7. In contrast, in the northern hemisphere, the lands lying above the sixtieth parallel of latitude include much of Scandinavia, Siberia and Alaska, all of Greenland and Iceland, with a total population of several million. Great mountains help subdue the winds; a spur of the Gulf Stream and part of the Japan Current temper the frigid airs of this polar region. This, and the presence of the Arctic Ocean in the center of the great land mass, give the area a markedly different conformation and climate from that around the opposite pole. 
　　7、与之相对的北半球，北纬60度平行线以北区域，包括斯堪的纳维亚半岛、西伯利亚和阿拉斯加的大部分地区，以及格陵兰岛和冰岛的全部，人口总数几百万。高山阻碍了风的前进；墨西哥湾流和部分日本洋流使这里的极地寒冷空气有所缓和；再加上北冰洋又处在大块陆地的中央。这一切使得这块区域相对于地球另一端来说，在构架和气候方面存在显著的不同。
　　8. Antarctica seems a vast basin of rock, filled and overflowing with a load of ice. In the heart of the continent it is almost as high as the summits of the Alps, yet soundings show that in places that rock floor is below sea level. 
　　8、南极洲看似一个巨大的石盆，被冰所覆盖。大陆的中心几乎与阿尔卑斯山等高，然而，超声探测显示，岩石底部的许多地点都低于海平面。
　　9. Actually, the ice accumulation is less than it was perhaps 1,000 years ago. Its seaward flow is not so voluminous as it once was, and as a result there are patches of bare rock here and there along the coast and inland. They were scoured clear of soil ages ago, but one may sometimes find moss or lichens growing, though virtually no flowering plants. 
　　9、事实上，与1000年前相比，这些冰的堆积物减少了许多，尤其是朝向大海的一面已经不像以前那么多了，在海岸边和陆地上留下一片片裸露的岩石。很多年前这里的土壤已经被冲刷干净，实际上已找不到开花植物的踪影，但有时还能发现地衣和苔藓。
　　10. In all this barrenness and cold, what is there of value? First, Antarctica is bound to have mineral resources comparable to those of other great continents. Coal—much of it of poor quality—has been found at many points along the 2,000 mile mountain system known as the Great Antarctica Horst. A writer has found a small deposit of manganese ore and rock specimens flecked with uranium or stained green by copper. These finds are important only as indications that further exploration would be worthwhile, and such a systematic effort has begun under SCAR (the Special Committee on Antarctic Research). This group is an outgrowth of the International Geophysical Year (I.G.Y.); but its program has broadened from geophysics to include mapping and biology. 
　　10、这样一个空旷寒冷的地方，到底有什么价值?首先，南极洲的地下一定有能与其它几个主要大陆相媲美的矿产资源。在被称为南极大地垒的山脉附近，沿线2000英里范围内已有多处找到了煤，尽管大多数质量很差。一名作家还发现了一个不大的锰矿堆积体和一些粘染有铀痕迹或者带着铜绿斑痕的矿石标本。这些发现的重要性在于它表明在这一地区进行深入的勘探是很有价值的，并且在“南极洲研究特别委员会(SCAR)”的指导下，系统的工作已经开始了。这个组织是国际地球物理学年会(LGY)的一个派生机构，但是它的项目已经从地球物理学拓展到地图测绘和生物学。
　　11. There are other possible economic values. Several intercontinental air routes lie across portions of Antarctica. Strange antibiotics have been found in the drifting plants of the Antarctic seas; the Russians are reported to be carrying in live herring to be dumped overboard in an attempt at sea "farming." 
　　11、除此之外还有其他的经济价值。有数条洲际航线经过南极上空；在南极海洋的浮游植物里已发现了一些前所未知的抗生素；据报道，俄国人要将鲱鱼苗倒进海洋，尝试在南极“放养”。
　　12. But for the immediate future the great value of Antarctica may lie in other lines of research—from the common cold to problems of outer space. The former is under scrutiny at a biological laboratory at McMurdo Sound, where clues to certain viruses are being sought in the study of epidemics among the utterly isolated members of scientific parties. 
　　12、但是，就近期看来，南极洲的重要价值却存在于其他的研究领域：从普通的感冒到外层空间的问题。对于感冒的研究已经在位于麦克默多湾(McMurdo Sound)的生物学实验室里紧锣密鼓地进行，一群完全与外界隔绝的科学组织的人员正从流行病学的角度寻找一些特殊的病毒。