纪录片《我们的地球》 第175期 多样浅海(09)

Although most life in tropical waters is concentrated around the coral reefs and the seagrass meadows,

虽然多数热带海洋生物聚集在珊瑚礁或者海洋牧场里

there are some spectacular exceptions.

不过还有些例外引人入胜。

The desert of Bahrain seems a very unlikely place to find a crowded bustling¹ colony of seabirds.

巴林的戈壁沙漠看上去不像是能有大量海鸟筑巢的地方

But every year, a hundred thousand socotra cormorants² gather here to breed.

可每年大约有10万只黑喉鸬鹚在这里繁殖

It's swelteringly hot, and only vigorous panting can prevent the birds from fatal overheating.

这里相当酷热，黑喉鸬鹚只好加速呼吸避免中暑。

This hardly seems a good place to rear young

看上去这里不是抚育后代的好地方，

but at least, there are no land based predators³ here.

不过至少没有陆基的捕食者。

The only source of trouble is likely to be the neighbors

麻烦的唯一来源可能就是邻居了，

so each nest is built just beyond pecking reach

所以每一个鸟窝都筑在邻居啄不到的地方。

But what about food?

食物从哪里来呢?

There's only bare sand and the warm shallow sea beyond.

这个荒凉沙漠远离温暖的浅海。

Neither seem likely to produce enough nourishment⁴ to support bird life on this scale.

而且看上去也不能提供给鸬鹚足够的食物。

The answer is blowing in the wind.

答案是刮起的大风。

Sand whipped up by Shamals offshore⁵ winds blows into the seas of the Arabian Gulf⁶.

夏马风卷起沙尘吹向波斯湾。

With the grains come nutrients⁷, which act as fertilizer

风把带着养分的沙尘，像肥料一样撒进大海，

and they transform the shallow sea into a rich fishing ground

把这片浅海变成了富饶的渔场。

So, paradoxically, it's the roasted sands of Arabia that prevent the gulf from being another desert in the sea.

矛盾的是，热浪朝天的的阿拉伯半岛阻止海湾变成另一个海中沙漠。

1 bustling   

adj.喧闹的

参考例句：

• The market was bustling with life. 市场上生机勃勃。
• This district is getting more and more prosperous and bustling. 这一带越来越繁华了。

2 cormorants   

鸬鹚，贪婪的人( cormorant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The birds are trained cormorants. 那些鸟是受过训练的鸬鹚。
• The cormorants swim down and catch the fish, and bring them back the raft. 鸬鹚又下去捉住鱼，再返回竹筏。

3 predators   

n.食肉动物( predator的名词复数 )；奴役他人者（尤指在财务或性关系方面）

参考例句：

• birds and their earthbound predators 鸟和地面上捕食它们的动物
• The eyes of predators are highly sensitive to the slightest movement. 捕食性动物的眼睛能感觉到最细小的动静。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 nourishment   

n.食物，营养品；营养情况

参考例句：

• Lack of proper nourishment reduces their power to resist disease.营养不良降低了他们抵抗疾病的能力。
• He ventured that plants draw part of their nourishment from the air.他大胆提出植物从空气中吸收部分养分的观点。

5 offshore   

adj.海面的，吹向海面的；adv.向海面

参考例句：

• A big program of oil exploration has begun offshore.一个大规模的石油勘探计划正在近海展开。
• A gentle current carried them slowly offshore.和缓的潮流慢慢地把他们带离了海岸。

6 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

7 nutrients   

n.（食品或化学品）营养物，营养品( nutrient的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a lack of essential nutrients 基本营养的缺乏
• Nutrients are absorbed into the bloodstream. 营养素被吸收进血液。 来自《简明英汉词典》