01.纪录片简介
The Great Melt，this is the first part in the series Natures'Great Events. And here is some pictures and texts arranged and edited me from the documentary. I hope this will help you somewhere.
The power of the sun drives the seasons,transforming our planet. Vast movements of ocean and air currents bring dramatic change throughout the year. And in a few special places, these seasonal changes create some of the greatest wildlife spectacles on earth. Here in the Arctic, each summer, the sun begins to melt the winter ice. Nearly 3 million square miles of ice will disappear. Opening up a narrow window of opportunity for millions of animals. For many it's their best chance to feed and breed.
And what I take as the model to show this documentary is the Polar bear. For polar bears, it's the hardest time of the year. They have to survive the greatest seasonal change on the planet. Winter in the Arctic. The Northern Lights flicker across the sky. It's a land of continuous night, where temperatures plummet to -40. Polar bears are in their element, hunting forseals on the frozen sea.
But the longnight is coming to an end.In February, the sun rises for the first time in four months.In the coming weeks, the strength of the sun will power anenormous change. But for now, its rays offer only a little warmth. Despite the sun's return, 6 million square miles of the planet's far north is still cloaked in ice. Deep snow covers the mountains. Even the sea is frozen solid many meters deep.
Polar bears waited for seals to surface through a hole in the ice, they must catch a seal about once a week, and this is the best hunting season. As long as there is sea ice the bears won't go hungry because walking on the ice is the easiest way for a bear to get close to a seal.
But since the melting begin,the ice will soon start to break up, and hunting will get harder.At this time of year, there are still only five hours of daylight. But as the sun rises higher, each day lasts 40 minutes longer.It's March,and with increasing sunlight,the first in a huge wave of migrants are arriving.
Three months since the sun's return, its power is growing daily. The air temperature rises slowly, and once above zero, at long last, the melt begins. Melting snow feeds freshwater streams which pour off the land. In just a few shortdays, the melt unveils a whole new landscape. The snow may be disappearing from the land. But the sea ice has yet to melt. The coastline is still locked in ice. Since the sea ice is so thick, it won't begin to break up until the temperature stays above zero for a number of days.
It's now June, and the sun beats down 24 hours a day. The temperature remains constant above zero degrees. The frozensea begins to melt. Pools form across the surface, absorbing more of the sun's heat, speeding the thaw. Sunlight penetrates the frozen surface, illuminating astrange world beneath the ice. The frozen barrier has split.
A polar bear can smell a seal from over a mile away. But the prey he depends on is hard to find in this constantly moving landscape. He must take to the water to navigate through the drifting maze of ice. As the ice melts, finding seals gets harder. And with more open water, it's easier for a seal to escape. The melt has caused a shift in power. Now it's advantage seals.
In November,the sun sets over the frozen north.It will not appear again for four months. The summer melt provides opportunities for millions of animals, but has now become a threat to the polar bear's very survival. This season, the bear has survived the greatest melt yet recorded, and made it through to the Arctic winter.
Besides the polar bears, this documentary also introduece the Arctic seabirds、the seals、the Beluga whales、Arctic fox、etc. It's a good choice if you want to know something about the Acttic, and it will help you if you want to get some new words related to the Global warming、the Arctic changing.
02.一些语言知识点
整部纪录片中，并没有特别难记冗长的单词，也没有太多口语化的词汇，整体语言风格严谨细致，偏向于书面化，我把其中一些在新闻阅读中可能出现的比较多的句子整理出来，希望对大家有用。
1).Vast movements of ocean and air currents bring dramatic change throughout the year.
全年，一系列海洋和大气的运动带来了巨大的气候变化。
Vast movements of：一系列的，大范围的，剧烈的。e.g: the vast movements of the earth’s curst created a vast land of Australia.
throughout the year:一年到头，全年，一整年。e.g:I am sleepy throughoutthe year.
2).Opening up a narrow window of opportunity for millions of animals.
为数百万的动物打开了一扇能够勉强看到希望的窗户。
Opening up：开放，扩大，打通。e.g:Chinese opening up bring people new hope.
a window of opportunity:希望的窗户。e.g:Oh my godness,please,just open a window of opportunity to this poor guy.
3).The Northern Lights flicker across the sky.
北极光在天空中闪烁。
across:横跨，横穿，穿越。相比于cross，across前需加上动词。go across=cross。e.g:Be careful when you are going across the road.
4).It's a land of continuous night, where temperatures plummet to -40.
这片土地处于极夜之下，温度骤降到零下40度。
continuous night：极夜
plummet：骤降，侧重下落速度极快。
5).It's March,and with increasing sunlight,the first in a huge wave of migrants are arriving.
现在是三月，随着越来越充足的日照，第一批动物的迁徒大潮就要到来了。
a huge wave of：巨大的浪潮。huge,巨大的，庞大的>large,大型的，量多的>big,大的。
6).The air temperature rises slowly, and once above zero, at long last, the melt begins.
气温也在逐步缓慢提升，漫长的等待后，温度终于到达了零度以上，大融化开始。
at long last：终于; 总算; 经过很多苦恼或麻烦之后，语气相比于 at last 更加强烈。e.g: At long last we come to this moment.
7）.In November,the sun sets over the frozen north, it will not appear again for four months.
十一月，太阳在冰冷的北方落了下去，接下来四个月内都将不会再升起。
set over：将··置于··之上；转移、转交。与sun 连用时表示太阳落山。e.g: As the sun set over the city, families and bands of teenagers strolled along the river.
8).This season, the bear has survived the greatest melt yet recorded.
这一次，北极熊从记录中规模最大的融化中存活了下来。
yet：adv. 还；但是；已经，conj. 但是；然而。yet一般情况下常用于否定句和疑问句（对比already），也有用在陈述句中的特殊情况，意思为“迄今为止”。e.g:No decision has yet been made.
Hopes this will help you
If you have some questions about the documentary, contact me. And welcome to discuss with me about the language studying, I am poor about the spoken language, if you are working and looking for a spoken partner, here we are.
以上，侵删。
THE END
