纪录片《我们的地球》 第143期 辽阔平原(18)

The cats are hungry and the elephants seem to sense it.

狮子十分饥饿，大象好像也感觉到了危机。

Lions don't usually hunt elephants, but desperate times require desperate measures.

狮子通常不会把大象当作捕杀对象，但到了走投无路之时也会铤而走险。

This herd¹ contains calves², easier targets. But how to reach them?

这一象群里有更容易下手的幼象。但是怎样才能接近呢？

The adults encircle their young.

成年象已经围成圈在保护小象。

It's an impenetrable wall of grey.

这堵灰色皮墙围得非常坚固，很难突破。

A few exhausted³ stragglers are still arriving. One of them is alone.

还有一些筋疲力竭的落伍的大象赶了过来。其中一头落单了。

But it's too big for the lions to tackle. This one looks a little smaller.

但是由于它的体型太大了，狮子对付不了。这头看起来小一点。

A solitary⁴ lion stands no chance, but the whole pride is here.

一只单枪匹马的狮子是根本没有办法的，但是现在整个狮群都已倾巢出动。

There are 30 of them and they are specialist elephant hunters.

它们有三十只之多，如此的数量就变成了捕杀大象的专家。

This elephant will feed the whole pride for at least a week.

这头大象足以供整群狮子至少吃一周。

Elephants know these drinking holes are dangerous, but they have no choice.

大象知道这里的水坑很危险，但没有办法。

The dramas that play out here are a savage⁵ reminder⁶ of how important water is for all life on these plains.

刚刚播放的残酷的画面提醒着我们，水对于草原上的生命是何等重要啊。

1 herd   

n.兽群，牧群；vt.使集中，把…赶在一起

参考例句：

• She drove the herd of cattle through the wilderness.她赶着牛群穿过荒野。
• He had no opinions of his own but simply follow the herd.他从无主见，只是人云亦云。

2 calves   

n.(calf的复数)笨拙的男子，腓；腿肚子( calf的名词复数 )；牛犊；腓；小腿肚v.生小牛( calve的第三人称单数 )；（冰川）崩解；生（小牛等），产（犊）；使（冰川）崩解

参考例句：

• a cow suckling her calves 给小牛吃奶的母牛
• The calves are grazed intensively during their first season. 小牛在生长的第一季里集中喂养。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 exhausted   

adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的

参考例句：

• It was a long haul home and we arrived exhausted.搬运回家的这段路程特别长，到家时我们已筋疲力尽。
• Jenny was exhausted by the hustle of city life.珍妮被城市生活的忙乱弄得筋疲力尽。

4 solitary   

adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士

参考例句：

• I am rather fond of a solitary stroll in the country.我颇喜欢在乡间独自徜徉。
• The castle rises in solitary splendour on the fringe of the desert.这座城堡巍然耸立在沙漠的边际，显得十分壮美。

5 savage   

adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人

参考例句：

• The poor man received a savage beating from the thugs.那可怜的人遭到暴徒的痛打。
• He has a savage temper.他脾气粗暴。

6 reminder   

n.提醒物，纪念品；暗示，提示

参考例句：

• I have had another reminder from the library.我又收到图书馆的催还单。
• It always took a final reminder to get her to pay her share of the rent.总是得发给她一份最后催缴通知，她才付应该交的房租。