纪录片《南太平洋》 第109期 水火相容（14）

Daylight reveals another reef predator¹.

白天显露出另一种暗礁掠食者

Crown-of-thorns starfish... coral killers³.

长棘海星，珊瑚杀手

Climbing over their prey⁴,

爬过它们的猎物

they secrete⁵ digestive juices that turn the inside of the coral to liquid.

它们分泌消化液使珊瑚内部化为液体

Then they suck out the nutrients⁶, leaving nothing behind but a ghostly skeleton.

然后它们吸出其养分，离开后什么也没留下，就像一个可怕的骨架。

In only a few days, they can kill huge swathes of the reef.

只需几天，它们能破坏大块的暗礁带。

Fortunately, coral has an unlikely ally... the Triton's trumpet⁷.

幸亏珊瑚有个不讨人喜欢的盟友，大法螺。

Believe it or not, this is a predator on the prowl...

相信还是不相信它，这名掠食者在徘徊

its killer² pounce⁸ revealed only when time is speeded up.

这名杀手猛扑的动作只有加速那时的时间才能显露

An unlikely hero, perhaps.

一个不讨人喜欢的英雄，或许吧。

1 predator   

n.捕食其它动物的动物；捕食者

参考例句：

• The final part of this chapter was devoted to a brief summary of predator species.本章最后部分简要总结了食肉动物。
• Komodo dragon is the largest living lizard and a fearsome predator.科摩多龙是目前存在的最大蜥蜴，它是一种令人恐惧的捕食性动物。

2 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。

3 killers   

凶手( killer的名词复数 )； 消灭…者； 致命物； 极难的事

参考例句：

• He remained steadfast in his determination to bring the killers to justice. 他要将杀人凶手绳之以法的决心一直没有动摇。
• They were professional killers who did in John. 杀死约翰的这些人是职业杀手。

4 prey   

n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨

参考例句：

• Stronger animals prey on weaker ones.弱肉强食。
• The lion was hunting for its prey.狮子在寻找猎物。

5 secrete   

vt.分泌；隐匿，使隐秘

参考例句：

• The pores of your body secrete sweat.身上的毛孔分泌汗液。
• Squirrels secrete a supply of nuts for winter.松鼠为准备过冬而藏坚果。

6 nutrients   

n.（食品或化学品）营养物，营养品( nutrient的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a lack of essential nutrients 基本营养的缺乏
• Nutrients are absorbed into the bloodstream. 营养素被吸收进血液。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 trumpet   

n.喇叭，喇叭声；v.吹喇叭，吹嘘

参考例句：

• He plays the violin, but I play the trumpet.他拉提琴，我吹喇叭。
• The trumpet sounded for battle.战斗的号角吹响了。

8 pounce   

n.猛扑；v.猛扑，突然袭击，欣然同意

参考例句：

• Why do you pounce on every single thing I say?干吗我说的每句话你都要找麻烦？
• We saw the tiger about to pounce on the goat.我们看见老虎要向那只山羊扑过去。