我们的家园，地球这么大，你真的了解它吗？
Earth, our wonderful home! But how much do you know about the planet we call home? Here are some fascinating facts about the Earth…
地球，我们神奇的家园！ 但是你对我们称之为家的星球了解多少呢？ 以下是一些关于地球的迷人事实。
Earth is the third planet from the sun in our solar system. Its name comes from the old English and Germanic words meaning ‘the ground’.
地球是太阳系中距离太阳的第三个行星。 它的名字来自古老的英语和德语单词，意思是“地面”。
Our amazing planet has been around for quite some time. By researching our planet’s rocks, scientists have calculated the Earth to be around 4.5 billion years old!
我们这个神奇的星球已经存在了很长一段时间。 通过研究我们星球上的岩石，科学家们计算出地球大约有45亿年的历史！
Like all the planets, Earth orbits around the sun. And it does so at some serious speed –– around 30 kilometres per second, in fact! It takes 365 days (one year) for the Earth to complete one full orbit.
像所有行星一样，地球绕太阳公转。 而且它以很高的速度转动-大约每秒就30公里吧！ 地球完成一个完整的公转需要365天（一年）。
People often think of Earth as a gigantic sphere. But, in fact, its shape is more like a squished ball.
人们经常将地球视为一个巨大的圆形球体。 但是，实际上，它的形状更像是一个压扁的球。
The Earth’s diameter measures a huge 12,800 kilometres, making it the fifth largest planet in the solar system. Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune are even bigger!
地球的直径长达12800公里，是太阳系中的第五大行星。 木星，土星，天王星和海王星甚至更大！
Earth is the only planet in our solar system known to support life.
地球是已知太阳系中唯一能维持生命的行星。
This is because it has two very important things that living creatures need to survive –– lots of oxygen and lots of water! Its distance from the sun means it’s not too hot and not too cold for creatures to live on, too.
这是因为地球有生物生存必须的两个非常重要的条件–大量的氧气和大量的水！ 它与太阳的距离恰到好处，对于生物而言，不是太热也不是太冷。
Earth’s ‘atmosphere’ is also hugely important for sustaining life.
地球的“大气层”对于维持生命也非常重要。
The atmosphere is a huge blanket of gases – mostly oxygen and nitrogen – wrapped around Earth, protecting our planet from the sun’s strong rays.
大气层包裹着大片气体（主要是氧气和氮气），保护了我们的星球免受太阳的强射线照射。
At the same time, the atmosphere helps keep the Earth’s temperature comfortable for living beings – and it protects us from meteors, too!
同时，大气层有助于调节地球的温度，以达到适合人类居住-大气层也保护我们免受流星的侵害！
