特别广播英语第 113 课：Life on the Tundra 接近北冰洋的冻土带上的生活情景-2

During the dark winter months the average temperature falls to -16 degrees F ( -27 degrees C), and sometimes to -40 degrees (C and F) and below. 在冬季那几个黑暗的月份里，平均气温降到华氏负16度，有时达零下40甚至更低。

Because of the intense cold, the subsoil of the tundra remains permanently frozen to a great depth. 由于酷寒，冻土带的下层封都冻得很深。

During the brief summer, a few feet (about a meter) of soil thaw at the surface. 在短暂的夏季仅三英尺的表层土壤能解冻。

It is this thin layer of active soil that supports all living things on the tundra.
正是这被太阳晒暖了苏醒过来的薄薄的一层土壤养活着冻土带上的一切生物。

For nine months of the year, the tundra is a dark, seemingly lifeless wild land. 每年长达9个月，冻土带都是一块看上去毫无生机的荒凉的土地。

Then in June, as if by magic, a never-setting summer sun gives birth to hundreds of species of arctic plants to cover the ground. 然后到3-6月份，好像是施了魔法一样，一轮永不落的夏天的太阳生出了数百种北极的植物覆盖着大地。

A plant that grows more than three feet (about a meter) is unusual on the tundra. 一种植物若能长得超过了三英尺，这在冻土带上就是很不平常的了。

There are no tall trees. The frozen subsoil prevents roots from growing deep enough to support them. 冻土带上根本就不要有高大的树木。深层的永冻土使植物的根不能常常地扎下去来支撑高大的树木。

By the end of August the breath of winter returns, and by mid-September the tundra is white again. 到8月底，冬天的气息又返回来了，到了9月中旬这冻土带又是冬天了。

The animal life on the tundra is unusually rich for an environment that seems so harsh. 在这种非常恶劣的环境中，冻土带上动物的生活却非常充实。