In 1929, three years after his flight over the North Pole, the American explorer, R.E. Byrd, successfully flew over the South Pole for the first time. Though, at first, Byrd and his men were able to take a great many photographs of the mountains that lay below, they soon ran into serious trouble. At one point, it seemed certain that their plane would crash. It could only get over the mountains if it rose to 10,000 feet. Byrd at once ordered his men to throw out two heavy food sacks. The plane was then able to rise and it cleared the mountains by 400 feet. Byrd now knew that he would be able to reach the South Pole which was 300 miles away, for there were no more mountains in sight. The aircraft was able to fly over the endless white plains without difficulty.
參考譯文
美國探險家 R.E. 伯德在飛越北極3年之後，於1929年第一次飛越了南極。雖然開始時伯德和他的助手們拍下了飛機下面連綿羣山的大量照片，但他們很快就陷入了困境。在有個地方，飛機似乎肯定要墜毀了。只有在飛至10,000英尺的高度時，它才能飛過這些山頭。伯德馬上命令他的助手們把兩個沉重的食物袋扔掉，於是飛機可以上升了，它在離山頭400英尺的高度飛越了過去。伯德這時知道他能夠順利飛抵300英里以外的南極了，因爲前面再沒有山了。飛機可以毫無困難地飛過這片茫茫無際的'白色原野！
pole n. （地球的）極
flight n. 飛行
explorer n. 探險家
lie v. 處於
serious adj. 嚴重的
point n. 地點
seem v. 似乎
crash v. 墜毀
sack n. 袋子
clear v. 越過
aircraft n. 飛機
endless adj. 無盡的
plain n. 平原
Though, at first, Byrd and his men were able to take a great many photographs of the mountains that lay below, they soon ran into serious trouble.
A great many很多, 許多
A great many houses were knocked down by the earthquake.
許多房子在地震中塌了。
Large cities are powerful magnets attracting a great many people.
大城市像巨大的磁鐵一樣吸引着無數人。
