to satellite monitoring. By comparison, the UN estimates average sea level rise globally is about three millimeters per year.（AFP）

衛星觀測顯示，從2003年起，班巴加省和布拉坎省每年地層下陷達4到6公分。相較之下，聯合國估測，全球海平面平均每年上升約3公釐。（法新社）

新聞辭典

sinking feeling：慣用片語，不祥的預感。Sink為下沉之意，與本文內容一語雙關。例句：Hearing the news, I had a sinking feeling.（聽到新聞時，我有股不祥預感。）

subsidence：名詞，（地面或建物）下沉；沉澱。例句：The building had some problems with subsidence and had to be demolished.（這棟建物有下沉問題，必須拆除。）

unregulated：形容詞，未加監管的。例句：Unregulated fishing is the greatest threat to marine biodiversity.（未受規範的漁獵行為，是對海洋多樣性最大的威脅。）

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