文本选自:The Atlantic(大西洋月刊)
作者:Sara Clemence
原文标题:Take Antarctica off your travel bucket list
原文发布时间:3 Jul. 2023
Take Antarctica off your travel bucket list
On the southernmost continent, you can see enormous stretches of wind-sculpted ice that seem carved from marble, and others that are smooth and green as emerald. You can see icebergs, whales, emperor penguins. Visitors have described the place as otherworldly, magical, and majestic. The light, Jon Krakauer has said, is so ravishing, "you get drugged by it."
Travelers are drawn to Antarctica for what they can find there—the wildlife, the scenery, the sense of adventure—and for what they can't: cars, buildings, cell towers. They talk about the overwhelming silence. The Norwegian explorer Erling Kagge called it "the quietest place I have ever been." All of these attractions are getting harder to find in the rest of the world. They're disappearing in Antarctica too. The continent is melting; whole chunks are prematurely tumbling into the ocean. And more people than ever are in Antarctica because tourism is on a tear.
Four decades ago, the continent saw only a few hundred visitors each summer. More than 100,000 people traveled there this past season, the majority arriving on cruises. In the context of a land this size, that number may not sound like a lot. It's roughly the capacity of Michigan Stadium, or about the attendance of the CES tech conference back in January. But it's also a record—and a 40 percent jump over 2019–20, the season before the coronavirus pandemic brought Antarctic travel to a near standstill.
把南极从你的旅行愿望清单上划掉吧
精听党背景导读
透过船舱的玻璃,郑亦曦凝视着窗外,这是她第一次亲眼目睹冰川在融化。
“当猛烈的风暂时减弱时,你能听到海冰碎裂的声音。我们知道南极的冰川正在融化,但是当你真的亲眼看到它们在融化,听到水从冰川滴落的声音,会感到非常难过,仿佛这些冰川正在哭泣。”她说道。
郑亦曦是英国东安格利亚大学的海洋科学家。2022年1月,正值南极洲的夏季,她和研究团队到达了南极洲海岸外的阿蒙森海域,对南极洲西部最大的冰川之一思韦茨冰川(Thwaites Glacier)展开研究。
文本选自:The Atlantic(大西洋月刊)作者:Sara Clemence原文标题:Take Antarctica off your travel bucket list原文发布时间:3 Jul. 2023关键词:南极 旅游 融化
精听党带着问题听
1.“遗愿清单”用英语可以怎么表达?2. 如何理解段二中的“on a tear”?3. 2019-2020年南极旅游的游客有多少?
精听党选段赏析
标题解读
Take Antarctica off your travel bucket list
把南极从你的旅行愿望清单上划掉吧
take sth. off 减去;脱掉;
Antarctica n. 南极洲;
bucket list 遗愿清单,人生愿望清单;1. bucket n. 桶;一桶之量;(机器的)挖斗,铲斗;
ice bucket 冰桶;
段一
On the southernmost continent, you can see enormous stretches of wind-sculpted ice that seem carved from marble, and others that are smooth and green as emerald. You can see icebergs, whales, emperor penguins. Visitors have described the place as otherworldly, magical, and majestic. The light, Jon Krakauer has said, is so ravishing, “you get drugged by it.”
southernmost adj. 最南的;
continent n. 洲,大陆;1. Antarctic continent 南极大陆;南极洲;
enormous adj. 巨大的,极大的;
stretch n.(土地或水域的)一片,一段;(时间)连续的一段,持续;1. a stretch of 一片,一段;
The place used to be a stretch of barren land. 早先这里是一片不毛之地。
wind-sculpted adj. 在风的作用下形成的;风雕的;1. sculpted adj. 雕刻般的,雕塑般的(指外观线条清晰、表面光滑);
carve from 从…雕刻;
marble n. 大理石;大理石雕像;
emerald n. 翡翠,绿宝石;1. emerald green 祖母绿;
iceberg n. 冰山;微露端倪的事物;
emperor penguin 帝企鹅;1. emperor n. 皇帝;(北美的)丽蝶,皇蝶;2. penguin n. 企鹅;空军地勤人员;
otherworldly adj. 来世的;超脱尘俗的;
majestic adj. 雄伟的,壮丽的,威严的;
ravishing adj. 引人入胜的;令人陶醉的;
参考译文
在地球最南端的大陆上,你可以看到大片在风的作用下形成的冰川,像大理石雕刻的一样,还有一些表面光滑,像翡翠一样呈现出绿色。你可以看到冰山,鲸鱼,帝企鹅。游客们形容这个地方超凡脱俗,神奇而壮观。乔恩·克拉考尔(Jon Krakauer)曾说过,南极光是如此迷人,“你会被它迷住”。
段二
Travelers are drawn to Antarctica for what they can find there—the wildlife, the scenery, the sense of adventure—and for what they can’t: cars, buildings, cell towers. They talk about the overwhelming silence. The Norwegian explorer Erling Kagge called it “the quietest place I have ever been.” All of these attractions are getting harder to find in the rest of the world. They’re disappearing in Antarctica too. The continent is melting; whole chunks are prematurely tumbling into the ocean. And more people than ever are in Antarctica because tourism is on a tear.
draw to 拉近;吸引到…方面来;
wildlife n. 野生动植物;
scenery n. 风景,景色;舞台布景;
sense n. 感觉官能(即视、听、嗅、味、触五觉);(对某物的)感觉;
cell tower 信号塔;
overwhelming adj. 难以抗拒的,令人不知所措的;巨大的,压倒性的,极强烈的;
attraction n. 有吸引力的事物;吸引力;1. tourist attraction 旅游胜地;旅游景点;旅游景区;
chunk n. 大块;矮胖的人或物;
prematurely adv. 过早地;贸然地;
tumble vi. 翻滚,滚落;摔倒,跌倒;倒塌,坍塌;
on a tear 连续成功;1. The basketball team has been on a tear, winning five games in a row. 篮球队连续取得五场胜利,表现得非常出色。
参考译文
游客们被吸引到南极洲,因为在那里他们可以见到野生动物和美景,体验冒险的快感,也因为他们可以远离:汽车、建筑、基站信号塔。他们谈到了南极洲的极度安静。挪威探险家埃林·卡格称“这是我所到过的最安静的地方”。所有这些景观在世界其他地方越来越难找到。在南极洲它们(这些景观)也正在消失。南极大陆正在融化;整块的冰川过早地坠入海洋。由于旅游市场的火爆,越来越多的人来到南极洲。
段三
Four decades ago, the continent saw only a few hundred visitors each summer. More than 100,000 people traveled there this past season, the majority arriving on cruises. In the context of a land this size, that number may not sound like a lot. It’s roughly the capacity of Michigan Stadium, or about the attendance of the CES tech conference back in January. But it’s also a record—and a 40 percent jump over 2019–20, the season before the coronavirus pandemic brought Antarctic travel to a near standstill.
see vt. 经历;
cruise n. 巡游,乘船游览;1. cruise ship 游轮,游艇;
in the context of 在…情况下;在…背景下;
Michigan Stadium 密歇根体育场;
attendance n. 出席人数;出席,出勤;
CES abbr. 国际消费类电子产品博览会(Consumer Electronics Show);
conference n.(大型、正式的)会议,研讨会;(小型正式的)商讨,讨论;体育协会(或联合会);
jump n. 跳,跃;(比赛中需要跳过的)障碍物;猛涨,激增;
standstill n. 静止状态;停顿;1. the economy at a standstill 经济停滞不前;
参考译文
40年前,南极大陆每年夏天只有几百名游客。而上个季度,有超过10万人前往,其中大多数游客是乘坐游轮抵达的。在这样大小的一块陆地上,这个数字听起来可能并不多。这容纳程度和密歇根体育场差不多,或者相当于今年1月份CES科技大会的出席情况。不过这个游客高峰纪录比2019-2020年新冠疫情导致南极旅游几乎停滞的前一个季度增长了40%。
精听党每日单词
take sth. off
减去;脱掉;
Antarctica
/ænˈtɑːrktɪkə/ n. 南极洲;
bucket list
遗愿清单,人生愿望清单;
southernmost
/ˈsʌðərnmoʊst/ adj. 最南的;
continent
/ˈkɑːntɪnənt/ n. 洲,大陆;
enormous
/ɪˈnɔːrməs/ adj. 巨大的,极大的;
stretch
/stretʃ/ n.(土地或水域的)一片,一段;(时间)连续的一段,持续;
wind-sculpted
/wɪnd ˈskʌlptɪd/ adj. 在风的作用下形成的;风雕的;
carve from
从…雕刻;
marble
/ˈmɑːrb(ə)l/ n. 大理石;大理石雕像;
emerald
/ˈemərəld/ n. 翡翠,绿宝石;
iceberg
/ˈaɪsbɜːrɡ/ n. 冰山;微露端倪的事物;
emperor penguin
帝企鹅;
otherworldly
/ˌʌðərˈwɜːrldli/ adj. 来世的;超脱尘俗的;
majestic
/məˈdʒestɪk/ adj. 雄伟的,壮丽的,威严的;
ravishing
/ˈrævɪʃɪŋ/ adj. 引人入胜的;令人陶醉的;
draw to
拉近;吸引到…方面来;
wildlife
/ˈwaɪldlaɪf/ n. 野生动植物;
scenery
/ˈsiːnəri/ n. 风景,景色;舞台布景;
sense
/sens/ n. 感觉官能(即视、听、嗅、味、触五觉);(对某物的)感觉;
cell tower
信号塔;
overwhelming
/ˌoʊvərˈwelmɪŋ/ adj. 难以抗拒的,令人不知所措的;巨大的,压倒性的,极强烈的;
attraction
/əˈtrækʃ(ə)n/ n. 有吸引力的事物;吸引力;
chunk
/tʃʌŋk/ n. 大块;矮胖的人或物;
prematurely
/ˌpriːməˈtʃʊrli; ˌpriːməˈtʊrli/ adv. 过早地;贸然地;
tumble
/ˈtʌmb(ə)l/ vi. 翻滚,滚落;摔倒,跌倒;倒塌,坍塌;
on a tear
连续成功;
see
/siː/ vt. 经历;
cruise
/kruːz/ n. 巡游,乘船游览;
in the context of
在…情况下;在…背景下;
Michigan Stadium
密歇根体育场;
attendance
/əˈtendəns/ n. 出席人数;出席,出勤;
CES
abbr. 国际消费类电子产品博览会(Consumer Electronics Show);
conference
/ˈkɑːnfərəns/ n.(大型、正式的)会议,研讨会;(小型正式的)商讨,讨论;体育协会(或联合会);
jump
/dʒʌmp/ n. 跳,跃;(比赛中需要跳过的)障碍物;猛涨,激增;
standstill
/ˈstændstɪl/ n. 静止状态;停顿;
精听党文化拓展
南极洲是地球上最大的冷冻淡水库,拥有大量的冰盖覆盖其陆地表面。随着全球气候变暖,这些冰盖正迅速并加速融化。英国利兹大学的一项研究显示,今天南极洲冰盖融化的速度比以往任何时候都快。在过去的40年里,南极洲的冰融化速度加快了280%。1996年至2021年期间,南极洲西部的冰盖净减少了33310亿吨,使全球海平面上升超过9毫米。
作为地球上最宽阔的冰川之一,也是南极冰川系统的重要组成部分,正在不断加速融化的思韦茨冰川是全球科学家的重点研究对象。美国科罗拉多大学博尔德分校冰川学家、国际思韦茨冰川合作组织(ITGC)负责人泰德·斯坎博斯(Ted Scambos)教授告诉澎湃新闻,思韦茨冰川的融化可能已经接近或越过了“临界点”。
这意味着这些冰川的融化速度已经超过其自身的再生能力,导致不可逆转的冰体损失,其连锁反应或将最终导致南极洲西部的冰在未来几百年内全部融化,使得海平面上升2-3米。首当其冲受到影响的,将是位于北半球的美国、加拿大和中国的海岸线。
除了冰川,南极洲的海冰也在不断消失。海冰和冰川之间存在着相互关系,南极洲冰川融化后的冰水会流入海洋,参与形成海冰。自20世纪70年代后期以来,人们已经可以通过卫星技术测量海冰,并观测到海冰冻结和融化的规律循环。2022年的夏季,卫星记录到海冰面积有史以来的最小值。南极洲“冰心”的跳动幅度正在不断变“小”。
精听党每日美句
I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.
我不同意你说的话,但我愿意誓死捍卫你说话的权利。