每日英語跟讀 Ep.K383: About Spain - ’Best birthday present ever!’ says Spanish diver after saving trapped whale

In a gripping underwater rescue, Spanish divers have freed a 12-metre long humpback whale entangled in an illegal drift net off the Balearic island of Mallorca.

在一起扣人心弦的水下營救中，西班牙潛水夫在巴利亞利的馬約卡島外海釋放了一隻纏繞在非法流刺網中的12公尺長的座頭鯨。

One of the divers, 32-year-old marine biologist Gigi Torras, said last Friday’s rescue and a little gesture of appreciation from the giant mammal were also a birthday present for her - the ’best ever’ in her words.

其中一名潛水夫，32歲的海洋生物學家吉吉．托利斯說，上週五的營救和來自這隻巨大哺乳類的一些謝意表現，也是給她的生日禮物－用她的話說就是「歷來最棒」。

The weakened whale had been spotted by a ship about three miles off the eastern coast of Mallorca, prompting Palma de Mallorca’s Aquarium marine rescue centre into action.

一艘船隻在馬約卡東岸外海3英里處瞥見這頭衰弱的鯨魚，促使馬約卡島的水族館海洋營救中心投入行動。

After initial attempts to cut the net from a boat failed, divers plunged into the sea to remove the mesh with their knives in a daring 45-minute operation.

在最初從船上切斷漁網的嘗試失敗後，潛水夫潛入海中，在45分鐘的大膽行動中，用他們的刀子移除漁網。

Nicknamed "walls of death" for the quantity of other sea life they catch in addition to the fish they are set for, drift nets were banned by the United Nations 30 years ago.

流刺網有「死亡之牆」的綽號，30年前就遭到聯合國禁用，因為它們除了捕撈目標魚類之外，還能捕撈其他大量海洋生物。

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Spanish engineers extract drinking water from thin air 西班牙工程師從稀薄空氣中取水

A Spanish company has devised a system to extract drinking water from thin air to supply arid regions where people are in desperate need.

一家西班牙公司設計出一套系統，可從稀薄空氣中提取出飲用水，供應乾旱地區民眾急需的用水。

"The goal is to help people," said Enrique Veiga, the 82-year-old engineer who invented the machine during a harsh drought in southern Spain in the 1990s. "The goal is to get to places like refugee camps that don’t have drinking water."

82歲工程師安立奎‧韋加表示：「我的目標就是幫助別人。」他在1990年代西班牙南部大旱期間，發明這部機器，「目標就是供水給難民營這類缺乏飲用水的地方。」

The devices made by his company, Aquaer, are already delivering clean, safe water to communities in Namibia and a Lebanese refugee camp.

他的公司生產名為「Aquaer」的設備，已在納米比亞和黎巴嫩的難民營投入使用，提供潔淨、安全的飲用水。

The machines use electricity to cool air until it condenses into water, harnessing the same effect that causes condensation in air-conditioning units.

這種裝置的運作原理類似冷氣機的冷凝作用，利用電力將空氣降溫，直到凝結成水。Source article: https://features.ltn.com.tw/english/article/paper/1521149 ; https://news.ltn.com.tw/news/world/paper/1467078