纪录片《南太平洋》 第17期 大洋小岛（17）

The close calls with Mother Earth are not miscalculations.

与大地母亲的亲密接触不容误算

The diver's hair is actually meant to brush the ground in a symbolic¹ act of fertilisation.

跳跃者的头发像刷子一样拂过地面，象征着施肥

And it's believed the closer the jumper gets to the ground,

而且他们相信跳跃者离地面越近

the taller the crops will grow the next year.

来年的收成就会越好

Human history across most of the South Pacific dates back less than 2,000 years.

人类纵横南太平洋的历史可追溯到2000年前

By comparison², animal colonisers first arrived on these shores over 30 million years ago.

相比之下，最早到达这些海岸的动物是在3000万年前

Yet by the 12th century, people had colonised almost every habitable piece of land.

自12世纪以来，人类几乎开辟了所有能够居住的陆地

Surrounded by water, the ocean became embedded³ in their culture - sometimes in surprising ways.

由于四面临海，海洋已经深深嵌入到他们的文化之中，有些文化令人赞叹

In the Banks Islands, women use the sea to make music.

班克斯群岛的妇女正在用海水奏乐

And their songs celebrate the creatures that live in it.

她们用歌声赞美海洋动物

1 symbolic   

adj.象征性的，符号的，象征主义的

参考例句：

• It is symbolic of the fighting spirit of modern womanhood.它象征着现代妇女的战斗精神。
• The Christian ceremony of baptism is a symbolic act.基督教的洗礼仪式是一种象征性的做法。

2 comparison   

n.比较，对照；比拟，比喻

参考例句：

• They make a comparison of New York to a beehive.他们把纽约比作一个蜂巢。
• This dress is really cheaper by comparison.比较起来，这件衣服确实便宜。

3 embedded   

a.扎牢的

参考例句：

• an operation to remove glass that was embedded in his leg 取出扎入他腿部玻璃的手术
• He has embedded his name in the minds of millions of people. 他的名字铭刻在数百万人民心中。