纪录片《卧底企鹅帮》 第22期 蹒跚学步(5)

At the Emperor colony, the dads are still waiting.

在帝企鹅聚居地，爸爸们还在等待

With no food left, eating snow eases hunger and thirst.

食物已然耗尽，吃点雪能缓解饥饿与干渴

But if their partners don't arrive soon,

但如果它们的伴侣迟迟不归

the males will have to abandon their precious chicks and return to the sea.

雄企鹅们就不得不遗弃珍爱的小企鹅返回大海

Then, the sight they have waited for.

期待已久的一幕终于出现了

The females trekked¹ across a frozen ocean to arrive back in the nick of time.

雌企鹅艰苦跋涉过冰冻的海面，在最后关头赶了回来

The chick has never seen her mother.

小企鹅从没见过母亲

She could be any one of the new arrivals.

可能是归来的企鹅中的任何一个

The mother is equally keen to see her new chick,

母亲也同样渴望见到新生的孩子

but she must first find her mate, among more than 3,000 males.

但它首先得在超过3000只雄企鹅中找到自己的伴侣

She rushes into the crowd, nothing stands in her way.

它迅速挤入企鹅群中，没什么能阻挡它的脚步

But there's a problem.

但出现了一个问题

She's now stuck in the middle and no closer to finding her mate.

它困在企鹅群中无法找寻伴侣

But the males have a solution.

但雄企鹅有了主意

They peel away and form an orderly line.

它们散开来站成有序的一排

Their chicks are safely tucked in the brood pouch² between their legs.

小企鹅被安全地裹在它们两腿间的育儿袋里

To help their partners, they have formed an identity parade.

为了帮助伴侣，它们慢慢行进让自己更好被识别

The female inspects them, one by one.

雌企鹅一个个地观察

She finally catches sight of her mate and calls to check it's really him.

它终于看到了自己的伴侣，然后叫了两声以进一步确认

Her partner takes himself out of the line.

它的伴侣走出了队列

A couple once more, she views her chick for the first time.

爱侣重逢，而它第一次看到了自己的孩子

It should be her turn to look after the baby, but her partner's not so sure.

现在该轮到它来照顾企鹅宝宝，但它的伴侣好像有些犹豫

He may not have eaten for three months, but the bond with his chick is stronger than hunger.

虽然它已经有3个月没有进食，但与幼雏的情感却比饥饿感强烈

He finally accepts the inevitable³,

它终于接受了事实

but transferring the chick needs perfect coordination⁴.

但转移小企鹅需要一丝不苟地配合

Things could hardly have gone better.

一切都完美地完成

1 trekked   

v.艰苦跋涉，徒步旅行( trek的过去式和过去分词 )；（尤指在山中）远足，徒步旅行，游山玩水

参考例句：

• They trekked for three days along the banks of the Zambezi. 他们沿着赞比西河河岸跋涉了三天。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Six-man teams trekked through the woods, respectively for 72 to 96 hours. 6人一组的小分队，经过长途跋涉，穿过了森林，分别用72小时到96小时不等。 来自互联网

2 pouch   

n.小袋，小包，囊状袋；vt.装...入袋中，用袋运输；vi.用袋送信件

参考例句：

• He was going to make a tobacco pouch out of them. 他要用它们缝制一个烟草袋。
• The old man is always carrying a tobacco pouch with him.这老汉总是随身带着烟袋。

3 inevitable   

adj.不可避免的，必然发生的

参考例句：

• Mary was wearing her inevitable large hat.玛丽戴着她总是戴的那顶大帽子。
• The defeat had inevitable consequences for British policy.战败对英国政策不可避免地产生了影响。

4 coordination   

n.协调，协作

参考例句：

• Gymnastics is a sport that requires a considerable level of coordination.体操是一项需要高协调性的运动。
• The perfect coordination of the dancers and singers added a rhythmic charm to the performance.舞蹈演员和歌手们配合得很好，使演出更具魅力。