纪录片《我们的地球》 第265期 壮丽山脉(10)

This bobcat is one of the few hunters to remain active in winter.

山猫是少数冬天还在活动的捕猎者。

Most of his prey¹ is now hidden beneath the snow that covers his entire territory.

他领地内的大多数猎物都隐藏在茫茫大雪之下。

He hunts by listening for the faintest sound of movement.

他通过辨认极其微弱的声音来捕捉猎物。

And to prevent crunching² footsteps from revealing his presence, he uses boulders³ as stepping stones.

为了避免踩雪的脚步声暴露行踪，他用岩石当落脚点。

A mouse. But one is not enough.

逮住一只老鼠。但这远远不够。

The deeper the snow, the harder it is to detect prey,

积雪越深越难发现猎物，

and the rewards for the effort can be disappointing. To say the least.

努力捕食却往往空手而归。这么说毫不夸张。

By midwinter, the snow is so deep

深冬时节积雪实在太深，

that bobcats are forced to leave their territories to try and find easier hunting.

山猫被迫离开他们的领地，寻找更易于捕捉的猎物。

And this bobcat may be in luck.

但这只山猫运气不错。

1 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。

2 crunching   

v.嘎吱嘎吱地咬嚼( crunch的现在分词 )；嘎吱作响；（快速大量地）处理信息；数字捣弄

参考例句：

• The horses were crunching their straw at their manger. 这些马在嘎吱嘎吱地吃槽里的草。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The dog was crunching a bone. 狗正嘎吱嘎吱地嚼骨头。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 boulders   

n.卵石( boulder的名词复数 )；巨砾；（受水或天气侵蚀而成的）巨石；漂砾

参考例句：

• Seals basked on boulders in a flat calm. 海面风平浪静，海豹在巨石上晒太阳。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The river takes a headlong plunge into a maelstrom of rocks and boulders. 河水急流而下，入一个漂砾的漩涡中。 来自《简明英汉词典》