纪录片《我们的地球》 第96期 奇幻沙漠(13)

In the deserts of Utah, ancient rivers flowing across sandstone country steadily¹ widened their canyons²

在犹他州的沙漠中，古老的河流冲开岩壁，不断拓宽这些峡谷

until now, the land between them has been reduced to spires³ and pinnacles⁴.

直到把其间的土地削凿成今天这样的尖峰和石塔

With little or no soil to retain the water on the surface of the land, life here is scarce indeed.

由于几乎没有土壤保留地表水分，这里的生物极其稀少。

And when resources are limited, conflict is never far away.

当资源有限的时候，冲突自然不可避免。

These are Nubian ibex and they are squaring up for a duel⁵.

这些是努比亚羱羊，它们正摆好架势准备激战。

And when trouble starts, a smart ibex knows that the best thing to do is to gain higher ground.

冲突一旦爆发，聪明的羱羊很清楚最好的战术就是占领制高点。

These are actually subordinate male ibex, but their fights are, nonetheless, serious.

这些其实是次级别的公羱羊，但它们的战斗依然十分激烈。

Losing one might mean never getting the chance to breed, ever.

失败一次或许意味着将永远失去生育权

When competitors are evenly matched, as they are here, duels⁶ can last for an hour.

同级别的参赛者在此公平竞争，决斗会持续一小时左右。

In this heat, the effort is truly exhausting.

高温下的战斗确实很耗费体力

But victory here will gain important ranking points on a male's way to the top.

但是这里的获胜者会获得重要的排名，一步步到达公羊排行榜的第一位。

1 steadily   

adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地

参考例句：

• The scope of man's use of natural resources will steadily grow.人类利用自然资源的广度将日益扩大。
• Our educational reform was steadily led onto the correct path.我们的教学改革慢慢上轨道了。

2 canyons   

n.峡谷( canyon的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This mountain range has many high peaks and deep canyons. 这条山脉有许多高峰和深谷。 来自辞典例句
• Do you use canyons or do we preserve them all? 是使用峡谷呢还是全封闭保存？ 来自互联网

3 spires   

n.（教堂的） 塔尖，尖顶( spire的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Her masts leveled with the spires of churches. 船的桅杆和教堂的塔尖一样高。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• White church spires lift above green valleys. 教堂的白色尖顶耸立在绿色山谷中。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 pinnacles   

顶峰( pinnacle的名词复数 )； 顶点； 尖顶； 小尖塔

参考例句：

• What would be the pinnacles of your acting and music? 对你而言什麽代表你的演技和音乐的巅峰？
• On Skye's Trotternish Peninsula, basalt pinnacles loom over the Sound of Raasay. 在斯开岛的特洛登尼许半岛，玄武岩尖塔俯瞰着拉塞海峡。

5 duel   

n./v.决斗；(双方的)斗争

参考例句：

• The two teams are locked in a duel for first place.两个队为争夺第一名打得难解难分。
• Duroy was forced to challenge his disparager to duel.杜洛瓦不得不向诋毁他的人提出决斗。

6 duels   

n.两男子的决斗( duel的名词复数 )；竞争，斗争

参考例句：

• That's where I usually fight my duels. 我经常在那儿进行决斗。” 来自英语晨读30分（初三）
• Hyde Park also became a favourite place for duels. 海德公园也成了决斗的好地方。 来自辞典例句