Part A:
So, welcome to your introductory geography lecture.
所以，欢迎来到地理讲座入门课程。
We’ll begin with some basics.
我们将从一些基础知识开始。
Firstly what do we learn by studying geography?
首先，我们通过学习地理可以学到什么?
Well, we learn a great deal about all the processes that have affected and that continue to affect the earth's surface.
嗯，我们学习了很多影响并且会持续影响地球表面的所有过程。
But we learn far more than that, because studying geography also informs us about the different kinds of relationships that develop between a particular environment and the people that live there.
但我们学习的远不止于这些，因为学习地理也告诉我们不同的关系，某个特点环境和住在那里的人之间的关系。
Okay. We like to think of geography as having two main branches.
好的我们通常认为地理学有两个主要分支。
There's the study of the nature of our planet-its physical features, what it actually looks like - and then there's the study of the ways in which we choose to live and of the impact of those on our planet.
一个是研究我们地球的本质一它的物理特性，它实际上看起来像什么一还有研究我们选择生活的方式，以及这些生活方式对地球的影响。
Our current use of carbon fuels is a good example of that.
我们目前使用的碳燃料是一个很好的例子。
But there are more specific study areas to consider too, and we’ll be looking at each of these in turn throughout this semester.
但也有更多的具体研究领域，我们将本学期会一个一个看过来。
These include bio-physical geography, by which I mean the study of the natural environment and all its living things.
这些包括生物物理地理，我的意思是研究自然环境和所有的生物。
Then there's topography- that looks at the shapes of the land and oceans.
然后，有地势地理学一主要研究陆地和海洋的形状。
There's the study of political geography and social geography too, of course, which is the study of communities of people.
当然，也有政治地理学和社会地理学的研究，这是研究人们的社区。
We have economic geography - in which we examine all kinds of resources and their use-agriculture, for example.
我们有经济地理一在这里面我们研究各种资源和它们的用途一例如农业。
Next comes historical geography- he understanding of how people and their environments and the ways they interact have changed over a period of time-and urban geography, an aspect I'm particularly interested in, which takes as its focus the location of cities, the services that those cities provide, and migration of people to and from such cities.
还有城市地理学，我特别感兴趣，重点是城市位置，城市所提供的服务，以及人口迁入迁出的城市。
And lastly, we have cartography.
最后，我们有绘图学。
That's the art and science of map- making.
这是地图制作的艺术和科学。
You'll be doing a lot of that!
你会做很多这样的绘图。
So, to summarize before we continue, we now have our key answer…
因此，在我们继续之前我先来总结下，我们现在有关键答案…
studying this subject is important because without geographical knowledge, we would know very little about our surroundings and we wouldn't be able to identify all the problems that relate to them.
学习这个课题很重要，因为如果没有地理知识，我们对我们周围的环境就不了解，我们就不能确定所有与环境相关的所有问题。
So, by definition, we wouldn't be in an informed position to work out how to solve any of them.
因此，显然，我们也不会具备解决其中任何一个问题的能力。
Part B:
Okay, now for some practicalities.
好吧，现在说一些实际问题。
What do geographers actually do?
地理学家实际做什么呢?
Well, we collect data to begin with!
嗯，我们从收集数据开始!
You’ll be doing a lot of that on your first field trip!
你会在你的第一次实地考察中收集很多数据!
How do we do this? There are several means.
我们怎么做?有几种方法。
We might, for example, conduct a census - count a population in a given area perhaps.
例如，我们可能会在一个特定区域内进行人口统计。
We also need images of the earth's surface which we can produce by means of computer-generation technology or with the help of satellite relays.
我们还需要地球表面的图像，我们可以通过计算机生成技术或者在卫星传递帮助下完成。
We've come a very long way from the early exploration of the world by sailing ships when geographers only had pens and paper at their disposal.
我们已经走了很长的路，从最初用帆船探索世界，那时的地理学家手边只有笔和纸。
After we've gathered our information, we must analyse it!
在我们收集了信息之后，我们必须分析它!
We need to look for patterns, most commonly those of causes and consequences.
我们需要寻找模式，最常见的是原因和结果模式。
This kind of information helps us to predict and resolve problems that could affect the world we live in.
这种信息有助于我们预测和解决可能影响我们世界的问题。
But we don't keep all this information confidential.
但我们并没有把所有这些信息保密。
We then need to publish our findings so that other people can access it and be informed by it.
然后，我们需要公布我们的研究结果，以便其他人可以接触它，知道它。
And one way in which this information can be published is in the form of maps.
公布信息的一个方式就是以地图的形式出版。
You'll all have used one at some stage of your life already.
你会在人生的某个阶段使用到一个。
Let's consider the benefits of maps from a geographer's perspective.
让我们考虑从地理学家的角度反映地图的好处。
Maps can be folded and put in a pocket and can provide a great store of reference when they're collected into an atlas.
地图可以折叠，可以放在口袋里，可以提供一个宏大的参考资料，当它们被收集到一个地图集里。
They can depict the physical features of the entire planet if necessary, or, just a small part of it in much greater detail.
如果需要的话，他们可以描绘出整个地球的物理特征，也可以描绘地球某个部分更加详细的特征。
But there is a drawback.
但有一个缺点。
You can't exactly replicate something that is three-dimensional, like our planet, on a flat piece of paper, because paper has only two dimensions, and that means there'll always be a certain degree of distortion a map.
你不能在一张平面的纸上精确地复制像我们的地球一样的三维的东西，因为纸只有二维，这意味着在地图上总是有一定程度的变形。
It can't be avoided.
这是无法避免的。
We can also use aerial photographs … pictures taken by cameras at high altitude above the earth.
我们还可以用航空照片…在地球上空的高海拔地区拍摄的照片。
These are great for showing all kinds of geographical features that are not easy to see from the ground.
这些是非常伟大的，因为它们展示了各种地理特征，是地面上很难看到的。
You can easily illustrate areas of diseased trees or how much traffic is on the roads at a given time or information about deep sea beds, for example.
比如说，你可以看到病树与多少面积，或者某个时间有多少交通以及海床有多深。
Then there are Landsats.
然后我们还有地测卫星。
These are satellites that circle the earth and transmit visual information to computers at receiving stations.
这些是环绕地球的卫星，在接收站传送视觉信息给计算机。
They circle the earth several times a day and can provide a mass of information – you’ll all be familiar with the information they give us about the weather for example.
他们每天绕地球几次，可以提供大量的信息-你会很熟悉他们给我们的信息，例如天气。
So, what we're going to do now is look at a short presentation in which you'll see all these tools.
所以，我们现在要做的是看一个简短的介绍，你会看到所有这些工具…
