受極地漩渦來(lái)襲影響，美國(guó)多地近日出現(xiàn)極寒天氣，部分州的氣溫甚至低到零下52攝氏度。密歇根湖凍成了冰海，尼亞加拉大瀑布都被凍住了，芝加哥的渡輪生生走成了破冰船……

A blast of polar air has swept across many cities in the US leading to the lowest temperatures in a generation. Schools and businesses have closed, flights have been cancelled and as of Wednesday evening, at least eight deaths had been linked to the system.

一股極地氣團(tuán)橫掃美國(guó)多個(gè)城市，導(dǎo)致出現(xiàn)幾十年來(lái)的最低低溫。學(xué)校停課、店鋪關(guān)門，航班取消，截至周三晚上，至少有8人在嚴(yán)寒中喪生。

甚至有人開(kāi)玩笑說(shuō)，出門放個(gè)屁都有危險(xiǎn)……

這天氣到底冷成啥樣？看一段視頻感受一下：

【小知識(shí)：“極地漩渦”導(dǎo)致極寒】

美國(guó)中西部極寒天氣由“極地漩渦（polar vortex）”位移造成，“極地漩渦”正常情況下在北極上空平流層盤(pán)旋，但最近受到擾亂，開(kāi)始向南移動(dòng)。

美國(guó)國(guó)家氣象局說(shuō)，美國(guó)北部平原和大湖區(qū)分別出現(xiàn)零下41攝氏度和零下35度最低氣溫；預(yù)期冷空氣30日以后向美國(guó)東部移動(dòng)。

路邊凍雞蛋、開(kāi)水挑戰(zhàn)、吹泡泡……寒冷的生活也能很有趣

美國(guó)芝加哥30日出現(xiàn)零下30攝氏度的極低氣溫，創(chuàng)下該市近25年來(lái)最低氣溫紀(jì)錄。但當(dāng)?shù)厝嗣駞s在“寒中作樂(lè)”，人行道凍雞蛋、“開(kāi)水挑戰(zhàn)”、室外吹泡泡……給嚴(yán)寒冰冷的生活帶來(lái)溫暖的氣息。

In “Chiberia” – as locals have dubbed Chicago as temperatures have plummeted to -30C – it is cold enough to freeze an egg on the sidewalk. Or to turn a bubble blown outside into a beautiful frosty snow globe before it splinters with the cold.

近日，美國(guó)芝加哥氣溫低至零下30攝氏度，被當(dāng)?shù)鼐用駪蚍Q為“芝伯利亞”，打一顆雞蛋在人行路上，會(huì)立刻變成“冰蛋”。在室外吹個(gè)泡泡，在凍裂之前，會(huì)先變成漂亮的霜凍水晶球。

snow globe：雪花玻璃球，奇幻水晶球

Chicago isn’t the only city hit by the low temperatures, or the coldest, with the temperature dropping to -41C in Park Rapids, Minnesota.

芝加哥并非唯一一個(gè)受極低氣溫侵襲的城市，也不是最冷的城市，明尼蘇達(dá)州帕克拉皮茲氣溫低至零下41攝氏度。

While the extreme cold is miserable for many, some have been trying to find a bright side. In Chicago, residents have posted photographs on social media showing just how freezing life has become.

盡管對(duì)很多人來(lái)說(shuō)，極寒天氣非常難熬，但一些人也在嘗試“寒中作樂(lè)”。一些芝加哥居民在社交媒體上傳照片，展示出在極寒天氣中生活的境況。

因?yàn)槠绽擢?jiǎng)不會(huì)自己送上家門，@MorGreene和我頂風(fēng)冒雨來(lái)證明，今天在芝加哥的人行道上打一顆雞蛋，會(huì)冷得凍住。

Local news outlets have made their reporters brave the elements to test whether an egg placed in a frying pan at these temperatures would freeze – the opposite of frying an egg on the sidewalk in extreme heat.

當(dāng)?shù)孛襟w的記者們也冒著風(fēng)雪去證實(shí)，煎鍋中的雞蛋在這種低溫天氣下會(huì)不會(huì)凍住，相當(dāng)于極端高溫天氣下試驗(yàn)在人行道上煎雞蛋的對(duì)照版。

“Cold as oF,” was the headline on the Loyola Phoenix, the official student newspaper of Loyola University in Chicago and on Tuesday, the Chicago Tribune ran sage weather-related advice on its front page: “Expert: avoid being outside”.

周二，芝加哥洛約拉大學(xué)校報(bào)《洛約拉鳳凰報(bào)》的新聞標(biāo)題是《氣溫低得測(cè)不到了》?！吨ゼ痈缯搲瘓?bào)》在頭版刊登出與天氣有關(guān)的明智建議《專家提醒大家別出門》。

sage[se?d?]：adj.明智的；賢明的；審慎的

But many ignored the expert warnings and ventured into the cold to attempt the “boiling water challenge”, which saw people throw pots of boiling water into the air, which froze before hitting the ground.

但還是有很多人無(wú)視專家的提醒，冒險(xiǎn)到天寒地凍的天氣里嘗試“開(kāi)水挑戰(zhàn)”，人們把大盆開(kāi)水潑出去，水還沒(méi)落到地面就凍住了。

Others posted videos of bubbles blown outside, which freeze into gorgeous baubles before cracking, or of their fork suspended in mid-air by a waterfall of frozen noodles. The hashtag #DogsofChiberia was created, showing pets rugged up in custom puffer jackets, hats and booties so they could survive a trip outside.

還有一些人上傳在室外吹泡泡的視頻，在泡泡破裂之前，會(huì)先凍成美麗的水晶球，或是餐叉懸在半空中，上面掛著一柱冰凍的面條的視頻。社交媒體上還出現(xiàn)了#芝伯利亞的狗 這一標(biāo)簽，展示出寵物狗們裹著定制的羽絨夾克、戴著帽子、穿著短靴，在室外撒歡的場(chǎng)景。

火車在“火花四濺”的軌道上飛馳

由于天氣嚴(yán)寒，車站打開(kāi)了安裝在鐵軌上的天然氣閥門火烤鐵軌，確?；疖囌＿\(yùn)行。

Videos also circulated that appeared to show train tracks across Chicago on fire. The fires, which actually run next to the rails, are used by Metra, the Chicago-area commuter rail, to make the rails expand in an attempt to avoid cracks forming and switches clogging.

網(wǎng)上還流傳有一段芝加哥鐵路軌道“烤火”的視頻。芝加哥通勤鐵路公司在鐵軌旁邊為其“烤火”，利用熱脹冷縮，防止鐵軌出現(xiàn)裂縫和道岔堵塞。

什么嚴(yán)寒也無(wú)法阻擋，警局的冷幽默

由于天氣過(guò)于寒冷，當(dāng)?shù)貢r(shí)間29日上午，俄亥俄州的凱特林(Kettering)警察局干脆宣布：“取消所有打擊犯罪的活動(dòng)”。

“ATTENTION! Due to the extremely frigid conditions, tomorrow Kettering Police Department is canceling ALL criminal activity. However, our jail is still open and is a balmy 72 degrees and would be a perfect time to turn yourself in for any warrants and/or any other criminal activity you may have committed.”

“請(qǐng)注意！由于天氣太冷，從明天起凱特林警察局取消所有打擊犯罪的活動(dòng)。但是，監(jiān)獄依舊對(duì)外開(kāi)放，而且相當(dāng)暖和，室溫達(dá)到72華氏度（22攝氏度）。如果你身背通緝令，或者犯過(guò)什么罪行，這時(shí)候投案自首真是最完美的時(shí)機(jī)?！?/p>

The post also stated that the department is “offering free transportation for any who want to take advantage of this offer.”

這篇帖子還說(shuō)，警方還會(huì)“為有意愿的人，提供免費(fèi)的交通服務(wù)。”

凱特林警方的“冷幽默”在社交網(wǎng)站“臉書(shū)”上被瘋狂轉(zhuǎn)發(fā)，并引來(lái)效仿。辛辛那提州的藍(lán)灰警察局(Blue Ash Police Department)也發(fā)布了同樣的信息。

“史上最冷”的耐力賽

在明尼蘇達(dá)州北部舉行的耐力賽Arrowheard 135，在大雪和寒風(fēng)中進(jìn)行，為期3天。參賽者可以選擇騎車、滑雪或者跑步進(jìn)行比賽。今年的比賽有146人參加。

Arrowhead 135要求選手完成135英里的行程。這項(xiàng)賽事被認(rèn)為是世界上50個(gè)最艱難的比賽之一。承辦方將今年的比賽稱為“史上最冷”的一次。

They'll set out on foot, on bikes or on skis for the 15th annual Arrowhead 135 race. It's a round-the-clock, 135-mile trek across the northern Minnesota wilderness.

參與者將徒步、騎車或者使用滑雪板完成第十五屆Arrowheard 135耐力賽。這項(xiàng)年度賽事是一項(xiàng)全天候的比賽，全程135英里（約合217公里），參賽者將穿越明州北部荒野。

It's a tough test in any weather conditions. But this year the forecast calls for temperatures of about 23 below zero at the start — and perhaps in the 30s below zero.

不管是在何種天氣條件下，這都是一場(chǎng)艱難的比賽。但在今年比賽之初，氣象臺(tái)就預(yù)報(bào)說(shuō)氣溫會(huì)低至零下23度，甚至低到零下30度。

但賽事主任克魯格表示，很多選手就是因?yàn)檫@種極寒才來(lái)比賽的。“要是哪一年有點(diǎn)暖和，你可能還會(huì)覺(jué)得自己被欺騙了。

同樣是在明尼蘇達(dá)州，定于29日的一場(chǎng)冰球賽如期舉行。沃羅德隊(duì)(Warroad)對(duì)陣羅素隊(duì)(Roseau)。當(dāng)?shù)貢r(shí)間29日晚上，當(dāng)?shù)貧鉁匾呀?jīng)降至零下29度，體感溫度達(dá)到零下50度，但是觀眾還是沒(méi)有放棄這場(chǎng)比賽。最終兩隊(duì)打成2比2平局。

來(lái)源：衛(wèi)報(bào)、中新網(wǎng)

翻譯&編輯：yaning