中石油2016通用英语选读课文60WhyAntarcticaIsBeingExplored为什么要勘探南极洲.doc

60 Why Antarctica南极洲 Is Being Explored 为什么要勘探南极洲 1. When the United States was born, the continent大陆 of Antarctica was as remote遥远的 as the moon—more so, in a way在某种程度上, because the moon was clearly visible and the very existence存在 of Antarctica was uncertain. But now that remote land area is so attainableadj可到达的，可得到的 and so important that it has become the subject of an international treatyn条约，谈判 which protects it from national rivalriesn竞争，竞赛，敌对，敌对状态 yet leaves it open to all for exploration and use. The pactn合同，公约，协定 arranging this is even being viewed as a model applicable to the moon and other celestialadj天上的 bodies. 1、在美国诞生之时，-从某种角度说，，，2. Yet many people, thinking of the distant continent only as a bleakadj寒冷的，阴冷的，荒凉的，凄凉的，暗淡的, rocky, cold and inhospitableadj不好客的，不适合居住的，荒凉的 land mass, may wonder: Why all the fussv/n忙乱，大惊小怪? Why protect something so unpromisingadj无前途的，没有希望的? 2、至今仍有很多人认为这块遥远的大陆仅仅是一大片荒凉、寒冷、岩石林立、根本无法居住的土地。他们可能很奇怪：为什么如此小题大做?为什么要保护这样一块毫无前途的土地? 3. The answer lies in a number of factors, not the least不仅仅 of which is isolation隔离 itself. Antarctica is a very large area of the earths surface, but-until recent years-was the least studied. More knowledge of it is important for all mankind. 3、这些问题的答案由许多因素所决定，The globe shows that the entire southern hemisphere半球 is preponderantlyadj占有优势的 water-the widest parts of the Atlantic and Pacific, the unbroken sweep of Antarctic seas circling the world. Although much of South America, parts of Africa and all of Australia lie south of the equator赤道, most of the worlds land lies north of the line. 4、仔细观察地球仪也许能帮助我们更好地了解这个神奇大陆的重要性。地球仪显示，水在整个南半球占绝对优势——包括大西洋和太平洋最广阔的部分以及环抱地球的南极海洋。尽管绝大部分南美洲、部分非洲以及整个澳洲位于赤道以南，但地球上的大部分陆地还是分布在赤道以北。 5. Antarctica stood in splendid壮观的-even awesomeadj引起敬畏的，可怕的-isolation from the rest of the world for countless years. Its forbidding冷峻的，令人生畏的 climate and wild seas prevented the migration and development of land animals such as the Arctic regions know. On the continent itself are a few insects, some