英语PK台 第369期:我觉得我的前世是一只鸟

 　　Track One

　　I am a bird watcher—I have been watching birds since I was four years old in the UK and Denmark where I lived later

　　我是一个野鸟观察者——自我四岁起在就英国以及随后居住的丹麦观察鸟类。

　　When I came to Beijing I found it very difficult to find information about birds and birdwatching in Beijing

　　来北京后，我发现很难找到关于鸟类和鸟类观察的信息。

　　But when I started to go out and about to some of the wilder places outside of the 5th and 6th Ring Roads

　　但是当我开始走出去到北京五环外和六环路的野外时，

　　I discovered that Beijing was a really, really good place to watch birds

　　我发现北京真的是一个观察鸟类的好地方。

　　Actually it is one of the best capital cities in the world to see birds

　　事实上北京是全世界最好观察鸟类的首都之一

　　Which surprises a lot of people—they say “That can't be true”!

　　这让很多人惊讶不已——“怎么可能”！

　　It is not because Beijing is an environmental paradise—because we all know it isn't

　　这不是因为北京是一个环保的天堂——因为我们都知道它并不是

　　But the geographic¹ location of Beijing is ‘right, slap bang' in the middle of something we call the ‘East Asian Flyway’

　　而是因为北京独特的地理位置：它正好处于我们所称东亚迁徙路径的中间地带

　　So there are millions and millions of birds that live to the north in the relatively² uninhabited, by humans at least, Siberia, northeast Russia, northeast China.

　　有成百上千万的鸟类生活在北部相对无人居住的的西伯利亚，俄罗斯东北部和中国东北区域。

　　In the winter this area gets extremely cold so most of these birds fly south for the winter

　　在冬季，这些地方极度寒冷，因此鸟儿们大多数都会飞往南方度过寒冬。

　　Some to southern China, some to Southeast Asia, some go as far as Australia

　　有些飞往中国南方，有些飞往东南亚，有些甚至一直飞到澳大利亚

　　Beijing is right on that ‘expressway for birds' many of those birds stop off in Beijing—just as you go on a long car journey, you have to stop occasionally

　　北京处于候鸟迁徙的高速路上，很多鸟都在北京停下来歇脚——就像你驾车长途旅行，你必须偶尔停下来

　　Have something to eat, drink, rest—the birds do exactly the same

　　吃点东西，喝点水，休息——鸟类也是这样的

　　Beijing is one of these places on this huge ‘flyway' you will not see that many species in the centre of Beijing normally

　　在这个巨大的迁徙路径中，北京是其中一个地点，通常在北京城中部，你平常看不到如此多鸟类

　　Spring and autumn are the migration³ season for birds

　　春季和秋季是鸟类的迁徙季节

　　At that time even in parks of central Beijing, you will find many, many different species

　　那时，甚至在北京中心的公园你也会发现很多很多不同的鸟类

　　Track Two

　　The ‘Bird Highway’—where would we find that in Beijing?

　　这个“候鸟迁徙高速路”——我们能在北京的什么地方找到它？

　　There are some places that are particularly good if you want to see lots of different birds

　　如果你想看很多不同鸟类，有一些特别好的地方可以方便观察

　　The reservoirs to the northeast and northwest Miyun Reservoir, Guanting Reservoir in Yanqing County.

　　东北部和西北部的水库，如密云水库，延庆县的官厅水库

　　Both of those places are exceptionally good for birds

　　这两个地方对鸟类来说是极好的栖息地

　　In middle of May or late September/early October its possible to see 100/150 different species in a day by visiting those sites

　　在五月中旬，或九月末十月初，如果你去这些地方，你有可能一天之内看到看到100—150种不同的鸟类

　　Yanqing—I was up there with the Danish Embassy on a ‘wetland’ cycling tour for Climate Change

　　we went through this wetland park that was to the west of Yanqing—round by lakes and marshes⁴ Called ‘ye ya hu'-Wild Duck Lake

　　延庆——我在参加丹麦大使馆组织的关于保护气候的湿地骑行时去过那儿，我们走过这个延庆西部的湿地公园——它被湖群和沼泽地环绕，叫作“野鸭湖”

　　There is a lake you can walk around and a vast area of reed beds and trails to walk around near to the reservoir itself.

　　那儿有一个可以徒步环行的湖，大片芦苇区域以及靠近水库的数条步行小径

　　it is a wonderful place to be.

　　这是一个很棒的去处。

　　it is hard to believe you are in Beijing when you are there!

　　当你身处此地你很难相信你是在北京！

　　Birds, the ducks coming down there—are they protected?

　　此处的鸟类，鸭子，它们也受保护吗？

　　In China nearly all wild birds are protected—it is illegal to take them from the wild without a special permit which is normally only issued for scientific study

　　在中国几乎所有的野生鸟类都已受到保护——未经特别许可擅自将其带离野外是违法的，除非是为了特别的科学研究

　　There are other species that are on a specially protected list

　　也有其他鸟类在特别保护名单中

　　So they enjoy special protection and there are stiff penalties if you catch, or kill or injure these birds

　　因此它们享受特殊保护，而且对待擅自抓捕，杀害或者伤害这些鸟类也有强硬的法律处罚

　　These are generally the bigger birds—the more obvious ones Cranes or storks which are held in high esteem in China

　　这些通常是针对较大的鸟类—较明显的在中国极受尊崇的鸟类如鹤或者鹳

　　These sort of birds enjoy a special level of protection

　　这些鸟类享受特殊级别的保护

1 geographic   

adj.地理学的，地理的

参考例句：

• The city's success owes much to its geographic position. 这座城市的成功很大程度上归功于它的地理位置。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Environmental problems pay no heed to these geographic lines. 环境问题并不理会这些地理界限。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

2 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

3 migration   

n.迁移，移居，（鸟类等的）迁徙

参考例句：

• Swallows begin their migration south in autumn.燕子在秋季开始向南方迁移。
• He described the vernal migration of birds in detail.他详细地描述了鸟的春季移居。

4 marshes   

n.沼泽，湿地( marsh的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Cows were grazing on the marshes. 牛群在湿地上吃草。
• We had to cross the marshes. 我们不得不穿过那片沼泽地。 来自《简明英汉词典》