纪录片《我们的地球》 第07期 从南极到北极(7)

Midsummer on the tundra¹ and the sun does not set.

现在是苔原的仲夏时节，不会出现日落

At these latitudes² the sun's rays are glancing

在这个高纬度地区，太阳辐射只能斜射到这片土地

and not enough of their energy reaches the ground to enable trees to grow.

到达地面的能量很少，并不足以支持树木生长

You'll need to travel 500 miles south from here before that is possible.

由此往南500英里的地方才有可能生长着树木

These stunted³ shrubs⁴ mark the tree line -

这些矮小的灌木标志着森林界线

the beginning of the boreal forest - the taiga.

北方森林由此开始，这就是泰加林带

The needle-shaped leaves of the conifers are virtually inedible⁵

针叶树的针状树叶根本不能食用

so this forest supports very little animal life.

所以生活在这片森林里的动物非常稀少

It's a silent place where the snow is unmarked by footprints.

这是个寂静的地方，雪地上没有被踩过的脚印

In the Arctic winter snow forms a continuous blanket across the land.

每到北极冬季，雪便为这片土地盖上一层广袤无边的银毯

But as spring creeps up from the south the taiga is unveiled.

可是随着春天渐渐从南方赶来，泰加林带也揭开了它的面纱

1 tundra   

n.苔原，冻土地带

参考例句：

• The arctic tundra is at the top of the world around the North Pole.北极冻原是指北极点周边的地区，是世界最高的地方。
• There is a large amount of methane gas under the Siberian tundra.西伯利亚的冻土地带之下有大量的甲烷气体。

2 latitudes   

纬度

参考例句：

• Latitudes are the lines that go from east to west. 纬线是从东到西的线。
• It was the brief Indian Summer of the high latitudes. 这是高纬度地方的那种短暂的晚秋。

3 stunted   

adj.矮小的；发育迟缓的

参考例句：

• the stunted lives of children deprived of education 未受教育的孩子所过的局限生活
• But the landed oligarchy had stunted the country's democratic development for generations. 但是好几代以来土地寡头的统治阻碍了这个国家民主的发展。

4 shrubs   

灌木( shrub的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The gardener spent a complete morning in trimming those two shrubs. 园丁花了整个上午的时间修剪那两处灌木林。
• These shrubs will need more light to produce flowering shoots. 这些灌木需要更多的光照才能抽出开花的新枝。

5 inedible   

adj.不能吃的，不宜食用的

参考例句：

• The food was totally inedible.食物完全无法下咽。
• These chemicals make the fruit inedible.这些化学品使这种水果不宜食用。