一半冰川，一半火焰。当冰与火邂逅，要经过多少年的雕琢，才能造就这般无与伦比的壮美之景？泡在舒适的温泉里，近观腾腾雾气，远眺皑皑雪山，何等的人间仙境！
You're soaking in a pool of bubbling hot water. Plumes1) of white steam rise from the ground nearby. Just beyond, snow and ice crest a pink mountain. Ahh ... It's just another day in Iceland.
你浸在一池汩汩冒泡的温泉里。身边，缕缕白雾从地面升腾而起，徐徐缭绕。远处，皑皑冰雪覆于山脊，化作了粉色山躯的冠饰。啊……冰岛新的一天又开始啦。
What's a Name?
望文生义？
With a name like Iceland, you'd think ice would be all you could see there. In fact, many visitors head straight for Iceland's most fiery2) sights. You can watch smoking volcanoes. You can relax in steaming hot springs, or pools of water heated by hot rock. You even can see geysers3) spray boiling water in the air.
听到“冰岛”这个名字，你定会以为那里满目皆是冰雪。可事实上，许多游客却直奔冰岛最火热的景色而来。你可以欣赏烟雾缥缈的火山；可以泡在热气腾腾的温泉或以热岩为炉的水池里悠然憩息；甚至还可以看到间歇喷泉将滚滚热水洒向天空的美景。
Where does all the heat come from? It starts below—way4) below. Iceland sits atop an underwater split in Earth's crust. The split is called the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Along this 16,000-kilometer ridge, huge tectonic plates5) slowly pull apart.
这些热量从何而来呢？它们来自地下——很深的地下。冰岛位于地壳的一个海底分裂带上，那条分裂带被称作大西洋中脊。巨大的美洲板块与欧亚板块沿着绵延1.6万公里的大西洋中脊逐渐分离。
About 20 million years ago, volcanoes erupted along the split. They burped up tons of lava6) and rock. This created a landmass7) that acted like scar tissue8) covering a wound in Earth's crust. That landmass would one day become Iceland.
大约两千万年前，分裂带上的火山喷发了。大量岩浆和岩石块喷射而出，它们像疤痕组织在伤口上渐渐凝结一样，在地壳上凝成一块大陆。那块陆地后来形成了冰岛。
At Thingvellir National Park9) you can see the boundary between the plates for yourself. It is a deep rift where the two plates pull apart. Stand on one side and look down into the rift.
在辛格维尔国家公园里，你可以亲眼看到两大板块的分界线。那是一条深邃的裂谷，横陈在两大板块的断裂处。站在板块边缘，你一眼就能望入裂谷深处。
On the west side, you can stand on the North American plate. On the east side is the Eurasian plate. You're looking right between two tectonic plates! Each year, the plates move about an inch farther apart. As they move, the land stretches out to cover more area. In this way, Iceland is slowly growing bigger.
站在裂谷西边，你的脚下是北美洲的土地，而裂谷东面则是欧亚板块。没错，你正站在两大构造板块中间驻足观看！这两大板块每年都会远离一英寸。随着板块漂移，陆地面积也会不断延伸，覆盖更多的区域。就这样，冰岛的面积慢慢地越变越大。
Sizzling10) Sites
高温之地
Sometimes, Iceland grows in more sudden spurts. But volcanoes don't usually pop up every day. It's taken millions of years for volcanoes and lava flows to build Iceland. They've created twisted11), rugged12), and beautiful landscapes.
有时候，冰岛也会在突如其来的火山喷发中得以成长。但火山并不是每天都会喷发。经过了几百万年，火山及熔岩流才筑就了今天的冰岛。它们创造了冰岛蜿蜒曲折、崎岖嶙峋、风光秀丽的景观。
Hike through one of Iceland's many ancient lava fields. You might notice something strange. The ground in front of you is steaming! Plumes of white steam rise from the ground. Iceland is covered with steam vents13) and hot springs. The steam comes from naturally heated rocks and hot water below Earth's surface.
徒步穿行于冰岛一个古老的熔岩荒野之中，你会发现一种奇怪的现象：眼前的土地正冒着热气！只见缕缕白雾从地上腾腾升起。在冰岛，处处皆是气口，遍地可见温泉。这些蒸汽来自天然炙热的岩石和地表之下滚热的泉水。
The most famous of Iceland's bubbling hot springs is Blue Lagoon. It is not far from the country's capital city. You can visit the lagoon and soak in its soothing14), milky blue waters. Minerals15) and white mud16) in the water make your skin as soft as a newborn baby's skin. Enjoy that water, because it has traveled a long way.
冰岛最有名的温泉当属蓝湖。蓝湖距冰岛首都并不远，因此，你可以去蓝湖游逛，在那舒适宜人的乳蓝色温泉里泡上一把。水中的矿物质和白泥会让你的肌肤如新生婴儿般柔嫩。好好享受这温泉吧，它可是历经千山万水才来到这里的。
It starts nearly two kilometers under Blue Lagoon. There, water from the Atlantic Ocean seeps into the ground. Hot rock heats the water. People use powerful pumps and long pipes to bring the water to the surface.
蓝湖温泉的水来自湖底大约两千米的地方。在那里，大西洋海水从地底渗入，然后高温熔岩将其加热。接着，人们用高功率的抽水机和长水管将温热的海水抽到地面上来。
Icelanders tap into the natural hot water for more than soaking. They harness17) steam from hot water to spin18) turbines19) and create electricity. People use the electricity to heat homes and even greenhouses.
冰岛人开发这些天然热水可不只是用来泡温泉的，他们还利用温泉散发出的水蒸汽带动涡轮机旋转发电，并用其产生的电能为室内甚至花房供暖。
Land of Ice
冰之岛
You've discovered what Iceland's fiery volcanoes can do. What about the ice? After all, Iceland wouldn't be Iceland without ice.
现在，你已经了解冰岛的炽热火山能做些什么了，那关于冰雪你知道多少呢？毕竟，如果没有冰，冰岛就不能称为冰岛啦。
One-tenth of the country is covered with glaciers20). Glaciers carve the valleys deeper, slowly grinding21) their way toward the sea. The land was first created by lava from volcanoes. Now it's being reshaped by ice.
冰岛十分之一的土地都在冰川的覆盖之下。冰川深深地雕琢着山谷，一路上慢慢地挫磨着山岩，直至大海。冰岛这块土地原本由火山喷发的岩浆所筑就，现在却被冰川不断重塑。
The largest glaciers are called icecaps22). Iceland's biggest icecap is enormous. It's larger than all the glaciers in mainland Europe combined. Most people only tour along the edges of this massive icecap. If you are really adventurous, you can explore the icecap itself.
最大的冰川被称为“冰盖”。冰岛最大的冰盖非常广袤，其面积甚至超过了欧洲大陆冰川面积的总和。大部分旅客只会沿着这片巨大冰盖的边缘游览，但如果你真的喜欢冒险，也不妨去这片冰盖深入探险一番。
Ready to go? You'll need plenty of warm clothes. You'll also need a hiking partner. Take a rope, too, in case you fall into a crack hidden in the ice. Looking ahead, there is nothing but white as far as you can see. The brightness is blinding! Everything is silent except for the snow crunching23) under your boots.
准备好了吗？你需要准备大量保暖衣物，还需要一个徒步旅行的驴友。也带上一根绳子吧，以免失足跌入冰川隐藏的裂缝里。向前望去，视线所及之处白茫茫一片。冰雪反射的光线多么眩目啊！而此时，万籁俱寂，耳边只剩下脚底积雪“嘎吱嘎吱”的声音。
Finally, you reach the top of an ice-covered peak. You've made it up the tallest mountain in Iceland, 2120 meters high. What a view! You can see ice and snow. Far off in the distance, you also see the stark24) green and black plains at the edge of the icecap.
终于，你到达了冰雪覆盖的顶端，攀上了冰岛海拔2120米的最高峰。多美的风景啊！你可以一览亮丽冰川、皑皑积雪，还可以遥望冰盖边缘那些引人注目的黑绿交错的平原。
Meltdown!
冰川融化！
As you gaze out at the view, you see a stream of smoke. Uh-oh. That's no hot spring! The smoke is coming from a volcano. Iceland is one of the few places on Earth where active volcanoes lie below icecaps. Here, fire literally meets ice. This can make for a dangerous situation.
当你极目远眺，欣赏这片景色之时，你会看到一股缓缓升起的白烟。啊哦，那可不是温泉！那股白烟来自某座火山。在地球上，冰盖之下藏有活火山的地方很少，而冰岛就是其中之一。在这里，冰与火真真切切地相遇了，而这可能会带来巨大的灾难。
Imagine what happens when a fiery volcano erupts under a glacier. Meltdown! First, the melted water creates a lake hidden beneath the ice. As the lake grows bigger, it eventually runs out of space. It overflows. Then a flood of water bursts out of the icecap.
想象一下炽热的火山在冰川下喷发的情形吧。冰川大融化！首先，这些消融的冰水会在冰下形成一片隐蔽的湖泊。湖泊的面积越来越大，最终冲破了冰面的围困。随后，溢出的洪水从冰盖下汹涌而出，泛滥成灾。
In 1996, a volcano erupted beneath one of the country's icecaps. The flood that followed was one of the worst Iceland has ever seen. Within hours, the deluge25) washed away bridges, roads, and power lines.
1996年，冰岛一个冰盖下的火山喷发了，它所引发的洪水是冰岛史上最严重的几次洪水之一。数小时内，滔天的洪水便冲坏了桥梁、道路和输电线。
Extreme Land
极致王国
These glacial floods carry more than water. They also carry huge amounts of volcanic ash and black sand. Eventually the flood stops. The ash and sand settle. This forms large black plains called sandurs26). That's the Icelandic name for an area in the western part of the country where you can find the largest sandur on Earth.
冰川洪水带来的不只是水，它还挟带着大量的火山灰和黑砂。最后，洪水终于停住了脚步，继而火山灰和黑砂也沉淀下来，形成了大片黑色的平原，冰岛人称之为sandur (冰水沉积平原)。Sandur也是冰岛西部一片区域的名字，那里有着世界上最大的冰水沉积平原。
Fire and ice also meet to create beautiful scenes in another part of Iceland. In English, the place name means "the people's pools". Bubbling hot springs dot the area. Lakes of water from melted glaciers have filled the exploded tops of ancient volcanoes.
冰火交融还造就了冰岛另一区域的美景。在英文里，这片区域的地名意为“人民的游泳池”。那里处处点缀着汩汩冒泡的温泉，座座古老的火山口满溢着冰川融化而成的湖水。
Rugged mountains of volcanic rock poke out of the landscape. Minerals in the rock stripe27) the mountains with magnificent colors—yellow, blue, and brown. The setting sun casts a warm glow over stream-filled valleys.
这片景色中，还有座座嶙峋的火山岩拔地而起，而岩石里的矿物质则为这些山岭画上了异彩缤纷的斑纹——黄色的、蓝色的，还有棕色的。夕阳西下，在溪流潺潺的山谷上投下一缕温暖的光辉。
These sights, like the rest of Iceland, have a strange and wild beauty. This is a place that's fiery and frozen, strange and spectacular. This is Iceland, a land of fire and ice.
就像冰岛的其他景色一样，这些风景呈现出一种奇特而又狂野的美丽。这里是炽热与严寒、奇特与壮阔交融一体的世界。这就是冰岛，一个冰火交织的极致王国。
1. plume [pluːm] n. 羽状物(如烟云、雪尘等)
2. fiery [ˈfaɪri] adj. 火一般的，如火如荼的；极热的，灼热的
3. geyser [ˈɡiːzə(r)] n. 【地】间歇(喷)泉
4. way [weɪ] adv. 远远地，大大地，非常
5. tectonic plate: 【地】(地壳)构造板块
6. lava [ˈlɑːvə] n. 【地】熔岩
7. landmass [ˈlændmæs] n.【地】地块，陆块(尤指大陆)
8. scar tissue: 疤痕组织
9. Thingvellir National Park: 辛格维尔国家公园，又名议会旧址国家公园，位于冰岛首都雷克雅未克市东北50公里处，是冰岛著名的国家公园和旅游圣地，素有“世界最古老的民主议会会址”之称。
10. sizzling [ˈsɪzlɪŋ] adj. <口> 极热的
11. twist [twɪst] vt. 扭曲
12. rugged [ˈrʌɡɪd] adj. 高低不平的；多岩石的，多丘陵的
13. vent [vent] n. 通风孔；(烟雾、蒸汽、液体等的)排放口，出口
14. soothing [ˈsuːðɪŋ] adj. 安慰的，抚慰性的
15. mineral [ˈmɪn(ə)rəl] n. 矿物
16. white mud: 白泥，一种混合物，学名高岭土矿，属于非金属矿产，具有美容功效。
17. harness [ˈhɑː(r)nɪs] vt. 利用(控制)……以产生动力，利用
18. spin [spɪn] vt. 旋转
19. turbine [ˈtɜː(r)baɪn] n. 涡轮机，叶轮机，透平机
20. glacier [ˈɡlæsiə(r)] n. 冰川，冰河
21. grind [ɡraɪnd] vt. 磨；磨碎；磨成
22. icecap [ˈaɪskæp] n.【地】冰盖，冰冠
23. crunch [krʌntʃ] vi. 发出嘎吱声
24. stark [stɑː(r)k] adj. 明显的；突出的
25. deluge [ˈdeljuːdʒ] n. 洪水
26. sandur: 冰水沉积平原(= outwash plain)
27. stripe [straɪp] vt. 给……划条纹(或线条)，使有条纹(或线条)