纪录片《南太平洋》 第44期 四海为家（12）

One day, these adult freshwater eels¹ will return to the sea to spawn² after which they'll die.

某一天，这些成熟的淡水鳗会回到海里产卵，接着就会死去

For now, they are as good as pets.

目前它们就像宠物一样

Away from the coast, animals are thin on the ground.

离海岸越远，动物就会越少

The Solomons have only a quarter of the reptiles³ and birds that New Guinea has.

所罗门爬行动物和鸟类的数量只占新几内亚的四分之一

For mammals like echidnas and kangaroos,

对于针鼹和袋鼠这样的哺乳动物而言

the water proved too great a hurdle⁴.

水是一个极大的障碍

But some mammals did make it here.

然而有些哺乳动物却能成功到达这里

When it comes to reaching new islands,

对于它们而言

flying must surely have been the easiest way to get there.

登陆新岛最容易的方法就是飞行

But the 60 miles between New Guinea and the Solomons

然而新几内亚和所罗门之间相距50公里

still proved a formidable challenge for many winged creatures.

多数有翼的哺乳动物很难飞越这么远的距离

With their four-foot wingspans, giant fruit bats succeeded where other fliers failed.

依赖1米宽的翼展，巨型果蝠成功抵达其它飞行动物无法到达的地方。

1 eels   

abbr. 电子发射器定位系统（=electronic emitter location system）

参考例句：

• Eels have been on the feed in the Lower Thames. 鳗鱼在泰晤士河下游寻食。
• She bought some eels for dinner. 她买回一些鳗鱼做晚餐。

2 spawn   

n.卵，产物，后代，结果；vt.产卵，种菌丝于，产生，造成；vi.产卵，大量生产

参考例句：

• The fish were madly pushing their way upstream to spawn.鱼群为产卵而疯狂地向上游挤进。
• These fish will lay spawn in about one month from now.这些鱼大约一个月内会产卵。

3 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》

4 hurdle   

n.跳栏，栏架；障碍，困难；vi.进行跨栏赛

参考例句：

• The weather will be the biggest hurdle so I have to be ready.天气将会是最大的障碍，所以我必须要作好准备。
• She clocked 11.6 seconds for the 80 metre hurdle.八十米跳栏赛跑她跑了十一秒六。