纪录片《我们的地球》 第78期 洞穴迷宫(17)

And the Belizean white crab¹ is another creature that is unique to just one cave system.

而伯利兹白蟹是另一个洞穴生态系统中的特有物种

Living in perpetual darkness, they have all not only lost the pigment² in their skin but also their eyes.

由于一直生活在黑暗之中，它们不仅失去了皮肤色素，眼睛也退化了。

It takes thousands of generations for eyes to be lost

眼睛的退化需要经历数千代的演变

so these species must have been isolated³ for a very long time.

所以这些物种必定与世隔绝了相当长的一段时间

But the blind salamander has other highly-developed sensory⁴ organs.

不过这些瞎眼的蝾螈进化出了其它发达的感觉器官

Receptors in the skin detect minute movements in the water made by its prey⁵.

皮肤上的探测器能觉察到猎物引起的最微小的水流变化

External gills help it to breathe in water that is particularly low in oxygen.

外生的鳃帮助它们在极度缺氧的水中呼吸

The cave angel fish feed on bacteria in the fast-flowing water,

洞穴天使鱼以急流中的细菌为食

keeping their grip with microscopic⁶ hooks on their fins⁷.

它们用鳍上的小钩紧紧抓住岩壁

Food is often in short supply

食物总是很紧缺

and troglobites, like the crab, have to survive on whatever washes into the cave from outside.

像螃蟹这样的穴居动物必须得吃任何从外边冲进洞内的东西

A salamander might not encounter food for several months,

童态河溪螈可能已有几个月没有吃东西了

so when something does come along, it can't afford to miss it.

所以只要眼前有食物出现，它绝对不会放过。

1 crab   

n.螃蟹，偏航，脾气乖戾的人，酸苹果；vi.捕蟹，偏航，发牢骚；vt.使偏航，发脾气

参考例句：

• I can't remember when I last had crab.我不记得上次吃蟹是什么时候了。
• The skin on my face felt as hard as a crab's back.我脸上的皮仿佛僵硬了，就象螃蟹的壳似的。

2 pigment   

n.天然色素，干粉颜料

参考例句：

• The Romans used natural pigments on their fabrics and walls.古罗马人在织物和墙壁上使用天然颜料。
• Who thought he might know what the skin pigment phenomenon meant.他自认为可能知道皮肤色素出现这种现象到底是怎么回事。

3 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。

4 sensory   

adj.知觉的，感觉的，知觉器官的

参考例句：

• Human powers of sensory discrimination are limited.人类感官分辨能力有限。
• The sensory system may undergo long-term adaptation in alien environments.感觉系统对陌生的环境可能经过长时期才能适应。

5 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。

6 microscopic   

adj.微小的，细微的，极小的，显微的

参考例句：

• It's impossible to read his microscopic handwriting.不可能看清他那极小的书写字迹。
• A plant's lungs are the microscopic pores in its leaves.植物的肺就是其叶片上微细的气孔。

7 fins   

[医]散热片；鱼鳍；飞边；鸭掌

参考例句：

• The level of TNF-α positively correlated with BMI,FPG,HbA1C,TG,FINS and IRI,but not with SBP and DBP. TNF-α水平与BMI、FPG、HbA1C、TG、FINS和IRI呈显著正相关，与SBP、DBP无相关。 来自互联网
• Fins are a feature specific to fish. 鱼鳍是鱼类特有的特征。 来自辞典例句