海洋（2009）

一个小男孩跑上来 问
A boy comes running up, and he asks:
海洋到底是什么
“What exactly is the ocean?
大海是什么
What is the sea?”
你可以告诉他很多数据和拉丁语学名
You could hit him with a lot of statistics and Latin names.
但在书里找不到答案
But the answer isn’t something you’ll find in a book.
想真正知道海洋是什么 必须亲眼看到
To really know what the ocean is, you have to see it for yourself.
必须亲耳听到
You have to hear it
且亲身体验
and taste it.
必须亲自感受它的力量
You have to feel its power.
想要真正认识海洋
To really know the ocean,
必须生活在其中
you have to live it.
海洋
海洋浩瀚无边
The ocean is vast,
大多数人仅仅认识到很小一部分
and most of us only ever experience a small part of it.
海鬣蜥在沿着加拉帕戈斯群岛岸边
One point of view, like that of a marine iguana
的水中遨游 在它眼里
gliding through the water off the coast of the Galápagos Islands.
海洋生来具有非凡的物种和能量
Born of a miraculous mixture of matter and energy,
是一片古老的空间
the ocean is an ancient place.
但它不仅是空间
But it is more than just a place.
某种意义上说 海洋是活的
In a very real sense, the ocean is alive.
实际上 在马蹄蟹的始祖出现在海滩之前
In fact, it was already brimming with life for billions of years
海洋已经孕育了几十亿年的生命
before ancestors of the horseshoe crab first crept up on the beach.
各种各样的生物随之出现
All manner of creatures followed,
用史前时代的眼睛仰望天空
gazing toward the heavens with prehistoric eyes.
然后 就在短短一生之中
Then, in the span of one lifetime,
正当人类进军太空之时
as the human race reached for the stars,
似乎整个大自然都不正常了
it seems like all of nature got out of whack.
尽管我们竭尽全力 就目前的状况来说
As hard as we try, as long and as far as we look,
没人曾像我们在太空一样探明海洋
no one’s ever spotted an ocean like ours out in space.
但我们发现了新的星系
But we have discovered new galaxies
就在这个我们最意想不到的地方
right here where we least expected,
海洋之中
within our ocean.
近距离深入地观察一滴水
Get deep enough and close enough inside a drop of water,
海胆的卵就像一颗行星
the larva of a sea urchin is like an asteroid,
一枚甲壳动物的卵
and a crustacean egg
就好象未知的外星球
resembles some exotic and uncharted planet.
伴着新生命的心脏跳动
In the beating of a newborn heart,
一个宇宙诞生了
a world begins.
如果退后一步观察
If you take a step back,
能很容易看出生命是如何开始的
it’s easy to see how life itself began:
随着水的波动
in a pulse of water
斑驳的阳光和颜色
and a splash of sunlight and color.
一点一点的
A little at a time,
新的物种随着水波遍布全世界
new forms of life came rippling through the waters of the world,
散布繁衍
spreading and multiplying,
适应进化
adapting and evolving.
目所能及
As far as the eye can see,
东西南北
north and south and east and west,
海洋对天空一笑置之
the ocean smiles at the sky.
仅需一瞥
Barely scratch the surface
就能发现在南美海岸附近
and you will find charging herds in a breathless chase
忙于食♥精♥力旺盛的成群生物
near the coast of South Africa.
当一切结束
When it’s all over,
海豚 海鸟 鲨鱼和鲸鱼都吃饱了
the dolphins, the birds, the sharks and the whales have had their fill,
但仍有大量的沙丁鱼存活
but plenty of sardines survive,
因此生命可以延续
so life can go on.
当探险者穿过海洋寻找新世界
When explorers crossed oceans in search of a new world,
他们几乎不知道就在他们船下
they hardly knew what wondrous events were taking place
正在发生奇妙的事情
so close below them.
在他们的船下
Below their hulls,
蝠鲼在承载船体的海流中
Mobula rays went soaring
穿梭遨游
through the very currents that bore their ships along.
当风推动他们的船向前行驶
As the wind rippled through their sails overhead,
他们怎能想象到
how could they imagine the unseen silk scarves
水下这看不见的”丝巾”随着水波前行
rippling through the water below?
那就是完美无缺的毯子章鱼
The exquisite blanket octopus.
他们怎能想象到海洋物产的丰富和美丽
How could they imagine the beauty and grace of the ocean’s bounty?
几个世纪以前
A few short centuries ago,
大♥片♥地区都是海洋生物的领地
huge territories were the domain of marine animals.
海洋属于他们
The ocean belonged to them.
海狮在原生海滩上晒太阳
Sea lions basked in the sun on pristine beaches.
一直以来 海洋不断地喂养我们
And ever since, the ocean has continued to feed us,
包括肉体和灵魂
body and soul,
它是伟大故事和传奇的源头
the source of our greatest stories and legends.
座头鲸安详地睡着
Humpback whales sleep peacefully,
肩并肩 大头朝下
side by side and upside down
睡在水晶般透明的海里
in their crystal-clear waters.
他们体积庞大而壮实 掠过海床时
Massive and majestic, they glide along the ocean floor
却不会带起一点儿海沙
without disturbing a single grain of sand.
世代如此
One generation follows the next.
每位母亲温柔地将她的孩子推向海面
And each mother gently nudges her baby to the surface,
帮助他在一路上呼吸
helping him along on his way to breathe.
仅仅知道这些物种的存在
Merely knowing these creatures exist
不足以讲述有关他们生活的故事
isn’t enough to tell the stories of their lives.
因此 我们得再靠近些
For that, you’ve got to get a little closer
再待久些
and stay a little longer.
你得看看他们跳跃 转弯 游泳
You’ve got to see them jump and turn and swim,
听到他们呼吸游动
hear them breathe and move.
在海狮的生活中 玩耍和捕猎一样重要
A sea lion’s life is as much about playing as it is about hunting.
鸬鹚也许在寻找午餐
A cormorant may be looking for lunch,
但追逐一只剌鲀纯属是为了好玩
but chasing a porcupine puffer fish is all about fun.
懒洋洋的下午时间慢慢流逝
Time creeps slowly by on a lazy afternoon,
细纹方蟹蹑手蹑脚经过海狮
and the Sally Lightfoot crab tiptoes past the sea lions.
南美海狗在捕猎归来的路上
South African fur seal on their way back from the hunt.
大白鲨熟知它们的习性
The great white shark knows their habits well.
在南美海滩上
On the beaches of South America,
逆戟鲸捕猎团发明了一种方法
a select group of orcas have developed a method
来捕食年幼海狮
for hunting young sea lion.
蓝鲸
The blue whale,
有半个街区那么长重达120吨♥
half a block long and weighing in at 120 tons,
吞食一种叫做磷虾的类似虾的细小生物
gobbles healthy helpings of a tiny shrimp-like creature called krill.
在一个晴朗的夜晚
On a clear night,
海洋显现她的神秘
as the ocean draws her secrets close,
月光在波浪上起舞
the moonlight dances on the waves
光线穿过海水照在珊瑚礁上
and filters down to the coral reef.
螃蟹已经开始搜寻觅食
Already the crab is on the prowl.
一些从壳中偷看检查海岸是否安全
Some peep out from behind their shells to check if the coast is clear.
另一些已经找到夜晚藏身的地方
Others have found a hiding place to settle in for the night.
声音在水下传播得更快更远
Sound actually carries farther and faster underwater.
每一声爆裂和敲击都是语言能被听懂
Every crackle and click is registered and understood.
幼年鲨鱼鳍片的第一次拍打
The first flap of a baby shark’s fins.
欧洲海鳗划过海底留下的痕迹
The brush of sand as a moray eel slides along the ocean floor.
一些仓皇逃窜
Some go scuttling about.
另一些寻找庇护所
Others seek cover.
一只长大了点的寄居蟹
A hermit crab who has put on a little weight
需要更宽敞的房♥子
needs more spacious accommodations.
一些在进餐
Some dine.
一些试图将自己融入到周边环境中
Some try to blend into the landscape.
一些标出自己的领地
Some stake out their territory.
虾蛄忙着清理垃圾 仍保持严密的了望
Busy taking out the trash, the mantis shrimp keeps a sharp lookout.
他对闯入者可不客气
He doesn’t take kindly to trespassers.
如果他发现一个
So if he finds one,
小心了
look out.
此时 一只名为西班牙舞者的海参
Meanwhile, a sea slug called the Spanish dancer
像一件西班牙舞衬衫一样
cuts a swath through Australian waters
旋转穿过澳大利亚水域
like a whirl of a flamenco skirt.
对这个星球上的很多生物来说
For many creatures on this planet,
生命起源于海洋
life began in the sea.
一些已经返回海洋
Some have returned to the sea.
儒艮的始祖生活在陆地上
The dugong’s ancestors lived on land.
现在他在水底牧场吃草