地球上寒极――奥伊米亚康.doc

地球上寒极――奥伊米亚康 　　This morning its actually a relatively mild ?31℃for Yakutia. The Republic of Sakha （Yakutia） proudly boasts the coldest inhabited village on Earth， the city of Oymyakon in the north of the Republic. And， indeed， some 40% of the Republic lies above the Arctic Circle and is covered by 1）permafrost. This is a republic of extremes with temperatures ranging from on average over ?40℃ up to plus 38℃in summer. It is a sharply continental here， the climate， and thats largely due to the Republic’s position in the most far eastern and northern part of Siberia. This may look like a winter wonderland， but with temperatures dropping to ?70℃， your 2）eyelashes frost over if you stand and stare at it for too long. Were in the coldest village on Earth， and it feels like it. Brrr. To say its cold here is an understatement. It’s like living in a freezer. My nose has gone red， my nostril hairs are frozen over， my hair has turned to ice， and even with these gloves on， I can feel my fingers starting to go numb. Im in danger of turning into an icicle， so Im gonna have to go and thaw out. But locals seem to take this weather in their 3）stride. Tatiana tells us this is the best time of year to make a much-loved delicacy， frozen raw river fish， a kind of Yakutian sushi. Tatiana（via translator）： This method preserves the fish so we can keep it for a long time， and it seals in the vitamins. The spine-chilling world record of ?71℃ was measured at this weather station in 1926， and placed Oymyakon firmly in the Guinness Book as the coldest inhabited settlement. 4）Meteorologist Valery tests the ice thickness on the river twice a day， a chance to taste the fresh but Arctic water. He tells us this village is in a valley surrounded by two high mountains that trap cold winter air and stop warmer air getting in. That’s what causes the big chill. Valery Vinokourov（via translator）： I personally recorded a temperature of ?63℃ a few years ago. It was so cold that my spit