返回首页

NirupaRao_2020X-_世界上最奇特植物的手绘插图_-
I have a challenge for you. 我想给大家一个挑战。
The next time you're stuck in traffic, take a minute to take a look at the sea of cars around you. 下次你堵车时, 花一分钟看看你周围的车流。
How many car companies do you think you could recognize ? 你觉得你能认出多少汽车公司？
I'm not even really into cars, but I think I'd do fairly well. 我对汽车不是很感兴趣, 但我想这个问题并不难。
But then look beyond the cars to the trees that line the side of the road. 那么再看看车窗外, 路边的那些树木。
take a look at:看一看;检查; recognize:v.认识;认出;辨别出;承认;意识到; fairly:adv.相当地;公平地;简直;
How many of those could you identify ? 你能识别出多少来？
Probably not as many, right? 可能不是很多,对吧？
Year upon year, we grow further and further away from nature to the point where we have to question: 年复一年, 我们离自然越来越远, 以至于会开始好奇:
What experience of nature will the next generation have? 我们的下一代 对自然的体验是怎样的？
identify:v.识别:鉴定:确认:发现:
And if that generation lacks a sort of emotional connection with their surroundings , then will they bother to fight and save it when we need it most? 如果那一代人对他们的环境 缺少情感连接, 那么当我们最需要 投入环境怀抱的的时候, 他们会努力拯救自然吗？
My name is Nirupa Rao, and I'm a botanical artist. 我叫尼鲁帕 · 饶（Nirupa Rao）, 是一名植物艺术家。
In short, that means I paint plants, usually with watercolor , in a way that aims to be not only aesthetically appealing but also scientifically accurate . 简短地说,我通常用水彩 为植物为主题作画, 以一种不仅具有美学吸引力, 但同时具备科学精确度的方式。
emotional:adj.情绪的;易激动的;感动人的; surroundings:n.周围的环境;环境;(surrounding的复数) bother:v.烦扰,打扰;使…不安;操心,麻烦;n.麻烦;烦恼; botanical:adj.植物学的;n.植物性药材; watercolor:n.水彩画,水彩;水彩颜料;adj.水彩的,水彩画的; aesthetically:adv.审美地;美学观点上地; appealing:adj.吸引人的; v.呼吁; (appeal的现在分词) scientifically:adv.系统地;合乎科学地;学问上; accurate:adj.精确的;
And I'm well aware that this is quite an odd profession for a 21st-century urban Indian -- some might say outdated in the age of the camera -- but here's how my journey began. 我很清楚, 对一个 21 世纪的印度都市人来说, 这是个非常奇怪的职业—— 有些人会说,这种形式 在镜头主导的时代已经过时了—— 但我的旅途就是这样开始的。
A few years ago, 几年前,
I met two naturalists who work with the Nature Conservation Foundation : 我遇到两位在自然保护基金会 工作的自然学家:
And now interestingly , they actually began their careers working with animals, but they soon came to realize that if they were to protect those animals, they'd also have to protect their habitats -- that is, the trees they live off. 有意思的是, 他们最开始的职业是保护动物, 但他们很快意识到, 如果他们要保护那些动物, 他们还得保护它们的栖息地—— 即它们生活的树林。
odd:adj.古怪的;奇数的;n.奇数; profession:n.行业,职业;业内人士;同行; urban:adj.城市的;都市的;城镇的;都市音乐的; outdated:adj.过时的;旧式的;v.使过时(outdate的过去式和过去分词); journey:n.旅行;行程;vi.旅行; naturalists:n.[法]自然法学派,博物学家; Conservation:n.保存,保持;保护; Foundation:n.基础;地基;基金会;根据;创立; interestingly:adv.有趣地; careers:n.职业(career的复数);事业;职业生涯;v.全速前进(career的三单形式); habitats:n.[生态]栖息地;(动植物的)[经]产地(habitat的复数形式);
And so they started a rainforest restoration program aimed at growing local trees that local birds and animals rely on. 于是他们启动了 一个雨林复苏项目, 旨在种植当地鸟类和动物 赖以生存的树木。
And they were looking to visually document them in some way, but the photographers they approached came up empty-handed . 他们还想用通过 视觉的方式进行记录, 但他们询问过的摄影师 却往往束手无策。
These trees were up to 140 feet tall. 这些树高达 140 英尺,
rainforest:n.(热带)雨林; restoration:n.恢复;复位;王政复辟;归还; rely:vi.依靠;信赖; visually:adv.形象化地;外表上;看得见地; approached:v.走近;临近;探讨;建议;(approach的过去分词和过去式) empty-handed:adj.一无所获;空手的
That's 26 times my height. 是我身高的 26 倍。
Try capturing giants like that in a single camera frame . 可以想象用单帧相机 捕捉这些参天大树的难度。
Besides , the surrounding greenery was just too dense to clearly isolate a single tree. 另外,周围的草木太茂密了, 很难清晰的分离其中一棵树。
And so together, we decided to give good old painting a shot. 于是,我们一起决定 给老画笔一个机会。
And to tell you the truth, even when I was standing there right in front of them, it was difficult to see the entire tree. 说实话, 即便当我站在它们前面, 也很难看清楚整颗树。
capturing:v.俘虏;捕获;攻占;夺得;(capture的现在分词) giants:n.巨人;大汉;巨兽;巨树;(giant的复数) frame:n.框架; v.设计; adj.有木架的; Besides:adv.此外;而且;prep.除…之外; greenery:n.绿色植物;温室; dense:adj.稠密的;浓厚的;愚钝的; isolate:v.孤立; n.[微]分离菌;
So instead I'd study the buttress up close and then climb up the hill to see its crown rising above the canopy . 所以我就近距离研究 树的支撑部分, 然后爬上山去观察顶部的树冠。
And then with Divya, and she there as aide, we could piece these pieces of the puzzle together into the final painting. 在 Divya 的帮助下, 我们就可以 把这些碎片信息拼凑在一起 形成最终的画面。
For a lot of people who don't know the jungles as well as these naturalists, these paintings are the only way that they'll get to see these trees in their entirety . 对大多数不知道丛林 和这些自然学家的人来说, 这些画作是他们能看到 这些树木全貌的 唯一方法。
buttress:n.扶壁;拱壁;支撑物;vt.支持;以扶壁支撑; crown:王冠 canopy:n.天篷;华盖;遮篷;苍穹;vt.用天蓬遮盖;遮盖; puzzle:n.谜;疑问;智力游戏;不解之谜;v.迷惑;使困惑; as well as:也;和…一样;不但…而且; entirety:n.全部;完全;
We were able to document 30 of the region's most iconic species along with their fruit, flowers, seeds and leaves. 我们得以记录下该地区 30 种最具代表性的物种, 以及它们的果实、花朵、 种子和叶子。
(Applause) （鼓掌）
Through this process , the jungles really came alive to me. 通过这个过程, 这些丛林在我面前活了起来。
They morphed from this undifferentiated sea of green into individual species with individual characters. 它们从一片毫无差别的绿色海洋, 变成了具有个体特征的个体物种。
iconic:adj.图标的,形象的; species:n.[生物]物种;种类; process:v.处理;加工;列队行进;n.过程,进行;方法,adj.经过特殊加工(或处理)的; morphed:在屏幕上变换图像(morph的过去式和过去分词); undifferentiated:adj.无差别的;一致的; individual:n.个人;有个性的人;adj.单独的;个别的;
And I think a lot of people just tend to see plants as background scenery , assuming that their immobility makes them uninteresting . 我知道很多人只是倾向于 把植物视作背景, 认为静止的状态让它们显得很无趣。
But I began to see that it is that very rootedness that makes them fascinating , the ingenious ways in which they adapt and respond to threats and opportunities on timescales that make our heads hurt to imagine. 但我开始意识到,正是这种 扎根的本性让它们如此迷人, 它们适应和应对威胁 和机遇时的 独特方式让我们难以想象。
scenery:n.风景;景色;舞台布景; assuming:conj.假设…为真; adj.傲慢的; v.假定; (assume的现在分词) immobility:n.不动,固定; uninteresting:adj.无趣味的,乏味的;令人厌倦的; rootedness:n.根深蒂固,牢不可破; fascinating:adj.极有吸引力的;迷人的;v.深深吸引;迷住;(fascinate的现在分词) ingenious:adj.有独创性的;机灵的,精制的;心灵手巧的; adapt:vt.使适应;改编;vi.适应; respond:vi.回答;作出反应;承担责任;n.应答;唱和; timescales:n.时标;时间量程(timescale的复数);
And I couldn't help but wonder: 我止不住想:
What if I could tell their stories, showcase their complexity ? 如果我可以讲述它们的故事, 展示它们的复杂性会怎样？
Perhaps we'd all start to think of plants a little differently. 也许我们都会开始 从不同的角度看待它们。
And in fact, in my family, plants have always been a source of fascination . 事实上,在我的家族, 植物一直是魅力的来源。
My grand-uncle, Father Cecil Saldanha, was the first to document the flora of our home state of Karnataka back in the '60s. 我的伯祖父, 塞西尔·沙尔丹哈（Cecil Saldanha）, 是第一个记录我们家乡 卡纳塔克邦植物的人, 那是在 60 年代。
What if:如果…怎么办? showcase:n.展示的场合;玻璃柜台;v.使展现;在玻璃橱窗陈列; complexity:n.复杂性;难以理解的局势 source:n.来源;水源;原始资料; fascination:n.魅力;魔力;入迷; flora:n.植物区系;植物群;
And my mother has all of these memories of being a little girl watching this entire enterprise unfold . 我的母亲拥有所有这些记忆, 当时她还是一个小女孩, 见证了整个事业在她眼前展开。
And consequently , 因此,
I've come to associate plants with adventure and discovery and excitement . 我也自然而然的 把植物和冒险、发现和惊奇 联系在一起。
And so I knew I didn't just want to be into roses and sunflowers . 我知道我不单喜欢玫瑰和菊花,
I wanted to paint the kinds of plants that botanists like my uncle work with. 我还想要画我叔伯那样的植物学家 经常打交道的植物。[04:08]
unfold:v.(使)展开;打开;展示;透露; consequently:adv.因此;结果;所以; associate:v.联合:联想:交往:adj.非正式的:副的:联合的:n.伙伴:同事: adventure:n.冒险;奇遇;经历;冒险游戏;v.探险;以…冒险;大胆进行;闯; excitement:n.兴奋;刺激;令人兴奋的事物; sunflowers:n.[作物]向日葵;葵花(sunflower的复数); botanists:n.植物学家;
And so I set out to create a book, supported by the National Geographic Society, on the weirdest , wackiest plants we could find in one of the most biodiverse regions in the world: 于是在国家地理学会的支持下, 我开始写一本书, 记录我们能在世界上 生物多样性最丰富的地区—— 印度自己的西高止山脉——
India's very own Western Ghats . 找到的最奇特、最古怪的植物。
(Applause) （鼓掌）
Take a look at these fantastic jewel-like sundews . 看看这些奇异的珠宝般的茅膏花。
They grow in regions where nutrient content in the soil is poor, and so they have a little way of supplementing their diets. 它们生长在土壤养分含量低的地区, 并且有个丰富饮食结构的方法。[04:36]
Geographic:adj.地理的;地理学的; weirdest:adj.奇异的;不寻常的;离奇的;(weird的最高级) wackiest:古怪的(wacky的最高级); biodiverse:生物多类状态的;生物多样的; regions:n.地区;地域;行政区;左近;(region的复数) Ghats:n.高止山脉(印度南部); fantastic:奇异的,空想的 jewel-like:adj.贵重的;像宝石的; sundews:n.茅膏菜;毛毡苔; nutrient:n.营养物;滋养物;adj.营养的;滋养的; content:n.内容,目录;满足;容量;adj.满意的;vt.使满足; supplementing:补;
They lure , trap and ingest insects using mucilaginous glands on their leaves. 它们利用叶子上的粘液腺 来引诱、诱捕和摄食昆虫。
The little insects are attracted to the sweet secretions , but once they come in contact , they are ensnared and the game is up. 小昆虫被甜甜的分泌物所吸引, 但一旦接触, 就中了圈套,成了盘中餐。
And you might notice that the sundews very cleverly hold their flowers on tall, thin stems high above their murderous leaves to avoid trapping potential pollinators . 你们可能注意到了, 茅膏花非常巧妙地 把花托在又高又细的茎上, 高于那些有害的叶子, 以避免捕获潜在的传粉者。
lure:n.诱惑;饵;诱惑物;v诱惑;引诱; trap:v.使陷入困境;卡住;夹住;收集;吸收;n.陷阱;圈套;捕捉器;诡计; ingest:vt.摄取;咽下;吸收;接待; mucilaginous:adj.黏的;分泌黏液的; glands:n.腺体(gland的复数);气封; secretions:n.分泌物(secretion的复数); contact:n.接触,联系;v.使接触,联系; ensnared:vt.诱捕;诱入陷阱;进入罗网; cleverly:adv.聪明地; stems:n.花草的茎或梗; v.阻止; (stem的第三人称单数和复数) murderous:adj.杀人的,残忍的;凶残的;蓄意谋杀的; trapping:v.使陷入困境;卡住;夹住;收集;吸收;(trap的现在分词) potential:n.潜能;可能性;[电]电势;adj.潜在的;可能的;势的; pollinators:n.[植][农学]传粉者(pollinator的复数);
Further inside the jungle , you might meet the strangler fig . 在丛林深处, 你可能会遇到扼杀者无花果。
It grows in areas where sunlight is scant and competition is intense . 它生长在阳光稀少的地方 且竞争激烈。
And so it has a strategy to sort of cut in line and get ahead. 所以它有一种插队领先的策略。
You see, its seeds are dispersed by birds that drop them atop the branches of existing trees. 它的种子是由鸟类传播的, 它们把种子撒在现有的树枝上。
jungle:n.密林;尔虞我诈的环境;危险地带; strangler:n.压制者;扼杀者;阻气门; fig:n.无花果 sunlight:n.日光; scant:adj.不足的;缺乏的;勉强够的;vt.减少;节省;限制; competition:n.竞争;比赛,竞赛; intense:adj.强烈的;紧张的;非常的;热情的; strategy:n.策略;行动计划;部署;战略; dispersed:adj.散布的;被分散的;被驱散的;v.分散;传播(disperse的过去分词); atop:prep.在…的顶上;adv.在顶上;
And that little seed will start to germinate from there, sending its shoots upward to the sky and its roots all the way down to the ground, all the while strangling the host tree, often to death. 那颗小种子就会从那里开始发芽, 把它的枝条伸向天空, 它的根一直扎入泥土中, 直到把宿主树勒住, 常常是勒死。
And even if that host tree dies and rots away, the strangler will persist as a hollowed-out column of roots and branches. 即使宿主树死了,腐烂了, “扼杀者”也会 以镂空的根枝形态继续存在。
And if that didn't impress you, let me show you one of my personal favorites: the Neelakurinji. 如果这还不够让人印象深刻, 我再给你们展示 我最喜爱的植物之一: 尼拉库林吉花（Neelakurinji）。
germinate:vt.使发芽;使生长;vi.发芽;生长; upward:adj.向上的;上升的;adv.向上; strangling:v.扼死;掐死;抑制;压制;扼杀;(strangle的现在分词) persist:v.保持;持续存在;维持;顽强地坚持; hollowed-out:挖空(某物);挖出(孔,洞); column:n.栏目,纵队; impress:v.盖印;强征;传送;给予某人深刻印象; personal:adj.个人的;身体的;亲自的;n.人事消息栏;人称代名词;
When it blossoms , it does so in unison , covering entire hillsides in carpets of blue. 当它开花的时候, 所有花朵会同时绽放, 为整个山坡覆盖上蓝色的“地毯”。
This is its pollination strategy known as " gregarious flowering," 这就是它被称为 “群居开花”的授粉策略,
in which it invests all of its resources into a single, spectacular event aimed at attracting pollinators to the feast -- which is easily done, considering the Neelakurinji is all that can be seen for miles around. 即把所有资源投入到 单一壮观的事件中, 一场吸引传粉者的盛宴—— 这很容易做到, 鉴于尼拉库林吉花 在几英里内都能看到。
blossoms:n.花朵,花簇; v.开花; (blossom的第三人称单数和复数) unison:n.和谐;齐唱;同度;[声]同音; hillsides:n.山坡,山腹;山腰; carpets:n.地毯;v.用地毯铺;厚厚地铺上;斥责;(carpet的第三人称单数和复数) pollination:n.[农学]授粉(作用); gregarious:adj.社交的;群居的; invests:v.投资;花费(invest的三单形式); resources:n.[计][环境]资源; v.向…提供资金(resource的第三人称单数); spectacular:adj.壮观的;壮丽的;令人惊叹的;n.壮观的场面;精彩的表演; feast:n.盛宴;宴会;(宗教的)节日;v.尽情享用(美味佳肴);
But here's the catch: it happens only once every 12 years. 但这里有个问题: 它每 12 年才发生一次。
(Applause) （鼓掌）
And soon after seeding , these flowers will die, not to be seen again for the next 12 years. 在授粉后不久, 这些花将会死去, 下次看到它绽放, 还要再等 12 年。
This is our way of telling a story of the Western Ghats: through plants and through their ecosystems and the various ways in which they interact with players in their habitats. 这就是我们讲述西高止故事的方式: 透过植物和它们的生态系统, 以及它们和栖息地的主角们 多样化的互动方式。
seeding:n.播种;晶种;v.播种(seed的ing形式); ecosystems:n.生态系统(ecosystem的复数); interact:v.互相影响;互相作用;n.幕间剧;幕间休息;
It's glorious , isn't it? 很美好,不是吗？
But the way things are going, we can't be sure that the Neelakurinji will come out to play again in the next 12 years. 但事实是, 我们无法确定尼拉库林吉花 在下一个 12 年 还能如常绽放。
The further and further we grow from nature, the more we are almost literally blind to it and the effects that our activities have on it. 我们离自然越远, 我们对它们,和我们的活动 对它们的影响就越来越不了解。
glorious:adj.光荣的;辉煌的;极好的; literally:adv.按字面:字面上:确实地:
And that's what it's called -- "plant blindness": the increasing inability to really register the plants around us as living beings. 这就是所谓的“植物盲”: 越来越多的人无法真正 将我们周围的植物 视为生物。
The two scientists that coined this term, 创造这个术语的两位科学家,
They don't have faces, they don't move, and we don't perceive them as threats. 它们没有面孔, 无法移动, 我们也不把它们视为威胁。
And so with the increasing onslaught of information that our eyes receive, we just deprioritize registering plants, simply filtering out information that we view as extraneous . 随着我们眼睛接收到的信息越多, 我们直接把注意力 从植物身上移开了, 简单地过滤掉了 我们认为无关的信息。
inability:n.无能力;无才能; register:v.登记;注册;记录;n.登记簿;登记表;注册簿; perceive:v.注意到;意识到;将…理解为;认为; onslaught:n.猛攻;突击; registering:v.登记;注册;发表意见,提出主张;显示(读数);记录;(register的现在分词) filtering:v.[化工]过滤,滤除(filter的ing形式); extraneous:adj.外来的;没有关联的;来自体外的;
But stop to think about that. 但请不要再这样想了,
Are plants really extra? 植物真的是多余的吗？
Are they just nature's backdrop ? 它们只是大自然的背景吗？
Or are they the fundamental building blocks upon which all life is based, the starting points of our ecosystems and the reason why earth is sustainable for life to this day ? 还是说它们是所有生命 赖以生存的基石, 我们生态系统的起点 和今天地球仍然能够 维持生命的原因？
backdrop:n.背景;背景幕;交流声; fundamental:n.基础; adj.十分重大的; building blocks:(儿童玩的)积木;建筑砌块;堆积木;建筑砖块;基石; sustainable:adj.可以忍受的;足可支撑的;养得起的;可持续的; to this day:至今;
I leave you with these images from a program called "Wild Shaale," 最后我要展示的这些照片 来自“Wild Shaale”项目,
which in Kannada means "wild school." 在埃纳德语里是“野外学校”的意思。
It's run by a conservationist , Krithi Karanth. 它的经营者是一位环保主义者 克里蒂?卡朗斯（Krithi Karanth）。
And her team turned some of my illustrations into games that village children could play with and learn from. 她的团队把我的一些插图 变成了村里的孩子们 可以玩耍和学习的游戏。
images:n.印象;声誉;形象;画像;雕像;(image的第三人称单数和复数) conservationist:n.自然资源保护论者; illustrations:n.[印刷]插图;插画(illustration的复数);
And I can tell you they were so excited to see plants that they recognized -- the trees that the monkeys play on, the flowers they use at their harvest festival , the fruit they use to wash their hair. 我可以告诉你们,他们对认出了 画中的植物感到非常兴奋—— 有猴群玩耍的树木, 他们在丰收节使用的花朵, 他们用来洗头的水果。
And it's that sort of familiarity which, when celebrated, turns to love, which then turns into an urge to protect. 这种熟悉感在庆祝的时刻 变成了爱, 然后又转变为保护的冲动。
It's really time we open our eyes to the world around us, to this entire kingdom that's hidden in plain sight. 是时候,让我们睁开眼睛, 去观察周遭的世界, 去欣赏隐藏在眼前的 这一整个王国。
recognized:v.认识;认出;辨别出;承认;意识到;(recognize的过去分词和过去式) harvest festival:n.秋收感恩节; familiarity:n.熟悉,精通;亲密;随便;
And so the next time you're stuck in traffic, you know what to do. 所以下次当你遇上堵车时, 你就知道该怎么做了。
(Applause) （鼓掌）