纪录片《南太平洋》 第128期 奇异岛屿（04）

She may not seem too impressed,

她似乎并那么引人注明

but then kagus always keep their feet very firmly on the ground.

然而鹭鹤的脚总是紧紧地抓住地面

Their wings are too weak to get them airborne,

它们的翅膀太弱无法飞行

but why fly when all the food you need is on the ground?

为什么食物全在地上还要去飞？

And with no large predators¹ stalking this island,

这个岛没有大型掠食者的围捕

there's not much cause to take flight.

几乎没有要飞的理由

But this life is not without its worries.

它一生也无需担心什么

A newly hatched chick is hiding among the leaves.

新近孵出的幼雏躲在树叶里

As with babies the world over, getting food into mouth can be quite a challenge.

幼雏来到世上 把食物送进嘴里到是一个挑战

Perhaps slimy worms just don't appeal.

或许粘滑的虫子不太有吸引力

The chick's camouflage² helps to hide it from aerial predators like the New Caledonian crow.

幼雏的伪装能帮助避开像新几内亚乌鸦之类的空中掠食者

Fortunately, Dad's wings still have a use.....to help him look big and intimidating³.

幸亏父亲的翅膀还有一个用处...使它看上去大些 恐怖些..

The kagu may be an island oddity,

鹭鹤或许是岛怪

but with few prowling predators reaching the Pacific's isolated⁴ islands,

几个游荡的掠食者在搜寻太平洋的孤岛

flightless birds are more common here than anywhere else on Earth.

这里无战斗力的鸟类比其它地方普遍要多

Islands are a topsy-turvy world, where evolution seems to follow a different set of rules.

岛屿是纷乱的世界，进化似乎遵循不同的规则

North of New Caledonia lies the Solomon Islands archipelago,

新几内亚北部座落着所罗门群岛

a scattering⁵ of a thousand tropical islands.

散布着千座热带岛屿

1 predators   

n.食肉动物( predator的名词复数 )；奴役他人者（尤指在财务或性关系方面）

参考例句：

• birds and their earthbound predators 鸟和地面上捕食它们的动物
• The eyes of predators are highly sensitive to the slightest movement. 捕食性动物的眼睛能感觉到最细小的动静。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 camouflage   

n./v.掩饰，伪装

参考例句：

• The white fur of the polar bear is a natural camouflage.北极熊身上的白色的浓密软毛是一种天然的伪装。
• The animal's markings provide effective camouflage.这种动物身上的斑纹是很有效的伪装。

3 intimidating   

vt.恐吓，威胁( intimidate的现在分词)

参考例句：

• They were accused of intimidating people into voting for them. 他们被控胁迫选民投他们的票。
• This kind of questioning can be very intimidating to children. 这种问话的方式可能让孩子们非常害怕。

4 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。

5 scattering   

n.[物]散射；散乱，分散；在媒介质中的散播adj.散乱的；分散在不同范围的；广泛扩散的；（选票）数量分散的v.散射(scatter的ing形式)；散布；驱散

参考例句：

• The child felle into a rage and began scattering its toys about. 这孩子突发狂怒，把玩具扔得满地都是。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The farmers are scattering seed. 农夫们在播种。 来自《简明英汉词典》