纪录片《我们的地球》 第268期 壮丽山脉(13)

This is Africa's Mount Kenya.

这是非洲的肯尼亚山。

It's 17,000 feet high,

海拔超过五千米

which makes its summit some 30 degrees colder than the surrounding savanna¹.

峰顶温度比周围的热带草原低三十度左右。

Giant heathers, lobelias and groundsel grow on its upper slopes.

巨型石南，半边莲和千里光，生长在山顶斜坡上。

They all thrive in the tropical sun.

它们在炎炎烈日下茁壮成长。

After all, every day is summer.

毕竟赤道每天都是夏天。

But once the sun sets, every night becomes as bitterly cold as winter.

但一旦太阳下山，每个夜晚都像冬天般寒冷。

The temperature drops to five degrees below freezing,

气温降到零下五度，

turning the mountainside into a garden of ice.

山坡变成了冰雪花园。

Everything freezes, but the cabbage groundsels have a way of protecting themselves.

一切都冻结了，但是木本千里光有办法保护自己。

They close up their leathery leaves to form an insulating blanket that shields their vulnerable central bud.

它们合起革质叶片形成一道保温层，以保护中心脆弱的蓓蕾。

1 savanna   

n.大草原

参考例句：

• The savanna is also the home of meat-eaters--the lion,leopard,and hyena who feed on the grasseaters.大草原也是食肉动物的家乡--狮子、豹、鬣狗--它们都是以草食动物维持生命的。
• They sped upon velvet wheels across an exhilarant savanna.他们的马车轻捷地穿过一片令人赏心悦目的大草原。