胜地（1998）

as it brings a way of life to the people of the river.
所有地方的河流都是生命的动脉
Rivers everywhere are arteries of life
无论是大城市还是小村庄
for great cities as well as small villages
为人们带来食物、饮用水、种植农作物
bringing food, water to drink
and to grow crops
和运输工具
and for transportation.
亚马逊河流域是一片广阔的
The Amazon River Basin is a vast landscape
河流和森林景观
of river and forest
几乎和美国大♥陆♥一样大
almost as large as
the continental United States
包含9个国家
encompassing nine nations.
这里的人们跟随这条大河的潮涨潮落
People here follow the ebb and flow of the river
在一生的旅途中学习
learned in the journey of a lifetime.
在亚马逊河，人类只是与地球上最大的分水岭
In the Amazon, people are
only one of millions of species
相连的数百万物种中的一种
linked to the greatest watershed on Earth.
拳头大小的甲虫
Beetles the size of a person’s fist
微型壁虎
miniature geckos
有毒的毛毛虫
venomous caterpillars
和在水上行走的蜘蛛
and spiders that walk on water.
亚马逊河流域位于赤道纬度几度的范围内
Located within a few degrees latitude
of the equator
全年几乎都能得到阳光的直射
the Amazon basin receives
nearly direct sun all year.
早晨太阳的热量蒸发水分
Heat from the morning sun
evaporates moisture
导致潮湿的空气上升
and causes humid air to rise.
在上午晚些时候，它凝结成云
By late morning, it condenses into clouds.
云滴聚集成团，然后以雨的形式落下
Cloud droplets gather mass and then fall as rain.
每天有节奏的雨水为河流补充了水分
The daily rhythm of the rain replenishes the river.
随波逐流的是漂浮的草地 –
Moving with the currents
are floating meadows-
季节性的大量植物和残骸 –
a seasonal mass of plants and debris-
生命的岛屿
islands of life.
一些草地成为景观的一部分
Some meadows become part
of the landscape
在这片郁郁葱葱的环境中
and support even trees
甚至还支撑着树木和最具生态的生命
and the most colouful life
in this lush environment.
在这条强大的河流露出粘土堤岸的地方
Where the powerful river exposes clay banks
金刚鹦鹉和鹦鹉飞来觅食
macaws and parrots fly in for a meal.
它们吞食泥土来消除食物中某些种子的毒性
They eat the clay as an antidote
to toxic seeds in their diet
并且获得维持生命的矿物质
and for its life-sustaining minerals.
巨大的河流在地球上流动
Great rivers flow across the planet
亚马逊是其中最壮观的
and the Amazon is the greatest.
各地的河流都有腐蚀作用
Rivers everywhere meet
disruptions to their flow.
当它们冲刷坚硬或者柔软岩石的边缘时
When they flow across a boundary
of hard and softer rock
可能会造成巨大的破坏
there can be great disruptions.
世界上最大的瀑布是伊瓜苏瀑布 –
The world’s greatest waterfall is Iguazu-
比尼亚加拉瀑布宽4倍
four times wider than Niagara.
位于巴西和阿根廷边界的
South of the Amazon basin
亚马逊河盆地南部
at the border of Brazil and Argentina
熔岩曾经从古代的火山中流出
Lava once flowed from ancient volcanoes.
当坚硬的熔岩凝聚后，较软的岩石就会被侵蚀
When the hard lava ends,
less-resistant rock has eroded.
在这里，伊瓜苏河沿着非洲西南海岸倾泻而下
Here, the Iguazu River plunges
into more than 200 waterfalls
形成200多个瀑布
Along the southwest coast of Africa.
纳米布是一个流动中的沙漠
the Namib is a desert in motion
在这片有8000万年历史的沙漠上
Across this 80 million-year-old desert
盛行的风
prevailing winds build
筑起了地球上最高的沙丘
the earth’s tallest sand dunes
这些超过1000英尺高的沙丘
dunes over a thousand feet tall
一次只移♥动♥一粒沙子
that migrate a grain of sand at a time.
在所有的沙漠中
Of all the deserts
纳米布蕴藏着种类最多的生命:
the Namib contains the greatest variety of life:
在沙丘顶部通过背部
Beetles that collect moisture on their backs
收集水分的甲虫
at the top of the dunes.
在鳞片之间储存水分的蝰蛇
Adders that store water between their scales.
有毒的蝎子
And venomous scorpions.
纳米布甚至有着像大羚羊这样的
The Namib is even graced with large mammals
大型哺乳动物
like the gemsbok.
在地球上的任何地方
Everywhere on earth
相同的基本元素的相互作用
the interaction of the same basic elements-
土地、空气、水和生命 –
Land, air, water and life-
创造了具有戏剧性、多样性的景观
has created landscapes of dramatic diversity.
纳米布沙漠是世界西海岸的5个沙漠之一
The Namib is one of the world’s
five west coast deserts
一直延伸到冰冷的海洋
that stretch to a cold sea.
当暖风吹过冷水时，就会形成雾
As warm wind passes over
cold water, fog forms
带来生命所需的水分，这些水分永远不会以雨的形式落下
bringing life-giving moisture that never falls as rain.
但纳米布的雾也带来了死亡
But the fog of Namib also brings death
尸骨散落在危险的骷髅海岸
scattering bones along
the treacherous Skeleton Coast.
来自南极的寒冷的南洋流
A cold southern current from Antarctica
和温暖的大西洋相汇，形成了一片肥沃的海洋
and the warmer Atlantic Ocean
mix to create a fertile sea
带来了丰富的生命
and bring abundant life.
在这片海洋绿洲，海豹常年进食
At this ocean oasis, fur seals feed all year
在炎热沙漠边缘的冰冷的水里
and warm themselves from the frigid water
温暖自己
at the edge of the hot desert.
纳米布
The Namib
大沙丘的沙漠
desert of the great dunes.
在北极圈，世界上最大的岛屿
At the Arctic Circle,
the largest island in the world
被永久性的冰原覆盖着
lies covered by
a permanent landscape of ice.
在格陵兰岛冰盖的巨大重量下
Beneath the enormous weight
of the Greenland ice cap
世界上最古老的景观已经下沉到海平面以下
the world’s oldest landscape
has sunk below sea level.
在海洋中，冰川崩裂成冰山 –
At the sea, glaciers calve into icebergs-
漂浮在水面下的冰山
floating mountains of ice
是漂浮在水面上的冰山的5倍
that are five times more massive
under water than above water.
只有狭窄的无冰海岸才能维持生命
Only the narrow ice-free coast supports life.
在这里，麝牛披着大自然最温暖的外衣
Here, the musk ox is cloaked in
one of nature’s warmest coats
即使是在盛夏时节
even in summer’s bloom.
格陵兰岛的说书人，鼓舞者
Greenland’s storyteller, the drum dancer
讲述了几千年来
celdbrates the thousands of years
人们在这个冰冷的边缘幸存下来的故事
people have survived at this icy edge.
这是接近人类生存寒冷极限的生命
This is life near the coldest limit
of human existence.
这里的生存取决于人们发明他们需要的东西
Survival here is dependent on
people inventing what they need
比如鱼叉，狗拉雪橇和皮艇
like the harpoon, the dogsled and the kayak.
即使在零下40度
Even at 40 degrees below zero
人们也成功地适应了
people have successfully adapted.
格陵兰岛是地球生物多样性最寒冷的地方
Greenland a cold extreme of earth’s diversity.
在非洲南部的博茨瓦纳
In Botswana, southern Africa
奥卡万戈河三角洲是非洲最大的绿洲
the Okavango River Delta
is Africa’s greatest oasis.
从北方流下，奥卡万戈河
Flowing from the north, the Okavango River
携带了数以百万吨♥计的沙子和残骸
has carried millions of tons of sand and debris
形成了世界上最大的内陆河三角洲
to create one of the largest inland river deltas
之一
in the world.
它形成了一个陆地和水的迷宫
It forms a maze of land and water.
这条河从不流入大海
This river never flows to the sea.
相反，它在喀拉哈里沙漠蔓延
Instead, it spreads across the Kalahari Desert
使沙漠中生机勃勃
and the desert blooms with life.
这个巨大的内陆河三角洲
This massive, landlocked river delta
依赖于几百英里外的水
depends on water hundreds of miles away
这些水要奔流半年之久才能到达干涸的下游三角洲
that travels half the year to reach the dry,
lower delta.
在任何地方，水都能恢复生命
Everywhere, water restores life.
在奥卡万戈的伊甸园里
In this Eden of Okavango
像其它地方一样
as in all places
生命的多样性与土地、空气和水
diversity of life is linked to the land,
air and water
以及它们形成的景观格局息息相关
and the patterns of landscape they form.