Polar Regions Of The Earth

Polar Regions of the Earth, written by Elizabeth Austin. Focus question, how would you describe the polar regions?

《地球的极地地区》，作者：伊丽莎白·奥斯汀 思考问题：你会怎样描述极地地区呢？

Introduction. There are places on Earth where the ice never melts. Howling wind blasts needles of snow across the land. It seems as though no plant or animal life could survive there. These are the polar regions, the areas around the North and South Poles.

引言 地球上有些地方，冰永远都不会融化 呼啸狂风卷着冰针般的雪粒横扫大地 看起来好像没有任何植物或动物能在那里存活 这就是极地地区，也就是南北极点周围的区域

The conditions in the polar regions may be harsh, but life does exist there. The land around the North Pole, called the Arctic, supports grasses, mosses, insects, birds, and mammals. The sea around Antarctica, the land around the South Pole, is full of fish, shellfish, penguins, and sea mammals. In this book, you will read about the inhospitable conditions of the polar regions and how some of these animals withstand them.

极地的环境或许十分恶劣，但那里确实有生命存在 北极点周围的区域叫做北极，这里生长着草、苔藓，还生活着昆虫、鸟类和哺乳动物 南极点周围的陆地是南极洲，它周边的海洋里到处都是鱼、贝类、企鹅和海洋哺乳动物 在这本书里，你会了解极地严酷的环境，还有一些动物是如何在那里生存下来的

Why is it so cold? You probably know that as you travel away from the equator, the imaginary line around the middle of the earth, it gets colder. It is coldest at the north and south poles. But why is it so much colder at the poles than at the equator? All of the warmth on earth comes from rays of energy from the sun. As you can see in the drawing below, the rays hitting the equator are strong and direct. The Earth absorbs a lot of heat from these direct rays. But near the ends of the Earth, the rays hit at an angle. The rays are spread out over a wide area, so the Earth absorbs less heat.

为什么极地这么冷？ 你大概知道，越远离赤道（穿过地球中部的假想线），天气就越冷 南北极是地球上最冷的地方 可是为什么极地比赤道冷这么多呢？ 地球上所有的热量都来自太阳的能量射线 你看下文的示意图就能发现，照到赤道的太阳射线强烈又直接 地球从这些直射射线中吸收了大量热量 但在地球的两端，太阳射线是以斜角照射的 射线分散在更广阔的区域，所以地球吸收到的热量就更少

The Earth is also tilted on its axis, or the imaginary line around which it spins. For half of the year, the polar regions are tilted away from the sun. During the winter, the sun does not shine on the polar regions at all, and without sunlight, there is no heat. The white snow and ice that cover the polar regions make them even colder. This white surface reflects the sun's rays without absorbing heat.

地球还沿着地轴倾斜自转，地轴就是地球自转围绕的假想轴线 一年里有半年时间，极地都是背向太阳倾斜的 冬季的时候，阳光完全照不到极地，没有阳光也就没有热量 覆盖极地的皑皑冰雪还会让这里变得更冷 白色的冰雪表面会反射太阳射线，不会吸收热量

Life in the Arctic The North Pole sits in the middle of the Arctic Ocean, which is covered by a layer of ice called an ice cap. During the summer, the edges of the ice cap melt away and the Arctic Ocean fills with life. The beluga, or white whale, and the narwhal feed there. Seals, sea lions, and walruses fish for food, poking their heads up through breathing holes they have made in the sea ice. Polar bears wait by the holes to catch these animals.

北极的生命：北极点位于北冰洋中央，北冰洋表面覆盖着一层冰，叫做冰盖 到了夏天，冰盖边缘会融化，北冰洋里变得充满生机 白鲸和一角鲸都会来这里觅食 海豹、海狮和海象会在海冰上凿出呼吸孔，探出头来捕鱼 北极熊会守在呼吸孔边，捕食这些动物