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The Arctic’s Coolest Wildlife 酷寒北极最「酷」的野生物

 

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Birds dominate the barren scenery in the far North  鸟类主宰荒芜北方极地

 

Norway’s Svalbard Archipelago, situated some 600 miles south of the North Pole, is one of Europe’s last major wilderness areas. Two-thirds of this High Arctic area is permanently covered in ice and snow, but come summer, wings and webbed feet bloom on this frozen land.

挪威的史瓦巴特群岛位于北极极点南方约六百哩处，是欧洲最后的主要荒野地带之一。这处高北极地区有三分之二终年为冰雪覆盖，但当夏天来临时，有翅族和蹼脚客就在这冰冻之地繁衍。

 

Claus and Elin may look like they’re having a picnic sitting on a blanket on a rocky beach in an Arctic fjord, but they’re both just enjoying a break. They’ve been taking turns swinging a 20-foot-long fishing rod fitted with a noose to lasso kittiwakes off cliffs so they can take blood samples from the birds. Further down the fjord in another remote cove, Borge and Anette strap on helmets before taking a short hike to check eggs in a bird’s nest because they know that while hanging over the edge of a sea cliff the angry glaucous gull parents will attack. Both teams of researchers, who work for the Norwegian Polar Institute, are monitoring sea bird health in the Arctic and looking for signs of stress and disease due to climate change and industrial pollutants.

克劳斯和亚琳外表看起来可能像是在北极峡湾中的石滩上，坐在毯子上野餐，但其实他们只不过是暂时休息一下而已。两人之前一直轮流挥动着加装了套索的二十呎长钓竿，想把三趾鸥从悬崖上套下来，好从这些鸟身上取得血液样本。峡湾再过去些的另一处偏远海湾中，柏赫和奈特要短暂步行一段时间，去检查一个鸟巢中的蛋，他们在出发前先戴上头盔，因为他们知道当自己悬吊在海崖（译注：或译海蚀崖）边缘之际，愤怒的北极鸥父母会攻击他们。两组研究人员都来自「挪威极地研究院」，他们负责监控北极地区的海鸟的健康情形，留心海鸟是否因为气候变迁及工业污染物而出现压力征兆与疾病。

 

Working with wildlife  和野生物打交道

 

The teams work at an Arctic outpost nestled on the west coast of Spitsbergen, the largest island in the Svalbard Archipelago. Observing these Norwegian field researchers in action gave me a newfound respect for wings, webbed feet and researchers. “We work seven days a week; we work with animals,” says Borge. This most northerly settlement in the world is a modern scientific community known as the International Arctic Research Station of Ny-Ålesund, where some 200 scientists from some 20 different nations assemble for the summer to take the pulse of the Arctic.

史毕兹柏根岛是史瓦巴特群岛中最大的岛，观察这些挪威实地调查人员（译注：虽然field research一般译成田野调查，但field research指到实验室以外的地点进行现场实地调查，有时这些地点在野外，但有时也可能不在野外）在史毕兹柏根西岸一处有遮蔽的北极偏远据点实际工作的情形，让我对有翅及蹼脚动物与研究人员油然而生一股新的敬意。柏赫表示，「我们每周工作七天，和动物打交道。」这个全世界最北边的据点是个现代科学社群，名为「新奥勒松国际北极研究站」，来自约二十个不同国家的约两百名科学家，夏天时聚集在此，以了解北极现况。

 

 

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archipelago [͵ɑrkəˋpɛlə͵go] n. 群岛，列岛 a group of small islands or an area of sea in which there are many small islands

High Arctic 高纬北极地

webbed [wɛbd] adj. 有蹼的

fjord [ fjɔrd ] n.（尤指挪威海岸边的）峡湾 a long strip of sea between steep hills, found especially in Norway

fit [fɪt] v. 安装

noose [nus] n. 绞索，套索

kittiwake [ˋkɪtɪ͵wek] n.【鸟】三趾鸥

cove [kov] n. 小海湾，小湾; 山凹；洞穴

strap [stræp] v. 用带捆绑（或束住）

glaucous [ˋglɔkəs] adj. 蓝绿色的

Norwegian [nɔrˋwidʒən] adj. 挪威的；挪威人的；挪威语的

outpost [ˋaʊt͵post] n. 前哨基地

newfound [ˈnjufaʊnd] adj. 新发现的 recently discovered

 

 

 

 

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Transformed landscape  全然不同的景观

 

When this High Arctic zone “heats” up from mid-April to mid-August with round-the-clock midnight sun, the polar desertis transformed into a hot spot of activity. Although there’s always a wintry feel in the air next to glaciers, it’s clearly summer back on the permafrost. The top few inches of this frozen land thaw during the four months the sun never sets, allowing over 160 species of plants to spring to life.

四月中到八月中的永昼让这个高北极地区「热」起来，极地荒漠变成活动不断的热闹地点。虽然冰河附近的空气中总是会弥漫着冬天的感觉，不过，一回到永冻层，夏季显然降临了。这片冰冻大地最上方几吋，在这四个永昼的月份之中会解冻融化，令一百六十多种植物突然涌现生机。

 

This time of year, the tundra takes on a purple hue from the small clusters of saxifrage flowers, the treeless landscape burgeons with nesting birds, and the ocean swarms with marine life. Whales, seals and walruses wallow in Svalbard waters, and some 3,000 polar bears, 10,000 or so reindeer and hundreds of thousands of sea birds are scattered throughout the archipelago.

每年的这个时候，一簇簇虎耳草花把冻原晕染成紫色，树木不生的景观迅速缀满筑巢的鸟儿（译注：因冻原不长树木，所以鸟类是在地上筑巢），海中也充满了海洋生物。鲸、海豹和海象在史瓦巴特水域中翻滚，大约三千只北极熊，一万只左右的驯鹿和数十万只海鸟则散布在群岛各处。

 

The rulers of the roost  禽鸟之王

 

Sea birds dominate the landscape. Some of the largest concentrations of sea birds in the North Atlantic region are in Svalbard. Colonies of little auks, black-legged kittiwakes, Brünnich's guillemots and northern fulmars pack the bird-rocks. Common eider ducks nest throughout the islands while along the coast and tundra there are large populations of geese and wading birds. Most sea birds stay at sea all winter and only come on land to nest and breed during summer, which is why they flock to the Svalbard Archipelago.

海鸟在这片土地上称王。北大西洋地区有些最大的海鸟群都位在史瓦巴特岛，小海雀、三趾鸥、布拉尼海鸠和北方海燕等鸟群挤满在鸟儿聚集的岩石上，绵凫在岛上各处筑巢，沿着海岸和冻原则有许多野雁和涉禽。大部分海鸟整个冬季都在海上，只有在夏季期间才到陆地上筑巢繁殖，这也是为什么牠们群集在史瓦巴特群岛的原因。

 

Sea birds are not only prolific, they’re hearty as well – the Arctic tern is legendary for having the longest regular migration of any known animal, flying around 24,000 miles roundtrip, from its Arctic breeding grounds to Antarctic and back again each year. Svalbard’s sole songbird – the snow bunting – is also the smallest migratory bird to cross the Barents Sea flying to Africa. Meanwhile, the Svalbard ptarmigan is the only bird that stays “home” for the winter; the rest head to the Barents Sea along the coast of Norway.

海鸟不仅多产，牠们也精力充沛──在会固定迁徙的任何已知动物中，北极燕鸥以迁徙距离最长着称，牠们每年从北极的繁殖地飞到南极，再飞回来，来回共约两万四千哩。史瓦巴特唯一的鸣鸟：雪鹀，则是越过巴伦支海飞到非洲的候鸟中，体型最小的。而史瓦巴特雷鸟则是这儿唯一会留在「家」里过冬的鸟类，而其余鸟类都会沿着挪威海岸飞往巴伦支海。

 

 

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wintry [ˋwɪntrɪ] adj. 寒冷的，风雪交加的

permafrost [ˋpɝmə͵frɔst] n. 永久冻土（层）

thaw [θɔ] v.（冰，雪等）融化，融解

tundra [ˋtʌndrə] n.【地】苔原；冻土地带，冻原 part of the very large area of land in Northern Asia, North America and Northern Europe where, because it is cold, trees do not grow and earth below the surface is permanently frozen

take on 具有; 呈现 to acquire (an appearance, for example) as or as if one's own

saxifrage [ˋsæksəfrɪdʒ] n.【植】虎耳草属植物

walrus [ˋwɔlrəs] n.【动】海象

roost [rust] n. 群栖的禽鸟

concentration [͵kɑnsɛnˋtreʃən] n. 集中; 汇集

auk [ɔk] n.【鸟】（海鸦等）海雀

guillemot [ˋgɪləmɑt] n. 海鸠

fulmar [ˋfʊlmɚ] n. 海燕的一种

eider [ˋaɪdɚ] n.【鸟】绵凫

hearty [ˋhɑrtɪ] adj. 健壮的，精力充沛的 energetic,enthusiastic

tern [tɝn] n.【鸟】燕鸥

roundtrip [ 'raʊnd'trɪp ] n. 往返行程

songbird [ˋsɔŋ͵bɝd] n. 鸣禽；鸣鸟

bunting [ˋbʌntɪŋ] n.【鸟】鹀（雀科巫属鸣鸟）

ptarmigan [ˋtɑrməgən] n.【鸟】雷鸟

 

 

 

 

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Other animals  其他动物

 

While features outweigh fur, Svalbard’s mammals are no lightweights, especially the King of the Arctic, the polar bear. This animal’s massive 1,500-pound body is made for the Arctic – special hollow tube-like hairs allow the sun to warm its black skin while its paddle-like paws are nature-made for snowshoeing on the ice and swimming. The ice bear, as it’s known in Norway, spends so much time driftingabout on the sea ice that it’s also considered a marine mammal. Svalbard’s other three land mammals are the Svalbard reindeer, Arctic fox and a mouse species.

虽然鸟类重要性大过于兽类，但史瓦巴特的哺乳动物可不是什么小角色喔，尤其是北极之王：北极熊，牠重达一千五百磅的庞大身躯，简直是为了北极环境而量身定作的──包括了特殊的中空管状毛发好让太阳能温暖牠的黑皮肤，而宛如桨般的熊爪天生就适合用来游泳及在冰上行走。挪威人称冰熊的北极熊，在海冰上漂荡的时间实在太长了，因此也被认为是海洋哺乳动物。史瓦巴特其他三种陆地哺乳动物则包括了史瓦巴特驯鹿、北极狐和一种鼠类。

 

All Arctic wildlife, large or small, depends on body fat to weather the winter, but sea birds have a “built-in” feature known as countercurrent exchange, which keeps them afloat in these frigid waters. A heat regulating system in their bodies cools outgoing blood and warms incoming blood, which makes them virtually chill-proof. Cruising the fjord in an open boat allows me to float alongside kittiwakes and fulmars perched on chunks of glacial ice to see the sea bird’s unique heating system in action.

所有北极野生物，无论大小，都仰赖体脂肪来撑过冬天，但是海鸟有个称之为「逆流交换」的「内建」特征，使牠们能漂浮在这些严寒水域上而不至于失温，牠们身上的温度调节系统能使从心脏回流的血液（译注：动脉）逐渐降温，而从四肢往心脏回流的血液（译注：静脉）则逐渐升温（译注：逆流交换作用系统的动脉和静脉很靠近，因此由心脏往外传的动脉可以温暖旁边由四肢往心脏传的静脉血液，又因为动脉温度逐渐传给邻近的静脉，也使得动脉温度愈往四肢流去时就逐渐降温，到脚部时温度就变得较低，而由四肢往心脏传的静脉温度则逐渐变高，最后到达最需要保暖的心脏，此系统使生物体温能达到最大效益）使牠们能不畏寒冷。坐着船首是开放舱的船徜徉在峡湾中，让我可以漂浮在栖息冰河块上的三趾鸥和海燕旁，观看海鸟独特的保暖系统起作用。

 

Arctic grandeur  北极壮丽风光

 

During an early morning walk through Ny-Ålesund, I cross paths with a Svalbard reindeer then stop to watch an Arctic fox nurse her seven kits. I’m dressed for the 30 Fsummer temperature, but am still experiencing goose bumps – not the kind on a person’s skin which come from feeling cold, but simply from the Arctic’s “spine-tingling” majesty.

我清晨在新奥勒松散步时，遇到一只史瓦巴特驯鹿，然后又停下来看一只北极狐为牠的七只小狐喂奶。我身上虽然穿着能抵御（北极）夏季华氏卅度气温的衣服（译注：约摄氏零下一点一一度），但还是起了鸡皮疙瘩──但可不是因为觉得冷所起的皮肤变化，而纯粹是因为北极令人感动到「背脊一凉」的壮丽所致。

 

Despite the powerful nature of the landscape, I’m keenly aware of this environment’s fragility and indebted to these dedicated scientists looking after the Arctic’s denizens. As peaceful a scene this is, there’s never silence and my musings are soon disrupted by the calls from the barnacle geese flying overhead, as if to remind me of the Arctic’s coolest wildlife – the sea birds.

即使北极景观本身如此具有强烈震撼力，我却深深明了这个环境的脆弱，也感激这些专心致志的科学家照顾着这些北极特有生物。不过，北极景致虽然祥和，却并不安静，我的思绪很快就被飞过头顶的白额黑雁叫声所打断，牠们彷佛是要提醒我，别忘记北极最酷的野生物──海鸟。

 

−by Susan Zimmerman

 

 

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paw [pɔ] n. 手掌

countercurrent [ˋkaʊntɚ͵kɝənt] n. 逆流

outgoing [ˋaʊt͵goɪŋ] adj. 外出的；出发的

cruise [kruz] v. 巡航于；航游于

grandeur [ˋgrændʒɚ] n. 宏伟，壮观，庄严

cross someone’s path 与某人偶然相遇

goose bumps 鸡皮疙瘩

spine-tingling [ˋspaɪn͵tɪŋglɪŋ] adj. 令人又惊又喜的，令人激动的; 令人毛骨悚然的

tingle [ˋtɪŋg!] v. 使感刺痛；使激动

majesty [ˋmædʒɪstɪ] n. 雄伟，壮丽；庄严

fragility [frəˋdʒɪlətɪ] n. 脆弱；易碎性

indebted [ɪnˋdɛtɪd] adj. 受惠的；感激的[(+to)]

denizen [ˋdɛnəzn] n. 居民; 动物 an animal, plant or person that lives in or is often in a particular place

as [æz] conj. 虽然 though

musing [ˋmjuzɪŋ] n. 思绪 contemplation; meditation

barnacle [ˋbɑrnək!] n.【鸟】黑雁

 

 

 

 

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Vocabulary Focus

barren [ˋbærən] adj.（土地等）贫瘠的，荒芜的，不毛的 unable to produce plants or fruit

lasso [ˋlæso] v. 用套索套捕 to catch an animal by throwing a rope that is shaped in a ring at one end over the animal’s head and then tightening the rope around its neck

nestle [ˋnɛs!] v. (使)置于，坐落在(安全、有遮蔽之处) to be in a protected or sheltered position, with bigger things around it

take the pulse 负责监测 to have a knowledge or understanding of what is currently taking place in a particular area

burgeon [ˋbɝdʒən] v. 迅速发展; 迅速增强 to develop or grow quickly

swarm with 充满; 挤满 for a place to be filled with large numbers of people or things moving around it

wallow [ˋwɑlo] v. (在水或泥浆中)躺卧，打滚 to lie or roll about slowly in wet earth, sand or water

prolific [prəˋlɪfɪk] adj. 多产的，多育的 producing a great number of offspring

lightweight [ˋlaɪtˋwet] n. 无足轻重的人 a person or thing considered of little importance

frigid [ˋfrɪgɪd] adj. 寒冷的，严寒的 extremely cold

keenly [ˋkinlɪ] adv. 强烈地 extremely

 

 

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