纪录片《我们的地球》 第148期 富饶丛林(03)（在线收听）

New Guinea lies in a warm tropical belt that girdles our planet around the equator.

新几内亚岛地处热带，赤道从岛中穿过。

With abundant rainfall and 12 hours of daylight 365 days a year, it's here that rainforests flourish.

大量的降雨和每天12小时的日照，一年365天天天如此，造就了这里茂密的雨林。

Surprisingly, only 2% of the sunlight filters down to the forest floor.

只有百分之二的阳光能够照射到雨林的地表上。

Down here, seedlings struggle to grow. But the gloom is not eternal.

在这里，秧苗奋力向上生长。只为摆脱黑暗束缚。

The death of a forest giant is always saddening.

雨林中树木的死亡虽然令人伤感。

But it has to happen if the forest is to remain healthy.

但若保持雨林的健康，这种事情必须要发生。

The sudden blaze of sunlight will bring life to the forest floor.

太阳一瞬间的光辉也能给森林地表带来生命。

A single hectare of rainforest may contain as many as 250 species of tree.

一公顷雨林就可以容纳250种不同的树木。

That's nearly 10 times the number that grow in Britain.

这一数字几乎是在英国的10倍。

And the thirst for light triggers a race for a place in the sun.

对阳光的渴望引发了这场生长竞赛。