20.The Delights of South Island 南岛之乐
20.The Delights of South Island 南岛之乐
20.The Delights of South Island 南岛之乐
1.One of the odder(odd):adj.奇数的] coincidences(coincidence):n.巧合] of physicala.身体的;体力上] geographyn.地理;地理学] is the factn.事实;实际] that there are two double islands, roughly(rough):adj.粗糙的] the same size, positioned(position):n.位置] at each other's antipodes(antipode):n.正相反的事物], or farthest-distant point. The islands of England and Irelandn.爱尔兰(欧洲)] in the Northern Hemispheren.半球;半球地图] and the islands of North Island and South Island in the Southern Hemispheren.半球;半球地图] are just such a coincidencen.巧合]. The first two islands comprisev.构成,组成] the United(unite):vi.&vt.联合,团结] Kingdomn.王国] and the Republicn.共和国] of Irelandn.爱尔兰(欧洲)] (or Eiren.爱尔兰共和国的旧称]), and the second two islands comprisev.构成,组成] New Zealandn.丹麦最大的岛]. Among these four islands, there can be no doubtn. vi.&vt.怀疑;疑惑] that South Island is the leastn.最少量;最少] polluted(pollute):vt.污染] and most spectacularly(spectacular):adj.壮观的;引人注目的] scenica.风景优美的] of them all.
1.自然地理上较为奇特的巧合之一是地球上有两组大小约略相同、位置相对或者说相距最为遥远的双岛。北半球的英格兰和爱尔兰群岛以及南半球的北岛和南岛就是这样的一种巧合。第一组的两座岛构成英国和爱尔兰共和国,第二组的两座岛则组成新西兰。四个岛中,南岛无疑是污染最少且风景最秀丽的。
2.There is much competitionn.竞争,比赛] to make such a claimv.声称]. The island of England,politically(political):adj.政治的] constituting(constitute):v.构成] England,Scotlandn.苏格兰(英国)],and Walesn.威尔士(英国)] of the United(unite):vi.&vt.联合,团结] Kingdomn.王国],is dotted(dot):v.散布于,布满,点缀] with country villages set alongsidead.在旁边 prep.和…在一起;在…旁边] rivers and lakes. There are not very tall but nonethelessadv.尽管如此] rugged(rug):n.小地毯;毛毯] mountains in the north,and endlessa.无止境的] miles(mile):n.英里] of rockya.岩石的,多石的,象岩石的,摇晃的,] coastlinen.海岸线] that seem mysticala.神秘的]. Irelandn.爱尔兰(欧洲)],too,is a paradisen.天堂] of greeneryn.绿色植物,温室],with far fewer people than populousadj.人口稠密的,人口众多的] England and even more quaintadj.离奇有趣的;古色古香的] villages scattered(scatter):v.散开] among its low-lyingadj.地势低洼的] hills and forever永远] green fields. North Island in New Zealandn.丹麦最大的岛] sports a balmyadj.(天气)温和的,微风拂面的] climaten.气候] and the beaches to make use of it; one beach alone is more than 150 kilometers(kilometer):n.千米,公里] long,and with relatively(relative):n.亲戚;亲属] few people on its shores(shore):n.滨;岸],one can pretendvi.&vt.假装;装作] one is at the very end of the earth. Volcanoes(volcano):n.火山],large lakes,and quickly flowing(flow):vi.(河水等)流动] rivers traversevt.横越,横切,横断] the land. Given the beautyn.美丽] of these three islands,what makes South Island so specialadj.特别的;专门的]?
2.这样说势必经过一番竞争。在政治版图上构成英国的英格兰、苏格兰和威尔士的英格兰本岛,乡间农村沿着河岸和湖畔星罗棋布。北部的山虽不高但却崎岖不平,而绵延不绝的岩岸则展现出神秘的风情。爱尔兰也是绿色天堂,人口远不及人烟稠密的英格兰,却有更多古意盎然的农村散布在低洼的山丘和常绿的田野间。新西兰的北岛以拥有温和的气候和可享受这宜人气候的海滩为傲;光是一个海滩就超过150公里长,而岸上人口相当稀少,可以让人假装自己是在世界的尽头。火山、大湖和湍急的河流横桓全岛。
既然这个三个岛如此美丽,南岛又有何特别指出?
3.Plentyn.充足的;相当多的]. For those who like mountains,South Island is sure to please. Mt. Cook at 3,764 meters(meter):n.计量器,计,表] is its highest peakn.山,山峰],with 16 others above 3,000 meters(meter):n.计量器,计,表]. Naturally(natural):adj.自然的;天然的],many locala.当地的;本土的] and foreign mountain climbers(climber):n.登山者] come here for the challengen.考验(人或事物)的能力,激发] of these Southern Alpsn.阿尔卑斯山]. In additionn.增加],there is an extensivea.大量的,大规模的] glaciern.冰川;冰河] systemn.体系;系统],endlessa.无止境的] forests,and innumerableadj.无数的,不计其数的] lakes throughoutprep.遍及;贯穿] this highlandn.高地,丘陵地带] arean.地区,区域]. Some of the world's best mountain sceneryn.景色;风景] is availableadj.可利用的;可获得的] withinprep.在......里面] the 500-kilometer long chainn.连锁;链条;锁链] of the Southern Alpsn.阿尔卑斯山].
3.那可多着呢。对那些喜爱大山者来说,南岛一定能取悦他们。南岛的最高峰库克山高3764米,另外还有16座超过3000米的山峰。自然而然地,许多国内外的登山家来到此地挑战南半球的阿尔卑斯山脉。此外,还有一个广大的冰河系统、无止尽的森林和数不尽的湖泊遍布在这个高原带。一些举世无双的山光水色可在这绵延的500公里长的南阿尔卑斯山脉之间欣赏到。
4.Perhaps you prefer the sea? South Island is not only an island,but many tinyadj.极小的;微小的] islets(islet):n.小岛] can be found off its coastlinen.海岸线]. Great deep-seaa.深海的,远洋的] fishing,scuban.水中呼吸器] diving(dive):vi.跳水],and snorkeling(snorkel):n.(潜游者使用的)水下呼吸管] can be had,though the waters here are cooler than those of North Island. (Remember,in the Southern Hemispheren.半球;半球地图],as we go north,it gets warmer.) As fewer people live on South Island than on North Island,those who cravev.渴望得到,迫切需要] solituden.单独,独居] and pristineadj.原始的,未被破坏的] beaches will be amazed(amaze):v.使…大为惊奇] at their luck here. With almost no heavy
industryn.工业;产业] on South Island,the air,water,and land are all free of pollutionn.污染]. The locala.当地的;本土的] seafoodn.海产品,海鲜] is thereforeadv.因此;所以] clean,plentifula.丰富的,富裕的],and never-endinga.不停的,无限的].
4.也许你比较喜欢海?南岛并不是一座岛屿,在它的外海还散布着众多的小岛屿,可以从事深海钓鱼、深海潜水和浮浅--虽然这里的水温比起北岛的水温要来的低。(记住,在南半球愈往北走海水愈温暖。)由于南岛的人口比北岛的少,喜爱独处和原始海滩的人在此将会对于他们有幸来到这里而感到惊异。南岛上几乎没有重工业,空气、水和土地全都未受污染。当地的海鲜因而干净、富饶而且取之不尽。
5.Do healthfula.有益于健康的] climates(climate):n.气候] interest you? South Island is the place to be. Its temperateadj.自制的] climaten.气候] sees little snow except in the highlands(highland):n.高地,丘陵地带] and mountainousa.多山的] areas(area):n.地区,区域]. Like Irelandn.爱尔兰(欧洲)] and England,there are no extremes(extreme):n.极端] of temperature,either. Summers are warm,not hot,and winters are briska.活泼的;清新的] rather than freezingn.冰点]. The freshadj.新鲜的] air is sometimes humida.潮湿的] from the abundanta.丰富的;大量的] rainfalln.一场雨;降雨量] of this arean.地区,区域]. Every season invites(invite):vt.邀请;招待] the naturen.自然] lover to get out and be activea.积极的;主动的] in the countrysiden.乡下;农村].
5.你对健康的气候感兴趣吗?来南岛这个地方就对了。除了在高原和山区地带,这儿温和的气候很少降雪。就像爱尔兰和英格兰一样,气温也不严酷。夏天暖和不热,冬天则凉爽而不寒冷。清新的空气有时会因这地区丰沛的降雨而潮湿。这里一年四季都适合爱好大自然的人出门到乡间去活跃一番。
6.Of course,South Island is not for everyone. For those who need busy,crowded,noisy,and polluted(pollute):vt.污染] cities,this Southern outpostn.前哨,前哨部队,前哨地点] will surely disappointvt.使失望]. For those who enjoy pressuren.压力] and stressn.压力,紧张],South Island will leave them empty-handeda.空手的,一无所获的]. And for those who would rather stay at home or in an office in front of a computer screenn.幕;荧光屏] or in the thumping(thump):v.重击,砰然地响],smoke-filled dance floors of discos,some of the world's best naturaladj.自然的;天然的] sceneryn.景色;风景] will never enticevt.怂勇,引诱] them away. For the rest of us,though,South Island is the world's best-kept secret. If Nature's(nature):n.自然] paradisen.天堂] sounds alluring(allure):v.引诱n.诱惑,吸引],make a point of visiting South Island.
6.当然,并非每个人都回喜欢南岛。对那些需要繁忙、拥挤、嘈杂和受污染城市的人而言,南半球的这个边陲地区必定回让他们感到失望;对那些喜欢压力和紧张的人而言,南岛将使他们空手而返;而那些宁愿待在家里或办公室计算机屏幕前、或是窝在音乐震天响、烟雾弥漫的迪斯科舞池内的人而言,世界上最棒的一些自然景色永远也无法诱使他们离开。但是对我们其余的人而言,南岛是世界最棒的秘境。如果大自然中的天堂听起来让你觉得有吸引力,那么别忘了到南岛去玩一玩。