纪录片《南太平洋》 第136期 奇异岛屿（12）

Its favourite food is up above - the tiny seeds of the rimu tree.

它们最喜欢的食物在上面 芮木泪柏的微小种子

This fruit fuels kakapo reproduction and they only breed when the trees produce a bumper¹ crop,

这种果实能促进鸮鹉的繁殖，它们只在树结果的丰年才繁殖

so about once every four years.

约每4年才发生一次

Kakapo breed slower than any other bird, but they also live longer,

鸮鹉比任何其它鸟类的繁殖都要慢，但也寿命更长

sometimes more than a hundred years.

有时寿命超过百年

The male's song is as peculiar² as the bird itself.

雄性的嗓音独特

More frog than parrot, it can be heard up to three miles away.

比起鹦鹉来更像是蛙叫，三哩外都能听到

In a breeding season, he will boom non-stop for eight hours every night for up to three months.

在繁殖季节，他能三个月每晚8小时不停地发出隆隆声

But a female will only respond if there are plenty of rimu seeds about.

雌性只对周围是否有大量的芮木泪柏种子的雄性有回应

So while these birds may nest in burrows³ like rabbits, unfortunately, they don't breed like them.

所以这些鸟在繁殖季像兔子一样挖洞，很不幸，它们的繁殖不像兔子

And their numbers have dwindled⁴ dramatically.

它们的数量惊人地下降

Today, fewer than a hundred kakapo survive...and precious chicks receive a helping⁵ hand.

如今鸮鹉存活不足百只...珍贵的幼雏得到了帮助之手

Captive rearing has helped raise the number of kakapo from just 51 in 1995 to the 91 birds alive today.

捕获幼雏进行人工饲养以提高鸮鹉的数量从95年的51只到如今的存活了91只

They used to number in the hundreds of thousands. Today, their future is truly in our hands.

它们曾经有成百上千只。如今它们的未来却在我们的手中

So is this now an empty forest? Actually, the trees are under attack like never before.

因此现在是座空森林？事实上，树木受到前所未有的摧残

There's a menace lurking⁶ amongst the foliage⁷.

危险潜伏在叶子中

During the day, it slumbers⁸. But under cover of darkness, an invader⁹ is revealed.

白天，它蛰伏着。一旦黑暗降临，侵略者显身了

1 bumper   

n.(汽车上的)保险杠；adj.特大的，丰盛的

参考例句：

• The painting represents the scene of a bumper harvest.这幅画描绘了丰收的景象。
• This year we have a bumper harvest in grain.今年我们谷物丰收。

2 peculiar   

adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的

参考例句：

• He walks in a peculiar fashion.他走路的样子很奇特。
• He looked at me with a very peculiar expression.他用一种很奇怪的表情看着我。

3 burrows   

n.地洞( burrow的名词复数 )v.挖掘（洞穴），挖洞( burrow的第三人称单数 )；翻寻

参考例句：

• The intertidal beach unit contains some organism burrows. 潮间海滩单元含有一些生物潜穴。 来自辞典例句
• A mole burrows its way through the ground. 鼹鼠会在地下钻洞前进。 来自辞典例句

4 dwindled   

v.逐渐变少或变小( dwindle的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Support for the party has dwindled away to nothing. 支持这个党派的人渐渐化为乌有。
• His wealth dwindled to nothingness. 他的钱财化为乌有。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

6 lurking   

潜在

参考例句：

• Why are you lurking around outside my house? 你在我房子外面鬼鬼祟祟的，想干什么？
• There is a suspicious man lurking in the shadows. 有一可疑的人躲在阴暗中。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

7 foliage   

n.叶子，树叶，簇叶

参考例句：

• The path was completely covered by the dense foliage.小路被树叶厚厚地盖了一层。
• Dark foliage clothes the hills.浓密的树叶覆盖着群山。

8 slumbers   

睡眠，安眠( slumber的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His image traversed constantly her restless slumbers. 他的形象一再闯进她的脑海，弄得她不能安睡。
• My Titan brother slumbers deep inside his mountain prison. Go. 我的泰坦兄弟就被囚禁在山脉的深处。

9 invader   

n.侵略者，侵犯者，入侵者

参考例句：

• They suffered a lot under the invader's heel.在侵略者的铁蹄下，他们受尽了奴役。
• A country must have the will to repel any invader.一个国家得有决心击退任何入侵者。