Winter In Antarctica(南極洲)
On Antarctica,the world's coldest continent,the average high temperature is -49 degrees Celsius.In the summet,the sun never sets,and In the winter,it never rises.Keeping sane there is its own special challenge.
The McMurdo Station is a research basr perched on the edge of the Ross Ice Shelf,the world's largest body of floating ice.The station is administered(由....管理) by the United States and is the largest community In Antarctica.Capable of(能夠) supporting more than 1200 residents,the population of the Station drops to 150 brave(perhaps foolish) people when? winter begins In March.Their task is to maintain the Station during the months of total night.The biologists,astronomers,geologists,and climate scientists who were there before,have gone,as any research is impossible In the brutal winter(殘酷的冬天) .
Every day the remaining staff of maintenance(保養(yǎng)) personnel perform their routine(常規(guī)) tasks and make repairs When needed.Sometimes they peer through the darkness toward their friends from New Zealand,at Scott Base,about two miles away.Though most of the time they're just voices on the radio,it's nice to.have neighbors not far waay.Together,they share a power grid(電網(wǎng)) and one coast of a dark forbidding continent.
Though the days are dark and freezing cold In the depths of winter,the moon will rest above the horizon for weeks at a time.Its pale light illuminates the cold,craggy(崎嶇) landscape as if acknowledging a companion(伴侶) and reaffirming(重申) the bonds of life.So even for those who live In the darkest part of the Earth,there's light.
(Most of the researchers leave because its impossible to rearch during the winter.)
Chernobyl(切爾諾貝利)
On April 26,1986,Unit 4 of the Chernobyl unclear reactor In Northern Ukraine,then a part of the Soviet Union,was shut down for an unauthorized safety test.When the unclear fuel rods(核燃料棒) hit the cooling water,the fission(分裂) reaction accelerated out of control due to a sudden power surge(浪涌).This caused the reactor to overheat and build up pressure until its structure failed and It blew up,releasing large amounts of radiation(輻射).It took officals a whole day to comprehend(理解) the scale of the disaster(災(zāi)害) and to order an evacuation(疏散) of the surrounding area.Some 50000 people had to leave,not knowing that they would never return.In the following months,massive efforts(大量努力) were made to decontaminate(凈化) the area while increased radiation levels were detected across(檢測到) mich of Europe.Fallout(掉出來) from the disaster continues to This day,decades(幾十年) later,and long-term effects such as cancers are still being investigated(調(diào)查).Estimates(估計(jì)) of the number of deaths that will eventually result from the accident vary enormously(巨大).
THe forest area near the reactor site is one of the Most radioactive(放射性的) places on Earth.Named the Red Forest because its trees turned a reddish-brown(紅褐色) color as they died,the Forest is trying to make a recovery.
Animals such as elk(麋鹿) and eagles(鷹) have been seen in the area.And birch(樺木) trees grow where the radioactive trees of the Forest were bulldozed(推土機(jī)推平) and buried(隱藏) by the Soviet government.
Some people have returned as well,mostly former residents who retirned illegally after the evacuation.The old company town of Pripyat(皮里皮亞特鎮(zhèn)),once home to 50000 plant workers is still deserted(廢棄),but is slowly being reclaimed(回收) by the forest.It deems that nature can recover and even thrive(興旺) where humans cannot.Let's hope that humans can learn from this experience .Chernobyl,and more recently,Fukushima In Japan,have lessons to teach us.
(Its clear that officials were completely unprepared for the accident.)
