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RomulusWhitaker_2009I-_潜在水中的威胁_
I want you to [cast] off your preconceptions , your preconceived fears and thoughts about reptiles . 我首先希望你们能够 消除对爬行动物的恐惧感,
preconceptions:n.偏见(preconception的复数);先入之见;先前概念; preconceived:adj.预想的; v.预想(preconceive的过去式和过去分词); reptiles:n.爬行动物(reptile的复数);[脊椎]爬行类;爬虫类;
Because that is the only way I'm going to get my story across to you. 因为只有这样我才能把讯息传达给你们。
And by the way , if I come across as a sort of rabid , hippie conservationist , it's purely a figment of your imagination . 另外,如果你们觉得 我是一个疯狂的嬉皮自然保护主义者, 那只不过你们自己的幻想罢了。
by the way:顺便说一下; come across:偶然遇见;给人以…的印象; rabid:adj.激烈的;狂暴的;偏激的;患狂犬病的; hippie:n.嬉皮士;嬉皮模样的年青人;adj.嬉皮的; conservationist:n.自然资源保护论者; purely:adv.完全;仅仅; figment:n.虚构的事;臆造的事物; imagination:n.想象;想象力;创造力;想象的事物;
(Laughter) (观众笑)
Okay. We are actually the first species on Earth to be so prolific to actually threaten our own survival . 事实上,我们是地球上 第一个威胁到自己生存的物种。
species:n.[生物]物种;种类; prolific:adj.多产的;丰富的; survival:n.幸存,残存;幸存者,残存物;
And I know we've all seen images enough to make us numb, of the tragedies that we're perpetrating on the planet. 我们看到过很多关于地球生态遭到破坏的图片, 多到足以使我们麻木。
images:n.印象;声誉;形象;画像;雕像;(image的第三人称单数和复数) tragedies:n.悲惨的事;不幸;灾难;悲剧作品;(tragedy的复数) perpetrating:vt.犯(罪);做(恶);
We're kind of like greedy kids, using it all up, aren't we? 我们就像贪婪的孩子,耗尽所有一切,不是吗？
greedy:adj.贪婪的;贪吃的;渴望的;
And today is a time for me to talk to you about water. 今天我要和大家讲一下水。
It's not only because we like to drink lots of it, and its marvelous derivatives , beer, wine, etc. 这不仅仅是因为我们喜欢喝水, 还有那些奇妙的衍生品,比如啤酒,红酒等等;
marvelous:adj.了不起的;非凡的;令人惊异的;不平常的; derivatives:派生物;
And, of course, watch it fall from the sky and flow in our wonderful rivers, but for several other reasons as well. 当然我们也喜欢看着它从空中降落, 在河流中流淌, 也会有一些其他原因。
When I was a kid, growing up in New York, 当我在纽约,还是个孩子的时候,
I was smitten by snakes, the same way most kids are smitten by tops, marbles , cars, trains, cricket balls. 我对蛇十分着迷, 就好像很多孩子着迷于陀螺、弹珠、汽车、火车和板球。
smitten:v.打击,摧毁(smite的过去分词); marbles:n.大理石; v.使…显得斑驳; (marble的第三人称单数和复数) cricket:n.蟋蟀;板球;
And my mother, brave lady, was partly to blame, taking me to the New York Natural History Museum, buying me books on snakes, and then starting this infamous career of mine, which has culminated in of course, arriving in India 60 years ago, brought by my mother, Doris Norden, and my stepfather , Rama Chattopadhyaya. 我的母亲,一位很有勇气的女士, 对此也算负有责任吧。 是她带我去纽约自然历史博物馆, 给我买关于蛇的书, 使我踏上了这条职业道路, 后来甚至 把我带到印度,那是在60年前, 这就是我的母亲,多丽·丝诺登, 和继父,拉玛·查托帕迪亚雅。
Natural History:n.自然史; infamous:adj.声名狼藉的;无耻的;邪恶的;不名誉的; career:n.职业;事业;生涯;经历; culminated:vi.到绝顶;达到高潮;达到顶点;vt.使结束;使达到高潮; stepfather:n.继父;
It's been a roller coaster ride. 这是一趟充满刺激的旅程。
roller coaster:过山车;
Two animals, two iconic reptiles really captivated me very early on. 两种标志性的爬行动物 从一开始就深深地吸引了我。
iconic:adj.图标的,形象的; captivated:v.迷住;迷惑;(captivate的过去式);
One of them was the remarkable gharial . 一个是非比寻常的长吻鄂。
remarkable:adj.卓越的;非凡的;值得注意的; gharial:n.大鳄鱼;
This crocodile, which grows to almost 20 feet long in the northern rivers, and this charismatic snake, the king cobra . 这种生长在北部河流中的鳄鱼 可以长到近20英尺长; 另一个是气度非凡的眼镜王蛇。
charismatic:adj.超凡魅力的;神赐能力的; cobra:n.眼镜蛇;(澳)头颅;
[The] purpose of [my] talk today really is is to sort of indelibly scar your minds with these charismatic and majestic creatures . 我今天的演讲实际上 是想要用这些魅力十足而威严的生物 在你们的脑海中留下一个永久的印记。
indelibly:adv.不能消灭地; majestic:adj.庄严的;宏伟的; creatures:n.生物;动物;(具有某种特征的)人(creature的复数)
Because this is what [I hope] you will take away from here, a reconnection with nature, I hope. 因为这就是我希望你们能从今天的演讲中所得到的, 一次和自然的亲密接触。
reconnection:n.重新连接;
The king cobra is quite remarkable for several reasons. 眼镜王蛇的非凡有它的道理。
What you're seeing here is very recently shot images in a forest nearby here, of a female king cobra making her nest. 你们现在看到的是最近 在附近森林里拍到的一些影像。 一条雌性眼镜王蛇正在筑巢,
recently:adv.最近;新近; nearby:adj.附近的,邻近的;adv.在附近;prep.在…附近; female:adj.女性的;雌性的;柔弱的,柔和的;n.女人;[动]雌性动物;
Here is a limbless animal, capable of gathering a huge mound of leaves, and then laying her eggs inside, to withstand 5 to 10 [meters of rainfall], in order that the eggs can incubate over the next 90 days, and hatch into little baby king cobras . 没有四肢的动物,居然可以把这么多树叶聚集起来, 并在里面产蛋。 这个巢能够承受5到10米的降雨量, 而蛋将在未来90天内孵化, 最终孵出小眼镜王蛇。
limbless:adj.无肢的;无枝叉的;无翼的; capable:adj.能干的,能胜任的;有才华的; mound:n.小丘;小山岗;一堆;许多;大量; withstand:vt.抵挡;禁得起;反抗;vi.反抗; in order that:为了;以便; incubate:vt.孵化;培养;温育;逐渐发展;vi.孵化;酝酿;n.孵育物; hatch:n.孵化;舱口;v.孵;策划;孵化; cobras:n.[脊椎]眼镜蛇(cobra的复数);蝙蝠蛇科;
So, she protects her eggs, and after three months, the babies finally do hatch out. 这条母蛇保护她的蛋, 3个月后, 小蛇就孵出来了。
finally:adv.终于;最终;(用于列举)最后;彻底地;
A majority of them will die, of course. There is very high mortality in little baby reptiles who are just 10 to 12 inches long. 它们当中的大部分都会死掉,这是当然的, 10到12英寸长的小蛇死亡率是很高的。
majority:n.大部分:大多数:多数票:成年人: mortality:n.死亡数,死亡率;必死性,必死的命运;
My first experience with king cobras was in '72 at a magical place called Agumbe, in Karnataka, this state. 我第一次接触眼镜王蛇是在72年, 在一个叫阿古比的神奇地方, 位于卡纳塔克邦境内。
And it is a marvelous rain forest. 这是一片神奇的雨林。
This first encounter was kind of like the 这次邂逅 就好像
encounter:v.遭遇,邂逅;遇到;n.遭遇,偶然碰见;
Masai boy who kills the lion to become a warrior . 马赛传说中男孩杀死狮子成为勇士的故事,
warrior:n.勇士;
It really changed my life totally. 它彻底改变了我的生活,
And it brought me straight into the conservation fray . 把我带入了关于自然保护的争论中,
fray:n.争吵;打斗,竞争,争辩;v.磨损,磨散;(使)烦躁,恼火
I ended up starting this research and education station in Agumbe, which you are all of course invited to visit. 我于是开始了这个研究项目, 并在阿古比建立了教育站, 我很欢迎你们来参观。
This is basically a base wherein we are trying to gather and learn virtually everything about the biodiversity of this incredibly complex forest system, and try to hang on to what's there, 基本上这算是一个 我们用来收集和研究 这片不可思议的森林的 生物多样性的基地。 我们努力保持它的原貌,
basically:adv.主要地,基本上; wherein:adv.在其中;在何处; virtually:adv.事实上,几乎;实质上; biodiversity:n.生物多样性; incredibly:adv.难以置信地;非常地; complex:adj.复杂的;合成的;n.复合体;综合设施; hang on to:紧紧抓住;紧握;
make sure the water sources are protected and kept clean, and of course, having a good time too. 确保水源得到保护, 当然,我们在这里过得很愉快。
sources:n.来源;出处;起源;根源;原因;v.(从…)获得(source的第三人称单数和复数)
You can almost hear the drums throbbing back in that little cottage where we stay when we're there. 你甚至能听到 从我们住的小木屋里传出击鼓声。
throbbing:n.跳动;阵阵的疼痛;v.抽动;跳动,搏动;(throb的现在分词) cottage:n.小屋;村舍;(农舍式的)小别墅;
It was very important for us to get through to the people. 和民众建立联系对我们来说很重要,
And through the children is usually the way to go. 尤其是和孩子们。
They are fascinated with snakes. They haven't got that steely thing that you end up either fearing or hating or despising or loathing them in some way. 他们被蛇深深吸引, 并不像成年人那样, 对蛇不是害怕就是厌恶。
steely:adj.似钢的,钢铁般的;钢制的;严格的; despising:vt.轻视,鄙视; loathing:n.憎恨;憎恶;仇恨;v.厌恶;极不喜欢(loathe的现在分词)
They are interested. 他们对蛇很感兴趣,
And it really works to start with them. 教育他们很有效果。
This gives you an idea of the size of some of these snakes. 这张图能给你一个眼镜王蛇大小的大致概念。
This is an average size king cobra, about 12 feet long. 这是一条平常大小的眼镜王蛇,12英尺长,
and it actually crawled into somebody's bathroom, and was hanging around there for two or three days. 它爬到了某户人家的浴室里, 在那里呆了两三天。
crawled:v.爬;爬行;(昆虫)爬行;缓慢行进(crawl的过去分词和过去式)
The people of this part of India worship the king cobra. 这一地区的印度人 崇拜眼镜王蛇。
worship:n.崇拜;崇敬;爱慕;阁下;v.崇拜(上帝或神);做礼拜;热爱;崇拜;
And they didn't kill it. They called us to catch it. 他们不杀蛇,而是找到我们去抓住它。
Now we've caught more than 100 king cobras over the last three years, and relocated them in nearby forests. 我们在过去3年内 已经抓了100多条眼镜王蛇, 并把它们在附近森林里放生。
relocated:v.(使)搬迁,迁移;(relocate的过去分词和过去式)
But in order to find out the real secrets of these creatures 但是为了发掘它们的秘密,
[it was necessary] for us to actually insert a small radio transmitter inside [each] snake. 我们必须在它们身上 植入微型无线发射器,
transmitter:n.[电讯]发射机,[通信]发报机;传达人;
Now we are able to follow them and find out their secrets, where the babies go after they hatch, and remarkable things like this you're about to see. 这样我们就能够跟踪它们,并发现它们的秘密, 比如小蛇孵化之后会去哪里, 还有你们即将看到的不可思议的画面。
This was just a few days ago in Agumbe. 这是在阿古比,就在几天前。
I had the pleasure of being close to this large king cobra who had caught a venomous pit viper . 我很高兴能够靠近这条巨大的眼镜王蛇, 它抓到了一条剧毒的蝮蛇,
venomous:adj.有毒的;恶毒的;分泌毒液的;怨恨的; pit viper:un.蝮蛇;响尾蛇属;
And it does it in such a way that it doesn't get bitten itself. 身手如此敏捷,自己毫发未伤。
And king cobras feed only on snakes. 眼镜王蛇只吃蛇,
This [little snake] was kind of a tid-bit for it, what we'd call a "vadai" or a donut or something like that. 这算是它的点心, 就好像是我们的甜甜圈。
donut:n.炸面圈;环状线圈(等于doughnut);
(Laughter) （观众笑）
Usually they eat something a bit larger. 它们的猎物通常比这个大一些。
In this case a rather strange and inexplicable activity happened over the last breeding season, wherein a large male king cobra actually grabbed a female king cobra, didn't mate with it, actually killed it and swallowed it. 接下来看到的难以解释场景 发生在去年的繁殖期, 一条雄性眼镜王蛇抓住了一条母蛇, 但它并没有和母蛇交配,而是吞了它。
inexplicable:adj.费解的;无法说明的;不能解释的; breeding:n.繁殖;饲养;教养;再生;v.生产;培育;使…繁殖;(breed的现在分词) grabbed:v.抓住;攫取;抓住,夺得;(grab的过去分词和过去式) mate:n.助手,大副; v.使配对; swallowed:v.吞下;咽下;吞没;淹没;侵吞(swallow的过去分词和过去式)
We're still trying to explain and come to terms with what is the evolutionary advantage of this. 我们仍然在试图 从进化的角度解释这种现象。
come to terms with:达成协议;让步; evolutionary:adj.进化的;发展的;渐进的; advantage:n.有利条件:优势:优点:
But they do also a lot of other remarkable things. 它们还有很多其他惊人的行为。
This is again, something [we were able to see] by virtue of the fact that we had a radio transmitter in one of the snakes, this male snake, 12 feet long, met another male king cobra. 这一次, 借助在一条蛇身上植入的无线放射器, 我们看到这条12英尺长的公蛇遇到了另一条公蛇,
by virtue of:由于,凭借;
And they did this incredible ritual combat dance. 它们进行了一场难以置信的仪式舞蹈,
incredible:adj.难以置信的,惊人的; ritual:n.仪式;惯例;礼制;adj.仪式的;例行的;礼节性的; combat:v.战斗;防止;减轻;与…搏斗;n.战斗;搏斗;打仗;
It's very much like the rutting of mammals , including humans, you know, sorting out our differences, but gentler, no biting allowed. 就像哺乳动物发情, 只是更加温柔,没有撕咬。
rutting:adj.(动物)发情的;n.车辙;v.发情;在…留下车辙(rut的ing形式); mammals:n.哺乳动物;(mammal的复数)
It's just a wresting match, but a remarkable activity. 这是一场摔跤比赛, 但是与众不同。
wresting:n.摔交;摔跤(wrest进行式);
Now, what are we doing with all this information? 那么,我们用这些信息做什么呢？
What's the point of all this? 我们所做的一切是为了什么？
Well, the king cobra is literally a keystone species in these rainforests . 眼镜王蛇实际上是 这些森林中最重要的物种。
literally:adv.按字面:字面上:确实地: keystone:n.主旨,基本原则;[建]楔石; rainforests:n.(热带)雨林;
And our job is to convince the authorities that these forests have to be protected. 我们的工作是说服权威部门 来保护这些森林。
convince:v.使确信;使相信;说服,劝说; authorities:n.权力;威权;职权;批准;(authority的复数)
And this is one of the ways we do it, by learning as much as we can about something so remarkable and so iconic in the rainforests there, in order to help protect trees, animals and of course the water sources. 我们所采取的一种方式, 就是通过 学习和研究森林中这些标志性的生物, 来保护森林和动物, 当然还有水资源。
You've all heard, perhaps, of Project Tiger which started back in the early '70s, which was, in fact, a very dynamic time for conservation. 你们可能听说过“拯救老虎计划”, 该计划始于70年代, 在一个保护自然理论非常盛行的时代。
dynamic:n.动力; adj.充满活力的;
We were piloted, I could say, by a highly autocratic stateswoman, but who also had an incredible passion for environment. 我们由 一位专制的女政客领导, 她对自然有着难以置信的热情。
highly:adv.高度地;非常;非常赞许地; autocratic:adj.专制的;独裁的,专横的; passion:n.激情;热情;酷爱;盛怒;
And this is the time when Project Tiger emerged . 这就是“拯救老虎计划”浮出水面的时候。
emerged:v.(从隐蔽处或暗处)出现;暴露;露出真相;显现;(emerge的过去分词和过去式)
And, just like Project Tiger, our activity with the king cobra is to [focus on] a species of animal so that we protect its habitat and everything within it. 和这个计划一样, 针对眼镜王蛇, 我们致力于 保护它们的栖息地和里面所有的一切。
habitat:n.[生态]栖息地,产地;
So, the tiger is the icon. 老虎是个标志,
And now the king cobra is a new one. 现在眼镜王蛇成了新标志。
All the major rivers in south India are sourced in the Western Ghats , the chain of hills running along the west coast of India. 印度南部的主要河流 都起源于印度西海岸的 西高止山脉。
sourced:adj.有来源的; v.发起; Ghats:n.高止山脉(印度南部); west coast:n.美国西海岸(尤指加利福尼亚州);
It pours out millions of gallons every hour, and supplies drinking water to at least 300 million people, and washes many many babies, and of course feeds many many animals, both domestic and wild, produces thousands of tons of rice. 每小时有上百万加仑的水从山上流下, 可以供至少3亿人饮用, 给很多婴儿洗澡, 给很多家养 和野生的动物们喝, 用来生产上千吨的大米。
pours:v.倾倒;倒出;倾泻;喷发;(pour的第三人称单数) gallons:n.加仑;大量(gallon的复数);一加仑的容器; drinking water:n.饮用水; domestic:n.佣人;家佣;家庭纠纷;家庭矛盾;adj.本国的;国内的;家用的;家庭的;
And what do we do? How do we respond to this? 而我们做了什么？我们怎么回报的？
respond:vi.回答;作出反应;承担责任;n.应答;唱和;
Well, basically, we dam it, we pollute it, we pour in pesticides , weedicides, fungicides . 基本上,我们建造大坝,污染河流, 倾倒各种杀虫剂和除草剂。
pesticides:n.[农药]农药;[农药]杀虫剂(pesticide的复数); fungicides:n.[药]杀菌剂(fungicide的复数);
You drink it in peril of your life. 你们其实是在冒着生命危险喝水。
peril:n.危险;冒险;vt.危及;置…于险境;
And the thing is, it's not just big industry. 更重要的是,
It's not misguided river engineers who are doing all this; it's us. 不仅仅是大型工业和被误导了的河流工程师在污染河流, 我们也是其中一分子。
misguided:adj.搞错的;v.误入歧途;指导错误;(misguide的过去式和过去分词)
It seems that our citizens find the best way to dispose of garbage are in water sources. 人们似乎觉得处理垃圾最好的方法 就是往水里丢。
dispose:v.布置;安排;排列;使倾向于; garbage:n.垃圾;废物;
Okay. Now we're going north, very far north. 现在我们再来看看北部,
North central India, the Chambal River is where we have our base. 北部的昌巴尔河, 我们在那里建有基地。
This is the home of the gharial, this incredible crocodile. 也是长吻鄂的家乡。
It is an animal which has been on the Earth for just about 100 million years. 长吻鄂在地球上生存已有 1亿多年了。
It survived even during the time that the dinosaurs died off. 恐龙灭绝了,它们却存活了下来。
It has remarkable features. 它们的身上有很多惊人的地方。
Even though it grows to 20 feet long, since it eats only fish it's not dangerous to human beings. 尽管它们可以长到20英尺长, 但由于它们只吃鱼,因而对人类没有威胁。
It does have big teeth, however, and it's kind of hard to convince people if an animal has big teeth, that it's a harmless creature. 它们有巨大的牙齿, 人们似乎很难信服, 长有硕大牙齿的动物却是没有威胁的。
But we, actually, back in the early '70s, did surveys , and found that gharial were extremely rare. 在70年代的时候, 我们做过调查, 发现长吻鄂已经十分稀有。
surveys:n.调查(survey的复数); extremely:adv.非常,极其;极端地;
In fact, if you see the map the range of their original habitat was all the way from the Indus in Pakistan to the Irrawaddy in Burma . 如果你查看地图。 它们的原本栖息地 从巴基斯坦境内的印度河 一直延伸到缅甸的伊洛瓦底江。
original:n.原件;原作;原物;原型;adj.原始的;最初的;独创的;新颖的; Burma:n.缅甸(东南亚国家);
And now it's just limited to a couple of spots in Nepal and India. 而现在只剩下 在尼泊尔和印度的几个栖息点。
limited:adj.有限的; n.高级快车; v.限制; (limit的过去分词和过去式)
So, in fact at this point there are only 200 breeding gharial left in the wild. 事实上, 目前世界上仅有200多条成年长吻鄂。
So, starting in the mid-'70s when conservation was at the fore, we were actually able to start projects which were basically government supported to collect eggs from the wild from the few remaining nests and release 5,000 baby gharial back to the wild. 在70年代, 当自然保护运动刚刚兴起的时候, 我们得到政府的支持, 展开了一个项目, 从野外仅有的几个栖息地收集鳄鱼蛋, 成功孵化了5000条小长吻鄂, 并把它们放归自然。
release:v.释放;发射;让与;允许发表;n.释放;发布;让与;
And pretty soon we were seeing sights like this. 没过多久我们就能看到这样的场景了。
I mean, just incredible to see bunches of gharial basking on the river again. 看到成群的长吻鄂在河边晒日光浴, 感觉真是太棒了。
bunches:束; basking:v.晒太阳;取暖;(bask的现在分词)
But complacency does have a tendency to breed contempt . 但自满使我们忽视了很多问题。
complacency:n.自满;满足;自鸣得意; tendency:n.倾向,趋势;癖好; contempt:n.轻视,蔑视;耻辱;
And, sure enough, with all the other pressures on the river, like sand mining, for example, very very heavy cultivation all the way down to the river's edge, not allowing the animals to breed anymore, we're looking at even more problems building up for the gharial, despite the early good intentions . 河岸边的众多活动, 如采砂作业、大量的耕作 给河流带来很大压力, 使得野生动物无法正常繁殖。 我们看到 还有更多的问题在威胁长吻鄂, 光有最初的努力是不够的。
cultivation:n.培养;耕作;耕种;教化;文雅; despite:prep.尽管,不管;n.轻视;憎恨;侮辱; intentions:n.目的,意向,意图;打算;(intention的复数)
Their nests hatching along the riverside producing hundreds of hatchlings . It's just an amazing sight. 成百条小鳄鱼从河边的巢中孵化出来, 这场景令人赞叹。
hatching:n.[禽]孵化; v.[禽]孵化; adj.孵化的; riverside:n.河边;河畔;adj.河畔的; hatchlings:n.人工孵化的鱼苗或小鸟;
This was actually just taken last year. 这张照片是去年拍的。
But then the monsoon arrives, and unfortunately downriver there is always a dam or there is always a barrage , and, shoop, they get washed down to their doom . 但是, 下游总是会有水坝或者堰堤, 当季风来临, 它们就被冲向灭亡。
monsoon:n.季风;(印度等地的)雨季;季候风; unfortunately:adv.不幸地; downriver:adj.下游的;adv.向下游; barrage:n.弹幕; vt.以密集炮火进攻; vi.以密集火力阻击; doom:n.厄运;毁灭;劫数;死亡;v.使…注定失败(或遭殃、死亡等);
Luckily there is still a lot of interest. 幸好大家还是十分热忱。
My pals in the Crocodile Specialist Group of the IUCN, the [Madras Crocodile Bank], an NGO, the World Wildlife Fund , the Wildlife Institute of India, State Forest Departments, and the Ministry of Environment, we all work together on stuff . 我和那些在鳄鱼自然保护联盟专家小组、 马德拉斯鳄鱼银行——一个非政府组织、 世界野生动物基金会、 印度野生动物研究所、国家林业部 和环境部的朋友们,一起合作。
pals:n.朋友;伙伴;哥们儿;v.(和某人)结伴,共度时光;(pal的第三人称单数和复数) Fund:n.基金;资金;存款;v.投资;资助; Institute:v.开始(调查);制定;创立;提起(诉讼);n.学会,协会;学院; Ministry:n.(政府的)部门; stuff:n.东西:物品:基本特征:v.填满:装满:标本:
But it's possibly, and definitely not enough. 但仅仅这样是不够的。
definitely:adv.清楚地,当然;明确地,肯定地;
For example, in the winter of 2007 and 2008, there was this incredible die-off of gharial, in the Chambal River. 举个例子,在2007和2008年冬天, 昌巴尔河里的长吻鄂惊人地大批死亡,
die-off:绝种;顺次枯死;物种数量非人为锐减;
Suddenly dozens of gharial appearing on the river, dead. 突然间河面上出现了很多死鳄鱼。
Why? How could it happen? 为什么？发生什么问题了？
This is a relatively clean river. 这条河相对干净,
relatively:adv.相当程度上;相当地;相对地;
The Chambal, if you look at it, has clear water. 水是清的。
People scoop water out of the Chambal and drink it, something you wouldn't do in most north Indian rivers. 人们直接从河里舀水喝, 大多数印度北部的河不可能是这样的。
scoop:n.勺;铲子;一勺(的量);独家新闻;v.用勺儿舀;用铲儿铲;捡起;抢先报道;
So, in order to try to find out the answer to this, we got veterinarians from all over the world working with Indian vets to try to figure out what was happening. 为了找出原因, 我们从世界各地找来兽医, 和印度本地的兽医一起寻找真相。
veterinarians:n.[兽医]兽医(veterinarian的复数); vets:abbr.退伍军人(veteransadjustmentscale);
I was there for a lot of the necropsies on the riverside. 我也在河边验尸。
And we actually looked through all their organs and tried to figure out what was going on. 我们检查它们的内脏, 试图找出原因。
organs:n.[生物]器官;机构;风琴(organ的复数);
And it came down to something called gout , which, as a result of kidney breakdown is actually uric acid crystals throughout the body, and worse in the joints , which made the gharial unable to swim. 最后我们发现祸根是痛风病, 由于肾功能衰竭, 体内尿酸结晶, 尤其是在关节处, 最终导致长吻鄂不能游泳。
gout:n.[遗][外科]痛风;一滴;一团; as a result:结果; kidney:n.[解剖]肾脏;腰子;个性; breakdown:n.分解;损坏;分类;(关系)破裂;adj.专门修理故障的; uric:adj.尿的;取自尿中的; crystals:n.[晶体]晶体(crystal的复数形式);石英晶体; throughout:adv.自始至终,到处;全部;prep.贯穿,遍及; joints:n.关节; v.接合,联合; (joint的第三人称单数和复数)
And it's a horribly painful death. 死得很痛苦。
horribly:adv.可怕地;让人吃惊 painful:adj.痛苦的;疼痛的;令人不快的;
Just downriver from the Chambal is the filthy Yamuna river, the sacred Yamuna river. 昌巴尔河的下游 是神圣但却肮脏的亚穆纳河。
filthy:adj.肮脏的;污秽的;下流的;淫秽的;adv.极其肮脏的;富得流油的;
And I hate to be so ironic and sarcastic about it but it's the truth. It's just one of the filthiest cesspools you can imagine. 我不想讽刺什么, 但这是事实。这是你能想象的最脏的河了。
ironic:adj.讽刺的;反话的; sarcastic:adj.挖苦的;尖刻的,辛辣的; filthiest:污秽的;下流的;卑鄙的(filthy的最高级); cesspools:n.污水坑;粪坑;污水渗井;化粪池(cesspool的复数形式);
If flows down through Delhi , Mathura, Agra, and gets just about every bit of effluent you can imagine. 它流经德里,马图拉和阿格拉, 受到各种污水的污染。
Delhi:n.德里(印度城市名); effluent:n.污水;流出物;废气;adj.流出的,发出的;
So, it seemed that the toxin that was killing the gharial was something in the food chain , something in the fish they were eating. 杀死长吻鄂的毒素 似乎来自于食物链, 来自一种它们猎食的鱼。
toxin:n.毒素;毒质; food chain:n.食物链;
And, you know, once a toxin is in the food chain everything is affected, including us. 大家都知道,一旦毒素进入食物链, 所有生物都会受到影响,包括我们。
Because these rivers are the lifeblood of people all along their course. 这些河流无疑是当地人的生命线。
lifeblood:n.生机的根源;生命必须的血液;命脉;命根子;
In order to try to answer some of these questions we again turn to technology to biological technology, in this case, again, telemetry, putting radios on 10 ghar ial, 为了解答这些疑问, 我们再次借助科技, 这次是生物科技。 我们在10条长吻鄂装上身上遥测无线电,
technology:n.技术;工艺;术语; biological:adj.生物学的;生物的;与生命过程有关的;加酶的;n.[药]生物制品;
and actually following their movements. They're being watched everyday as we speak, to try to find out what this mysterious toxin is. 记录它们的行踪。 我们监视它们来找出 这些毒素的真面目。
mysterious:adj.神秘的;不可思议的;难解的;
The Chambal river is an absolutely incredible place. 昌巴尔河是个不可思议的地方,
absolutely:adv.绝对地;完全地;
It's a place that's famous to a lot of you who know about the bandits , the dacoits who used to work up there. And there still are quite a few around. 这个地方很出名, 因为曾经有强盗和土匪在这一带出没, 直到今天还有一些。
bandits:n.土匪;盗贼;(bandit的复数) dacoits:n.(印度,缅甸的)土匪,盗贼; quite a few:不少,相当多;
But Poolan Devi was one [of them]. Which actually Shekhar Kapur made and incredible movie, the Bandit Queen, which I urge you to see. 普兰·黛维就曾是其中一员, 她的故事被谢加·卡普尔拍成电影——《土匪女皇》,我强烈建议你们去看一下。
Kapur:n.冰片香;山樟,[植]卡普木;
You'll get to see the incredible [Chambal] landscape as well. 你们能在电影里看到昌巴尔河极美的风景。
landscape:n.景观;乡村风景画;(文件的)横向打印格式;v.对…做景观美化;美化…的环境;
But, again, heavy fishing pressures. 但是,渔业使它不堪重负。
This is one of the last repositories of the 这里已是
repositories:n.贮藏室;资源丰富地区;智囊人物(repository的复数);
Ganges river dolphin , various species of turtles , thousands of migratory birds, and fishing is causing problems like this. 恒河海豚、 各种乌龟, 和无数候鸟最后的家园了, 但是渔业带来了众多问题。
dolphin:n.海豚; turtles:n.海龟;龟;陆龟;水龟;鳖;(turtle的复数) migratory:adj.迁移的;流浪的;
And now [these] new elements of human intolerance for river creatures like the gharial means that if they don't drown in the net, then they simply cut their beaks off. 人类对长吻鄂这类河流生物的不宽容 导致了 它们不是被困死在渔网内 就是被砍去嘴巴。
elements:n.要素;基本部分;少量;一群;(element的复数) intolerance:n.(尤指对别人的意见)不宽容;偏狭; drown:v.淹没;溺死;浸透;浸泡; beaks:n.[鸟]鸟嘴(beak的复数形式);
Animals like the Ganges river dolphin which is just down to a few left, and it is also critically endangered . 恒河海豚 现在所剩无几, 已经濒临灭绝。
critically:adv.精密地;危急地;批评性地;用钻研眼光地; endangered:v.使遭危险;危及;危害;(endanger的过去分词和过去式)
So, who is next? Us? 下一个会是谁？我们？
Because we are all dependent on these water sources. 人类依赖水资源。
dependent on:依赖于;依靠;
So, we all know about the Narmada river, the tragedies of dams, the tragedies of huge projects which displace people and wreck river systems without providing livelihoods . 我们知道纳尔默达河水坝的悲剧, 人类工程项目的悲剧 导致了河流生态系统的严重破坏, 再也不能滋养生命。
displace:vt.取代;置换;转移;把…免职;排水; wreck:n.严重损毁人或物;沉船;v.破坏;损坏;毁掉;使遇难; livelihoods:n.赚钱謀生的手段;生计;(livelihood的复数)
And development just basically going berserk , for a double figure growth index , basically. 人类发展已近疯狂, 增长指数成了两位数。
berserk:adj.狂怒的;adv.狂暴地,狂怒地; index:n.指标;指数;索引;指针;v.做索引;指出;编入索引中;
So, we're not sure where this story is going to end, whether it's got a happy or sad ending. 但我们不知道最终会走向哪里, 是喜是悲。
And climate change is certainly going to turn all of our theories and predictions on their heads. 气候剧变显然会 颠覆我们的理论和预测。
predictions:n.预测,预言(prediction复数形式);
We're still working hard at it. 我们仍在努力工作,
We've got a lot of a good team of people working up there. 我们有很多很好的团队在为此努力。
And the thing is, you know, the decision makers the folks in power, they're up in their bungalows and so on in Delhi, in the city capitals. They are all supplied with plenty of water. It's cool. 但是,那些决策者, 有权力的人, 他们呆在德里的别墅里, 不用愁没水喝,生活很棒。
bungalows:n.平房;(某些亚洲国家的)平房,独座房屋;(bungalow的复数)
But out on the rivers there are still millions of people who are in really bad shape. 但是在外头有数百万人 身陷困境。
And it's a bleak future for them. 他们的未来是惨淡的。
bleak:adj.阴冷的;荒凉的,无遮蔽的;黯淡的,无希望的;冷酷的;单调的;
So, we have our Ganges and Yamuna clean up project. 所以我们要清理恒河与亚穆纳河。
We've spent hundreds of millions of dollars on it, and nothing to show for it. Incredible. 我们在这个项目上花费了上亿的经费, 但却效果甚微,真不敢相信。
So, people talk about political will. 于是大家想到了政治因素。
During the dieoff of the gharial we did galvanize a lot of action. 在长吻鄂大批死亡期间,我们采取了很多行动。
galvanize:vt.镀锌;通电;刺激;
Government cut through all the red tape, we got foreign vets on it. It was great. 政府削减所有的繁文缛节, 请来了国外兽医。这很重要,
So, we can do it. 这样我们才能够成功。
But if you stroll down to the Yamuna or to the Gomati in Lucknow, or to the Adyar river in Chennai , or the Mula-muta river in Pune, just see what we're capable of doing to a river. It's sad. 但你若是沿着亚穆纳河, 一直走到勒克瑙的戈马蒂, 或者到钦奈的阿达亚河, 或者是浦那的木拉穆塔河, 去看看我们能够为这条河所作的,真的是少得可怜。
stroll:n.漫步;闲逛;巡回演出;v.散步;闲逛;巡回演出; Chennai:n.金奈(印度的第四大城市);
But I think the final note really is that we can do it. 不过我还是坚信 我们终会成功。
The corporates , the artists, the wildlife nuts, the good old everyday folks can actually bring these rivers back. 企业,艺术家,野生动物迷, 和民众, 可以把河流带回原来的样子。
corporates:adj.法人的;共同的,全体的;社团的;
And the final word is that there is a king cobra looking over our shoulders. 我最后想说的是, 这里有一条眼镜王蛇
And there is a gharial looking at us from the river. 和一条长吻鄂在看着我们,
And these are powerful water totems . 它们是强大的图腾,
totems:图腾;标志;
And they are going to disturb our dreams until we do the right thing. 它们将一直骚扰我们,除非我们善待它们。
disturb:v.打扰;干扰;使不安;使烦恼;
Namaskar . 谢谢。
Namaskar:n.(印)合十礼(等于namaste);
(Applause) （观众鼓掌）
Chris Anderson: Thanks Rom. Thanks a lot. 克里斯·安德森:谢谢罗穆,十分感谢。
You know, most people are terrified of snakes. 很多人害怕蛇,
And there might be quite a few people here who would be very glad to see the last king cobra bite the dust . 甚至可能有人会希望 看到眼镜王蛇灭绝。
bite the dust:大败,一败涂地;倒下死去;
Do you have those conversations with people? 你有没有与这样的人交谈过？
How do you really get them to care? 你是怎样让他们转变的？
Romulus Whitaker: I take the sort of humble approach 罗穆卢斯·惠特克:我采取一种谦虚的态度。
humble:adj.谦逊的; vt.使谦恭; approach:n.方法;路径;v.接近;建议;着手处理;
I guess you could say. I don't say that snakes are huggable exactly. 我不会说蛇是可爱的动物,
huggable:adj.令人想拥抱的;逗人喜爱的;
It's not like the teddy bear . 他们不是泰迪熊。
teddy bear:泰迪熊
But I sort of -- there is an innocence in these animals. 但是,它们身上也有一种纯真。
innocence:n.清白,无罪;天真无邪;
And when the average person looks at a cobra going "Ssssss!" like that, they say, "My god, look at that angry dangerous creature." 当人们看到眼镜王蛇发出“嘶嘶”声时, 他们会说,“哦天呐, 看那个危险的家伙。”
I look at it as a creature who is totally frightened of something so dangerous as a human being. 但在我看来, 它们不过是被人类吓到了。
frightened:adj.害怕的;受惊的;惊吓的;v.使惊吓;使惊恐;(frighten的过去分词和过去式)
And that is the truth. And that's what I try to get out. 这是事实。也是我想告诉大家的。
(Applause) （观众鼓掌）
CA: Now, incredible footage you showed of the viper being killed. 安德森:那么,关于那个毒蛇被吃掉的视频,
footage:n.英尺长度;连续镜头;以尺计算长度;
You were saying that that hasn't been filmed before. 你说以前从拍摄到过这样的场景。
RM: Yes, this is actually the first time anyone of us knew about it for one thing . 惠特克:是的,这是第一次人们知道这样的事。
for one thing:首先;一则;
As I said , it's just like a little snack for him, you know? 就像我说过的,毒蛇不过是它的点心。
As I said:正如我所说的 snack:n.点心;小吃;快餐;易办到的事;v.吃点心(或快餐、小吃);
usually they eat larger snakes like rat snakes, or even cobras. 通常它们吃更大的蛇,比如食鼠蛇, 甚至是眼镜蛇。
But this guy who we're following right now is in the deep jungle . 但是我们追踪的这家伙现在正在丛林深处,
jungle:n.密林;尔虞我诈的环境;危险地带;
Whereas other king cobras very often come into the human interface , you know, the plantations , to find big rat snakes and stuff. 而其他眼镜王蛇 经常出没在人类聚居地, 它们可以在农场里找到大的食鼠蛇。
Whereas:conj.然而;鉴于;反之; interface:n.接口;人机界面;连接电路;v.连接; plantations:n.[农]种植园(plantation的复数形式);
This guy specializes in pit vipers . 这家伙专吃蝮蛇,
specializes:v.专门研究(或从事);专攻;(specialize的第三人称单数) vipers:n.蝰蛇;毒如蛇蝎的人;险恶的人;(viper的复数)
And the guy who is working there with them, he's from Maharashtra, he said, "I think he's after the nusha." 一位来自马哈拉施特拉的,专门研究眼镜王蛇的同事说: “它一定是追求‘纳莎’。”
(Laughter) （观众笑）
Now, the nusha means the high. “纳莎”就是亢奋的意思
Whenever he eats the pit viper he gets this little venom rush. 每当它捕食蝮蛇的时候,它就过一把蛇毒瘾。
(Laughter) （观众笑）
CA: Thanks Rom. Thank you. 安德森:谢谢你。
(Applause) （观众鼓掌）