Destination: Antarctica 前進南極‏

Where do you end up when you go as far south as you can go? Antarctica. As the coldest place on Earth, Antarctica is the world's fifth-largest continent1. There is a good reason why most people have not ventured there. Ninety-eight percent of the land is covered in ice, and the ice is very thick—the average thickness2 is 1.6 kilometers. When you think about it, that is a lot of ice! 　 　　當您盡可能地朝南邊去時，您最後會抵達哪裡呢？正是南極。南極這個地球上最寒冷的地方是世界的第五大洲。多數人之所以不曾來到此地探險有一個好原因。這裡百分之九十八的陸地都被冰所覆蓋，而且冰層非常厚——平均厚度達一點六公里。您想像一下，那些冰真是多到不行啊！ 　　Since the climate and conditions are not very welcoming, no one lives there permanently. Still, there are usually a few thousand people on Antarctica at any given time. These people are mainly doing scientific research. In fact, it is a good opportunity for a trip that you will never forget. By volunteering to help do research on Antarctica, you might end up measuring glaciers3 or studying marine4 animals. 由於南極的氣候和環境並不是非常舒適宜人，沒有人永久住在那裡。不過無論什麼時候都有幾千人待在南極。這些人主要是從事科學研究。事實上，這會是個讓您永生難忘的一次很好的旅行機會。藉由自願到南極協助做實驗，您最後有可能會去測量冰川或是研究海洋動物。 　　Although it is cold and harsh, Antarctica is also stunningly5 beautiful. It has frozen lakes, shining glaciers, and wide fields of snow shaped like desert sand dunes6. At times, there is constant darkness or constant sunlight. If you are tough enough, Antarctica offers an incredible experience in its vast frozen wilderness7. 雖然南極天氣寒冷、環境又惡劣，但它的美仍令人嘆為觀止。它有冰凍的湖泊、閃亮的冰川以及狀似沙漠沙丘的廣大雪地。這裡在某些時候還會有永晝或是永夜的現象。若您夠吃苦耐勞，南極將會以其廣闊的冰天雪地帶給您一場無與倫比的體驗。 Building Your Vocabulary   1. average　a. 平均的 In Taiwan, the average cost of raising a child from birth to the age of 17 is NT$10 million. 在台灣，養育一個孩子從出生到十七歲平均要花費一千萬。 2. welcoming　a. 宜人的；親切的 It is not every day that you see a clerk with such a welcoming smile. 你不是每一天都能看到這麼笑容可掬的店員。 3. permanently　adv. 永久地 Sam was left permanently blind after the accident. 車禍後，山姆便永久失明了。 4. volunteer　vi. 自願 My brother volunteered to take out the garbage. 我哥自願去倒垃圾。 5. measure　vt. 測量 The tailor measured Bill for a new business suit. 裁縫師為比爾量尺寸，好製作一套新的西裝。 6. vast　a. 廣大的，巨大的 The vast majority of college students in Taiwan spend more than four hours a day on the Internet. 絕大部分的台灣大學生一天花在網路上的時間超過四小時。 Phrases for Learning   1. at any given time　　在任何的時間 I don't like to carry a lot of cash, so I only have about NT$1,000 in my wallet at any given time. 我不喜歡帶太多現金，所以我皮夾裡總是只有一千塊左右。 2. be shaped like...　　形似∕狀似…… The cloud is shaped like a sheep eating grass. 這片雲朵狀似一頭正在吃草的綿羊。 Extra Words   1. continent　n. 洲，大陸 2. thickness　n. 厚度 3. glacier　n. 冰川 4. marine　a. 海洋的 5. stunningly　adv. 令人驚奇地 6. dune　n.（沙漠中的）沙丘 7. wilderness　n. 無人煙處，荒野 Tips In Use   Still, there are usually a few thousand people... （不過……都有幾千人……） 　　still 在本句中作句子副詞，表『儘管那樣，雖然如此，然而』，用法同於 however，使用時置於句首，其後加逗點。此外，still 作副詞時，也常與 but 並用，形成"but...still..."的片語，表『但……還是……』，或與 more, another, other 並用，表『還有更多的∕另外一個∕別的』之意。 Emma didn't study at all, but she still got the highest score on the test. （艾瑪完全沒唸書，但她還是考了最高分。） There are still other ways to solve that problem. （要解決那個問題還有別的方法。）