評(píng)論
打印
1. When the United States was born, the continent of Antarctica was as remote as the moon-more so, in a way, because the moon was clearly visible and the very existence of Antarctica was uncertain. But now that remote land area is so attainable and so important that it has become the subject of an international treaty which protects it from national rivalries yet leaves it open to all for exploration and use. The pact arranging this is even being viewed as a model applicable to the moon and other celestial bodies.
1、在美國(guó)誕生之時(shí)，對(duì)人們來(lái)說(shuō)南極洲(Antarctica)就像月球一樣遙遠(yuǎn)(as remote as the moon)-從某種角度說(shuō)(in a way)，甚至更遠(yuǎn)(more so)，因?yàn)樵铝?/span>清楚可見(jiàn)(clearly visible)，而南極大陸是否真實(shí)存在還無(wú)法確定（uncertain）。但是今天，這塊遙遠(yuǎn)的陸地已變得如此觸之可及(so attainable)并且如此重要(so important)，以致(that)它已受到一個(gè)國(guó)際公約（an international treaty）的保護(hù)，使其免于成為國(guó)家間競(jìng)相搶奪的對(duì)象(national vivalries)，而是對(duì)所有國(guó)家開放(leaves it open to all)，供大家共同開發(fā)和利用。這個(gè)公約(the pact)甚至被視為(be viewed as)一個(gè)范本，適用于(be applicable to)月球和其他天體的開發(fā)。
2. Yet many people, thinking of the distant continent only as a bleak, rocky, cold and inhospitable land mass, may wonder: Why all the fuss? Why protect something so unpromising?
2、至今仍有很多人認(rèn)為這塊遙遠(yuǎn)的大陸(the distant continent)僅僅是一大片荒涼(bleak)、寒冷(cold)、巖石林立(rocky)、根本無(wú)法居住的(inhospitable)土地。他們可能很奇怪：為什么如此小題大做(fuss)?為什么要保護(hù)這樣一塊毫無(wú)前途的(unpromising)土地?
3. The answer lies in a number of factors, not the least of which is isolation itself. Antarctica is a very large area of the earth's surface, but-until recent years-was the least studied. More knowledge of it is important for all mankind.
3、這些問(wèn)題的答案由許多因素所決定，并不僅僅是這塊大陸本身與世隔絕這么簡(jiǎn)單。南極洲是地球表面上一塊巨大的土地，但是，直到近年，人類的研究都很少涉及于此(倒裝句)。更多地了解南極洲對(duì)全人類來(lái)說(shuō)都非常重要。
4. A look at a globe is perhaps the best way to appreciate the significance of this peculiar continent. The globe shows that the entire southern hemisphere is preponderantly water-the widest parts of the Atlantic and Pacific, the unbroken sweep of Antarctic seas circling the world. Although much of South America, parts of Africa and all of Australia lie south of the equator, most of the world's land lies north of the line.
4、仔細(xì)觀察地球儀也許能幫助我們更好地了解(the best way to appreciate)這個(gè)神奇大陸的重要性(the significance of this peculiar continent)。地球儀顯示，水在整個(gè)南半球（the entire southern hemisphere）占絕對(duì)優(yōu)勢(shì)(preponderantly)-包括大西洋和太平洋最廣闊的部分以及環(huán)抱地球的(circling the world)南極海洋。盡管絕大部分南美洲、部分非洲以及整個(gè)澳洲位于赤道以南，但地球上的大部分陸地還是分布在赤道以北。
5. Antarctica stood in splendid-even awesome-isolation from the rest of the world for countless years. Its forbidding climate and wild seas prevented the migration and development of land animals such as the Arctic regions known. On the continent itself are a few insects, some lichens and mosses, but nothing else that is land supported. However, there are amphibious penguins and seals and a rich marine life, ranging from the minute organisms called plankton to the biggest creature the world has ever known, the blue whale.
5、南極洲的壯麗(splendid)引人敬畏(awesome)，在無(wú)數(shù)的歲月里(for countless years)，它就這樣孤獨(dú)地傲立于世界。和人們已熟知的北極區(qū)域一樣，它那令人難以親近的(forbidding)氣候和狂野的(wild)海浪使得陸地動(dòng)物無(wú)法遷移至此和繁衍(prevented the migration and development)。依附于(supported)南極洲陸地生存的只有很少的一些昆蟲、地衣和苔蘚。然而，這里卻有著兩棲的(amphibious)企鵝和海豹以及豐富的海洋生命-包括(ranging)從被稱為浮游生物(called plankton)的微小生物(the minute organism)，直到迄今所知世界上最大的動(dòng)物藍(lán)鯨(the blue whale)。
6. The Antarctica treaty applies to all areas (the high seas excepted) below latitude 60 degrees south. This line, running around the globe some 2,000 miles from the South Pole itself, just misses the lower tip of South America, and is well below the Cape of Good Hope and New Zealand. There are a number of small islands between this line and the Antarctic continent, but the waters here are known to mariners as "the screaming Sixties" because there is so little obstruction to the world-circling winds.
6、《南極洲公約》適用于(apply to)除公海以外(the high seas excepted)位于南緯60度以南(below)的所有區(qū)域。南緯60度線距南極點(diǎn)(the South Pole itself)大約2000英里，它環(huán)繞地球(running around the globe)，剛好錯(cuò)過(guò)南美洲的最南端，遠(yuǎn)在好望角(the Cape of Good Hope)和新西蘭之南。該線和南極洲之間分布著一些小島，但是，這里的海域(the waters here)被水手們稱為(are known to mariners as)“狂嘯的60度(the screaming Sixties)”，因?yàn)檫@里障礙物(obstruction)很少，阻擋不了“世界環(huán)風(fēng)”(the world-circling winds)。(so…to…=too…to…)
7. In contrast, in the northern hemisphere, the lands lying above the sixtieth parallel of latitude include much of Scandinavia, Siberia and Alaska, all of Greenland and Iceland, with a total population of several million. Great mountains help subdue the winds; a spur of the Gulf Stream and part of the Japan Current temper the frigid airs of this polar region. This, and the presence of the Arctic Ocean in the center of the great land mass, give the area a markedly different conformation and climate from that around the opposite pole.
7、與之相對(duì)(in contrast)的北半球，北緯60度平行線以北(above)區(qū)域，包括斯堪的納維亞半島、西伯利亞和阿拉斯加的大部分地區(qū)，以及格陵蘭島和冰島的全部，人口總數(shù)幾百萬(wàn)(a total population of several million)。高山阻礙(subdue)了風(fēng)的前進(jìn)；墨西哥灣流和部分日本洋流使這里的極地寒冷空氣(the frigid airs of this polar region)有所緩和(temper)；再加上北冰洋又處在大塊陸地的中央(in the center of the great land mass)，這一切使得這塊區(qū)域與地球另一端相比，在構(gòu)架(conformation)和氣候方面存在顯著的不同。
8. Antarctica seems a vast basin of rock, filled and overflowing with a load of ice. In the heart of the continent it is almost as high as the summits of the Alps, yet soundings show that in places that rock floor is below sea level.
8、南極洲看似一個(gè)巨大的石盆，被冰所覆蓋。大陸的中心幾乎與阿爾卑斯山等高，然而，超聲探測(cè)(soundings)顯示了巖石底部的許多地點(diǎn)都低于海平面(below sea level)。
9. Actually, the ice accumulation is less than it was perhaps 1,000 years ago. Its seaward flow is not so voluminous as it once was, and as a result there are patches of bare rock here and there along the coast and inland. They were scoured clear of soil ages ago, but one may sometimes find moss or lichens growing, though virtually no flowering plants.
9、事實(shí)上，與1000年前相比，這些冰的堆積物（accumulation）減少了許多，尤其是朝向大海(seaward)的一面已經(jīng)不像以前那么多了，結(jié)果在海岸邊和陸地上留下一片片裸露的巖石(patches of bare rock)。很多年前(ages ago)這里的土壤已經(jīng)被沖刷干凈(be scoured clear)，實(shí)際上已找不到開花植物(flowering plant 有花植物)的蹤影，但有時(shí)還能發(fā)現(xiàn)地衣和苔蘚。
10. In all this barrenness and cold, what is there of value? First, Antarctica is bound to have mineral resources comparable to those of other great continents. Coal-much of it of poor quality-has been found at many points along the 2,000 mile mountain system known as the Great Antarctica Horst. A writer has found a small deposit of manganese ore and rock specimens flecked with uranium or stained green by copper. These finds are important only as indications that further exploration would be worthwhile, and such a systematic effort has begun under SCAR (the Special Committee on Antarctic Research). This group is an outgrowth of the International Geophysical Year (I.G.Y.); but its program has broadened from geophysics to include mapping and biology.
10、這樣一個(gè)空曠寒冷(barrenness and cold)的地方，到底有什么價(jià)值？首先，南極洲的地下一定有（is bound to have）能與其它幾個(gè)主要大陸相媲美(comparable to)的礦產(chǎn)資源(mineral resources)。在被稱為南極大地壘的山脈(mountain system)附近，沿線2000英里范圍內(nèi)已有多處找到了煤，盡管大多數(shù)質(zhì)量很差(much of it of poor quality)。一名作家還發(fā)現(xiàn)了一個(gè)不大的錳礦堆積體和一些粘染有鈾痕跡或者帶著銅綠斑痕的礦石標(biāo)本(rock specimens)。這些發(fā)現(xiàn)的重要性在于它表明在這一地區(qū)進(jìn)行深入的勘探是很有價(jià)值的，并且在“南極洲研究特別委員會(huì)(SCAR)”的指導(dǎo)下，系統(tǒng)的工作(such a systematic effort)已經(jīng)開始了。這個(gè)組織是國(guó)際地球物理學(xué)年會(huì)(IGY)的一個(gè)派生機(jī)構(gòu)(an outgrowth)，但是它的項(xiàng)目已經(jīng)從地球物理學(xué)(geophysics)拓展到地圖測(cè)繪(mapping)和生物學(xué)(biology)。
11. There are other possible economic values. Several intercontinental air routes lie across portions of Antarctica. Strange antibiotics have been found in the drifting plants of the Antarctic seas; the Russians are reported to be carrying in live herring to be dumped overboard in an attempt at sea "farming."
11、除此之外還有其他的經(jīng)濟(jì)價(jià)值。有數(shù)條洲際航線(several intercontinental air routes)經(jīng)過(guò)南極上空；在南極海洋的浮游植物里(in the drifting plants of the Antarctic seas)已發(fā)現(xiàn)了一些前所未知的抗生素(strange anjtibiotics)；據(jù)報(bào)道，俄國(guó)人要將鯡魚苗倒進(jìn)海洋，嘗試在南極“放養(yǎng)”。
12. But for the immediate future the great value of Antarctica may lie in other lines of research-from the common cold to problems of outer space. The former is under scrutiny at a biological laboratory at McMurdo Sound, where clues to certain viruses are being sought in the study of epidemics among the utterly isolated members of scientific parties.
12、但是，就近期看來(lái)，南極洲的重要價(jià)值卻存在于其他的研究領(lǐng)域(other lines of research)：從普通的感冒到外層空間的問(wèn)題。對(duì)于感冒的研究已經(jīng)在位于麥克默多灣(McMurdo Sound)的生物學(xué)實(shí)驗(yàn)室里緊鑼密鼓地進(jìn)行，一群完全與外界隔絕的科學(xué)組織的人員正從流行病學(xué)的角度(in the study of epidemics)尋找(seek-sought -sought)一些特殊的病毒。
13. Investigations of the weather's origins and patterns are being pressed. There is no question that Antarctica plays an important role in the weather that affects the destinies of those living south of the equator; some believe its effects are felt in the north as well.
13、對(duì)于氣候的形成和模式的研究也正在加速進(jìn)行(are being pressed)。毫無(wú)疑問(wèn)，在氣候方面南極洲扮演著一個(gè)重要的角色(play an important role)，與生活在赤道以南的人們息息相關(guān)；甚至有人認(rèn)為它的影響也(as well)同樣波及到了(are felt)北半球。
14. As to space research, there is no place on earth better suited than the South Pole for certain kinds of observation. Here is a firmly fixed point, in contrast to the drifting floes that cover the North Pole; from it all directions are north, and during the six months of darkness the stars circle around a point directly overhead. The United States established an observatory there in 1957 for the I.G.Y. and has maintained it ever since.
14、在空間研究方面，南極是地球上最適宜的(better suited than)進(jìn)行觀察的地方。與北極上覆蓋的漂流浮冰相比(in contrast to)，這里是一個(gè)穩(wěn)定的點(diǎn)(a firmly fixed point)，這里所有的方向都是北，在長(zhǎng)達(dá)六個(gè)月的黑夜中，星星圍繞的中心點(diǎn)就在頭頂(directly overhead)。1957年，美國(guó)為國(guó)際地球物理學(xué)年會(huì)在此處建立了一個(gè)觀測(cè)站，并且一直維持至今。
15. Now it is an ideal space tracking station. Any vehicle on a mission in the southern half of the heavens remains continuously "visible" to an antenna at the pole. Such a station is also able to play a unique role in interrogating earth satellites in orbit over both poles.
15、現(xiàn)在，這里是最理想的空間跟蹤站。在南半球的太空中執(zhí)行任務(wù)的所有飛行器(any vehicle on a mission)都可被極點(diǎn)上的天線(an antenna at he pole)持續(xù)追蹤(continuously visible)。同時(shí)，這個(gè)觀測(cè)站還在監(jiān)視（interrogating）兩極軌道上的地球衛(wèi)星方面發(fā)揮不可替代的作用。
16. Such satellites-maintaining their steady sweeps as the earth revolves beneath them-cover all parts of the globe and hence are ideal for weather observation, communications and other tasks. The South Pole would be the check point on each circuit, snatching the data from space, processing them in computers within seconds and relaying them to the rest of the world.
16、這些衛(wèi)星處在平穩(wěn)旋轉(zhuǎn)的地球上空，幾乎可以對(duì)全球的所有地區(qū)進(jìn)行穩(wěn)定的掃描，因此能很好地完成氣象觀察、通訊以及其它任務(wù)。南極點(diǎn)將成為這些衛(wèi)星環(huán)球軌跡的檢查站(the check point)，從太空采集數(shù)據(jù)(snatching the data from space)、通過(guò)電腦在幾秒鐘之內(nèi)處理數(shù)據(jù)，并傳送到世界各地(the rest of the world)。
17. On all these counts, the scientists justify their voyages to Antarctica and the vast sums needed. But essentially their argument is a simple one. The great continent to the south is still largely unknown. In the quest for fundamental knowledge, which is the heart and soul so all science, it cannot be ignored.
17、綜上所述，科學(xué)家們認(rèn)為應(yīng)當(dāng)進(jìn)行南極勘探，同時(shí)需要大量的資金。但是，他們最根本的論據(jù)(argument)很簡(jiǎn)單：南方的這塊大陸在很大程度上(largely)仍是個(gè)迷(unknown)。為了探索(quest)基礎(chǔ)知識(shí)-而探索基礎(chǔ)知識(shí)也正是科學(xué)的核心和靈魂所在-這個(gè)地區(qū)不容忽視(cannot be ignored)。
