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A sub-zero look at the world's coldest city    December 17, 2025

 

What's up, sunshine? Welcome to the show. I'm Coy Wire. We have a Your Word Wednesday show, meaning one of your words helped us write today's show.

 

So listen up, soak some knowledge, and let's get to it.The new age space race could change how millions of people around the world access the internet. In recent years, satellite internet has exploded in popularity, and Elon Musk's Starlink has been the biggest name in the rapidly evolving game.

 

Starlink uses thousands of low-orbit satellites to beam internet to places traditional cables can't really reach.

 

beam [bim] v.（定向）播送，发送

 

It's made internet access a reality in some of the world's most remote regions and on battlefields. But new companies are launching their own systems, creating some competition.

 

So the race for internet dominance miles above the planet is heating up. Our Ivana Skotola went to the middle of a desert to go satellite spotting to help us learn more.

 

satellite spotting 卫星追踪; 卫星观测

 

We've driven to the desert, and we've come here because it's one of the darkest places you can be.

 

There's no light pollution. And we've come here to do a little bit of stargazing. And we're also here to look for something else, internet satellites.

 

stargazing [ˋstɑr͵gezɪŋ] n. 星辰凝望，天体观察

 

This is the telescope. Ajith Ebresta is an astrophotographer. He spends hours every day at this observatory he built.

 

astrophotographer [͵æstrəfəˋtɑgrəfɚ] n. 天文攝影師

 

So if you see here, I think most of the Starlink satellites are commercial and communication.

 

So the majority of the internet satellites are Starlink. If we go out and stare at the sky, we can see the satellite.

 

The first one to spot is Little Harbin. OK. We're looking for a Starlink.

 

It's there, I think now. Yes. That is moving.

 

See it? Oh yeah. Since 2019, there's been one company synonymous with internet satellites, Elon Musk's Starlink.

 

synonymous [sɪˋnɑnəməs] adj. 同义的；同义词性质的

 

Liftoff. Go SpaceX. Go Starlink.

 

There was a lot of scepticism in the early days about how successful Starlink would be.

 

scepticism [ˋskɛptə͵sɪzəm] n.【英】怀疑态度

 

I think they've really defeated that scepticism.

 

According to the company, it's launched over 10,000 satellites, serves more than 8 million people worldwide, and is available in over 150 countries, territories, and other markets in the world.

 

Just to give you an idea, back in 2019, there were about 1,200, 1,500 working satellites in space.

 

That has increased by a factor of 10 in just a few years. And we think it might increase by another factor of 10 over the next decade. This is a transformational change in how busy outer space is.

 

factor [ˋfæktɚ] n. 系数

 

It's brought internet to some of the most remote areas of the planet, including in the air, on the sea, and in the middle of war zones.

 

Over the past five years or so, it's become big business. So how does it work? Starlink provides high-speed internet service using a network of satellites in low-Earth orbit.

 

It can reach remote places where traditional broadband internet can't, because that relies on underground cables. In 2024, about 2.5 billion people in the world lacked internet access, according to the World Economic Forum. It's these people that internet satellites are aiming to reach.

 

Lots of people in rural areas have been frustrated with their lack of access to broadband. I love their Starlinks. To the extent that it's currently basically a monopoly, that then gives the people who run SpaceX the ability to control who gets connectivity and who doesn't.

 

I think that's going to change. We are now starting to see the deployment of rival systems.

 

It's given Starlink's owner, Elon Musk, incredible geopolitical leverage.

 

leverage [ˋlɛvərɪdʒ] n. 影响力

 

Ukraine has relied on Starlink throughout Russia's invasion, a potential vulnerability that's been highlighted by Starlink outages.

 

outage [ˋaʊtɪdʒ] n.（机器等的）运行中断

 

Because of that, some governments around the world have increasing security concerns over using the technology, and they're launching their own internet satellite competitors.

 

Secure connectivity is imperative.

 

imperative [ɪmˋpɛrətɪv] adj. 必要的；緊急的；極重要的

 

Starlink didn't respond to a request for comment from CNN.

 

I think that that threat of, oh, one person's controlling the whole world's conversation is going to go away with the magic of competition in a few years. The biggest serious competitor is Amazon Leo.

 

If they can make a product that is perhaps easier to use, perhaps higher quality, they may be able to draw the customers away from Starlink.

 

It looks very beautiful. It does look beautiful because they look like stars.

 

The satellites are very easy to spot because there are so many satellites up in the sky. Did you see a meteor there? No. I was looking at the internet satellite.

 

Pop quiz, hot shot.

 

What anatomical strategy helps orcas hunt great white sharks?

 

anatomical [͵ænəˋtɑmɪk!] adj. 解剖学上的；解剖的；结构上的

orca [ˈɔrkə]n. 虎鲸，又称杀人鲸或逆戟鲸

 

Electroreception, blowhole poisons, body flipping, or dorsal fin swipes.

 

electroreception [ɪ͵lɛktrərɪˋsɛpʃən] n. 电觉(生物感知电场变化的能力，让动物能侦测到其他生物（猎物）肌肉活动产生的微弱生物电流，甚至海水的微小电场变化)

blowhole [ˋblo͵hol] n. 喷水孔；通风孔

dorsal [ˋdɔrs!] adj. 背部的；背侧的

 

If you said body flipping, you stuck the landing.Orcas use a strategy where they flip sharks onto their backs to induce tonic immobility, a temporary paralysis, leaving the shark defenseless.

 

stick the landing: to succeed; to do something very well

tonic [ˋtɑnɪk] adj.【医】强直的

immobility [͵ɪmoˋbɪlətɪ] n. 静止不动

tonic immobility 是指动物进入的一种自然瘫痪状态，肌肉强直僵硬，且对外界刺激没有反应。

defenseless [dɪˋfɛnslɪs] adj.【主美】无防御的；无保护的；不能自卫的

 

Next up, teamwork dream work for dolphins and killer whales. Scientists made a breakthrough discovery observing orcas hunting salmon off the coast of British Columbia with help from a pod of dolphins.

 

And this is wild because orcas are the ocean's top predators and certain types known as transient killer whales will eat dolphins.

 

transient killer whale 迁徙型虎鲸

 

But these whales, known as northern resident killer whales, seem to be saying, can't eat them, join them. Researchers used a combination of drones, hydrophones, and underwater cameras to get a whale's eye view of these hunts.

 

The underwater eavesdropping revealed the orcas following the dolphins, which seem to be acting as scouts on at least 250 different occasions.

 

eavesdropping [ˋivz͵drɑpɪŋ] n. 窃听

 

But why? Scientists theorize the dolphins help make the orcas hunts easier while they get some protection from other predatory pods of killer whales. Well, I'll be darned.

 

theorize [ˋθɪə͵raɪz] v. 推理; 从理论上说明

I'll be darned（表示非常惊讶）这也太离谱了！真够绝的！

 

Have you seen Zootopia 2? The smash hit is going wild in theaters and it's having some perhaps unfathomable effects in the real world.

 

unfathomable [ʌnˋfæðəməb!] adj. 深不可测的；不可理解的

 

Breakout star Gary De’Snake, an Indonesian pit viper, is on a mission to clear reptiles' bad reputations.

 

pit viper【动】响尾蛇

 

Snakes aren't the bad guys. I have to set things right. And when I do, my family will finally be able to come home.

 

While Gary is so popular, people are spending hundreds of dollars to buy very real, very venomous versions of the VIP viper.

 

venomous [ˋvɛnəməs] adj. 有毒的；分泌毒液的

 

The trend is mostly in China, where this year is the year of the snake in the zodiac calendar. Gary helped make history. The film is now China's top grossing foreign film of all time.

 

zodiac [ˋzodɪ͵æk] n.【天】黄道带

 

The trend is so big that Chinese media has been issuing warnings reminding everyone that Gary's real-life counterparts are not trendy toys and need to be handled with care.

 

In weather and climate news,it is wintertime. And it is freezing cold in many parts of the Northern Hemisphere, this according to Captain Obvious.

 

Captain Obvious 显而易见队长(形容那些说出废话或众所周知事实的人)

 

But if you think it's cold wherever you are, where do you see the coldest major city in the world?

 

Yakutsk in Russia's eastern Siberia, where temperatures are snow joke. They plunged to minus 49 Fahrenheit, minus 45 Celsius recently. I can feel the cold jumping off the screen.

 

snow joke: 是一个英语中的谐音冷笑话（Pun）,它的读音与「No joke」（不是开玩笑、说真的）几乎完全相同

 

About 300,000 people live in Yakutsk, and the extreme temperatures don't scare them. They're yeti for them.

 

yeti [ˋjɛtɪ] n. 雪人

 

The weather is excellent. The winter has arrived. Proper cold.

 

Check out this outdoor market. Siberian fish are sold in the open air, naturally preserved because they're frozen. Rock hard. No freezers needed.

 

Shoppers bundle up in layers and zip from vendor to vendor. Despite the freeze, daily life goes on. Traffic keeps moving through icy fog, buses run on schedule, and businesses stay open for business.

 

zip [zɪp] v. 有力而迅速地行动（或移动）; 穿梭

 

Locals say the key to not freezing is preparation. Warm clothes, hot tea nearby, and if you don't like the cold, you can always isolate inside.

 

There's a saying that goes, there's no bad weather. There's bad clothing. Dress warmer. Everything is wonderful.

 

Today's story, getting a 10 out of 10.Students and families coming together to brighten the holidays for a beloved crossing guard.

 

crossing guard 导护老师; 交通导护员; 交通指挥员

 

Mr. Dave Bellis helped hundreds of students safely cross the frigid path between Hidden Oaks and Twin Oaks middle schools every single day.

 

He's 76 years old. He's a Marine veteran, a retired police officer, and with a big warm smile, fist bumps, and high fives, he braves Minnesota's bitter wintry cold for hours every day, making sure the kids are safe.

 

brave [brev] v. 勇敢地面对

 

Every single day he's there, and I can't imagine our school without him there.

 

Whenever you see him, your face just glows up. You can't not like him. He's just a great guy.

 

glow [glo] v. 容光焕发

 

One appreciative mom wanted to do something nice for Mr. Dave, and her kind gesture snowballed into a school-wide mission.

 

appreciative [əˋpriʃɪ͵etɪv] adj. 感激的

snowball [ˋsno͵bɔl] v. 滚雪球般增大

 

Hundreds of families chipped in, and they held a ceremony just for Dave where he was given some cold-weather swag, gift cards, even tickets to a Minnesota Wild hockey game. But the surprises didn't stop there.

 

chip in 捐助, 共同出钱

swag [swæg] n. 赠品

 

A local company donated a brand new snowblower, a gesture leaving Dave speechless.

 

snowblower [ˋsno͵bloɚ] n. 吹雪机（用以将积雪吹至道路一侧）

 

I'm upset. Thank you all.

 

It's a great reminder that even one small act of kindness can turn into something that has a huge impact on someone's life.

 

Congrats to Ms. Cuppin and friends at Meadow Lane Elementary School in Anderson, California for submitting our Your Word Wednesday winner. Unfathomable.

 

Love that word. It's an adjective meaning incapable of being fully explored or understood. Well done, and thank you for boosting our vocab today.

 

We have a shout-out going to Mrs. G. At Juniper Hills High in Nampa, Idaho, the Sawtooth Group made this incredible diamond art picture. I've never seen anything like this. Look at the detail in the collar.

 

diamond art picture: a mosaic created by applying small, sparkling resin rhinestones (called "diamonds" or "drills") to an adhesive, color-coded canvas

collar [ˋkɑlɚ] n. 衣领

 

I don't know how you made it, but you made me smile. Thank you so much. And thanks to all of you who've been commenting and subscribing on our CNN 10 YouTube channel for your shout-out requests.

 

Go make it an awesome day. Make someone smile. See you right back here tomorrow.

 

I'm Coy Wire, and we are CNN 10.