纪录片《南太平洋》 第37期 四海为家（05）

The chief shaman calls out to the crocodile gods, asking for their blessing¹ and protection.

大巫师召唤鳄鱼之神，寻求保佑

The tribesmen form the sinuous² shape of a moving crocodile.

部落族人在模仿鳄鱼活动时的样子

At the rear, the crocodile's tail, a court jester lightens the mood.

一位模仿鳄鱼尾巴的族人舒缓了大家的心情

Momentarily, for what follows is a gruelling and potentially lethal³ rite⁴ of passage.

随后就是紧张又危险的通过仪式

These young men will be mutilated, to resemble crocodiles.

为了模仿鳄鱼的外表，这些年轻人将会受到鞭挞

The boys are led into the spirit house, running the gauntlet of blows from their elders.

小伙子们被带到举行仪式的小屋，受到年长者的夹道抽打

Inside, they find sharpened lengths of bamboo.

他们找来锋利的竹片

The sacred act of scarring is about to begin.

神圣的刺疤仪式开始了

The ritual is a closely-guarded secret.

刺疤仪式近乎神秘

Their cuts are thoroughly⁵ cleaned.

整个过程很清洁

Killer⁶ infections are a real danger.

但仍然有感染的危险

They go in as boys but they come out as men - crocodile men -

进去的是男孩,出来的就是男人

with the power to summon the great reptiles⁷.

他们成为了能够召唤神力的鳄鱼人

1 blessing   

n.祈神赐福；祷告；祝福，祝愿

参考例句：

• The blessing was said in Hebrew.祷告用了希伯来语。
• A double blessing has descended upon the house.双喜临门。

2 sinuous   

adj.蜿蜒的，迂回的

参考例句：

• The river wound its sinuous way across the plain.这条河蜿蜒曲折地流过平原。
• We moved along the sinuous gravel walks,with the great concourse of girls and boys.我们沿着曲折的石径,随着男孩女孩汇成的巨流一路走去。

3 lethal   

adj.致死的；毁灭性的

参考例句：

• A hammer can be a lethal weapon.铁锤可以是致命的武器。
• She took a lethal amount of poison and died.她服了致命剂量的毒药死了。

4 rite   

n.典礼，惯例，习俗

参考例句：

• This festival descends from a religious rite.这个节日起源于宗教仪式。
• Most traditional societies have transition rites at puberty.大多数传统社会都为青春期的孩子举行成人礼。

5 thoroughly   

adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地

参考例句：

• The soil must be thoroughly turned over before planting.一定要先把土地深翻一遍再下种。
• The soldiers have been thoroughly instructed in the care of their weapons.士兵们都系统地接受过保护武器的训练。

6 killer   

n.杀人者，杀人犯，杀手，屠杀者

参考例句：

• Heart attacks have become Britain's No.1 killer disease.心脏病已成为英国的头号致命疾病。
• The bulk of the evidence points to him as her killer.大量证据证明是他杀死她的。

7 reptiles   

n.爬行动物，爬虫( reptile的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Snakes and crocodiles are both reptiles. 蛇和鳄鱼都是爬行动物。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Birds, reptiles and insects come from eggs. 鸟类、爬虫及昆虫是卵生的。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》