纪录片《冰冻星球》 第12期 世界的尽头（12）

 

It's now thought that the ice caves fringing this crater¹

现在人们觉得 火山口边缘的冰洞

may even be a home for hitherto-unknown life forms.

可能是一些未知生命的家园

From this oasis² of warmth at the edge of the continent,

从这片位于大陆边缘的温暖绿洲开始

our journey continues inland towards the South Pole.

我们继续朝向内陆的旅程 直到南极点

The first great hurdle³

而第一个巨大的障碍

is the formidable Transantarctic Mountain range.

就是难以逾越的南极横贯山脉

We are following the route taken by Scott and Amundsen

当年 斯科特和阿蒙森试图成为

as they struggled to become the first humans

征服南极点的第一人

to reach the South Pole.

我们将追随他们的脚步

They were travelling on foot

他们当年只能步行

and their first sight of these mountains

当他们第一眼见到这些山脉时

must have been daunting⁴ indeed.

一定让他们十分畏惧

In front of them stretched one of the world's longest ranges,

出现在他们面前的是世界最长山脉

spanning 2,000 miles from one side of the continent to the other.

横跨南极大陆 绵延近3200公里

The winds up here are the fastest on Earth.

这里还刮着地球上速度最快的风

They reach speeds of 200 miles an hour.

风速可达每小时320多公里

An ice-capped mountain bears the scars of the gales⁵,

这座山脉上遗留有狂风肆虐的痕迹

bizarre sculptures carved from solid ice.

坚实的冰层被刻蚀出古怪的雕塑

1 crater   

n.火山口，弹坑

参考例句：

• With a telescope you can see the huge crater of Ve-suvius.用望远镜你能看到巨大的维苏威火山口。
• They came to the lip of a dead crater.他们来到了一个死火山口。

2 oasis   

n.（沙漠中的）绿洲，宜人的地方

参考例句：

• They stopped for the night at an oasis.他们在沙漠中的绿洲停下来过夜。
• The town was an oasis of prosperity in a desert of poverty.该镇是贫穷荒漠中的一块繁荣的“绿洲”。

3 hurdle   

n.跳栏，栏架；障碍，困难；vi.进行跨栏赛

参考例句：

• The weather will be the biggest hurdle so I have to be ready.天气将会是最大的障碍，所以我必须要作好准备。
• She clocked 11.6 seconds for the 80 metre hurdle.八十米跳栏赛跑她跑了十一秒六。

4 daunting   

adj.使人畏缩的

参考例句：

• They were faced with the daunting task of restoring the house.他们面临着修复房子的艰巨任务。
• Starting a new job can be a daunting prospect.开始一项新工作有时会让人望而却步。

5 gales   

龙猫

参考例句：

• I could hear gales of laughter coming from downstairs. 我能听到来自楼下的阵阵笑声。
• This was greeted with gales of laughter from the audience. 观众对此报以阵阵笑声。