The frigid air needles exposed flesh and   寒冷的, 严寒的, 冷淡的
sinks through clothing, but that hasn't kept   [fleʃ] 肉, 肉体
at least one protester from occupying a park
in Fairbanks, Alaska, for more than a month.
The temperature has been 30 to 40 degrees
below zero in recent weeks.

This time of year, the days are short. It's
dim, bleak and other-worldly in the nation's    萧瑟的, 荒凉的, 阴冷的
northernmost Occupy protest. While local
officials want the protesters tents taken
down, occupiers say the shelter is necessary
in such cold weather.

Protester Beth Hughes says she's outfitted to
continue the effort in Fairbanks Veteran's
Memorial Park.

"A down, one-piece snow machine suit, and my
gloves and hand warmers and my wolverine
mittens — I'm ready," she says.

Hughes, a 50-something retiree, says she's
not about to give up the round-the-clock
Occupy protest, a movement she says she's
been waiting for all her life.

"I missed out on the '60s, and with all the    报错 失去……的机会
people that have been dedicated to this in
the lower 48, we're small. We're Fairbanks,     Lower 48阿拉斯加州用语
Alaska, but I believe this is just a ripe       (除阿拉斯加州外的)美国本土48州
opportunity to really make a statement," she    ，亦作 Lower Forty-eight
says.

Nearby on a lawn chair wrapped in blankets,
fellow protester William White wears Army       剩余, 过剩, 盈余
surplus mukluks on his feet. White, an Alaska   ['mʌklʌk] n. 海豹皮靴
native, says he's drawing resolve from
European America's most iconic hero. He
displays a Boy Scout bandana with a depiction
of George Washington at Valley Forge.

"It's got George kneeling in prayer, and so
that's kind of been our inspiration," he        [,inspә'reiʃәn]
says.

The local struggle is against the cold and
the borough government, which wants           *['bә:rәu] n. 自治的市镇, 区
protesters to remove their tents. Mayor Luke
Hopkins says camping is illegal in the
downtown park.

"A tent sitting there with a woodstove in it,
to me, certainly looks like camping," he
says.

Occupy Fairbanks stalwart Ethan Sinsabaugh
says the gear isn't for sleeping.

"We just need warmth and shelter," he says.

The University of Alaska Fairbanks student
says given the extreme cold, the tents are
essential to the protest.

"You're gonna take away our ability to
peacefully assemble, and we feel that goes
against the Constitution," he says.

The protesters have received a lot of public
support, but others say if camping is illegal
in the park, they shouldn't be there. Hopkins
says borough attorneys are looking at how to
proceed.

"People have the right to assemble, but as
decisions have been, you know, in the higher
court system ... it can be called out time-
and space-specific," the mayor says.            [spi'sifik]

Hopkins is considering options to keep the
protesters warm that wouldn't break the
no-camping rule, like a car running nearby.
He says in the meantime, police are checking
on the protest, to make sure it remains quiet
and peaceful.