听力文本

In just a few thousand years,
短短几千年后，
the temperature plummets to around minus 60 degrees.
气温就降到约零下15摄氏度。
This frozen wasteland is Southern Australia,
这片冰冻荒地是澳洲南部，
650 million years ago.
6亿5000万年前的澳州南部。
It's the start of what some scientists call Snowball Earth,
地球进入某些科学家声称的雪球星球期，
a period they believe to be the longest, coldest ice age ever to grip the planet.
他们认为这段时期是地球史上最长、最冷的冰河期。
A vast wall of ice looms thousands of feet high.
冰墙高数千公尺，
And it's unstoppable.
势不可挡。

The more ice there is the more sunlight it reflects away from the planet,
冰越多，被反射的阳光越多，
and the faster the ice spreads.
冰扩散的速度就越快，
Nearby is a second ice sheet just as high.
而且还有第二片同样高的冰层，
The two sheets spread away from the poles,
两片冰层从两极往彼此的方向扩散，
toward each other to meet at the Equator.
并在赤道汇合。
Now an ice sheet up to 10,000 feet thick covers the entire planet.
厚达3公里的冰层包覆地球。
Earth first began as a molten ball of fire,
地球原本是熔化的火球，
now it's a frozen ball of ice.
现在却成了冻结的冰球。
Virtually all the sun's light, and warmth, reflects back into space.
太阳的光与温暖全被反射回太空，
And it seems as though nothing,
看起来似乎什么都没有，
not even the Sun can rescue the planet now.
现在连太阳都无法解救地球了。

视频及简介

本片就比如在地球刚刚形成时就有摄影机记录下每个重大事件。本节目将以写实电脑动画带领观众踏上旅途，穿越45亿年，介绍地球的诞生期、冰河时期、巨大火山喷发、恐龙的统治以及早期人类。