Amazing Antarctica

Amazing Antarctica. Written by Sean P. McCollum. Focus Question. How does Antarctica compare to other continents?

神奇的南极洲。 作者：肖恩·P·麦卡勒姆。 探究问题。 南极洲和其他大洲有什么不同呢？

the seventh continent. Give a globe a spin. On it you can easily find six continents, Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, North America, and South America. These lands have been home to humans for many thousands of years. Now look at the bottom of the globe. There, you will find continent number 7, Antarctica.

第七大洲。 转一转地球仪吧。 在上面你能轻松找到六个大洲：非洲、亚洲、大洋洲、欧洲、北美洲和南美洲。 数千年来，人类一直居住在这些大陆上。 现在看看地球仪的最底端。 在那里，你就能找到第七个大洲——南极洲。

Antarctica is located far from where anyone lives and is surrounded by rough seas. For a long time, no one knew it was there. Many explorers have sailed the stormy Antarctic waters throughout history. However, people didn't actually discover Antarctica until around 1820. No one individual is given credit for its discovery. A few men are said to have cited it within days of each other. Historians also do not agree on the first people to explore its lands.

南极洲远离人类居住区，四周被波涛汹涌的大海环绕。 很长时间里，没人知道它的存在。 纵览历史，许多探险家都曾在风暴肆虐的南极海域航行。 不过，人们直到1820年左右才真正发现南极洲。 没有哪一个人被公认为它的发现者。 据说有几位探险家几乎在几天之内先后发现了它。 至于谁是第一批踏上南极大陆探险的人，历史学家也没有定论。

Over the last 200 years, we have learned that Antarctica is a place of extremes. It is the coldest and windiest continent, and it gets the least rain and snow. Antarctica also has some of the most amazing wildlife in the world.

过去两百年里，我们发现南极洲是一片充满极端环境的土地。 它是全世界最冷、风最大的大洲，也是雨雪量最少的大洲。 南极洲也有着全世界最神奇的一些野生动物。

Freezing Antarctica During the winter, Earth's southern half is turned away from the sun. For a couple of weeks in June and July, winter in Antarctica, the sun never rises. For a period in December and January, Summer in Antarctica, the sun never sets. Antarctica's location means the weather is usually cold, icy, and windy. The temperature in summer most often reaches just above 0 degrees Celsius, 32 degrees Fahrenheit. In winter, the temperature is almost always below minus 18 degrees Celsius, zero degrees Fahrenheit. The coldest temperature ever recorded on Earth was at an Antarctic Science Station in July 1983. It got down to minus 89 degrees Celsius, minus 128 degrees Fahrenheit.

天寒地冻的南极洲 到了冬季，地球的南半球背对着太阳。 南极的冬季在六七月，这里有好几周太阳都不会升起。 南极的夏季在十二月和一月，这里有好长一段时间太阳都不会落下。 南极洲的地理位置决定了这里常年寒冷、冰封、多狂风。 夏季的气温通常只比0摄氏度（32华氏度）高一点点。 到了冬季，气温几乎一直在零下18摄氏度（0华氏度）以下。 地球上有记录以来的最低温，是1983年7月在南极一座科考站测得的。 温度低至零下89摄氏度，也就是零下128华氏度。

This extreme cold is why thick sheets of ice cover Antarctica. At its deepest, Antarctica's ice is 4 kilometers, 2 .5 miles thick. With all that ice, it might seem surprising that Antarctica is also the driest continent. It gets less than 5 centimeters, 2 inches of rain and snow a year.

极度严寒让南极洲覆盖着厚厚的冰层。 南极洲最厚的冰层有4千米，也就是2.5英里厚。 虽然满是冰，可南极洲居然还是最干燥的大洲，是不是很意外？ 这里每年的雨雪加起来还不到5厘米，也就是2英寸。