第24课(下)：Life on the Tundra.doc.pdfVIP

Life onthe Tundra 接近北冰洋的冻土带上的生活情景 Tundra is the name given to the low, marshy plains of Europe, Siberia, and NorthAmerica that borderon the Arctic Ocean. InAlaska,the vast,cold region knownas the Northern Slope is part of the tundra.Nature setsharshterms forsurvival in this land. Only those plants and animals thatare adapted tothe hostile environmentcansurvive in it. 欧洲、西伯利亚和北美洲接近北冰洋的低洼沼泽平原名之为冻土带。在美国阿拉斯加洲， 那块广阔寒冷通称为北边坡地的地区就是冻土带的一部分。大自然为这片土地设置的自下 而上条件十分恶劣。只有那些能适应在逆境中生存的植物和动物才能在这种环境中生存下 来。 Long periods of darkness and bitter cold are the major threats to life on the tundra.At the Arctic Circle, the sun cannot be seen above the horizon in December. North of the Circle, the darknesslasts even longer. Over the northern reaches of the tundra, no sunlight can be seen at all forseveralmonthsoftheyear. 长期的黑暗和刺骨的严寒对在冻土带上生活是两大最主要的威胁。北极圈在12 月份， 在地平地线之上是看不到太阳的。从北极圈往北黑暗的时间通常会持续得更长些。在冻土带 北部边缘的上空，一年中有好几个月根本见不到阳光。 Thedarknessis balanced,to somedegree,by continuousdaylight during the summermonths. But even in the warmestmonth, the temperatureonly averages about 50 degreesF (10 degreesC). During the dark winter months the average temperature falls to - 16 degrees F ( -27 degrees C), and sometimesto?40 degrees(C and F)andbelow. 持续的黑暗，在某种意义上来说，同夏季几个月连续不断的的白昼达到了平衡。但即使 是在最暖和的月份里，平均温度刚刚能达到华氏约50度。在冬季那几个黑暗的月份里，平 均气温降到华氏负16 度，有时达零下40 甚至更低。 Because of the intense cold, the subsoil of the tundra remains permanently frozen to a great depth.During thebrief summer,a few feet(about a meter)ofsoil thaw at the surface.It is this thin layerof active soil that supportsall living things on thetundra. 由于酷寒，冻土带的下层封都冻得很深。在短暂的夏季仅三英尺的表层土壤能解冻。正 是这被太阳晒暖了苏醒过来的薄薄的一层土壤养活着冻土带上的一切生物。 For nine monthsof the year,the tundra is a dark, seemingly lifeless wild land. Then in June, as if by magic, a never-setting summer sun gives birth to hundreds of species of arctic plants to covertheground. 每年长达9 个月，冻土带都是一块看上去毫无生机的荒凉的土地。然后到3-6月份，好 像是施了魔法一样，一轮永不落的