They can grow more than two metres long and weigh as much as three men. But the giant tortoises of ice age North America were even larger. Florida does have tortoises today, but on a much smaller scale. This is the gopher tortoise.
他们能够长到3米长，重量可与3个成年人的体重相当。但是在冰河时代的北美洲，巨型陆龟体型甚至更加巨大。佛罗里达现在也有乌龟，但是他们的体型很小。这就是穴居沙龟。
Tortoises are cold-blooded animals. They'rely on external temperature to keep themselves warm. Although Florida is plenty warm enough for much of the year, during the winter months, it can get cold. So to survive the winter, gopher tortoises must burrow and hibernate underground. The colder it gets, the deeper into their burrow they go.
乌龟是冷血动物。他们依靠外部温度保持自身温暖。尽管佛罗里达一年中的大部分时节都温暖如春，但是在冬天的几个月里，气温还是十分寒冷。因此，为了撑过寒冬，穴居沙龟必须在地下挖掘洞穴来进行冬眠。天气越寒冷，他们挖掘的洞穴越深。
Giant tortoises, however, can't burrow. And they sleep above ground. They need relatively warm temperatures all year round. The fact they were in Florida during the ice age means that paradoxically the climate must have been more stable and even milder than it is today. So we know something of the climate, but what about the vegetation and the landscape. How did that look 13,000 years ago?
然而，巨型陆龟却没有挖掘的技能。他们在地上冬眠。他们一年都需要相对温暖的气温。这看起来与现实相驳，而事实上，他们可以在冰河时代的佛罗里达生存正意味着那时的气温一定比今天更加稳定，更加温和。因此我们可以推测出当时佛罗里达的气候，但是13000年前的植被以及地貌又是什么样子呢？
Today Florida is one of the wettest parts of the continent, especially the vast swampy area known as the Everglades. Flooded grasslands stretches as far as the eye can see.
如今，佛罗里达是北美洲湿度最高的地区之一，尤其是像佛罗里达大沼泽这样的一篇巨大的沼泽地。人们的视线内遍布着在侵泡在水中的草地。
英文文本来自普特英语，译文属秀哈原创，仅供学习交流使用，未经许可不得转载.
