Antarctica is known for being a vast land of ice and snow, a place too cold for most life. Despite this, the continent is slowly starting to turn warm. According to the Guardian, the Antarctic has registered a new high temperature for the first time on record, prompting fears of climate instability in the world’s iciest place.
眾所周知，南極洲是一片被冰雪覆蓋的廣闊土地，氣候酷寒，大多數(shù)生命難以生存。然而，這片大陸卻正在逐漸變暖。據(jù)《衛(wèi)報(bào)》報(bào)道，南極測(cè)得了有氣象記錄以來(lái)的最高溫，引發(fā)人們對(duì)于全球極寒之地氣候不穩(wěn)定的擔(dān)憂。

On Feb 9, Brazilian researchers at Seymour Island reported a temperature of 20.75 C on the icy continent of Antarctica. It was almost a full degree higher than the previous record of 19.8 C, taken on Signy Island in January 1982.
2月9日，巴西研究人員在處于嚴(yán)寒地帶的南極洲西摩島記錄下了20.75攝氏度的高溫。這比先前西格尼島1982年1月記錄的19.8攝氏度高了將近1攝氏度。

This record-breaking reading was taken at a monitoring station in the northern part of Antarctica. According to Brazilian soil scientist Carlos Schaefer, the temperature was documented during a 20-year-long research project. The focus of this project is to study the effect that climate change has on the permafrost within the region. Permafrost is soil that stays frozen for at least two years.
這一破紀(jì)錄的數(shù)據(jù)是在南極洲北部的一所監(jiān)測(cè)站測(cè)得的。巴西土壤學(xué)家卡洛斯·謝弗稱，這一氣溫紀(jì)錄被收錄于一個(gè)長(zhǎng)達(dá)20年的研究項(xiàng)目。該項(xiàng)目的關(guān)注點(diǎn)在于研究氣候變化對(duì)于該地區(qū)永久凍土的影響。永久凍土指的是凍結(jié)至少兩年的土壤層。

Although this is a first record high for Antarctica, Schaefer stressed that “We can’t use this to anticipate climatic changes in the future. It’s simply a signal that something different is happening in that area.”
盡管這一記錄刷新了南極洲氣溫的最高值，謝弗強(qiáng)調(diào)稱：“我們無(wú)法用這個(gè)記錄預(yù)測(cè)未來(lái)的氣候變化，這只是個(gè)信號(hào)，表明這個(gè)地區(qū)正在發(fā)生一些不同尋常的變化。

But in fact, the last high temperature reading was in the 19 C range. These higher temperatures can cause ice and glaciers in Antarctic regions to melt. The Antarctic peninsula – the long finger of land that stretches towards Argentina – is most dramatically affected. Scientists saw glaciers that have retreated by more than 100 meters in Discovery Bay where the snow melted in little more than a week, leaving dark exposed rock. This melted ice leads to a rise in sea levels that can threaten the safety of coastal areas. It’s believed to be behind an alarming decline of more than 50 percent in chinstrap penguin colonies, which are dependent on sea ice.
但事實(shí)上，之前的最高溫記錄還在19攝氏度的范圍內(nèi)。這些高溫天氣會(huì)導(dǎo)致南極洲地區(qū)的冰雪與冰川融化。南極半島是個(gè)延伸向阿根廷的狹長(zhǎng)地帶，這里受到的影響最大?？茖W(xué)家們發(fā)現(xiàn)，探索灣的冰川已經(jīng)后退了100多米，地面的積雪用一周多的時(shí)間就化得裸露出深色的巖石。這些融化的冰雪會(huì)導(dǎo)致海平面上升，威脅沿海地區(qū)的安全。人們認(rèn)為，這也是依賴海冰的帽帶企鵝數(shù)量急劇下降超過(guò)50%的背后原因。

Like American writer Ernest Hemingway once said, “The Earth is a fine place and worth fighting for.” We should do everything we can to help save our planet. Otherwise, it may become too hot for us to fix.
正如美國(guó)作家歐內(nèi)斯特·海明威所言：“地球很美好，值得我們?yōu)橹畩^斗?！蔽覀儜?yīng)當(dāng)做一切力所能及的事來(lái)保護(hù)我們的星球。否則，地球或許將陷入我們無(wú)法挽回的高溫之中。

以上文章內(nèi)容選自《21世紀(jì)學(xué)生英文報(bào)高中版》，詳情請(qǐng)見(jiàn)《21世紀(jì)學(xué)生英文報(bào)高中版》高二782期