Ice and snow of Greenland

格陵兰的冰和雪

　　 一年四季皆有美景。春之美在于其勃勃生机；夏之美在于其热烈奔放；秋之美在于其宁静闲适；而冬之美就在于其冷艳之冰雪了。格陵兰冰雪之美是异乎寻常的，因为它经过了时间的雕琢……

Greenland offers adventures of ice and snow like nowhere else on this planet. The ice cap ---- up to three kilometers thick ---- covers an area 14 times the size of England, and icebergs snap off the glaciers at the edges of the ice cap.

* adventure：通常指“冒险活动”、“冒险经历”等意思，在这里则是“激动人心的活动”、“异乎寻常的经历”的意思。格陵兰有世界上最奇妙的冰雪，因而置身其中一定有一种激动且不寻常的感觉。
* snap off：“折断”、“发射”等意思，本文是前一种意思，说明了冰山的形成过程——极地厚厚的冰盖边缘的冰川断裂就形成了冰山。
* glaciers：“冰川”、“冰河”等意思。

You'll experience icebergs almost everywhere in Greenland. In the Disko Bay, icebergs often rise up to 100 meters above the waterline ---- keep in mind that 90 percent of an iceberg is hidden below the surface of the sea. The world's most active glacier at Ilulissat moves 25-30 meters a day and calves across a front 10 kilometers in width. 　　
Visiting the ice cap is possible from most towns in Greenland, although it usually takes a helicopter flight or a boat trip to reach the edge of the inland ice. In Kangerlussuaq the ice cap is only 20 kilometers away and you can hike, drive, fly or mountain bike to there ---- and stay overnight if you bring a tent.

* calves：“裂冰”、“崩解”等意思。极地附近活动的人最担心遇到冰崩了，冰山移动速度虽慢，但随时会有冰崩现象发生。如本文所述，冰崩后碎冰所及地域宽达10公里，而且是难以预测的。
* helicopter：“直升飞机”。前缀heli-是“直升（飞）机”的意思，下次当你看到以heli-开头的词就不难猜出它的意思了，比如helibus？是“空中客车”，也就是“大型载客直升机”；helicab是“出租直升机”；heliambulance是救护直升机。

Springtime is the best season for dog-sledge tours and skiing although Greenland also offers first class summer skiing, even heli-skiing, on glaciers, and dog-sledge tours in the summer.
Greenland hosts several international events related to ice & snow, such as the Arctic Circle Race regarded as the toughest ski race in the world, the Ice Golf World Championships, and the Nuuk Snow Sculpture Festival.

* heli-skiing：马上就用上了我们上面学到的，推测一下是什么意思？对了，它指一种比较新的滑雪运动，运动员由直升飞机运上高山顶部，再滑下来。Heli-skiing，想想就够刺激的！ 　　

As a neighbour to the North Pole, Greenland has an Arctic climate, although there are great differences from north to south, and from coast to inland. Generally speaking, the climate is very dry, and as a result, temperatures feel quite different from most other places in the world. 10-15 degrees Celsius (50-60 degrees Fahrenheit) feels very warm, while minus 10 degrees Celsius (14 degrees Fahrenheit) is equivalent to a comfortable temperature.

* Celsius：“摄氏温度表”，现常用的是它的同义词centigrade。
* Fahrenheit：就是我们常听说的“华氏温度表”。