阿拉斯加：荒野的精神（1997）

Earth, 18,000 years before the present
地球距今一万八千年以前
it’s a world locked in cold
这是个冰封世界
at the height of the last great Ice Age
正处在最近一次冰期的极盛时
Across tens of thousands of years
经过十万年
unmelting snows have compacted into massive glaciers
未融化的雪堆积挤压成庞大的冰川
Buried under ice sheets averaging a mile thick
埋在冰层底下的则是平均一英哩厚的陆地
are lands where hundreds of millions live today
这就是现今住满人的陆地
As Earth’s water is increasing locked up in ice
当时地球的水份不断的变成冰
sea levels plummet more than a hundred meters
因此海平面也骤然下降百馀尺
Exposed sea floor nearly joins Australia to Southeast Asia
裸♥露♥的海底几乎使澳洲与东南亚相连
Japan becomes part of mainland Asia
日本变成亚洲大♥陆♥的一部分
Across North America ice fields and glaciers
在北美洲冰川与冰原
envelop all of Canada and northernmost United States
覆盖了整个加拿大以及美国最北部
As the Ice Age spreads Alaska emerges as a crossroads
当冰原范围扩大，阿♥拉♥斯加逐渐成为来往的通道
Off it’s Bering sea coastline
海水退离白令海岸线
the retreating ocean exposes a great land bridge
裸♥露♥出一片宽达千哩的大♥陆♥桥
a thousand miles wide connecting Asia to America
连接亚洲和美洲大♥陆♥
Across this corridor a river of living creatures would flow
许多生物便藉著这个走廊来往于陆地之间
It was the genesis of a great wave of life
这是美洲生物种类大量繁衍的起始
that would inhabit the Americas and this was it’s Eden
这儿曾是生物的伊甸国
Crossing into ancient Alaska
从亚洲迁徙到古代阿♥拉♥斯加的草食动物
migrating herds find new forage and sheltering valleys
找寻到新的食物与栖住地
but they’re followed from Asia by fierce carnivore
但是凶猛的肉食动物以及人类等
saber toothed cats giant bears
牙齿锐利剑齿虎、巨熊等
and the greatest of all predators
其他主要的掠食动物也随之而来
They arrive in small bands from Siberia
他们小群的从西伯利亚前来
pressing east in pursuit of game
并继续往东追寻猎物
unaware they’re discovering a continent
全然不知他们已经发现了一个新大♥陆♥
The hunters are sustained by bison moose woolly mammoth
最初的美洲人就是靠着野牛、麋鹿各种多毛的哺乳类
and the wild reindeer called caribou
以及驯鹿来维生
Where frozen tundra limits vegetation meat is life
由于冻原限制了植物的生长，肉类便成为维生的主食
Most of the year it is kill or starve
不捕猎便挨饿
The hunters prosper here across millennia
猎人们在此生活了千余年
but as the receding Ice Age
但是当冰期逐渐消退
opens the wall of glaciers to the south
而使南方的冰川退缩时
most move on with the herds
大部份的猎人便跟着草食动物群
into the virgin continents beyond
往新生的陆地迁徒
Their descendants will become Apache and Sioux Aztec and Maya
他们的后代成为北美洲的阿帕奇族与苏族
中美洲的阿兹特喀族与玛雅族
Inca and Amazonian
及南美洲的印加族与亚玛逊族
Yet some remain in Alaska
但是仍有一些人留在阿♥拉♥斯加
For them this is a world of
mysterious forces and spirits
对他们来说,这是个充满神秘力量与神灵的世界
To science the Aurora Borealis is created
科学家认为极光是因为
by streams of charged particles from the sun
太阳所释出的带电粒子
colliding with the atmosphere
与大气层一连串碰撞而产生
To some Native Americans the Northern Lights
但对某些美洲原住民来说,北极光是
were children not yet born at play in the heavens
是还没出生的小孩在天上玩耍所造成的
Here at the far edges of existence
在此遥远的边陲生活
the wildness of the ancient earth
古代地球的野性
never vanished
从未消失
Even today the solitude of the past
甚至到现在
is broken only occasionally by the sound of the present
亘古的孤寂只偶尔因现代的声响而间断
In Alaska the last great Ice Age survives
最后的大冰期仍存在阿♥拉♥斯加
Vast regions appear as lifeless as a frozen planet
一大遍的旷野，犹如冰冻的行星般毫无生命迹象
Sheer walls a mile deep loom as monuments to the power
深达一英哩的险峻峭壁是冰川的遗迹
of the glaciers which carved them
暗示著冰川切割侵蚀的力量
Most of its rugged terrain can be crossed only with wings
大部份崎岖不平的地域，只能以飞机飞越
Massive snowfalls compress glacial ice
so dense in some places
大量的降雪将某些地方的冰川紧紧压缩
only a single color of the spectrum is reflected
使光谱中只有一种颜色能被反射出来
an ethereal blue
那是一种极其微妙的蓝色
chilling and strangely beautiful
令人感到寒冷又异常美丽
Where the frozen rivers end
冰川的尽头便产生了冰山
icebergs are born in a spectacle so mighty
冰山产生的方式非常壮观
native tribes call it “While Thunder”
所以原住民称之为白色霹雳
Some blocks are the size of 30 story buildings
有些冰山体积庞大如三十层的高楼
It would seem a place too hostile for living things
这个地方似乎不适合任何生物居住
but each year after a winter that can last nine months
但是，每年经过九个月的寒冬之后
Alaska erupts with life
阿♥拉♥斯加便开始生气蓬勃的充满生命
Hundreds of thousands of birds
成千上万的鸟远从北极飞聚到此地来
stream here from as far away as Antarctica
为了在阿♥拉♥斯加不受干扰的悬崖
to breed in Alaska’s protected cliffs and coves
与峡谷间生育下一代，
and to feed on it’s rich seas
也为了在这丰富的海域里觅食
For one brief season of abundance
在这短暂的丰沛季节里
life flourishes
生命繁荣茂盛
Ice falls turn to waterfalls
冰川变成瀑布
Grasses emerge fueled by up to 24 hours of sunlight a day
在每天近二十四小时的日照下，绿草快速生长
Animals hurry to store up nutrients
before winter returns
动物们也赶在冬天再度来临前，加紧储存营养
Without the plenty of the warm season
如果没有这种丰饶的温暖季节
life couldn’t survive the long months of bitter cold
生物将无法度过漫长的酷寒岁月
Famished from half a year of hibernation
在经过半年的冬眠饥饿后
even the lordly brown bear
即使是魁梧的棕熊
is content to graze in spring
也满足的在春天里吃青草
sharing the meadows with caribou too fleet to be caught
与行动快捷难以追捕到的驯鹿分享草地
As bellies fill play begins
肚子饱了便玩了起来
There is other business conducted
in the fields of fresh grass
在这新鲜的草地上还有其他的事情进行著
the age old rite of spring
春天里的一种古老仪式
They will remain a couple for only a day or two
sharing a rough affection
它们在一起一、两天分享一份短暂的情爱
Bear hugs will lead to the conception of new life
熊拥抱交♥配♥后，新生命将渴望在严冬里
to be born in the hibernation den
in the dead of winter
诞生在冬眠的巢穴中
A world of extremes
显著的潮水涨退
Alaska is swept by enormous tidal fluctuations
也不断的冲刷着充满极端差异的阿♥拉♥斯加
Low tide can drain an entire bay like a bathtub
大退潮时甚至整个海湾都乾掉，就像澡缸的水一下子放光一般
Taking advantage of the low tides
brown bears roam the exposed tidal flats
棕熊趁着退潮徘徊在裸♥露♥的潮间带
to dig for clams
挖掘寻找著蛤蚌
Any protein is welcome in the effort
任何蛋白质都欢迎
to replenish a body that can weigh 1,400 pounds
为了维持重可达一千四百多磅的身体
Perhaps noticing the success
或许看到母熊和小熊成功的挖到蛤蚌吃
of mother and cub an imitator arrives
狐狸也想来挖挖看
But clamming is not as easy as it looks
但是挖蛤蜊并不像看起来的那么容易
and just move on
并且头也不回的继续走下去
As summer’s warmth deepens
当夏季的温暖更加扩展时
Alaska’s three million lakes turn to gathering places
阿♥拉♥斯加的三百万个湖泊，便转变成许多动物聚集的地方
Beavers prepare
海狸修整著它们的巢穴
for the ravages of cold weather ahead
by repairing their lodges
以防备寒冬的侵袭
Moose feast on tender aquatic plants
hidden on lake bottoms
麋鹿尽情的享用隐藏在湖底的幼嫩水生植物
Wolf pups gorge on mother’s milk
幼狼们则争相吸食着母狼的奶
to reach near adult size before winter arrives
以使自己在冬天来临之前长大到接近成狼的体型
But the serenity of summer
但是这么宁静的夏季
can be shattered by the approach of an intruder
却被外来的闯入者所破坏
The black bear has a fearsome reputation
黑熊的名声令人害怕
but it’s the most playful of bear species
但它确是熊类中最爱玩耍的一种
and with the coast clear and the water cool
当没有任何危险水又清凉时
even a bear may succumb
to the impulse merely to have fun
即使是熊也会经不起诱惑的玩起水来
Life along the coast too is eased by the warm season
海岸边的生物也舒适安乐的生活在温暖的季节里
After a winter battered by North Pacific storms
在经历了北太平洋整个冬天的风暴后
sea lion colonies haul out to sun themselves
海狮群齐聚到阳光底下
like vacationers enjoying a day at the beach
就像渡假的游客享受着海滩上的日光浴一般
A game of King of the Mountain ensues
紧跟着开始一场海狮争霸战
In the world of sea lions size matters
在海狮的世界里体型固然很重要
but patience succeeds
但是耐心更会带来成功
Ungainly on shore the sea lion moves in the sea
在岸上行动笨拙的海狮，一旦进入海里就来去自如
with the ease of a circus performer
both acrobat and clown
正像马戏团里的空中飞人和小丑般，在海洋中翻滚嬉戏
Like its meadows Alaska’s seas bloom with fertility
阿♥拉♥斯加的海域和陆地一样，生机盎然
under the lengthening daylight
在丰富而加长的日照下
So rich are the waters
这个季节里的海域是如此的丰饶