走遍全世界55: 冰山

Icebergs 1 are among nature's most spectacular creations, and yet most people have never seen one. A vague air of mystery envelops 2 them. They come into being - somewhere - in faraway, frigid 3 waters, amid thunderous noise and splashing turbulence 4, which in most case no one hears or sees. They exist only a short time and then slowly waste away just as unnoticed.



冰山是大自然最壮观的创造之一，但大多数人却从未看到过冰山，一种朦胧神秘的气氛笼罩着它们。冰山形成于久远的、寒冷的水体中，而且伴随着雷声轰鸣般的嘈杂和水花汹涌的风暴，但却无人耳闻目睹。冰山仅存在短短的一段时间就慢慢地悄无声息地融化掉。



Objects of sheerest beauty they have been called. Appearing in an endless variety of shapes, they may be dazzlingly white, or they may be glassy blue, green or purple, tinted 5 faintly or in darker hues 6. They are graceful 7, stately, inspiring - in calm, sunlight seas.



冰山具有最纯粹的美，人们如是说。冰山呈现出千姿百态，可能白得耀眼，或者是闪耀着蓝色、绿色或紫色的玻璃般的光芒，或浓或淡。它们在平静的阳光照耀的海水中显得优雅堂皇，令人浮想联翩。



But they are also called frightening and dangerous, and that they are - in the night, in the fog, and in storms. Even in clear weather one is wise to stay a safe distance away from them.



但是人们亦把冰山称为恐怖的危险的。它们的确如此——在夜间、雾天和风暴肆虐时。即便是在晴朗的天气里，与它们保持一段安全距离也是明智的。



Most of their bulk is hidden below the water, so their underwater parts may extend out far beyond the visible top. Also, they may roll over unexpectedly, churning the waters around them. Icebergs are parts of glaciers 9 that break off, drift into the water, float about awhile, and finally melt.



冰山的大部分体积隐藏于水下，因此其水下部分的伸展远远超过可见的顶部。冰山也可能出人意料地翻滚，剧烈地搅动周围的水体。



Icebergs afloat today are made of snowflakes that have fallen over long ages of time. They embody 10 snows that drifed down hundreds, or many thousands, or in some cases maybe a million years ago. The snows fell in polar regions and on cold mountains, where they melted only a little or not at all, and so collected to great depths over the years and centuries.



冰山是冰川的一部分，从冰川断裂漂流进水中，一段时间后融化。今天的冰山由多年前降落的雪花形成。它们的体内是数百年，或数千年，有时甚至是数百万年前的降雪。这些雪花落在极地或寒冷的山上，仅有少量融化或根本不融化，这样经过许多年或许多世纪后积累了巨大的深度。



英语词汇整理：



1.  spectacular adj. 壮观的，令人惊叹的 n. 壮观，豪华节目



eg: The view from the top of the tower was spectacular.

从塔顶远眺景色蔚为壮观。



相关短语：

spectacular reflection 镜面反射



2. mystery n. 神秘（性），神秘的人（或事物）



eg: The flying saucer is yet an unsolved mystery.   

飞碟仍然是未解之谜。



相关短语：

murder mystery 谋杀之谜

mystery to 对……来说是个谜

make a mystery of 把……神秘化



3. frigid adj. 寒冷的，冷淡的



eg: Frigid winds blew from the north.

寒风从北方吹来。



相关短语：

frigid zone 寒带

frigid climate 极冷的气候



4. turbulence n. 骚乱，动荡，喧嚣，狂暴，湍流



eg: The world advances amidst turbulence.

世界在动荡中前进。



相关短语：

atmospheric 11 turbulence 大气湍流

turbulence intensity 12 湍流强度

air turbulence 空气扰动



5. dazzlingly adv. 灿烂地，耀眼地



eg: Always smile dazzlingly - it will light up your life.

始终保持灿烂的微笑，这将会照亮你的一生。



P.S.: 动词dazzle的变形，解释为“使......目眩，使......眼花”



eg: The sun, glinting from the pool, dazzled me.

池水折射的阳光使我目眩。



6. churning n. 搅拌器；奶桶 v. 搅拌 adj. 搅拌的



eg: Inside, she was a maelstrom 13 of churning emotions.

她心中的情感似波涛汹涌，起伏不定。



P.S.: 该词由“churn”演变而来，可用作于动词，常用词语churn out（大量生产；大量炮制）



7. glacier 8 n. 冰川，冰河



eg: The gorge 14 was formed by a glacier.

这个峡谷是由冰河形成的。



相关短语：

glacier national park 冰河国家公园；国家冰川公园（美国）

glacier plain 冰川平原



8. drift vi. 漂流（泊） n. 漂流，漂流物；大意；趋势



eg: We proceeded to drift on up the river.

我们继续在河上漂流着。



相关短语：

drift along 慢慢向前漂（飘）；游荡，混日子

drift apart 漂离；在思想、感情等方面疏远

drift away  逐渐离去；开始用不同的方式思考或感觉

drift in 漂；飘入；偶尔到来，顺便来访

drift out 漂（走）；散开；蔓延

drift towards 飘或漂向……；因未受阻而逐渐达到（某种状态等）

let things drift 放任自流，听之任之

catch the drift of 开始明白，理解……的含义

drift off 渐渐离去；漫无目的地移动；迷迷糊糊地睡去

on the drift （船）漂流；流浪