纪录片《南太平洋》 第01期 大洋小岛（25）

Back then, its hills were cloaked with a forest of giant palms.

那时整个岛屿被巨大的棕榈林所覆盖

It was also home to one of the largest seabird colonies in the South Pacific.

这里也曾是南太平洋最大的海鸟栖息地

Initially¹, life must have been easy for the Easter Islanders,the Rapa Nui.

最初复活节岛民，也就是拉帕努伊人的生活十分安逸

And with time on their hands,

随着生产力的发展

they set to work carving² huge stone statues known as moai.

他们开始雕刻所谓摩艾的巨人石像

Before long, each clan³ was trying to carve larger,

从那以后，每一个部落都想雕出

grander figures than those of their neighbours competition that was to be their undoing⁴.

岛上最大最壮观的石像，这成为他们覆灭的根源

Vast quantities of wood were used to transport the stone statues,

大量的木材被用来运输石像

and slowly but surely, the Rapa Nui used up their island's precious resources.

他们逐渐耗尽了岛上宝贵的资源

Eventually, their civilisation⁵ descended⁶ into chaos⁷ and warfare⁸.

最后岛内文明也陷入了战乱之中

Clan fought against clan, with disastrous⁹ consequences.

部落间的对抗导致了灾难性的后果

By the time of their ultimate collapse¹⁰, the Rapa Nui had changed their island beyond recognition.

拉帕努伊人最终灭亡时，复活节岛已经面目全非

1 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

2 carving   

n.雕刻品，雕花

参考例句：

• All the furniture in the room had much carving.房间里所有的家具上都有许多雕刻。
• He acquired the craft of wood carving in his native town.他在老家学会了木雕手艺。

3 clan   

n.氏族，部落，宗族，家族，宗派

参考例句：

• She ranks as my junior in the clan.她的辈分比我小。
• The Chinese Christians,therefore,practically excommunicate themselves from their own clan.所以，中国的基督徒简直是被逐出了自己的家族了。

4 undoing   

n.毁灭的原因，祸根；破坏，毁灭

参考例句：

• That one mistake was his undoing. 他一失足即成千古恨。
• This hard attitude may have led to his undoing. 可能就是这种强硬的态度导致了他的垮台。

5 civilisation   

n.文明，文化，开化，教化

参考例句：

• Energy and ideas are the twin bases of our civilisation.能源和思想是我们文明的两大基石。
• This opera is one of the cultural totems of Western civilisation.这部歌剧是西方文明的文化标志物之一。

6 descended   

a.为...后裔的，出身于...的

参考例句：

• A mood of melancholy descended on us. 一种悲伤的情绪袭上我们的心头。
• The path descended the hill in a series of zigzags. 小路呈连续的之字形顺着山坡蜿蜒而下。

7 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

8 warfare   

n.战争(状态)；斗争；冲突

参考例句：

• He addressed the audience on the subject of atomic warfare.他向听众演讲有关原子战争的问题。
• Their struggle consists mainly in peasant guerrilla warfare.他们的斗争主要是农民游击战。

9 disastrous   

adj.灾难性的，造成灾害的；极坏的，很糟的

参考例句：

• The heavy rainstorm caused a disastrous flood.暴雨成灾。
• Her investment had disastrous consequences.She lost everything she owned.她的投资结果很惨，血本无归。

10 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。