纪录片《我们的地球》 第349期 广袤草原(14)

A two-foot-long tongue covered in microscopic¹ hooks,

六十厘米长的舌头上面布满极小的钩子，

followed by claws longer than those of a velociraptor.

加之比迅猛龙还要长的爪子。

A giant anteater on the plains of South America.

这是一只生活在南美平原上的大食蚁兽。

It can devour² 20,000 insects a day.

它每天可以吞食两万只昆虫。

Powerful forelegs enable it to rip apart a termite³ hill with ease.

有力的前肢让它们能够轻易地掰开白蚁巢。

And as the sun bakes the grass, the termites⁴ face new danger.

太阳炙烤草原，白蚁面临着新的危险，

In minutes, fire turns grassland⁵ to ash.

几分钟内，大火就将草原化为灰烬。

But the grasses are not dead. Their underground stems are unharmed.

但是草不会被大火烧尽。它们的地下茎完好无损。

Weeks, months may pass,

数周、数月就这么过去了，

but eventually the rains will return and the grass will sprout⁶ again.

但是雨季终将来临，青草又会重新发芽。

Some grasslands⁷ must endure not only fire, but ice.

一些草原不仅要忍受火的炙烤，还有冰霜。

As winter approaches, the prairies of North America begin to freeze.

冬季来临，北美的草原开始霜冻。

1 microscopic   

adj.微小的，细微的，极小的，显微的

参考例句：

• It's impossible to read his microscopic handwriting.不可能看清他那极小的书写字迹。
• A plant's lungs are the microscopic pores in its leaves.植物的肺就是其叶片上微细的气孔。

2 devour   

v.吞没；贪婪地注视或谛听，贪读；使着迷

参考例句：

• Larger fish devour the smaller ones.大鱼吃小鱼。
• Beauty is but a flower which wrinkle will devour.美只不过是一朵，终会被皱纹所吞噬。

3 termite   

n.白蚁

参考例句：

• The termite control was also probed into further in this text.本文还进一步探讨了白蚁的防治方法。
• Termite often destroys wood.白蚁经常破坏树木。

4 termites   

n.白蚁( termite的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Termites are principally tropical in distribution. 白蚁主要分布在热带地区。 来自辞典例句
• This spray will exterminate the termites. 这种喷剂能消灭白蚁。 来自辞典例句

5 grassland   

n.牧场，草地，草原

参考例句：

• There is a reach of grassland in the distance.远处是连绵一片的草原。
• The snowstorm swept the vast expanse of grassland.暴风雪袭击了辽阔的草原。

6 sprout   

n.芽，萌芽；vt.使发芽，摘去芽；vi.长芽，抽条

参考例句：

• When do deer first sprout horns?鹿在多大的时候开始长出角？
• It takes about a week for the seeds to sprout.这些种子大约要一周后才会发芽。

7 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》