美国学生世界地理教材 第134期:鱼儿、峡湾、瀑布和森林续(2)

 Leif Ericson lived about a thousand years ago. 莱弗.埃里克松生活在一千年前，

He and his men sailed across the ocean and landed in America five hundred years before Columbus discovered America, 他和他手下的人早在哥伦布发现美洲前五百年就航海穿过大洋来到美洲大陆，

but he didn't think much of the country, and when he went back to Norway he said little about it. 但是，他并不看重这个地方。回到挪威之后，他很少向人提起这个地方。

In later times there have been famous sailors and discoverers too in Norway. 后来，挪威还出现了很多著名的航海探险家。

Men up there live so near the top of the earth that they have tried to go all the way to the top, 生活在挪威的人因为非常靠近地球的顶部，所以他们总想要北上到达地球的顶端，

to the point where if you stood still you would turn exactly around on the spot where you stood once every twenty-four hours. 也就是到达一个点，在这个点上，如果你站着一动不动，每隔24小时，你会在原地自转了一圈，

That point is the North Pole. 这一点就是北极。

Such men have risked their lives—and many have lost them—in trying to reach the poles. 曾有人冒着生命危险——确实很多人为此失去了生命——试图到达北极和南极。

Two famous Scandinavian explorers¹, Nansen and Amundsen, tried—they didn't lose their lives, but they didn't reach the North Pole, either. 有两位著名的斯堪的纳维亚探险者，南森和阿蒙森，尝试了——他们没有失去生命，但也没能到达北极。

An American named Peary was the first man to reach the North Pole. 一位叫皮里的美国人是第一位到达北极的人，

Amundsen, however, tried to reach the South Pole and he succeeded. 不过阿蒙森却成功到达南极。

He was the first man to reach the South Pole. 阿蒙森是第一位到达南极的人。

Since then airplanes, and a Norse airship too, have crossed the North Pole, but they didn't stop there. 从那时起，还有一些飞机和挪威的一艘飞船飞越过北极，但都没有在那儿停留。

Later Amundsen started for the North Pole in an airplane and was never heard from again. 后来，阿蒙森开飞机向北极出发，之后就再也没有他的任何消息了。

You have overshoes to wear when you go out in the snow, 雪天外出时，你会穿上套鞋，

but every one in Norway and Sweden has a pair of long wooden runners called "skis²", 但在挪威和瑞典每个人都会有一双长长的、木制的滑行器，叫“滑雪板”。

which he straps³ to his shoes when he goes out. 他们外出时就会用带子将滑雪板绑在鞋子上。

With these on his feet he coasts over the top of the snow, making a sled of himself—sliding down slopes⁴ and pushing himself along on level ground with a pole, as if it were a cane⁵. 有了滑雪板，他们就能在雪上滑行，就好像把自己变成了一个雪橇——滑下斜坡，在平坦的地面上就用手杖样的杆子撑着自己不断向前滑行。

Have you ever seen a white blackbird? 你见过白色的黑鸟吗？

No one has. 没有人见过。

Have you ever seen white coal? 你见过白色的煤吗？

They have a lot of it in Norway and Sweden. 在挪威和瑞典就很多。

1 explorers   

n.探险家，勘探者( explorer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The explorers climbed a mound to survey the land around them. 勘探者爬上土丘去勘测周围的土地。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The explorers had to rough it when they got into the jungle. 那些探险者进入丛林后，不得不过着艰苦的生活。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 skis   

n.滑雪板( ski的名词复数 )v.滑雪( ski的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• a pair of skis 一副滑雪板
• His skis crossed and he sat down in a most undignified manner. 他的滑雪板交叉在一起坐下时，姿势很不雅观。 来自辞典例句

3 straps   

n.带子( strap的名词复数 )；挎带；肩带；背带v.用皮带捆扎( strap的第三人称单数 )；用皮带抽打；包扎；给…打绷带

参考例句：

• the shoulder straps of her dress 她连衣裙上的肩带
• The straps can be adjusted to suit the wearer. 这些背带可进行调整以适合使用者。

4 slopes   

n.斜坡( slope的名词复数 )；斜面；倾斜；山坡v.有斜度( slope的第三人称单数 )；悄悄地走；潜行

参考例句：

• the eastern slopes of the mountain 东山坡
• the northern slopes of the mountains 山脉的北坡

5 cane   

n.手杖，细长的茎，藤条；v.以杖击，以藤编制的

参考例句：

• This sugar cane is quite a sweet and juicy.这甘蔗既甜又多汁。
• English schoolmasters used to cane the boys as a punishment.英国小学老师过去常用教鞭打男学生作为惩罚。