Let’s See the Northern Lights如梦如幻北极光

by Lane Nieset翻译：法比仔

Let’s See the Northern Lights如梦如幻北极光

by Lane Nieset翻译：法比仔

一说起如梦如幻的北极光，你是否也会不由地心生向往？去哪些地方可以看到美丽的北极光呢？本期“世界风情馆”将会给你答案。

The northern lights may seem like a phenomenon that only happens in faraway places. But if you want to ensure you’ll actually catch them, head to the source in northern Scandinavia, Canada, Alaska,Greenland and northern Russia in the darkest of winter months,1)typically from late September to late March. Of course,some cities are better than others. Here are three of our top picks from the easiest to reach to some of the most2)scenic.

1. Svalbard, Norway

As with the rest of northern Norway,Svalbard is home to the3)glowing northern lights, and it’s also the only place on the globe you’ll catch these beauties during the day as well. Half the fun here is hunting for the northern lights, and you can choose how you’d like to track them down: by dog sled,4)snowcat or by boat.

Know More

Scandinavia（斯堪的纳维亚半岛），位于欧洲西北角，濒临波罗的海、挪威海及北欧巴伦支海，与俄罗斯和芬兰北部接壤，是欧洲最大的半岛。半岛西部属山地，沿岸陡峭，多岛屿和峡湾；东、南部地势较平整。半岛的气候属温带气候，其北端较为严寒。

Alaska（阿拉斯加州），美国面积最大的州，位于北美大陆西北端，东与加拿大接壤，另三面环北冰洋、白令海和北太平洋。阿拉斯加州拥有全美20座最高山脉中的17座，且世界上大多数的活动冰川都在该州境内。

Greenland（格陵兰岛），世界最大的岛屿，位于北美洲东北部、北冰洋和大西洋之间。全岛终年严寒，属典型的寒带气候，虽其沿海地区的夏季气温可达零度以上，其内陆部分却终年冰冻。

词组加油站

as with… 正如……

hunt for 搜寻，寻找

track down 追踪，探索

1) typically [ˑtɪpɪkəlɪ] adv. 通常，一般地

2) scenic [ˑsiːnɪk] n. 风景胜地

3) glowing [ˑgləʊɪŋ] adj. 鲜艳的

4) snowcat [ˑsnəʊkæt] n. 雪地履带式车辆

2. Fairbanks, Alaska

Since Fairbanks falls under the light5)oval, it is the best spot in the state—as well as in the US—to catch the northern lights. You may be able to see6)glimpses of the northern lights at the end of summer in September,but the best viewing season is the middle of winter, when the weather is at its coldest and darkest.

3. Yellowknife, Canada

In Yellowknife, the northern lights can be seen up to 240 days a year,thanks to the fact that the city sits at such high latitude. It means it experiences longer, darker winters.7)Dubbed the “Aurora Capital of North America,” you can spot these lights dancing across the sky during two seasons: late summer to early autumn and winter.

5) oval [ˑəʊvl] n. 椭圆形物

6) glimpse [glɪmps] n.（光线等的）一闪，闪光

7) dub [dʌb] v. 把……称为

名师考点小结

1. be able to表示“能够”，往往有经过努力而得到某种能力的意思。其可用于各种时态，be有时间和人称上的变化。例如：

We shall be able to finish the work next week. 我们能在下周完成这项工作。

The child is able to write now. 这个孩子现在能写字了。

注意：can用作情态动词，表示有某种能力时，只有一般现在时和一般过去时（could）两种形式；而be able to除了现在时和过去时外，还有将来时和完成时。

2. thanks to为介词短语，意思是“多亏，因为（含义相当于because of）”。在此短语中，to是一个介