纪录片《我们的地球》 第173期 多样浅海(07)

Here and there, plants manage to take root, and they're cropped by green turtles.

植物设法到处生根，它们成了绿海龟的食物。

Seagrasses are the only flowering plants that have managed to grow in the sea

海草是唯一在海里生长的有花植物，

although they put out a few ribbon like leaves

海草长出叶子状的带状物，

they produce very extended networks of fleshy stems, risomes, that are buried in the sand.

以此延伸它们埋在沙子里的肉质根茎。

At their lushest they can transform the sea bed into an underwater meadow.

这种蓬勃的长势可以把海床覆盖在下面。

The largest expanse grows in the shallow waters of Shark Bay, in Western Australia.

世界上最大的草海在澳大利亚西部的鲨鱼湾。

These vast aquatic¹ grasslands² stretch for fifteen hundred square miles

这片广大的海洋牧场，面积可达1500平方英里，

and, like terrestrial prairies, they support herds³ of grazers. Dugongs.

像陆地上的大草原一样，这里也养育了大量的食草动物--儒艮。

Dugongs are the largest herbivores in the sea.

儒艮是海洋里最大的食草动物。

They can be three meters long and weigh half a ton

可以长到3米长，半吨重，

and they eat nothing but seagrass, mostly the fleshy risomes, which they excavate⁴ with their mobile lips.

它们除了海草什么都不吃，他们不停移动嘴唇，把海草的肉质根茎送到口中。

1 aquatic   

adj.水生的，水栖的

参考例句：

• Aquatic sports include swimming and rowing.水上运动包括游泳和划船。
• We visited an aquatic city in Italy.我们在意大利访问过一个水上城市。

2 grasslands   

n.草原，牧场( grassland的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Songs were heard ringing loud and clear over the grasslands. 草原上扬起清亮激越的歌声。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Grasslands have been broken and planted to wheat. 草原已经开垦出来，种上了小麦。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 herds   

兽群( herd的名词复数 )； 牧群； 人群； 群众

参考例句：

• Regularly at daybreak they drive their herds to the pasture. 每天天一亮他们就把牲畜赶到草场上去。
• There we saw herds of cows grazing on the pasture. 我们在那里看到一群群的牛在草地上吃草。

4 excavate   

vt.挖掘，挖出

参考例句：

• They plan to excavate a large hole.他们计划挖个大洞。
• A new Danish expedition is again excavating the site in annual summer digs.一支新的丹麦探险队又在那个遗址上进行一年一度的夏季挖掘。