纪录片《南太平洋》 第129期 奇异岛屿（05）

For the select few animals that arrived here,

对于选择到达这里的动物来说

these were brave, new worlds, filled with possibilities.

这里要大胆 新世界里充满着变数

And to make the most of what they found here, some adopted a whole new way of life.

要尽可能的在这里安家，有些采用了全新的生存方式

Among the successful colonists¹ were skinks...

其中的成功开拓者就是石龙子

lizards² that are usually small with short legs.

蜥蜴通常身小腿短

Quite a variety live here in the Solomons,

有不少种类生活在所罗门

but there is one in these forests that's unlike any other skink on the planet.

但这里森林有一种完全不像 地球上其它的石龙子

The monkey-tailed skink is up to 50 times heavier than your average skink,

猴尾石龙子比普通石龙子重50倍

and is the world's largest.

是世界上最大的

Most skinks spend their lives on the ground, but not this monster.

多数石龙子毕生都在地上生活 但这个怪物不

This is the only skink to possess a prehensile³ tail...

这是唯一具有卷缠尾的石龙子...

..and unlike nearly all other skinks which dine on insects,

几乎不像其它吃昆虫的石龙子..

this gentle giant is entirely⁴ vegetarian⁵.

这个温和的巨人完全吃素的

As in New Guinea, there are no monkeys on these islands,

在新几内亚 这些岛屿上没有猴子

so this skink simply filled the gap in the market and branched out.

因此石龙子就简单得填补了这个市场 并且枝开叶散

It even forms social bonds with other monkey-tailed skinks,

它甚至和其它卷尾石龙子 结成了群体连系

a rare characteristic among reptiles⁶ of any description.

这个特征在任何种类的 爬行动物当中相当罕见

This skink may be an oddity, but that is exactly why it thrives here.

石龙子也许是个怪物 但这正是它为什么能在此兴旺发达

1 colonists   

n.殖民地开拓者，移民，殖民地居民( colonist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Colonists from Europe populated many parts of the Americas. 欧洲的殖民者移居到了美洲的许多地方。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Some of the early colonists were cruel to the native population. 有些早期移居殖民地的人对当地居民很残忍。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 lizards   

n.蜥蜴( lizard的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Nothing lives in Pompeii except crickets and beetles and lizards. 在庞培城里除了蟋蟀、甲壳虫和蜥蜴外，没有别的生物。 来自辞典例句
• Can lizards reproduce their tails? 蜥蜴的尾巴断了以后能再生吗？ 来自辞典例句

3 prehensile   

adj.（足等）适于抓握的

参考例句：

• Poets are those strangely prehensile men.诗人是那些具有深刻洞察力的人们。
• A monkey has a prehensile tail.猴子有能盘卷住东西的尾巴。

4 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

5 vegetarian   

n.素食者；adj.素食的

参考例句：

• She got used gradually to the vegetarian diet.她逐渐习惯吃素食。
• I didn't realize you were a vegetarian.我不知道你是个素食者。

6 reptiles   

n.爬行动物，爬虫( reptile的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Snakes and crocodiles are both reptiles. 蛇和鳄鱼都是爬行动物。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Birds, reptiles and insects come from eggs. 鸟类、爬虫及昆虫是卵生的。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》