纪录片《南太平洋》 第53期 四海为家（21）

Almost all animal castaways died of exposure,

漂流动物在抵达位于东太平洋的

hunger or thirst long before reaching French Polynesia in the eastern Pacific.

法属波利尼西亚之前，就会死于暴晒饥饿或极度缺水

Reaching land here was a matter of extraordinary luck.

能在此地登陆实属幸运

Unlike Fiji, there are no bats in French Polynesia, no frogs and only a handful of lizards¹.

与斐济不同的是，法属波利尼西亚沒有蝙蝠，没有蛙类，只有少数蜥蜴

The most successful travellers were the long-haul fliers - sooty terns.

最成功的长途飞行家是乌燕鸥

Incredibly, they can stay in the air for four years without landing

令人难以置信的是，它们能在空中持续飞行4年之久

but to breed, they must return to nesting sites on remote islands.

然而为了繁育，它们必须回到偏远岛屿上的筑巢点

And when they do, they introduce new life.

这一切都是为了创造新生命

Sticky or barbed seeds fasten on to their feathers and hitch² rides across oceans.

植物种子粘附在它们的羽毛上，免费搭乘穿越太平洋

On some islands, 75% of plants arrived with the birds.

某些岛屿上75%的植物生长需要依赖鸟类

Seeds are even carried in the stomachs of some birds.

植物种子甚至通过鸟粪被播撒到各地

As if getting a lift wasn't enough for these seeds, seabirds also provide them with something else.

海鸟不止提供免费搭乘服务，还会有其他帮助

The seafood³ these birds bring back to the islands is turned into nutrient-rich guano - plant fertiliser.

这些被鸟类吃掉的海鲜经消化后就会成为植物的肥料

There's enough to transform barren coral atolls into fertile groves⁴.

这足以将贫瘠的珊瑚环岛变成富饶的丛林。

1 lizards   

n.蜥蜴( lizard的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Nothing lives in Pompeii except crickets and beetles and lizards. 在庞培城里除了蟋蟀、甲壳虫和蜥蜴外，没有别的生物。 来自辞典例句
• Can lizards reproduce their tails? 蜥蜴的尾巴断了以后能再生吗？ 来自辞典例句

2 hitch   

v.免费搭(车旅行)；系住；急提；n.故障；急拉

参考例句：

• They had an eighty-mile journey and decided to hitch hike.他们要走80英里的路程，最后决定搭便车。
• All the candidates are able to answer the questions without any hitch.所有报考者都能对答如流。

3 seafood   

n.海产食品，海味，海鲜

参考例句：

• There's an excellent seafood restaurant near here.离这儿不远有家非常不错的海鲜馆。
• Shrimps are a popular type of seafood.小虾是比较普遍的一种海味。

4 groves   

树丛，小树林( grove的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The early sun shone serenely on embrowned groves and still green fields. 朝阳宁静地照耀着已经发黄的树丛和还是一片绿色的田地。
• The trees grew more and more in groves and dotted with old yews. 那里的树木越来越多地长成了一簇簇的小丛林，还点缀着几棵老紫杉树。