纪录片《我们的地球》 第28期 雄伟高山(05)

Their day ends as it began, safe on the steep cliffs.

这一天结束了，和开始时一样，它们又坐在了陡峭而安全的悬崖上

The Ethiopian volcanoes are dormant¹ but elsewhere, others still rage.

埃塞俄比亚的火山正处于休眠期，可是其它地方的火山仍在怒吼

Volcanoes form the backbone² of the longest mountain chain on our planet, the Andes of South America.

火山构成了地球上最长山系的主干，南美洲的安第斯山脉

This vast range stretches 5,000 miles from the equator down to the Antarctic.

这座巨大的山脉从赤道向南极绵亘5000英里

It formed as the floor of the Pacific Ocean slid beneath the South American continent, buckling³ its edge.

它的形成是由于太平洋板块俯冲到南美洲板块之下，造成它的边缘隆起

At the southern end stand the mountains of Patagonia. It's high summer.

最南端矗立着巴塔哥尼亚山脉。现在是盛夏时节

But the Andes have the most unstable⁴ mountain weather on the planet and storms can erupt without warning.

可是安第斯山的天气是全球山区气候中最不稳定的，暴风雪会在毫无征兆的情况下来袭

Temperatures plummet⁵ and guanacos and their newborn young must suddenly endure a blizzard⁶.

气温直线下降，羊驼和它们新生的幼仔只好忍受突如其来的风雪

Truly, all seasons in one day.

可以说是在一天之中度过了四季。

1 dormant   

adj.暂停活动的；休眠的；潜伏的

参考例句：

• Many animals are in a dormant state during winter.在冬天许多动物都处于睡眠状态。
• This dormant volcano suddenly fired up.这座休眠火山突然爆发了。

2 backbone   

n.脊骨，脊柱，骨干；刚毅，骨气

参考例句：

• The Chinese people have backbone.中国人民有骨气。
• The backbone is an articulate structure.脊椎骨是一种关节相连的结构。

3 buckling   

扣住

参考例句：

• A door slammed in the house and a man came out buckling his belt. 房子里的一扇门砰地关上，一个男子边扣腰带边走了出来。
• The periodic buckling leaves the fibre in a waved conformation. 周期性的弯折在纤维中造成波形构成。

4 unstable   

adj.不稳定的，易变的

参考例句：

• This bookcase is too unstable to hold so many books.这书橱很不结实，装不了这么多书。
• The patient's condition was unstable.那患者的病情不稳定。

5 plummet   

vi.(价格、水平等)骤然下跌；n.铅坠；重压物

参考例句：

• Mengniu and Yili have seen their shares plummet since the incident broke.自事件发生以来，蒙牛和伊利的股票大幅下跌。
• Even if rice prices were to plummet,other brakes on poverty alleviation remain.就算大米价格下跌，其它阻止导致贫困的因素仍然存在。

6 blizzard   

n.暴风雪

参考例句：

• The blizzard struck while we were still on the mountain.我们还在山上的时候暴风雪就袭来了。
• You'll have to stay here until the blizzard blows itself off.你得等暴风雪停了再走。