Badlands National Park

Badlands National Park. Written by Sean McCollum. Focus question. Where is Badlands National Park and what can visitors see there?

恶地国家公园 肖恩·麦卡勒姆 撰文 思考问题 恶地国家公园在哪里？游客能在那里看到什么？

What's good about the Badlands? Grasses wave in the breeze. Bison feed in the distance. A prairie dog squeaks and disappears into a hole. Then the grasslands end and the earth opens up. Bare, rocky ridges and peaks point toward the sky. The land is dry and brown, but sometimes the sun shines just right. Then the rocks and fields of grass display amazing colors. Badlands National Park, BNP, is a strange and amazing place.

恶地有什么迷人之处呢？ 青草在微风中轻轻摇摆 野牛在远处低头吃草 一只土拨鼠吱吱叫了一声，就钻进洞不见了 接着草原走到尽头，大地展露了新的模样 裸露的岩石山脊和山峰直插天空 这片土地干燥棕黄，但有时阳光刚好洒下 岩石和草地就会呈现出绝美的色彩 恶地国家公园，简称BNP，是一片奇特又美妙的地方

The Park. Badlands National Park is located in what is South Dakota today. Different Native American groups have lived in the area for a very long time. They believe this land is special.

公园概况 恶地国家公园坐落于如今的南达科他州 不同的印第安族群已经在这里生活了非常久 他们认为这片土地十分特别

Badlands became a national park in 1978. Today, about one million people visit each year. The park is made up of three areas, but most people visit the North Unit. The other two areas are inside Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. Pine Ridge is home to the Aglala Lakota people. Part of BMP is near and around Buffalo Gap National Grassland. Together, they protect a huge space that keeps wild plants, animals, and land safe.

恶地在1978年正式成为国家公园 如今每年大约有一百万游客来这里游玩 公园分为三个区域，大多数游客都会前往北区 另外两个区域位于松岭印第安保留地境内 奥格拉拉拉科塔人就居住在松岭 恶地国家公园的一部分毗邻并环绕着布法罗峡谷国家草原 它们一同守护着大片区域，保护野生植物、动物和这片原生土地

Rocks and grass. Geologists are scientists who study rocks, soil, and land to learn about the history of Earth. BNP makes their job easier. The bare layers of rock show how the land formed. Each layer took millions of years to make. At different times, ash, sand, and mud settled on of each other. Each layer turned to rock. Later, water and wind wore down the rock layers.

岩石与草原 地质学家是研究岩石、土壤和地貌，探索地球历史的科学家 恶地国家公园让他们的工作变得更容易 裸露的岩层展现了这片土地的形成过程 每一层都花了数百万年才形成 不同时期，火山灰、沙子和淤泥一层层沉积下来 每一层最终都变成了岩石 后来，流水和风慢慢侵蚀了这些岩层

Fossils in each layer show that the land has gone through big changes. Fossils are remains of plants and animals that have turned to rock. Fossils in the park show that the area was once like a jungle long before humans lived there. At other times it was covered in forests and a wide sea.

每层岩层里的化石证明这片土地经历过巨大的变迁 化石就是变成岩石的远古动植物遗体 公园里的化石显示，远在人类出现之前，这里曾经像热带雨林一样 其他时期，这里还被森林和广阔的海洋覆盖过