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What I'd like to discuss with you today is the polar bear.
今天我想和大家討論的是北極熊。
As I already mentioned on Tuesday, polar bears only live in the Arctic, primarily in northern Canada, northern Russia, and Alaska.
如我在周二所說，北極熊只生活在北極地區，最初是在加拿大和俄羅斯北部，還有阿拉斯加。
If, for example, you are in southern Canada, you won't see any of these bears.
如果你住在加拿大南部，那你就不會看到北極熊。
Now, you're probably aware that the Arctic is an extremely harsh environment and one of the coldest places on Earth.
現在，你可能會想，北極地區環境惡劣，是地球上最冷的地方。
But let me remind you of what it's really like in the Arctic, especially in late December or early January.
但是我要告訴你真實的北極是什么樣子的，尤其是在12月底和1月初。
The temperature frequently drops below minus 40 degrees centigrade and sometimes gets even colder!
氣溫通常會降到零下四十攝氏度一下，有時會更低。
Combine that with strong winds, little or no sunlight, and very little vegetation,
再加上強風、極為稀缺的陽光和非常少的植被，
and what you get is an environment in which very few species are capable of surviving.
這樣的環境決定了能夠在這里生存的物種數量極少。
The polar bear, however, thrives in this kind of environment.
但是北極熊在這里生活地卻很好。
The polar bear spends his time roaming throughout the Arctic,
北極熊大部分時間都是漫步在北極的陸地和冰川之上，
walking on land and ice, swimming in freezing sea water and floating on sheets of ice while looking for seals, fish, and other food.
或者在冰冷的海水中游泳，或者在浮冰上尋找海豹、魚或者其他食物。
Their favorite food is seals, which they find along the edges of the ice, in holes in the ice, and under cracks in the ice.
他們最喜歡的食物是海豹。通常在冰塊的邊緣位置、冰洞或者冰塊裂縫下面能夠找到它們。
Polar bears are much bigger than the brown and black bears.
北極熊體型比棕熊或黑熊大得多。
In fact, they're huge! They weigh up to 720kg.
事實上他們體型巨大，重達720千克。
And they're designed to survive in their environment.
造物主給了他們能在這種環境中生存的身體條件。
They have very thick, white fur, which helps them hide in the snow and ice and overcome the extreme cold.
它們長著厚厚的白毛，可以幫助它們在冰天雪地進行隱藏，還有助于它們克服極度的寒冷。
Polar bears are also strong swimmers.
北極熊還是游泳好手。
They have large front paws that amazingly allow them to swim a few hundred kilometers from land.
它們巨大的前腳掌可能讓它們游離海岸幾百千米。
Despite their impressiveness, polar bears, unlike black bears, are an endangered species.
雖然它們“天賦異稟”，但是北極熊和黑熊不同，它們現在已經成為了瀕危動物。
This is a result of global warming, which will be topic of our next film.
這是全球變暖帶來的后果，這將是我們下次影片中的主題。
The Arctic is becoming too warm for the bears.
北極地區的溫度對于這些熊來說已經太高了。
That ice I just mentioned to you is now disappearing!
我剛才提到的冰正在消失！
It breaks up much earlier in the spring, and now it's a lot further from land!
這些冰早春便開裂，現在已經飄離大陸很遠了。
Ice thickness in the Arctic has decreased by 40 percent in the last 30 years,
在過去三十年里，北極冰層厚度減少了40%，
and some scientists predict that the Arctic basin might not have any ice in another 50 years.
并有一些科學家預言，50年后北極盆地內將不會再有冰。
For polar bears, this is terrible! Ice is essential to their existence! Less ice means fewer seals and less food.
對于北極熊來說，這種情況非常危險！對于它們的生存而言冰是至關重要的！冰的減少就意味著海豹的數量減少和食物的減少。
Polar bears do their hunting in the winter,
北極熊在冬天覓食，
but because the winter is getting shorter and because the ice is disappearing earlier, they have less time to restore their fat.
但是由于冬季時間的縮短和冰的消失，它們可以在體內儲存脂肪的時間變短了。
In the summer, they're forced to remain on land for longer periods of time,
夏天它們不得不在陸地上待更長的時間，
and during that time, they live off the fat stored in their bodies.
這段時間里它們就依靠體內存儲的脂肪生存。
Thirty years ago, they spent just over three months on land.
三十年前，它們只需在陸地上待3個月。
Now it's almost four months! This reduces their strength and energy.
而現在將近需要4個月！這消耗了它們更多的體力和能量。
With less ice, polar bears must swim further to reach it. This further reduces their strength and energy.
而且，北極熊需要游更遠才能找到逐漸減少的冰塊。這又是對它們體力和能量的額外消耗。
These circumstances have steadily decreased the bear population over the last 30 years.
過去的三十年里，以上所有這些條件導致了北極熊數量的穩步下劃。
Question 22. Where can we see polar bears according to the lecture?
問題22 根據以上講座，我們在哪里能見到北極熊？
Question 23. What can we learn about polar bears?
問題23 關于北極熊我們了解了什么？
Question 24. What made polar bears become endangered?
問題24 什么使北極熊成為了瀕危動物？
Question 25. What will happen if there is less ice in the Arctic?
問題25 如果北極地區冰量減少，會發生什么？
譯文屬可可原創，僅供學習和交流使用，未經允許不得轉載
