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Growing vegetables in the South Pole may sound as crazy as attempting to grow potatoes on Mars, as recently seen in "The Martian." In one of China's Antarctic research stations, however, researchers have done just that.
在南极种蔬菜听起来可能和在火星种土豆一样疯狂，就像最近在电影《火星救援》中看到的一样。但中国的南极科考站的科研人员们已经做到了。
"In 'The Martian' Mark Watney is a botanist, but I am a surgeon. I am more comfortable with scalpels than spades," joked Wang Zheng, 41, an orthopedist who has just returned from duty at Zhongshan, one of China's Antarctic research stations.
41岁的王征是一名刚刚从中国南极科考站之一的中山站返回的外科医生。他开玩笑地说道：“《火星救援》里马克·沃特尼是一个植物学家，但是我是个医生。我觉得还是用手术刀比用铁锹更舒服。”
During his year of service, in addition to being the medic for the research team, Wang was tasked with exploring the feasibility of growing fresh vegetables.
在他为期一年的服务过程当中，除了作为研究小组的医生，王征还被交予了一个种植新鲜蔬菜的任务。
To grow plants in the Antarctic's extreme conditions, a specialized hydroponics system was developed by a Shanghai-based polar research center.
为了在南极的极端天气下种植植物，一个专门的水培系统被总部位于上海的极地研究中心开发了出来。
"The system includes a nutrient-rich solution that helps us to germinate a lettuce seed in three days, and one month later fresh lettuce can be harvested once a week," said Wang.
王征说；“该系统中包含营养丰富的溶液，可以让生菜种子3天发芽，一个月后就可以每周收割一次。"
Wang tried various plants. Lettuce, cucumber, tomato and Chinese cabbage all flourished. Chili, gombo and water melon were not so successful.
他尝试了多种蔬菜，生菜、黄瓜、西红柿和大白菜长得最好，辣椒、秋葵和西瓜则没那么成功。
Previously, teams based at China's four Antarctic research stations -- Taishan, Great Wall, Zhongshan and Kunlun -- had to solely rely on food deliveries by China icebreaker "Xuelong," or Snow Dragon. A one-way trip takes 75 days and covers over 18,000 nautical miles.
以前，中国的四大南极科考站--泰山、长城、中山和昆仑的食物供给完全依赖破冰船"雪龙号"。"雪龙号"每一趟单程要75天，路程达到18000海里。
"Despite my success, the supply is still limited. We often joked that the best gift in the South Pole is a fresh cucumber," said Wang.
王征说：“尽管我成功了，但是供应仍然受限。我们经常开玩笑说，在南极最好的礼物是一个新鲜的黄瓜。”
The fresh vegetables have proved popular, even with other researchers based in Antarctica. Foreign teams are always happy to accept an invitation to dinner at the Chinese station, he said.
新鲜的蔬菜已经被证实很受欢迎，甚至是在其他南极科考队当中也是这样。王征表示，很多国外的科考队都很高兴能收到来自中国科考站的晚饭邀请。
