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LESSON 25 The polar world(II)
第二十五課 極地世界(二)
Though nature generally wears a more stern and forbidding aspect on advancing towards the Pole, yet the high latitudes have many beauties of their own. Nothing can exceed the magnificence of an Arctic sunset, clothing the snow-clad mountains and the skies with all the glories of colour; or be more serenely beautiful than the clear star-lit night, illumined by the brilliant moon, which for days continually circles around the horizon, never setting until she has run her long course of brightness. The uniform whiteness of the landscape and the general transparency of the atmosphere add to the lustre of her beams, which serve to guide the natives in their nomadic life, and to lead them to their hunting-grounds.
在去往極地的途中，大自然雖然整體呈現出一種更加殘酷、更加嚴峻的面貌，不過高緯度地區也自有其魅力之處，北極壯麗無比的日落景觀便是其一：夕陽下那被冰雪覆蓋的山脈和天空如同披上了一件金黃色的外衣。那清澈的、點綴著淡淡星光的夜空安詳恬靜，讓人驚嘆。那點亮了夜空的皎潔月光盤旋在地平線之上長達數日之久，直至完成了自己漫長的光輝歷程才甘心沉寂下來。交相呼應的白色調風景線和清新的空氣更加增添了她的光輝色彩，并引導著當地人的游牧生活，將他們帶進獵場。
A number of icebergs floating in the sea—a familiar scene in polar regions—is one of the most magnificent spectacles in nature. But the wonderful beauty of these crystal cliffs never appears to greater advantage than when clothed by the midnight sun with all the splendid colours of twilight. In the distance, they seem like masses of burnished metal or solid flame. Nearer at hand, they are like huge blocks of purest marble inlaid with pearl and opal gems. Thousands of sparkling little cascades leap into the sea from their sides, the water being discharged from lakes of melted snow and ice that repose in the quietude of their valleys.
海面上漂浮著許多冰山，這是極地地區常見的畫面，也是大自然最壯觀的景象之一。然而，當午夜的太陽為這些水晶峭壁披上黃昏的絢麗色彩時，它們本身那奇妙的美則變得更加光彩動人，從遠處看像是一團蹭亮的金屬或者固體火焰，近了看則像是很多塊鑲著珍珠和蛋白石的光潔無比的的大理石。無數條反著光的小瀑布自它們的側面躍入大海，水流則是從在寧靜山谷中休憩的湖泊中的雪和冰融化而來。
But of all the magnificent spectacles that relieve the monotonous gloom of the Arctic winter, there is none to equal the magical beauty of the Aurora. Night covers the snow-clad earth; the stars glimmer feebly through the haze which so frequently dims their brilliancy in the high latitudes, when suddenly a broad and clear bow of light spans the horizon in the direction where it is traversed by the magnetic meridian. This bow sometimes remains for several hours, heaving or waving to and fro, before it sends forth streams of light toward the zenith. Sometimes these flashes proceed from the bow of light alone; at others they simultaneously shoot forth from many oppsite parts of the horizon, and form a vast sea of fire, whose brilliant waves are continually changing their position. Finally they all unite in a magnificent crown or cupola of light, with the appearance of which the phenomenon attains its highest degree of splendour.
不過，在能緩解北極冬季單調沉悶的所有壯觀景象中，極光的神奇之美位列其一。夜幕籠罩著被白雪覆蓋的大地，星星們透過常常令高緯度地區黯然失色的薄霧閃耀著自己微弱的光芒。猛然間，一道寬而清澈的弓形亮光沿著磁子午線穿過的方向劃過地平線。這道弓形亮光在將光束射向天頂之前有時會在原地上下起伏長達數小時之久，而那些閃光時而僅自弓形亮光發出，時而又同時從地平線上許多相反的地方發出并形成一個巨大的火海，火海里那燦爛的波浪不斷涌動變換位置，直至最后全部組合在一起，形成一個華麗的王冠或者穹頂，而此時極光的壯觀程度已經推至高潮。
