纪录片《冰冻星球》 第22期 极地之春（5）

 

The woolly bear caterpillar¹ does not need the warmth from flowers

灯蛾毛虫却不需要花朵的温暖

to kick-start its spring.

就能迅速迎来它们的春天

It's always the first insect to appear after the snow retreats

它向来是积雪融化后第一个出现的昆虫

and the story of how it does so is truly astonishing.

它为做到这一点所付出的努力令人惊异

At the start of spring,

春季伊始

the caterpillar eats as fast as it can,

毛虫就拼了命地吃

as indeed it must, for this far north, the season will be brief.

它必须这么做 因为北极的春季转瞬即逝

The days shorten only too soon,

白昼很快就会变短

but the caterpillar has not yet

毛虫却还没有

got enough reserves to transform itself into a moth².

足够的储备来转化成蛾

It can't leave the Arctic, for it can't fly,

它还不能离开北极 因为它无法飞行

so it settles down beneath a rock.

所以只好在一块岩石下面躲了起来

The sun's warmth rapidly dwindles³.

太阳的热度迅速褪去

Beneath the rock, the caterpillar is out of the wind,

岩石虽能为毛虫挡风遮雪

but the cold penetrates⁴ deep into the ground.

但严寒仍蔓延至地下

Soon, its heart stops beating.

很快 它的心跳停止了

It ceases to breathe, and its body starts to freeze--

也停止了呼吸 身体开始结冰

first its gut⁵, then its blood.

先是内脏 接着是血液

1 caterpillar   

n.毛虫，蝴蝶的幼虫

参考例句：

• A butterfly is produced by metamorphosis from a caterpillar.蝴蝶是由毛虫脱胎变成的。
• A caterpillar must pass through the cocoon stage to become a butterfly.毛毛虫必须经过茧的阶段才能变成蝴蝶。

2 moth   

n.蛾，蛀虫

参考例句：

• A moth was fluttering round the lamp.有一只蛾子扑打着翅膀绕着灯飞。
• The sweater is moth-eaten.毛衣让蛀虫咬坏了。

3 dwindles   

v.逐渐变少或变小( dwindle的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Her husband grows rich in crime, her significance dwindles. 她的丈夫罪恶累累，她的形象也受到损害。 来自辞典例句
• The voice died away and ceased, as an insect's tiny trumpet dwindles swiftly into silence. 这声音逐渐消失，就象昆虫的小喇叭嘎然而止。 来自辞典例句

4 penetrates   

v.穿过( penetrate的第三人称单数 )；刺入；了解；渗透

参考例句：

• This is a telescope that penetrates to the remote parts of the universe. 这是一架能看到宇宙中遥远地方的望远镜。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The dust is so fine that it easily penetrates all the buildings. 尘土极细，能极轻易地钻入一切建筑物。 来自辞典例句

5 gut   

n.[pl.]胆量；内脏；adj.本能的；vt.取出内脏

参考例句：

• It is not always necessary to gut the fish prior to freezing.冷冻鱼之前并不总是需要先把内脏掏空。
• My immediate gut feeling was to refuse.我本能的直接反应是拒绝。