纪录片《我们的地球》 第110期 冰封世界(06)

But first, each must find a mate. The males begin to serenade.

但是，首先每只企鹅必须找到自己的配偶。雄企鹅开始唱情歌。

And if a female replies, they pair up, posing like statues.

如果有雌企鹅回应，它们就结成一对，共同摆出雕像般的姿势。

New couples quickly form a strong bond.

新的企鹅对很快就会建立深厚的感情

They seem oblivious¹ to the noisy crowd around them.

它们似乎对周围的喧嚣充耳不闻

To cement their relationship, the male steps out with his female.

为了巩固它们的关系，雄企鹅跟雌企鹅走出行列。

The brief courtship complete, there isn't a moment to lose.

它们的交配很短暂，不浪费一分钟。

With so much pressure to perform, any male would struggle to stay on top.

求表现的压力太大，任何雄企鹅都会拼命留在上面。

Several weeks later, and it seems that most couplings were successful.

几周之后，绝大多数的企鹅对都会成功繁衍出下一代。

But producing the egg has taken its toll².

但体力也在产蛋的过程中消耗殆尽

The females no longer have the energy to incubate. The male takes over.

雌企鹅再也没有孵蛋的力气。任务便交给了雄企鹅。

It's still minus 20 degrees centigrade, so the transfer must be done quickly or else the egg will freeze.

此时温度还是零下20摄氏度，所以交接过程必须迅速完成，否则蛋会冻坏。

With no bare rock to nest on, the male tucks the egg into a special pouch³, where he can keep it warm.

没有裸岩可以在上面筑巢，雄企鹅会小心翼翼地把蛋藏在自己的体袋里，可以让蛋保持足够的温度。

It requires an extraordinary piece of teamwork.

交接过程需要双方高度的配合

Driven by hunger, the exhausted⁴ females now return to the ocean on their own,

在饥饿的驱使下，精疲力竭的雌企鹅们独自返回海洋，

repeating the epic⁵ journey they made with the males only a month before.

再次踏上了1月前曾和雄企鹅共同走过的漫漫征途。

1 oblivious   

adj.易忘的，遗忘的，忘却的，健忘的

参考例句：

• Mother has become quite oblivious after the illness.这次病后，妈妈变得特别健忘。
• He was quite oblivious of the danger.他完全没有察觉到危险。

2 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

3 pouch   

n.小袋，小包，囊状袋；vt.装...入袋中，用袋运输；vi.用袋送信件

参考例句：

• He was going to make a tobacco pouch out of them. 他要用它们缝制一个烟草袋。
• The old man is always carrying a tobacco pouch with him.这老汉总是随身带着烟袋。

4 exhausted   

adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的

参考例句：

• It was a long haul home and we arrived exhausted.搬运回家的这段路程特别长，到家时我们已筋疲力尽。
• Jenny was exhausted by the hustle of city life.珍妮被城市生活的忙乱弄得筋疲力尽。

5 epic   

n.史诗，叙事诗；adj.史诗般的，壮丽的

参考例句：

• I gave up my epic and wrote this little tale instead.我放弃了写叙事诗，而写了这个小故事。
• They held a banquet of epic proportions.他们举行了盛大的宴会。