Level 2 Reading 10B

Ch.20 Reading 10B

第20章 阅读10B

LIFE ON THE EDGE The old ways have little appeal for Malik LØvstrØm. A slim twenty-four-year-old, LØvstrØm has lived his whole life in Uummannaq. The people in this small town on Greenland's west coast survive mainly on seal hunting and fishing. But LØvstrØm's interests lie elsewhere—in rock music and horror movies. He taught himself English by listening to music, and now dreams of working as a tour guide on Greenland's cruise ships. He knows he should move to a larger town, as many of his friends have done. But doing so would leave no one to care for his 80-year-old grandmother. So, he remains in Uummannaq. Small towns all over Greenland are losing population. Niaqornat, a settlement near Uummannaq, is now home to just fifty people. The instability of towns like these has worsened as a result of climate change. Ice loss has shortened the hunting season, and as a result, traditional hunting and fishing can no longer pay for access to modern amenities. Long before the sea ice disappears, economic and social pressures may force people to leave these settlements. The question of what to do about this problem is a common topic of debate at gatherings known as kaffemik. At one community gathering, Jean-Michel Huctin, a French anthropologist, gets into a lively discussion with a man who has moved to Nuuk, Greenland's largest town. The subject is the future of places like Niaqornat—and whether they even have one. "If we don't move out of isolation, we will always be conservative," the man from Nuuk tells Huctin. "I don't want to live in a museum. I don't want to live in the old way. My son, my daughter should be part of the world." The traditional lifestyles survive only because of government subsidies, he argues. This approach forces young people into a life of hunting and fishing rather than encouraging them to look beyond tradition.

生活在边缘 旧的方式对Malik LØvstrØm没有什么吸引力。 24岁的L'vstrØm身材苗条，一生都生活在乌曼纳克。 这个位于格陵兰岛西海岸的小镇上的人们主要靠捕猎海豹和捕鱼为生。 但LvstrØm的兴趣在于其他方面——摇滚音乐和恐怖电影。 他通过听音乐自学英语，现在梦想着在格陵兰岛的游轮上当导游。 他知道他应该搬到一个更大的城镇，就像他的许多朋友所做的那样。 但这样做不会让任何人照顾他80岁的祖母。 因此，他仍留在乌曼纳克。 格陵兰岛各地的小城镇都在减少人口。 Niaqornat是乌曼纳克附近的一个定居点，现在只有50人。 由于气候变化，像这样的城镇的不稳定性已经恶化。 冰川消融缩短了狩猎季节， 因此，传统的狩猎和捕鱼已无法再支付现代设施的费用。 早在海冰消失之前，经济和社会压力就可能迫使人们离开这些定居点。 如何解决这个问题是被称为kaffemik的聚会上一个常见的辩论话题。 在一次社区聚会上，法国人类学家让-米歇尔·胡廷， 与一位搬到格陵兰岛最大城镇努克的男子进行了热烈的讨论。 主题是像Niaqornat这样的地方的未来，以及他们是否有这样的地方。 “如果我们不摆脱孤立，我们将永远保持保守，”这位来自努克的男子告诉Huctin。 “我不想住在博物馆里。我不想以旧的方式生活。我的儿子，我的女儿应该成为世界的一部分。” 他认为，传统的生活方式只能靠政府补贴才能生存。 这种方法迫使年轻人过上狩猎和捕鱼的生活，而不是鼓励他们超越传统。

But job opportunities in Greenland are few, Huctin counters. Anyway, what would happen to the older hunters? Should they give up their independence—their boats and dogsleds—and live in a city apartment building? The loss of settlements would be a loss for all, he says. Such places preserve Inuit hunting culture. But Huctin is hopeful: "I think these small, remote communities can invent a sustainable future for themselves," he says. "The people have gone from hunting to Facebook in less than a century... I'm sure they will succeed in the future." Fewer people are choosing to stay, however; even fewer arrive from outside. An exception is Ilannguaq Egede, who moved to Niaqornat to be with his girlfriend. His first job was cleaning the town's toilets, but now he manages the town's power plant. "I like it here a lot," he says. "I have a home and a nice salary. You can feel the freshness here, and it's open," he says. "I don't want to move any place else."

但胡廷反驳道，格陵兰岛的就业机会很少。 不管怎样，年长的猎人会怎么样？ 他们应该放弃他们的独立性——他们的船和狗拉雪橇——住在城市的公寓楼里吗？ 他说，失去定居点将是所有人的损失。 这些地方保存着因纽特人的狩猎文化。 但Huctin充满希望：“我认为这些偏远的小社区可以为自己创造一个可持续的未来，”他说。 “在不到一个世纪的时间里，人们已经从狩猎转向了脸书……我相信他们将来会成功。” 然而，选择留下来的人越来越少；从外面来的就更少了。 Ilannguaq Egede是个例外，他搬到Niaqornat和他的女朋友在一起。 他的第一份工作是打扫镇上的厕所，但现在他管理着镇上的发电厂。 “我非常喜欢这里，”他说。 他说：“我有一个家，薪水不错。你可以在这里感受到新鲜感，而且这里很开放。”。 “我不想搬到别的地方去。”

♪