纪录片《南太平洋》 第143期 奇异岛屿（19）

The great-grandparents of these dancers were cannibals.

这些舞者的祖先是食人族

Life on an isolated¹ Pacific island is eternally poised² on a knife-edge.

在与世隔绝的太平洋岛屿上生命常常前途未卜

Nowhere is this more apparent than on the single most remote island in the Pacific...

没什么地方比这个太平洋中最偏僻的孤岛更为明显的

Easter Island. This tiny speck³ of land has an extraordinary story to tell,

复活节岛。这块弹丸之地是特别要讲述的故事

with new twists turning up still to this day.

新的转折至今才出现

Just 13 miles long and 7 miles wide, Easter Island rises like a fortress⁴ from the waves,

只有13哩长7哩宽，复活节岛犹如一座城堡从海面上耸起

surrounded by thousands of miles of ocean in every direction.

四周是一往无际的大海

People first arrived here less than 1,000 years ago.

人类首次到达这里不足1千年

Most of what we know about their civilisation⁵

我们最想了解他们的文明

can only be pieced together from the relics⁶ that remain.

只有从他们遗留下来的残迹中拼凑起来

It is a strange and desolate⁷ place.

这是一片陌生而荒凉的地方

The most striking features in this bleak⁸ and windswept landscape

阴冷又寒风凛冽的景色中最显著的特征

are the hundreds of giant stone statues, known as moai,

是数百座叫摩艾的石像

thought to be carved in the likeness⁹ of chiefs or ancestors.

雕刻着貌似酋长或族长之类

1 isolated   

adj.与世隔绝的

参考例句：

• His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
• Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。

2 poised   

a.摆好姿势不动的

参考例句：

• The hawk poised in mid-air ready to swoop. 老鹰在半空中盘旋，准备俯冲。
• Tina was tense, her hand poised over the telephone. 蒂娜心情紧张，手悬在电话机上。

3 speck   

n.微粒，小污点，小斑点

参考例句：

• I have not a speck of interest in it.我对它没有任何兴趣。
• The sky is clear and bright without a speck of cloud.天空晴朗，一星星云彩也没有。

4 fortress   

n.堡垒，防御工事

参考例句：

• They made an attempt on a fortress.他们试图夺取这一要塞。
• The soldier scaled the wall of the fortress by turret.士兵通过塔车攀登上了要塞的城墙。

5 civilisation   

n.文明，文化，开化，教化

参考例句：

• Energy and ideas are the twin bases of our civilisation.能源和思想是我们文明的两大基石。
• This opera is one of the cultural totems of Western civilisation.这部歌剧是西方文明的文化标志物之一。

6 relics   

[pl.］n.遗物，遗迹，遗产；遗体，尸骸

参考例句：

• The area is a treasure house of archaeological relics. 这个地区是古文物遗迹的宝库。
• Xi'an is an ancient city full of treasures and saintly relics. 西安是一个有很多宝藏和神圣的遗物的古老城市。

7 desolate   

adj.荒凉的，荒芜的；孤独的，凄凉的；v.使荒芜，使孤寂

参考例句：

• The city was burned into a desolate waste.那座城市被烧成一片废墟。
• We all felt absolutely desolate when she left.她走后，我们都觉得万分孤寂。

8 bleak   

adj.(天气)阴冷的；凄凉的；暗淡的

参考例句：

• They showed me into a bleak waiting room.他们引我来到一间阴冷的会客室。
• The company's prospects look pretty bleak.这家公司的前景异常暗淡。

9 likeness   

n.相像，相似（之处）

参考例句：

• I think the painter has produced a very true likeness.我认为这位画家画得非常逼真。
• She treasured the painted likeness of her son.她珍藏她儿子的画像。