纪录片《我们的地球》 第72期 洞穴迷宫(11)

Mexico's Yucatan peninsula has no rivers, lakes or streams,

墨西哥的尤卡坦半岛没有河流、湖泊和小溪

so the Maya relied on the cenotes, the flooded entrances to the water-filled caves.

因此玛雅文化完全依赖于沼穴--地下水洞的入口

These flooded shafts¹ are the region's only source of open fresh water.

这些水潭是整个地区唯一的露天淡水资源

The cenotes are, in effect, gigantic freshwater wells.

沼穴于是成了巨大的淡水井

Away from the life-giving rays of sunshine, one might not expect to find plants.

这里远离给予生命的阳光，似乎不太可能会有植物。

But in the darkness of the cave tunnels,

但是在黑暗的洞穴通道内

roots of giant tropical trees have pushed their way through cracks in the limestone² to reach the flooded caverns³.

大型热带树木的根系却已穿透石灰岩裂缝伸入到水洞之中

Without this water, the Yucatan's forest could not grow so luxuriantly.

如果没有这些水，尤卡坦半岛的森林不可能长得如此茂盛。

The Maya knew that their lives depended on this water,

玛雅人固然知道它们的生活离不开这些水

but it's only with the help of today's technology

但只有借助现代科技

that we've come to appreciate the full significance and scale of these flooded passageways.

我们才能完全了解这些地下水道的重要性及其规模。

1 shafts   

n.轴( shaft的名词复数 )；（箭、高尔夫球棒等的）杆；通风井；一阵（疼痛、害怕等）

参考例句：

• He deliberately jerked the shafts to rock him a bit. 他故意的上下颠动车把，摇这个老猴子几下。 来自汉英文学 - 骆驼祥子
• Shafts were sunk, with tunnels dug laterally. 竖井已经打下，并且挖有横向矿道。 来自辞典例句

2 limestone   

n.石灰石

参考例句：

• Limestone is often used in building construction.石灰岩常用于建筑。
• Cement is made from limestone.水泥是由石灰石制成的。

3 caverns   

大山洞，大洞穴( cavern的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Within were dark caverns; what was inside them, no one could see. 里面是一个黑洞，这里面有什么东西，谁也望不见。 来自汉英文学 - 家（1-26） - 家（1-26）
• UNDERGROUND Under water grottos, caverns Filled with apes That eat figs. 在水帘洞里，挤满了猿争吃无花果。