国家地理 融化的北极正使一场新的冷战升温(2)

I stood at the edge of the circle, rubbing ice from my eyelashes. It was too cold to take notes, so I watched faces and read the frostbite scars, little badges of honor that told of lives spent outdoors on one of the planet's most unyielding landscapes. The group soon broke up and began smoking last cigarettes before the long ride into darkness. Atqittuq walked over to ask whether I was warm enough. He was tall, broad shouldered, laughed easily. He'd been a ranger¹ for many years before the others had voted him their new commander. In a friendly way, he warned me not to fall asleep on the journey ahead.

我站在围成圈的人群外围，把冰从睫毛上擦下来。天太冷了，记不了笔记，所以我盯着他们的脸，注意到冻伤所留下的疤痕，那是些小小的荣誉勋章，讲述了人们在地球上最坚硬的土地上的户外生活的故事。这群人很快散开，在展开黑暗中的漫漫长行前抽最后一根烟。艾奇图克走过来问我是否穿得够暖。他是个肩膀宽大的高个子，经常把笑容挂在脸上。在别人把他选为他们的新指挥官之前，他已经当了好多年的巡逻民兵。他亲切地告诫我别在接下来的旅程中睡着。

It happened, he said. Sometimes people tumbled off their snowmobiles and went missing. He reminded me that there was currently no cell service on the island or anywhere else in the territory of Nunavut -- three times the size of Texas. "If anything happens and you get separated, just sit tight till someone comes back for you," he said. "And try not to meet any polar bears."

确实有这种情况发生，他说。有时会有人从雪地摩托车上摔落，接着就不见踪影。他提醒我，岛上以及整个奴纳武特领地目前都没有手机服务，这片领地是德州的三倍大。“如果发生了任何事让你与队伍走散，待在原地直到有人回来找你，”他说。“尽量不要碰上北极熊。”

The rangers² are called "Canada's eyes and ears in the north," and their units have been patrolling the country's outermost³ regions since the 1940s. Most rangers in the far north are indigenous⁴ volunteers, and over the years they've acted as scouts⁵, participated in war games, and helped regular troops learn to build igloos, navigate⁶ the tundra⁷, and generally stay alive in the cold. Their role, like the far north itself, isn't well-known, and the rangers have always managed to keep going on shoestring⁸ budgets and hand-me-down equipment, including government-issued bolt-action rifles made in the 1940s and stamped with the British crown.

巡逻民兵有“加拿大北方耳目”之称，他们自19世纪40年代起就在加拿大最偏远地区执行巡逻任务。在这些遥远的北方领土上的巡逻民兵大多是原住民志愿兵，多年来他们担任侦察兵，参与军事演习，也协助正规部队学习搭建冰屋、在这片冻原上移动，大体上就是教他们如何在严寒中生存。他们的角色，就像遥远的北方一样，并不为人所知，巡逻民兵总是在预算吃紧和装备代代相传的状况下设法维持，他们的装备包括政府于19世纪40年代制造、印着英国王冠的步枪。

1 ranger   

n.国家公园管理员，护林员；骑兵巡逻队员

参考例句：

• He was the head ranger of the national park.他曾是国家公园的首席看守员。
• He loved working as a ranger.他喜欢做护林人。

2 rangers   

护林者( ranger的名词复数 )； 突击队员

参考例句：

• Do you know where the Rangers Stadium is? 你知道Rangers体育场在哪吗？ 来自超越目标英语 第3册
• Now I'm a Rangers' fan, so I like to be near the stadium. 现在我是Rangers的爱好者，所以我想离体育场近一点。 来自超越目标英语 第3册

3 outermost   

adj.最外面的，远离中心的

参考例句：

• He fired and hit the outermost ring of the target.他开枪射中了靶子的最外一环。
• The outermost electron is shielded from the nucleus.原子核对最外层电子的作用受到屏蔽。

4 indigenous   

adj.土产的，土生土长的，本地的

参考例句：

• Each country has its own indigenous cultural tradition.每个国家都有自己本土的文化传统。
• Indians were the indigenous inhabitants of America.印第安人是美洲的土著居民。

5 scouts   

侦察员[机，舰]( scout的名词复数 )； 童子军； 搜索； 童子军成员

参考例句：

• to join the Scouts 参加童子军
• The scouts paired off and began to patrol the area. 巡逻人员两个一组，然后开始巡逻这个地区。

6 navigate   

v.航行，飞行；导航，领航

参考例句：

• He was the first man to navigate the Atlantic by air.他是第一个飞越大西洋的人。
• Such boats can navigate on the Nile.这种船可以在尼罗河上航行。

7 tundra   

n.苔原，冻土地带

参考例句：

• The arctic tundra is at the top of the world around the North Pole.北极冻原是指北极点周边的地区，是世界最高的地方。
• There is a large amount of methane gas under the Siberian tundra.西伯利亚的冻土地带之下有大量的甲烷气体。

8 shoestring   

n.小额资本；adj.小本经营的

参考例句：

• In the early years,the business was run on a shoestring.早年，这家店铺曾是小本经营。
• How can I take the best possible digital pictures on a shoestring budget?怎样用很小投资拍摄最好的数码照片？