Across Earth, life is a dance filled with the push and pull of many partners. But in the Arctic, living things have fewer choices. The harsh1 climate reduces the dance of life to2 close partnerships--a dance whose push and pull means life or death.
When the Arctic spring begins in April, the sun and ice begin their yearly dance. The sun takes the lead, and the Arctic waters stir with life. When the vast3 ice sheets crack,4 sunlight pours into the icy waters, and algae cover the edges of the ice. Tiny shrimp come to eat the algae, and millions of cod come for the shrimp.
Like many other Arctic animals, ringed seals feed on cod. And being mammals, seals must leave the water to breathe and sleep. At these times, seals must face the danger of waiting polar bears.
Masters of the Arctic, polar bears are hidden from their prey by their white fur and can smell seals from a kilometer away. Nevertheless, polar bears only catch one in twenty seals. This dance requires patience5.
遍觀世界,生命的運作就像舞蹈,由成員之間一來一往的舞步所形成。但在北極地區,生物所擁有的選擇有限。險惡的天候環境將當地的生命之舞轉降為密切的依存關係;也就是說,舞步的來往所代表的是:非生即死。
每逢四月,北極的春天開始時,太陽與冰原便展開他們一年一度的雙人舞。在太陽的領 舞下,北極的海水逐漸甦醒過來。廣大的冰原崩裂後,陽光灑入冰冷的海水中,海藻布滿浮冰邊緣。小蝦子遊來吃海藻,成千上萬的鱈魚亦前來捕食蝦子。
和其他許多動物一樣,環豹以鱈魚為主食。由於環豹是哺乳類動物,所以必須離開水面呼吸和睡覺。在這些時候,環豹就得面對等著獵食它們的北極熊的危險。
北極熊是北極之王,一身的白毛使它們不易被獵物發覺,而且能夠在一公裡以外嗅到海豹的氣味。即便如此,它也只有1/20的成功率。這支舞蹈需要極大的耐心。
1. harsh adj. not easy to bear 嚴厲的
The dry, hot environment of this desert is too harsh to support much life.
這片沙漠乾熱的環境太過惡劣,無法供養太多生物。
2. reduce...to... v. phr. to break sth. down to its basic parts 把……簡化為; 把……歸結成
Days of heavy rain reduced the farmer's fields to a huge sea of mud.
連日來的大雨將那名農夫的菜園化作一大片爛泥。
3. vast adj. extremely large; spread out over a very large area 巨大的;廣大的
Because the earth's oceans are so vast, much of the seafloor is unexplored.
地球上的海洋面積相當廣大,大部分的海底陸地皆尚未被人探測過。
4. crack v. to break or separate along a line 裂開;破裂
While I was driving today, a rock flew up and cracked the window of my car.
我今天在開車的時候,一塊石頭飛過來,打破了我的車窗。
5. patience n. the ability to wait a long time for sth. 耐心
Fishing takes lots of patience because you have to wait for the fish to bite.
與每個夜晚都大聲啼哭的嬰兒同住,需要相當的耐心。