【旁白】South Pacific--漂流者

本尼为BBC2台纪录片《南太平洋》担任旁白。 南太平洋的岛屿是世界上最偏僻的 The South Pacific Islands are the most isolated in the world. 有些离最近的洲大陆4000多哩远 Some are more than 4,000 miles from the nearest continent. 生物难以到达这些岛屿 The odds against any life reaching these islands, 繁荣也只在瞬间 and flourishing, were once minute. 不管如何的偏远 But no matter ho remote they may be, 所有都被开拓了 all have been colonised. 先是植物和动物... First by plants and animals... 接着是人类 ..and then by humans. 那些漂流者是如何 So who were those castaways 到达这些分布广泛的岛屿？ and how did they ever reach these far-flung islands? 漂流者 南太平洋宽度1万哩 More than twice the width of the Atlantic Ocean, 是大西洋的二倍多 the South Pacific is 10,000 miles wide. 许多开拓者从遥远的西方一隅 Many of the pioneers who made it to the most easterly islands 动身来到最东面的岛屿 set off from its far-western corner. 对多数人而言 新几内亚是发射台 And, for most, New Guinea was the launch pad. 是英国的三倍 Three times the size of Britain, 世界上最大的热带岛屿... this is the largest tropical island in the world... 有着最丰富的动物生命... ..and the richest in animal life... 有些真正吸引眼球的定居者 ..with some truly eye-catching residents. 像这种戈氏天堂鸟 Like this Goldie's Bird of paradise. 以前从未被拍过 Never filmed before, 戈氏天堂鸟只是新几内亚38种 天堂鸟中的一种 Goldie's are just one of New Guinea's 38 species of bird of paradise... 全都因富丽的羽毛而出名 all famed for their spectacular plumage. 热衷展示他华丽的羽毛为的是 吸引雌性的注意 Keen to show his impressive feathers to an attentive female, 雄性在清理舞台 the male clears the stage. 现在他准备好唱小夜曲的场所了 Now he's ready for a spot of serenading. BIRD SINGS 雌性外观或许平淡但她们非常挑剔 Females may be dull looking but they are very picky. 他的独唱未能奏效 His solo fails to impress. 第二个雄性来到并且取得中心舞台 A second male arrives and takes centre stage. 但与其战斗不如来个二重奏 But, rather than fight, they strike up a duet. BIRDS SING IN UNISON 这个卖弄厉害的最终引起雌性的注意 This show of strength finally gets her attention. 羽毛最好的戈氏天堂鸟得到了女朋友 The best-dressed Goldie gets the girl. 虽说他的羽毛能为他弄到女朋友 But while his feathers may have secured him a mate, 但不足以把他们带离岛 they're not strong enough to carry him off the island 或从遥远的东方穿越南太平洋 and further east across the South Pacific. 天堂鸟牺牲飞行能力为得是能够花枝招展 Birds of paradise sacrificed flight efficiency for flights of fancy. 谁能开拓南太平洋那？ So who did manage to colonise the South Pacific? 新几内亚广袤的景致 New Guinea's enormous landscape 被划成了数千座的孤立山谷 is carved up into thousands of isolated valleys. 每个都有庇护数量庞大开拓者的潜力 Each shelters huge numbers of potential colonisers. 令人惊讶地 地球上有1/20的昆虫物种 生活在这里 Amazingly, one in twenty of the world's insect species may live here. 同时还有近300种哺乳动物 As well as almost 300 species of mammal, 像奇怪的卵生长鼻针鼹 like the bizarre, egg-laying, long-nosed echidna. 甚至有喜欢树的袋鼠 There are even kangaroos that have taken to the trees. 虽然稍许不稳当！ Although somewhat precariously! 有什么动物向东旅行到其它岛屿么? Did any of these animals ever travel east to other islands? 约300个爬行物种在这炎热之地兴旺发达 Around 300 species of reptile thrive within this hot house, 包括无处不在的鳞趾虎 including the ubiquitous mourning gecko. 它是适应能力高的动物 It is a highly-adaptable creature 但它有何工具 体力和运气 成为一名生存下来的开拓者? But did it have the tools, stamina and luck to survive being a castaway? 有一个动物无疑能 One animal certainly did. DRUMS BEAT 人类 Humans. THEY CHANT 尽管才4万年前到达新几内亚 Despite only arriving in New Guinea 40,000 years ago, 人类不久就确定了遍及岛屿 如迷宫般的隐秘山谷 humans were soon established throughout the island's maze of hidden valleys. 如今这些人被称为巴布亚人 Today, these people are known as Papuans 同时说着700多个不同的语言... and together speak over 700 different languages... 远比地球上其它岛屿要多 more than any other island on Earth. 尽管他们熟识全岛 Yet, despite their mastery of the island, 却生活在一种敬畏的动物阴影之下 there was one creature they lived in awe of... 食人巨鳄 the giant man-eating crocodile. 即使如今 年轻人也必须要忍受 野蛮的成人仪式 Even today, young men must endure a brutal initiation ceremony, 相信能获得这些巨型爬虫的力量和狡诈 to acquire the strength and guile of these giant reptiles. THEY MARCH AND CHANT 首席巫师召唤鳄鱼之神寻求赐福和保佑 The chief shaman calls out to the crocodile gods, asking for their blessing and protection. 部落人装成鳄鱼活动时蜿蜒的样子 The tribesmen form the sinuous shape of a moving crocodile. 在后面 鳄鱼的尾巴处 一名如宫廷小丑舒缓了心情 At the rear, the crocodile's tail, a court jester lightens the mood. 即刻就是紧张又可能致命的通过仪式 Momentarily, for what follows is a gruelling and potentially lethal rite of passage. 这些年轻人将身体毁损至类似鳄鱼的样子 These young men will be mutilated, to resemble crocodiles. 男孩被带到神灵的房间 The boys are led into the spirit house, 受到年长者的夹道鞭打 running the gauntlet of blows from their elders. 他们找到锋利的竹棒 Inside, they find sharpened lengths of bamboo. 刺疤的神圣活动开始了 The sacred act of scarring is about to begin. 仪式近乎神秘 The ritual is a closely-guarded secret. DRUMS BEAT TO A CRESCENDO BOY SCREAMS, MEN CHANT 他们割得十分干净 Their cuts are thoroughly cleaned. 切割者的传染才是真正的危险 Killer infections are a real danger. 进去是男孩 出来就是男人...鳄鱼人 They go in as boys but they come out as men - crocodile men... 有着召唤巨型爬虫的力量 with the power to summon the great reptiles. 他们背上的伤疤象征着动物的鳞片... The scars on their back represent the animal's scales... 同时他们的胸部成了鳄鱼的眼睛 ..while their chests have become the crocodile's eyes. 要是你最害怕的动物可能在观察 你的每步行动的话 If the animal you most fear might be watching your every move, 任何缓和的行动都是值得尝试的 any act of appeasement is worth trying. 新几内亚并没有因南太平洋中的 咸水鳄而停下脚步 And New Guinea wasn't the last stop for saltwater crocodiles in the South Pacific. 数百万年前 Millions of years ago, 这些强大的爬行动物已经开始朝东方推进 these powerful reptiles had already begun their push eastwards. 对于任何动物漂流者来说 For any animal castaway, 第一个障碍就是60哩宽的海域 the first hurdle would have been the 60-mile stretch of water 它把新几内亚与下一个群岛 所罗门群岛分隔开 that separates New Guinea from the next group of islands - the Solomons. 所罗门群岛不像新几内亚是个主岛 Instead of one dominating island, like New Guinea, 所罗门群岛是近千个小型岛屿组成 the Solomons are made up of almost a thousand smaller jewels, 分散在900哩的连线上 scattered along a 900-mile chain. 这些岛屿都是海中火山喷发形成 开拓者的时机成熟了 All these islands erupted out of the sea and were ripe for colonisation. 这些所罗门岛民的祖先 The ancestors of these Solomon Islanders 约在3000年前 穿越最初的60哩 made that initial 60-mile crossing some 30,000 years ago. 无论他们的祖先像这样 是用挖空的树干划桨穿越 Whether their ancestors paddled across in hollowed-out tree trunks like these, 还是用巨大竹筏穿越的 无人知道 or floated on giant bamboo rafts, no-one knows. 难得见到陆地 And with land occasionally in sight, 他们却想要去探索 they would have surely been tempted to investigate. 到人类到达为止 所罗门几乎挤满了 By the time people arrived, the Solomons were packed 1/4在新几内亚发现的动植物 with almost a quarter of the plants and animals found in New Guinea... 包括他们的老对手-咸水鳄 ..including their old adversary, the saltwater crocodile. 对于大多数动物来说 60哩的游泳是了不起的功绩 A 60-mile swim would be an unimaginable feat for most animals 但多数动物不喜欢有盐份的 but salties are not most animals. 只有为数不多的鳄鱼能忍受盐水 One of the few crocodiles to tolerate saltwater, 它们也是最大最强壮的游泳者 they are also the largest and strongest swimmers. 受到内部罗盘的指引 Guided by an internal compass, 它们在所罗门各处登陆 they made landfall throughout the Solomons 成为太平洋中最东面的鳄鱼群 and became the most easterly population of crocodiles in the Pacific. 一旦登陆 它们就有大把的美食可以享用 Once arrived, they'd have had plenty to feast on. 新几内亚和所罗门周围的海域 The waters surrounding New Guinea and the Solomons 是地球上最丰富多彩的 are the richest and most diverse in the world. 甚至一个暗礁上鱼的种类就 Indeed, there are more species of fish on one of these reefs 超过整个加勒比海 than in the whole of the Caribbean. 这些生命都是如何从 新几内亚到所罗门的? But how did all this life reach the Solomons from New Guinea? 你一定想鱼是很容易在这些 小岛之间游动的 You might think it would be easy for a fish to swim between these small islands. 但不是这样 But not so. 你不可能在深水里找到这些小鱼 You wouldn't find these little fish in deep water. 开阔海域边的这些浅礁 实际上是个巨大的栅栏 The open ocean beyond their shallow reef is, in fact, a huge barrier. 那这些鱼是如何到这里的? So how did all these fish come to be here? 开拓新的暗礁对穿越南太平洋的鱼来说 面临一个挑战 Colonising new reefs is a challenge faced by fish across the South Pacific, 但它们有简单的解决方法 but they have a simple solution. 每年一次 数千的石斑鱼聚在暗礁上 Once a year, thousands of groupers gather on the reefs. 当满月时 一件奇怪的事件显露出来 With the coming of the full moon, an extraordinary event unfolds. 石斑鱼产卵 They spawn. 雌鱼喷释出数百万颗卵 雄鱼快速跟进 A female darts up and releases millions of eggs, quickly followed by the males, 竞相给卵受精 who jostle to fertilise them. 但新生命刚开始就可能以死亡结束 But starting new life can end in death. 灰礁鲨 Grey reef sharks. Grey reef sharks. 石斑鱼通常比鲨鱼要快得多 Groupers are normally too quick for sharks... 但一条慌乱的石斑鱼成了鲨鱼的佐餐 ..but a distracted grouper is shark bait. 鲨鱼会突然捕获几条成熟的鱼 The sharks may snatch a few adults, 但成亿的受精鱼卵被洋流携带着 but millions upon millions of fertilised grouper eggs are picked up by the current. 在开阔的海域外孵化成幼体 Out in the open ocean, they hatch into larvae 成为大量浮游生物的一部分 and become part of the vast plankton soup. （字数限制未贴完，完整文本见微博置顶资源）