On April 26, 1986, Unit 4 of the Chernobyl nuclear reactor in northern Ukraine, then a part of the Soviet Union, was shut down for an unauthorized safety test. When the nuclear fuel rods hit the cooling water, the fission reaction accelerated out of control due to a sudden power surge. This caused the reactor to overheat and build up pressure until its structure failed and it blew up, releasing large amounts of radiation. It took officials a whole day to comprehend the scale of the disaster and to order an evacuation of the surrounding area. Some 50,000 people had to leave, not knowing that they would never return.
1986年4月26日，当时属于苏联的乌克兰北部切尔诺贝利核反应堆4号机组因一次未经授权的安全试验而关闭。当核燃料棒撞击冷却水时，由于突然的功率激增，裂变反应加速失控，导致反应堆过热并产生压力，结构发生故障并爆炸，释放出大量辐射。官员们花了一整天的时间才了解到灾难的规模，并下令周边地区进行疏散。大约有5万人不得不离开，而他们并不知道自己可能永远都不会回来。
In the following months, massive efforts were made to decontaminate the area while increased radiation levels were detected across much of Europe. Fallout from the disaster continues to this day, decades later, and long-term effects such as cancers are still being investigated. Estimates of the number of deaths that will eventually result from the accident vary enormously.
接下来的几个月里，一直在为该地区清除污染作出巨大努力，然而欧洲大部分地区检测出的辐射水平仍然在上升。几十年后的今天，灾难的影响仍在继续，癌症等长期影响仍在调查中。事故最终导致的死亡人数估计值差别巨大。
The forest area near the reactor site is one of the most radioactive places on Earth. Named the Red Forest because its trees turned a reddish-brown color as they died, the forest is trying to make a recovery. Animals such as elk and eagles have been seen in the area. And birch trees grow where the radioactive trees of the forest were bulldozed and buried by the Soviet government.
反应堆附近的林区是地球上放射性最强的地区之一。它被命名为红色森林，因为它的树木在死亡时变成了红棕色，森林正在努力恢复中。在这个地区，人们已经看到了驼鹿和老鹰等动物，而白桦树生长的地方正是当年苏联政府铲平掩埋森林中放射性树木的地方。
Some people have returned as well, mostly former residents who returned illegally after the evacuation. The old company town of Pripyat, once home to 50,000 plant workers is still deserted, but is slowly being reclaimed by the forest. It seems that nature can recover and even thrive where humans cannot. Let's hope that humans can learn from this experience. Chernobyl, and more recently, Fukushima in Japan, have lessons to teach us.
与此同时，一些人也已经返回，大部分是撤离后非法返回的原居民。曾经拥有5万名工厂工人的普里皮亚特这座老厂镇仍然荒芜，但正在慢慢被森林覆盖。在人类无法生存的地方，大自然似乎可以复苏，甚至繁茂。我们希望人类能够从这次经历中吸取教训，切尔诺贝利核电站以及最近的日本福岛核电站，都给我们上了一课。
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