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ArielWaldman_2020-_多采多姿的南极洲冰下世界_-
Can you guess what this is? 猜猜这是什么？
What if I told you there's a place where the creatures are made of glass? 如果我说有个地方的生物 都是玻璃做的,你信吗？
Or that there are life-forms that are invisible to us, but astronauts see them all the time? 还有一些我们肉眼看不见的生物, 但太空人却总能看到,你信吗？
These invisible glass creatures aren't aliens on a faraway exoplanet . 这些看不见的玻璃生物并非 太阳系以外的外星生物。
What if:如果…怎么办? creatures:n.生物;动物;(具有某种特征的)人(creature的复数) life-forms:n.生物; invisible:adj.看不见的;n.看不见的人或物; faraway:adj.遥远的;恍惚的; exoplanet:外星行星;
They're diatoms : photosynthetic , single-celled algae responsible for producing oxygen and helping seed clouds on a planetary scale and with intricately sculpted , geometric exoskeletons made of -- yeah, glass. 它们是硅藻: 一种单细胞藻类, 能行光合作用产生氧气, 也有助于全球各地的云层降雨, 看似精细雕刻的 几何形状外壳的成份是── 没错,正是玻璃。
You can see them in swirls of ocean-surface colors from space. 从太空中所看到海面上 深浅不同的涡流,就是硅藻。
And when they die, their glass houses sink to the depths of the oceans, taking carbon out of the air and with them to the grave , accounting for a significant amount of carbon sequestration in the oceans. 硅藻死亡时, 它们的 玻璃外壳沉入海洋深处, 同时将大气中的碳 一起带入坟墓, 海洋中的碳封存量 绝大部分是它们贡献的。
diatoms:n.矽藻(diatom的复数);硅藻类; photosynthetic:adj.[生化]光合的;光合作用的; algae:n.[植]藻类;[植]海藻; responsible:adj.负责的,可靠的;有责任的; planetary:adj.行星的; scale:n.规模;比例;鳞;刻度;天平;数值范围;v.衡量;攀登;剥落;生水垢; intricately:adv.杂乱地; sculpted:v.雕刻(sculpt的过去式); geometric:adj.几何学的;[数]几何学图形的; exoskeletons:n.[昆]外骨骼; swirls:n.旋涡; v.使旋转(swirl的第三人称单数形式); carbon:n.[化学]碳;碳棒;复写纸;adj.碳的;碳处理的; grave:adj.重大的;严肃的;黯淡的;n.墓穴,坟墓;死亡;v.雕刻;铭记; significant:adj.重大的;有效的;有意义的;值得注意的;意味深长的;n.象征;有意义的事物; sequestration:n.隔离;扣押;退隐;
We live on an alien planet. 我们的星球非常奇特。
There is so much weird life here on Earth to study, and so much of it lives at the edges of our world, of our sight and of our understanding. 充满许多未知的奇怪生物, 其中许多存在于世界的边缘、 我们视线的边缘 及人类知识的边缘。
One of those edges is Antarctica. 其中一个就是南极洲。
Typically , when we think about Antarctica, we think of a place that's barren and lifeless ... 通常,提到南极洲时, 想到的就是贫瘠、没有生命的地方……
except for a few penguins . 顶多就是几只企鹅。
But Antarctica should instead be known as a polar oasis of life, host to countless creatures that are utterly fascinating . 但南极洲其实应该被视为 物种的极地绿洲, 拥有无数令人着迷的生物。[01:20]
weird:adj.奇怪的;奇异的;离奇的;n.命运;宿命;命运女神; Typically:adv.代表性地;作为特色地; barren:n.不毛之地;adj.贫瘠的;不毛的;不结果实的;不育的; lifeless:adj.无生命的;死气沉沉的;无趣味的; penguins:n.企鹅;(penguin的复数) polar:adj.极地的;南极(或北极)的;n.极线;极面; oasis:n.绿洲;舒适的地方;令人宽慰的事物; countless:adj.无数的;数不尽的; utterly:adv.完全地;绝对地;全然地;彻底地,十足地; fascinating:adj.极有吸引力的;迷人的;v.深深吸引;迷住;(fascinate的现在分词)
So why haven't we seen them on the latest nature documentary? 那为甚么大自然纪录片从没拍过？
Well, they lurk beneath the snow and ice, virtually invisible to us. 因为它们潜伏在雪和冰底下, 肉眼看不见。
They're microbes : tiny plants and animals living embedded inside of glaciers , underneath the sea ice and swimming in subglacial ponds . 它们是微生物: 活在冰川深处的微小动植物, 在海冰下方, 或冰川以下的 地下储水层中活动。
And they're no less charismatic than any of the megafauna that you're used to seeing in a nature documentary. 它们的魅力可不输那些 大自然纪录片中常见的大型动物。
lurk:vi.潜伏;潜藏;埋伏;n.潜伏;埋伏; beneath:prep.在…之下;adv.在下方; virtually:adv.事实上,几乎;实质上; microbes:n.细菌,[微]微生物;微生物类(microbe的复数形式); embedded:adj.嵌入式的;植入的;内含的;v.嵌入(embed的过去式和过去分词形式); glaciers:n.[地理][水文]冰川(glacier的复数);[地理][水文]冰河; underneath:prep.在…的下面;在…的支配下;n.下面;底部;adj.下面的;底层的; subglacial:adj.冰川下的; ponds:n.[水文]池塘(pond的复数);v.堵成池;筑成池塘(pond的三单形式); charismatic:adj.超凡魅力的;神赐能力的; megafauna:[动]巨型动物;
But how do you compel people to explore what they can't see? 问题是怎样鼓励人们 去探索看不见的生物呢？
I recently led a five-week expedition to Antarctica to essentially become a wildlife filmmaker at the microbial scale. 我最近带了一个 为期五周的考察团去南极, 这趟旅程让我简直成了 微生物的野生动物影片制作人。
With 185 pounds of gear , I boarded a military aircraft and brought microscopes into the field to film and investigate these microscopic extremophiles , so that we can become more familiar with a poorly understood ecosystem that we live with here on Earth. 带着 185 磅的装备,登上军机, 我带了显微镜去实地拍摄, 调查研究显微镜下的「嗜极端生物」, 希望能对这个与我们并存在地球上, 但所知极少的生态系统 有进一步的了解。
compel:v.强迫;迫使;使必须;引起(反应); explore:v.探索:探测:探险: recently:adv.最近;新近; expedition:n.远征;探险队;迅速; essentially:adv.本质上;本来; filmmaker:n.电影制作人;电影摄制者; microbial:adj.微生物的;由细菌引起的; gear:n.齿轮; v.适合; military:adj.军事的;军人的;适于战争的;n.军队;军人; aircraft:n.飞机,航空器; microscopes:n.[光]显微镜(microscope的复数); investigate:v.调查;研究;审查; microscopic:adj.微观的;用显微镜可见的; extremophiles:n.极端微生物(extremophile的复数); familiar:adj.熟悉的;常见的;亲近的;n.常客;密友; ecosystem:n.生态系统;
To film these invisible creatures in action, 为了拍摄这些 看不见的生物的活动,
I needed to see where they call home -- 我必须先找到它们的家──
I needed to venture under the ice. 我必须探索冰层底下。
Every year, the sea ice nearly doubles the entire size of Antarctica. 每年,海冰的形成会让 南极洲面积增加几乎一倍。
To get a glimpse below the nine-feet-thick ice, 为了到九英呎厚的海冰底下一窥究竟,
I climbed down a long, metal tube inserted into the sea ice to witness a hidden ecosystem full of life, while being suspended between the seafloor and the illuminated ceiling of ice. 我得爬入一根穿入海冰中的 金属管状通道, 悬于海底与上方反射日光的海冰之间, 去亲眼目睹一个不为人知、 充满生命力的生态系统。
venture:v.敢于;冒险;投机;n.企业;风险;冒险; glimpse:v.瞥见;[诗]闪现;n.领悟;概况;见识;一睹; witness:n.证人;目击者;证据;v.目击;证明;为…作证; suspended:v.悬;挂;吊;暂停;中止;(suspend的过去式和过去分词) seafloor:n.海底; illuminated:adj.被照明的;v.照明;启发;兴奋(illuminate的过去分词);
Here's what that looked like from the outside. 从外面看起来是这个样子。
It was just absolutely magical. 真的是一段很神奇的经验。
Some of the critters I found were delightful things like seed shrimp and many more beautiful, geometric diatoms. 我发现一些很可爱的浮游生物, 像是种虾（蓝眼泪）、 还有美丽几何形状的硅藻。
I then went farther afield to camp out in the Dry Valleys for a couple of weeks. 我也去了更偏远的麦克默多旱谷, 在那扎营了两周。
absolutely:adv.绝对地;完全地; critters:n.生物;小动物(critter的复数形式); delightful:adj.可爱的,可喜的;令人愉快的; shrimp:n.虾;小虾;矮小的人;vi.捕虾;adj.有虾的;虾制的; afield:adv.在战场上;去野外;在远处;远离著;
98 percent of Antarctica is covered with ice and the Dry Valleys are the largest area of Antarctica where you can actually see what the continent itself looks like underneath all of it. 南极洲有 98% 被冰覆盖, 麦克默多旱谷是南极唯一 没被冰雪覆盖的地方, 显露出这片大陆的真实样貌。
I sampled bacteria at Blood Falls, a natural phenomenon of a subglacial pond spurting out iron oxide that was thought to be utterly lifeless until a little more than a decade ago. 我在南极血瀑采了细菌样本, 血瀑是由于地下储水层 噴出氧化铁的自然现象, 直到十多年前,大家都还 认为那里没有任何物种。
continent:n.大陆,洲,陆地;adj.自制的,克制的; bacteria:n.[微]细菌; phenomenon:n.现象;杰出的人;非凡的人(或事物); spurting:n.喷射状; vt.喷射,喷出(spurt的现在分词); vi.喷射,喷出; oxide:n.[化学]氧化物;
And I hiked up a glacier to drill down into it, revealing countless, hardcore critters living their best lives while embedded inside layers of ice. 我爬上一条冰川,向下探钻, 发现无数生命力强韧的生物, 悠游自在地活在冰层中。
Known as cryoconite holes, they form when tiny pieces of darkly colored dirt get blown onto the glacier and begin to melt down into soupy holes that then freeze over, 我们所知的冰尘穴, 来自于细小的深色灰尘 被吹到冰河表面, 在冰川中留下几百个灰尘冰球, 尘埃处的冰融化,形成浓汤似的坑, 之后表面又再度结冰,
hiked:vi.远足;徒步旅行;上升;vt.提高;拉起;使…高涨;n.远足;徒步旅行;涨价; revealing:adj.暴露的;发人深省的;v.揭示;露出;显示;展示;(reveal的现在分词) hardcore:adj.赤裸裸描写性行为的;n.硬核;硬底层;碎砖垫层; layers:n.层;表层;层次;阶层;v.把…分层堆放;(layer的第三人称单数和复数) cryoconite:n.杂硅盐矿物; darkly:adv.黑暗地;模糊地;阴郁地;秘密地; dirt:n.污垢;尘土;下流话; melt:v.融化;(使)软化; soupy:adj.汤汁一样的;浓云密布的;多愁善感的;
preserving hundreds of dirt pucks inside the glacier, like little island universes each with its own unique ecosystem. 在冰川中留下几百个灰尘冰球, 就像是小型的岛屿宇宙, 每个都有自己独特的生态系统。
Some of the critters I found you may recognize , like this adorable tardigrade -- 你可能认得某些我发现的生物, 例如这类可爱的缓步动物──
I absolutely love them, they're like little gummy bears with claws . 我好爱牠们, 看起来就像 有爪子的小熊软糖。
Also known as a water bear, they're famous for possessing superpowers that allow them to survive in extreme conditions, including the vacuum of space. 牠们也叫做水熊虫, 具有能在极端的条件下生存的超能力, 包括密闭真空的环境。
preserving:n.保留,保存; pucks:园盘,圆;冰球;恶作剧的小妖精(puck的复数); universes:语义层;此生彼世; unique:adj.独特的,稀罕的;[数]唯一的;n.独一无二的人或物; recognize:v.认识;认出;辨别出;承认;意识到; adorable:adj.可爱的;可敬重的,值得崇拜的; tardigrade:adj.缓步类的;行动缓慢的;n.缓步类动物; gummy:adj.粘性的,胶粘的;含树胶的;肿的(脚踝或腿);拙劣的,讨厌的(俚语); claws:n.(动物或禽类的)爪,脚爪; v.(用爪子或手指甲)抓,撕,挠(claw的第三人称单数和复数) possessing:占有;支配(possess的现在分词); superpowers:n.超级大国;超能力;超级强权;(superpower的复数形式) extreme:adj.极端的;极度的;偏激的;尽头的;n.极端;末端;最大程度;极端的事物; vacuum:n.真空; adj.真空的; v.用真空吸尘器清扫;
But you don't need to travel to space or even Antarctica to find them. 但你无须亲自造访太空 或南极洲去看牠们。
They live in moss all over this planet, from sidewalk cracks to parks. 牠们遍布地球各地的苔藓中, 从人行道裂缝到公园都有。
You likely walk right by tons of these invisible animals every day. 很可能你每天经过的路边就有 一大堆这种生物,却视而不见。
Others may look familiar, but be stranger still, like nematodes . 另外有些看似眼熟 却不认识的生物,例如线虫类。
Not a snake nor an earthworm , nematodes are a creature all of their own. 线虫类既非蛇也非蚯蚓, 牠们自成一类。
moss:n.苔藓;泥沼;vt.使长满苔藓; sidewalk:n.人行道; cracks:n.裂纹; v.破裂; (crack的第三人称单数和复数) nematodes:n.[无脊椎]线虫;线虫类(nematode的复数); earthworm:n.蚯蚓;
They can't regenerate like an earthworm or crawl like a snake, but they have tiny, dagger-like needles inside their mouths that some of them use to spearfish their prey and suck out the insides. 牠们没有蚯蚓的再生能力, 也没有蛇的爬行方式, 但牠们的口中有匕首般的小针, 那是牠们用来刺穿、捕杀猎物 并吸光内脏的工具。
For every single human on this planet, there exist 57 billion nematodes. 地球上人类与线虫的比例 大约是 1: 570亿。
And some of the critters you may not recognize at all but live out equally fascinating lives, such as rotifers with amazing crowns that turn into Roomba-like mouths, 还有一些你可能完全不知道, 但同样迷人的生物, 例如,顶着漂亮的冠的轮虫, 它的冠可变成像扫地机器人般的嘴巴,
regenerate:vt.使再生;革新;vi.再生;革新;adj.再生的;革新的; crawl:v.爬;匍匐行进;(昆虫)爬行;缓慢行进;n.爬泳;缓慢的速度;自由泳; needles:n.针数,千针本;[印刷]折页顶针(needle复数形式); spearfish:n.旗鱼;vi.用镖捕鱼;用鱼叉捕鱼; prey:n.猎物;受害者;受骗者;v.折磨;掠夺;捕食(on,upon);损害(on,upon); suck:v.吸吮;吸取;n.吮吸; rotifers:n.轮虫类(rotifer的复数); crowns:n.王冠(crown的复数形式);v.使…成王(crown的第三人称单数形式);
ciliates with digestive systems so transparent that it's almost TMI, and cyanobacteria that look like party confetti exploded all over a petri dish . 以及具有透明消化系统的纤毛虫, 胃里的食物一览无遗,不想看都不行, 以及培养皿上到处都是的蓝绿藻, 看起来就像派对上的彩色纸屑。
A lot of times what we see in popular media are scanning electron microscope images of microorganisms looking like scary monsters. 大众媒体上常见到的此类生物 多是直接扫描电子显微镜下的影像, 看起来很像恐怖怪物。
Without seeing them move their lives remain elusive to us despite them living nearly everywhere we step outside. 光靠静态图片还是无法理解这类生物, 即便在户外的环境中 牠们几乎无所不在。
ciliates:n.纤毛虫;纤毛虫类(ciliate的复数形式); digestive:adj.消化的;助消化的;n.助消化药; transparent:adj.透明的;显然的;坦率的;易懂的; cyanobacteria:n.蓝藻细菌; confetti:n.(婚礼,狂欢节中抛撒的)五彩纸屑;(旧时狂欢节或庆祝场合抛撒的)糖果; exploded:adj.分解的; v.爆炸; (explode的过去分词和过去式) petri dish:n.培养皿(作细菌培养等用的有盖玻璃碟); media:n.媒体;媒质(medium的复数);血管中层;浊塞音;中脉; electron microscope:n.电子显微镜; images:n.印象;声誉;形象;画像;雕像;(image的第三人称单数和复数) microorganisms:n.[微]微生物,微生虫(microorganism的复数); elusive:adj.难懂的;易忘的;逃避的;难捉摸的; despite:prep.尽管,不管;n.轻视;憎恨;侮辱;
What's their daily life like? 牠们的日常是什么样子？
How do they interact with their environment? 跟环境的互动又是如何？
If you only ever saw a photo of a penguin at a zoo, but you never saw one waddle around and then glide over ice, you wouldn't fully understand penguins. 如果你只有在动物园看过企鹅的照片, 却从未看过在冰上摇摆、滑行的企鹅, 那你就无从完全地了解企鹅这种生物。
interact:v.互相影响;互相作用;n.幕间剧;幕间休息; waddle:n.蹒跚;摇摆的步子;vi.摇摇摆摆地走;蹒跚而行; glide:n.滑翔;滑行;滑移;滑音;vt.滑翔;滑行;悄悄地走;消逝;vi.使滑行;使滑动;
By seeing microcreatures in motion , we gain better insights into the lives of the otherwise invisible. 藉着看到活生生的微生物, 我们才能清楚了解 这些本来看不见的生物。
Without documenting the invisible life in Antarctica and our own backyards , we don't understand just how many creatures we share our world with. 透过记录南极,甚至自家 后院中那些看不见的生物, 我们才能得知有多少生物 和我们共存在这个世界上。
And that means we don't yet have the full picture of our weird and whimsical home planet. 换句话说,我们尚未全面了解 我们所居住的这个 不可思议、奇妙的地球。
motion:n.动作;移动;手势;请求;意向;议案;v.运动;打手势; insights:n.洞察力;眼力;深刻见解(insight的复数); backyards:n.后院;后庭; whimsical:adj.古怪的;异想天开的;反复无常的;
Thank you. 谢谢。