7. In contrast, in the northern hemisphere, the lands lying above the sixtieth parallel of latitude include much of Scandinavia, Siberia and Alaska, all of Greenland and Iceland, with a total population of several million. Great mountains help subdue the winds; a spur of the Gulf Stream and part of the Japan Current temper the frigid airs of this polar region. This, and the presence of the Arctic Ocean in the center of the great land mass, give the area a markedly different conformation and climate from that around the opposite pole.
7、與之相對的北半球，北緯60度平行線以北區(qū)域，包括斯堪的納維亞半島、西伯利亞和阿拉斯加的大部分地區(qū)，以及格陵蘭島和冰島的全部，人口總數(shù)幾百萬。高山阻礙了風(fēng)的前進(jìn)；墨西哥灣流和部分日本洋流使這里的極地寒冷空氣有所緩和；再加上北冰洋又處在大塊陸地的中央。這一切使得這塊區(qū)域相對于地球另一端來說，在構(gòu)架和氣候方面存在顯著的不同。
8. Antarctica seems a vast basin of rock, filled and overflowing with a load of ice. In the heart of the continent it is almost as high as the summits of the Alps, yet soundings show that in places that rock floor is below sea level.
8、南極洲看似一個巨大的石盆，被冰所覆蓋。大陸的中心幾乎與阿爾卑斯山等高，然而，超聲探測顯示，巖石底部的許多地點都低于海平面。
9. Actually, the ice accumulation is less than it was perhaps 1,000 years ago. Its seaward flow is not so voluminous as it once was, and as a result there are patches of bare rock here and there along the coast and inland. They were scoured clear of soil ages ago, but one may sometimes find moss or lichens growing, though virtually no flowering plants.
9、事實上，與1000年前相比，這些冰的堆積物減少了許多，尤其是朝向大海的一面已經(jīng)不像以前那么多了，在海岸邊和陸地上留下一片片*露的巖石。很多年前這里的土壤已經(jīng)被沖刷干凈，實際上已找不到開花植物的蹤影，但有時還能發(fā)現(xiàn)地衣和苔蘚。
10. In all this barrenness and cold, what is there of value? First, Antarctica is bound to have mineral resources comparable to those of other great continents. Coal—much of it of poor quality—has been found at many points along the 2,000 mile mountain system known as the Great Antarctica Horst. A writer has found a small deposit of manganese ore and rock specimens flecked with uranium or stained green by copper. These finds are important only as indications that further exploration would be worthwhile, and such a systematic effort has begun under SCAR (the Special Committee on Antarctic Research). This group is an outgrowth of the International Geophysical Year (I.G.Y.); but its program has broadened from geophysics to include mapping and biology.
10、這樣一個空曠寒冷的地方，到底有什么價值?首先，南極洲的地下一定有能與其它幾個主要大陸相媲美的礦產(chǎn)資源。在被稱為南極大地壘的山脈附近，沿線2000英里范圍內(nèi)已有多處找到了煤，盡管大多數(shù)質(zhì)量很差。一名作家還發(fā)現(xiàn)了一個不大的錳礦堆積體和一些粘染有鈾痕跡或者帶著銅綠斑痕的礦石標(biāo)本。這些發(fā)現(xiàn)的重要性在于它表明在這一地區(qū)進(jìn)行深入的勘探是很有價值的，并且在“南極洲研究特別委員會(SCAR)”的指導(dǎo)下，系統(tǒng)的工作已經(jīng)開始了。這個組織是國際地球物理學(xué)年會(LGY)的一個派生機(jī)構(gòu)，但是它的項目已經(jīng)從地球物理學(xué)拓展到地圖測繪和生物學(xué)。
11. There are other possible economic values. Several intercontinental air routes lie across portions of Antarctica. Strange antibiotics have been found in the drifting plants of the Antarctic seas; the Russians are reported to be carrying in live herring to be dumped overboard in an attempt at sea "farming."
11、除此之外還有其他的經(jīng)濟(jì)價值。有數(shù)條洲際航線經(jīng)過南極上空；在南極海洋的浮游植物里已發(fā)現(xiàn)了一些前所未知的抗生素；據(jù)報道，俄國人要將鯡魚苗倒進(jìn)海洋，嘗試在南極“放養(yǎng)”。
12. But for the immediate future the great value of Antarctica may lie in other lines of research—from the common cold to problems of outer space. The former is under scrutiny at a biological laboratory at McMurdo Sound, where clues to certain viruses are being sought in the study of epidemics among the utterly isolated members of scientific parties.
12、但是，就近期看來，南極洲的重要價值卻存在于其他的研究領(lǐng)域：從普通的感冒到外層空間的問題。對于感冒的研究已經(jīng)在位于麥克默多灣(McMurdo Sound)的生物學(xué)實驗室里緊鑼密鼓地進(jìn)行，一群完全與外界隔絕的科學(xué)組織的人員正從流行病學(xué)的角度尋找一些特殊的病毒。
7、與之相對的北半球，北緯60度平行線以北區(qū)域，包括斯堪的納維亞半島、西伯利亞和阿拉斯加的大部分地區(qū)，以及格陵蘭島和冰島的全部，人口總數(shù)幾百萬。高山阻礙了風(fēng)的前進(jìn)；墨西哥灣流和部分日本洋流使這里的極地寒冷空氣有所緩和；再加上北冰洋又處在大塊陸地的中央。這一切使得這塊區(qū)域相對于地球另一端來說，在構(gòu)架和氣候方面存在顯著的不同。
8. Antarctica seems a vast basin of rock, filled and overflowing with a load of ice. In the heart of the continent it is almost as high as the summits of the Alps, yet soundings show that in places that rock floor is below sea level.
8、南極洲看似一個巨大的石盆，被冰所覆蓋。大陸的中心幾乎與阿爾卑斯山等高，然而，超聲探測顯示，巖石底部的許多地點都低于海平面。
9. Actually, the ice accumulation is less than it was perhaps 1,000 years ago. Its seaward flow is not so voluminous as it once was, and as a result there are patches of bare rock here and there along the coast and inland. They were scoured clear of soil ages ago, but one may sometimes find moss or lichens growing, though virtually no flowering plants.
9、事實上，與1000年前相比，這些冰的堆積物減少了許多，尤其是朝向大海的一面已經(jīng)不像以前那么多了，在海岸邊和陸地上留下一片片*露的巖石。很多年前這里的土壤已經(jīng)被沖刷干凈，實際上已找不到開花植物的蹤影，但有時還能發(fā)現(xiàn)地衣和苔蘚。
10. In all this barrenness and cold, what is there of value? First, Antarctica is bound to have mineral resources comparable to those of other great continents. Coal—much of it of poor quality—has been found at many points along the 2,000 mile mountain system known as the Great Antarctica Horst. A writer has found a small deposit of manganese ore and rock specimens flecked with uranium or stained green by copper. These finds are important only as indications that further exploration would be worthwhile, and such a systematic effort has begun under SCAR (the Special Committee on Antarctic Research). This group is an outgrowth of the International Geophysical Year (I.G.Y.); but its program has broadened from geophysics to include mapping and biology.
10、這樣一個空曠寒冷的地方，到底有什么價值?首先，南極洲的地下一定有能與其它幾個主要大陸相媲美的礦產(chǎn)資源。在被稱為南極大地壘的山脈附近，沿線2000英里范圍內(nèi)已有多處找到了煤，盡管大多數(shù)質(zhì)量很差。一名作家還發(fā)現(xiàn)了一個不大的錳礦堆積體和一些粘染有鈾痕跡或者帶著銅綠斑痕的礦石標(biāo)本。這些發(fā)現(xiàn)的重要性在于它表明在這一地區(qū)進(jìn)行深入的勘探是很有價值的，并且在“南極洲研究特別委員會(SCAR)”的指導(dǎo)下，系統(tǒng)的工作已經(jīng)開始了。這個組織是國際地球物理學(xué)年會(LGY)的一個派生機(jī)構(gòu)，但是它的項目已經(jīng)從地球物理學(xué)拓展到地圖測繪和生物學(xué)。
11. There are other possible economic values. Several intercontinental air routes lie across portions of Antarctica. Strange antibiotics have been found in the drifting plants of the Antarctic seas; the Russians are reported to be carrying in live herring to be dumped overboard in an attempt at sea "farming."
11、除此之外還有其他的經(jīng)濟(jì)價值。有數(shù)條洲際航線經(jīng)過南極上空；在南極海洋的浮游植物里已發(fā)現(xiàn)了一些前所未知的抗生素；據(jù)報道，俄國人要將鯡魚苗倒進(jìn)海洋，嘗試在南極“放養(yǎng)”。
12. But for the immediate future the great value of Antarctica may lie in other lines of research—from the common cold to problems of outer space. The former is under scrutiny at a biological laboratory at McMurdo Sound, where clues to certain viruses are being sought in the study of epidemics among the utterly isolated members of scientific parties.
12、但是，就近期看來，南極洲的重要價值卻存在于其他的研究領(lǐng)域：從普通的感冒到外層空間的問題。對于感冒的研究已經(jīng)在位于麥克默多灣(McMurdo Sound)的生物學(xué)實驗室里緊鑼密鼓地進(jìn)行，一群完全與外界隔絕的科學(xué)組織的人員正從流行病學(xué)的角度尋找一些特殊的病毒。