科学家们在火星南极附近发现了三个地下湖泊。他们还证实了第四个湖泊的存在。

 

The chances of life surviving on the surface of Mars today are slim. The Red Planet is a desert, where temperatures routinely drop below -60C. But there might be places below ground where tiny organisms could scrape an existence. 

火星表面现在存在生命的可能性很小。这颗红色星球是一片沙漠，温度通常低于零下60摄氏度。但在地下的某些地方，微生物可能会勉强生存。

 

Now, scientists have confirmed the presence of four lakes about a kilometre beneath the Martian south polar ice cap. These lakes are kept liquid by large amounts of dissolved salts, which lower water's freezing point.

现在，科学家已经证实，在火星南极的冰盖下约一公里处，存在四个湖泊。这些湖泊之所以保持液态，是因为大量的溶解盐降低了水的凝固点。 

 

Most life on Earth doesn't tolerate such highly saline conditions, but a few specialised microbes called extremophiles do, thriving in the salty lakes of regions such as Antarctica. This raises the possibility that hardy¹ organisms could survive today in the briny² conditions below the Martian south pole.

地球上的大部分生命都无法忍受这种含盐度极高的条件，但一些被称为极端微生物的特殊微生物却能忍受，它们在南极洲等地区的咸水湖泊中繁衍生息。这就提出了一种可能性，即顽强的生物今天可以在火星南极以下的咸水环境中生存。

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