纪录片《我们的地球》 第105期 冰封世界(1)（在线收听）

Both poles of our planet are covered with ice.

地球的两极都被冰覆盖着

They're the largest and most demanding wildernesses of all.

它们是最大、最荒凉的无人区

Nowhere else on Earth is seasonal change so extreme.

两极地区的季节变化非常极端

It causes the ice to advance and retreat every year.

使得冰盖面积每年都在扩大和缩小

And all life here is governed by that.

这里的一切生命都受其影响

When the first polar explorers headed south,

第一批极地探险家前往南方时候

giant cathedrals of ice marked their entry into uncharted territory.

经过这里的冰山就标志他们进入了未知领域

Passing the towering spires, they must have wondered what unearthly sights lay in store.

在经过高耸的冰山的时候，他们必曾感慨于地球上竟有如此别样的地方存在。

As they battled on, the ice became increasingly dominant,

他们继续南上，触目皆是寒冰

but nothing could have prepared them for the ice world that finally loomed into view.

当冰雪世界真实的出现在他们眼前的时候，他们感到的是无法用语言形容的震撼。

Terra incognita, "the unknown land".

拉丁语中的“Terra Incognita”，是未知之地的意思。

At the southernmost extreme of our planet, the continent of Antarctica is as large as the United States of America.

南极洲位于地球的最南边，面积相当于一个美国。

Ninety per cent of all the world's ice is found here.

这里的冰占全世界的90%

This frozen world is largely deserted until the start of spring.

在这个冰封的世界里大部分地方都死气沉沉，直到春天来临。