2006年VOA标准英语-Tourists Head To Alaska's Glaciers

By Joseph Mok and Zhan Jun
Juneau, Alaska
30 May 2006
 
watch Glacier¹ Trekkers report

Juneau, the capital of Alaska, was founded as a gold-mining camp 200 years ago.  Today, it is filled with cruise ship passengers and people known as trekkers, who are headed for nearby glaciers⁴.  VOA's Joseph Mok and Zhan Jun produced this report on an ice trekking⁵ trip.  Elaine Lu narrates⁶ the story.

Helicopters take visitors to the glaciers, where they can walk the easier stretches, or after being outfitted⁷ with crampons and ice axes, do some climbing.  
 

Alaska glacier trekkers  
  
This group of women is on a trip to the Mendenhall Glacier. 

Debby, a retired⁸ firefighter from California, moved here eight years ago.  Lea, a dental assistant, has lived in Juneau for 25 years. Beth is from Juneau but lives in Oregon.  She comes home every summer to be a hiking guide.  And Sheryl works at a public radio station.

Becky is the guide for the others, who are making their first trek². Becky and her husband have set up their own business after six years of trekking.

The women are geared up and ready to go. But first, the group has to hike for five miles [eight kilometers] through a forest to reach the trail. Their gear is placed on a kayak, which will meet them later at the foot of Medenhall Glacier.  When they first arrive on the glacier, even simple things have to be taught from the beginning.

Becky will guide the women on their journey. “What I am going to talk about now is how you guys are going to walk the ups and downs with your crampon.  You have your ice tools, and this is your walking stick, and we use it for balance and stability.  And then when you are going up a steep section, we are going to use a technique called 'front pointing'.”

Treeking above an abysmal⁹ crevasse¹⁰  
  
Getting used to the hard and slippery surface and trying to walk with the abysmal crevasse underneath¹¹ is a daunting¹² experience. A slip of the foot could land you hundreds of meters down, perhaps to be frozen for thousands of years. 

Lea was brave enough to go first. Planting the anchor firmly, she slowly made her way up.  Each step is a victory.

Mendenhall Glacier is one of the eight large glaciers that flow from the 1.3 million hectare expanse of rock, snow and ice known as the Juneau Icefield. Located in southeast Alaska, Juneau's maritime¹³ climate and coastal¹⁴ mountains make glaciation possible. As moist air flows toward the mountains and rises, it cools and releases snow and rain.

  
  
The Juneau Icefield has an average annual snowfall of more than 30 meters. Winter snow accumulation exceeds summer snowmelt at higher elevations¹⁵ due to Juneau's mild summers. Over the years, accumulated snow compacts underlying¹⁶ snow layers from previous years into solid ice.  As glacial ice continues to build, gravity pulls the ice down slope. The glacier slowly scours¹⁷ the bedrock and grinds down its 21-kilometer journey to Mendenhall Lake.

Glacial ice appears blue because it is almost like a prism, or crystal, and absorbs all colors of the visible light spectrum¹⁸ except blue.

For all her years on glaciers, Becky is still amazed at the changing views of the seasons each time she is here. 

One of the women, Sheryl, comments about the weather. “It was just a wonderful day.  I want to come back tomorrow.  It was fantastic.”  A companion, Debby, says, “And I will be back…I'll be back.” Another trekker³, Beth, adds, “Looking at all the different colors of blues¹⁹, waterfalls and how everything has been formed.  It's just so dynamic, it's constantly changing.”

Lea says she plans to return. “I am trying to talk my 16-year-old to come here, go out there with me, I think he will have a great time.  It will be a great experience, too, to feel what it's like to live here.  The amount of years I have lived here and not come out.  It's just amazing.”

Unlike tourists who come-and-go seeking adventure, Becky and others have found a home in Juneau, with its crystal blue sky and the grandeur²⁰ of the glacier.

1 glacier   

n.冰川，冰河

参考例句：

• The glacier calved a large iceberg.冰河崩解而形成一个大冰山。
• The upper surface of glacier is riven by crevasses.冰川的上表面已裂成冰隙。

2 trek   

vi.作长途艰辛的旅行；n.长途艰苦的旅行

参考例句：

• We often go pony-trek in the summer.夏季我们经常骑马旅行。
• It took us the whole day to trek across the rocky terrain.我们花了一整天的时间艰难地穿过那片遍布岩石的地带。

3 trekker   

背包客

参考例句：

4 glaciers   

冰河，冰川( glacier的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Glaciers gouged out valleys from the hills. 冰川把丘陵地带冲出一条条山谷。
• It has ice and snow glaciers, rainforests and beautiful mountains. 既有冰川，又有雨林和秀丽的山峰。 来自英语晨读30分（高一）

5 trekking   

v.艰苦跋涉，徒步旅行( trek的现在分词 )；（尤指在山中）远足，徒步旅行，游山玩水

参考例句：

• She can't come pony trekking after all because she's in a delicate condition. 她结果还是不能坐小马车旅行，因为她已怀孕。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• We spent the summer trekking in the foothills of the Himalayas. 我们整个夏天都在喜马拉雅山的山麓艰难跋涉。 来自互联网

6 narrates   

v.故事( narrate的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• It narrates the unconstitutional acts of James II. 它历数了詹姆斯二世的违法行为。 来自辞典例句
• Chapter three narrates the economy activity which Jew return the Occident. 第三章讲述了犹太人重返西欧后的经济活动。 来自互联网

7 outfitted   

v.装备，配置设备，供给服装( outfit的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• They outfitted for the long journey. 他们为远途旅行准备装束。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• They outfitted him with artificial legs. 他们为他安了假腿。 来自辞典例句

8 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

9 abysmal   

adj.无底的，深不可测的，极深的；糟透的，极坏的；完全的

参考例句：

• The film was so abysmal that I fell asleep.电影太糟糕，看得我睡着了。
• There is a historic explanation for the abysmal state of Chinese cuisine in the United States.中餐在美国的糟糕状态可以从历史上找原因。

10 crevasse   

n. 裂缝，破口；v.使有裂缝

参考例句：

• The deep crevasse yawned at their feet.他们脚下的冰川有一道深深的裂缝。
• He fell down a crevasse.他从裂缝处摔了下来。

11 underneath   

adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面

参考例句：

• Working underneath the car is always a messy job.在汽车底下工作是件脏活。
• She wore a coat with a dress underneath.她穿着一件大衣，里面套着一条连衣裙。

12 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。

13 maritime   

adj.海的，海事的，航海的，近海的，沿海的

参考例句：

• Many maritime people are fishermen.许多居于海滨的人是渔夫。
• The temperature change in winter is less in maritime areas.冬季沿海的温差较小。

14 coastal   

adj.海岸的，沿海的，沿岸的

参考例句：

• The ocean waves are slowly eating away the coastal rocks.大海的波浪慢慢地侵蚀着岸边的岩石。
• This country will fortify the coastal areas.该国将加强沿海地区的防御。

15 elevations   

（水平或数量）提高( elevation的名词复数 )； 高地； 海拔； 提升

参考例句：

• Weight of the crust changes as elevations are eroded and materials are deposited elsewhere. 当高地受到侵蚀，物质沉积到别的地方时，地壳的重量就改变。
• All deck elevations are on the top of structural beams. 所有甲板标高线均指结构梁顶线。

16 underlying   

adj.在下面的，含蓄的，潜在的

参考例句：

• The underlying theme of the novel is very serious.小说隐含的主题是十分严肃的。
• This word has its underlying meaning.这个单词有它潜在的含义。

17 scours   

走遍（某地）搜寻（人或物）( scour的第三人称单数 )； （用力）刷； 擦净； 擦亮

参考例句：

• The roasting pan scours better than pot. 烤盘比锅容易擦干净。
• The best scours for UF membrane washing were 0.1%NaOH and 0.5%U10 solution consecutively washing. 0.1%NaOH 和0.5%U10溶液是理想的超滤膜清洗剂。

18 spectrum   

n.谱，光谱，频谱；范围，幅度，系列

参考例句：

• This is a kind of atomic spectrum.这是一种原子光谱。
• We have known much of the constitution of the solar spectrum.关于太阳光谱的构成，我们已了解不少。

19 blues   

n.抑郁，沮丧；布鲁斯音乐

参考例句：

• She was in the back of a smoky bar singing the blues.她在烟雾弥漫的酒吧深处唱着布鲁斯歌曲。
• He was in the blues on account of his failure in business.他因事业失败而意志消沉。

20 grandeur   

n.伟大，崇高，宏伟，庄严，豪华

参考例句：

• The grandeur of the Great Wall is unmatched.长城的壮观是独一无二的。
• These ruins sufficiently attest the former grandeur of the place.这些遗迹充分证明此处昔日的宏伟。