纪录片《南太平洋》 第11期 大洋小岛（11）

Robber crabs² are perhaps the only animals in the world able to break into a coconut³.

盗蟹也许是地球上唯一能打破椰子的动物

The husk is ripped off by powerful pincers.

它凭借强力的蟹鳌撕开椰壳

Other legs drill through the germinating⁴ holes on the seed itself until the nut finally cracks.

将蟹腿钻通椰子的发芽洞，直到椰子最终破碎

The whole process can take several hours, but the reward is a meal rich in protein.

整个过程可能要花费几个小时，奖赏是一顿富含蛋白质的美餐

Robber crabs may rule the land, but they're no masters of the sea.

盗蟹或许统治着岛屿，却不是海洋的主人

An adult crab¹ would drown in a few minutes, which raises the question

成年盗蟹下水几分钟就会淹死，既然如此

how did these monsters get to so many of the South Pacific's most isolated⁵ islands?

这个怪物是如何抵达南太平洋众多孤岛的呢

This female carries the answer - thousands of eggs,

答案在雌蟹身上，数千枚蟹卵

which will soon be left to the mercy of the ocean currents.

会从洋流中幸存下来

A few shakes of her tail are all that's needed to send them on their way.

它摇动尾巴将蟹卵送入海浪

The eggs will hatch immediately.

蟹卵会立刻孵化

Then the larvae⁶ will have just 50 days to find a new home above the water.

此后幼蟹只有50天时间在海上漂流并找到新家

1 crab   

n.螃蟹，偏航，脾气乖戾的人，酸苹果；vi.捕蟹，偏航，发牢骚；vt.使偏航，发脾气

参考例句：

• I can't remember when I last had crab.我不记得上次吃蟹是什么时候了。
• The skin on my face felt as hard as a crab's back.我脸上的皮仿佛僵硬了，就象螃蟹的壳似的。

2 crabs   

n.蟹( crab的名词复数 )；阴虱寄生病；蟹肉v.捕蟹( crab的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• As we walked along the seashore we saw lots of tiny crabs. 我们在海岸上散步时看到很多小蟹。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The fish and crabs scavenge for decaying tissue. 鱼和蟹搜寻腐烂的组织为食。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 coconut   

n.椰子

参考例句：

• The husk of this coconut is particularly strong.椰子的外壳很明显非常坚固。
• The falling coconut gave him a terrific bang on the head.那只掉下的椰子砰地击中他的脑袋。

4 germinating   

n.& adj.发芽（的）v.（使）发芽( germinate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Glyoxysomes are particularly well known in germinating fatly seeds. 人们已经知道，萌发的含油种子中有乙醛酸循环体。 来自辞典例句
• Modern, industrial society, slowly germinating in the shadow of medievalism, burst the bonds of feudalism. 现代工业社会缓慢地在中世纪精神的阴影下孕育成长着，终于挣脱了封建制度的枷锁。 来自辞典例句

5 isolated   

adj.与世隔绝的

参考例句：

• His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
• Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。

6 larvae   

n.幼虫

参考例句：

• Larvae are parasitic on sheep.幼虫寄生在绵羊的身上。
• The larvae prey upon small aphids.这种幼虫以小蚜虫为食。