特别广播英语第 114 课：Life on the Tundra 接近北冰洋的冻土带上的生活情景-3

Herds of arctic deer move from place to place in search of food. 一群一群的北极鹿到处迁徙以便寻找食物。

The balance of nature is so delicate on the tundra that even minor disturbances may produce major changes in the environment. 自然界的平衡在冻土带上是非常灵敏的，那怕只要稍微有一点破坏平衡的现象出现就可能产生环境上的一些重大变化。

Any increase or decrease in the population of one species may affect all other species on the tundra. 任何一个物种在数量上的增加或减少都会影响到冻土带上所有的其他物种。

For example, if the number of wolves and foxes decrease, the food chain is upset. 例如，如果北极狼和北极狐的的数量减少，那食物链就会遭到破坏就会脱节。

Without wolves, the number of grazing animals - like the deer - would increase. This increase would result in a food shortage, which would cause death to many smaller animals. 倘若没有了北极狼，那些食草兽--像驯鹿之类--就会增加，这一增加就会导致很多小动物的死亡。

A decrease in the number of these smaller animals would in turn decrease the food supply for the arctic fox and the wolf. 倘若这些波动的数量减少了，接下来就会减少了供应给北极狐和北极狼的食物。

In this way, the entire food chain might be affected by a change in the number of a single species. 这样下来，由于某一物种的数量的改变，就有可能影响到整个食物链的脱节。

Until recently, the changing seasons on the tundra were seen only by a few Eskimo hunters and explorers. 不久前，也只有极少数的爱斯基摩的猎手和探险家才能深究到冻土带上的寒来暑往冬去春来。

What would draw men and women to live in such a hostile land? The answer is oil. 那么，是什么东西把男男女女都吸引到这块环境十分恶劣的土地上来的呢？答案就是：石油。

In 1968, oil was discovered beneath the frozen soil on Alaska's Northern Slope. 1968年在阿拉斯加北边坡地的冻土下面发现了石油。