纪录片《南太平洋》 第145期 奇异岛屿（21）

Vast amounts of timber would have been required to transport and erect¹ the giant moai,

用于传送和耸立摩艾的大量木材是心不可少的

and slowly but surely, the forests vanished.

森林虽慢却一点点地消失了

Eventually, there was no wood left even to build boats.

最后 甚至没有木材用于造船了

Without fishing boats, they would have been denied their main source of food, and their one means of escape.

没有了捕鱼船 他们就没有了食物主要来源 也无法逃出

As resources dwindled², Easter Island society descended³ into chaos⁴ and warfare⁵.

当资源匮乏时 复活节岛的社会走向了混乱和战争

The giant statues were pulled to the ground...possibly acts of sabotage⁶ between rival clans⁷.

巨大的雕像被推翻在地 或许是宗族之间的破坏行为

Houses were abandoned and the foundation stones used to construct fortified⁸ dwellings⁹ in caves underground.

房子被抛弃 房屋基石用来修建加固在地下洞穴里的居处

Some evidence even suggests that once everything edible¹⁰ had been consumed,

甚至有迹象证实岛上任何可吃的都耗尽了

the starving were driven to that most desperate of acts—cannibalism.

饥饿将产生不顾一切的行为——同类相食

Understandably, this version of Easter Island's history remains¹¹ controversial,

可以理解这个版本的复活节岛 历史留有争议

because it suggests the Rapa Nui were incredibly short-sighted.

因为它暗示复活节岛上的人类 竟然是鼠目寸光

As the trees dwindled, why did they do nothing about it?

当树木稀少时 为什么他们什么也不做呢？

But a new theory suggests the Rapa Nui were powerless to prevent their downfall,

有一个新的理论提出复活节岛上的人类 无法阻止他们的没落

for when they arrived on this island, they were not alone.

当它们抵达这个岛上时 他们不再孤独

1 erect   

n./v.树立，建立，使竖立；adj.直立的，垂直的

参考例句：

• She held her head erect and her back straight.她昂着头，把背挺得笔直。
• Soldiers are trained to stand erect.士兵们训练站得笔直。

2 dwindled   

v.逐渐变少或变小( dwindle的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Support for the party has dwindled away to nothing. 支持这个党派的人渐渐化为乌有。
• His wealth dwindled to nothingness. 他的钱财化为乌有。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 descended   

a.为...后裔的，出身于...的

参考例句：

• A mood of melancholy descended on us. 一种悲伤的情绪袭上我们的心头。
• The path descended the hill in a series of zigzags. 小路呈连续的之字形顺着山坡蜿蜒而下。

4 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

5 warfare   

n.战争(状态)；斗争；冲突

参考例句：

• He addressed the audience on the subject of atomic warfare.他向听众演讲有关原子战争的问题。
• Their struggle consists mainly in peasant guerrilla warfare.他们的斗争主要是农民游击战。

6 sabotage   

n.怠工，破坏活动，破坏；v.从事破坏活动，妨害，破坏

参考例句：

• They tried to sabotage my birthday party.他们企图破坏我的生日晚会。
• The fire at the factory was caused by sabotage.那家工厂的火灾是有人蓄意破坏引起的。

7 clans   

宗族( clan的名词复数 )； 氏族； 庞大的家族； 宗派

参考例句：

• There are many clans in European countries. 欧洲国家有很多党派。
• The women were the great power among the clans [gentes], as everywhere else. 妇女在克兰〈氏族〉里，乃至一般在任何地方，都有很大的势力。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源

8 fortified   

adj. 加强的

参考例句：

• He fortified himself against the cold with a hot drink. 他喝了一杯热饮御寒。
• The enemy drew back into a few fortified points. 敌人收缩到几个据点里。

9 dwellings   

n.住处，处所( dwelling的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The development will consist of 66 dwellings and a number of offices. 新建楼区将由66栋住房和一些办公用房组成。
• The hovels which passed for dwellings are being pulled down. 过去用作住室的陋屋正在被拆除。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 edible   

n.食品，食物；adj.可食用的

参考例句：

• Edible wild herbs kept us from dying of starvation.我们靠着野菜才没被饿死。
• This kind of mushroom is edible,but that kind is not.这种蘑菇吃得，那种吃不得。

11 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。