国家地理 加里曼丹岛的地底洞天(8)（在线收听）

The British team found that Deer Cave stretched for nearly two miles, and for a decade afterward it stood as the world's largest known cave passage. In 1991 a cave discovered in Vietnam, called Hang Son Doong, surpassed it, but the drop in rank did not dull Deer Cave's allure. Today it's a major attraction for tourists, who wander its length on a boardwalk and gather at dusk at its mouth, drinks in hand, clapping and sighing as millions of bats stream like smoke into the sky.

英国探险队发现，鹿洞近两英里宽，十年过后，依然是世界上已知的最大洞穴通道。1991年，在越南发现了一个名叫韩松洞的洞穴，比鹿洞要大，但鹿洞排名的下降并没有削弱其吸引力。今天，鹿洞是一个主要景点，游客们在木板路上感受它的狭长，黄昏时分在入口处聚集，他们手里拿着饮料，看着数百万只蝙蝠像烟雾一样涌向天空，一边拍手，一边感叹。

Ostentatious, obvious, oversize -- Deer Cave hinted at what more awaited underground. Over three months in Mulu, with the help of guides from the nearby Penan and Berawan tribes, the cavers came upon a score of entrances leading deeper into the region's ancient limestone.

雄伟、明显、超大的鹿洞暗示着地下还有更美妙的景观在等待观赏。在姆鲁考察的三个多月里，洞穴探险者在附近Penan和Berawan部落向导的帮助下，发现了二十个通向该地区古老石灰石深处的入口。

Some of the caves began as obscure cracks in rock faces, covered with brush and branches. These, usually at higher elevations, were older, relatively dry caves that bored through the heart of Mulu's mountains.

在一些洞穴的入口处，石壁上有模糊的裂缝，上面覆盖着灌木丛和树枝。这些洞穴通常位于海拔较高的地方，时间久远、相对干燥，它们贯穿姆鲁的大山中心。

Other caves, at lower elevations, were like giant storm drains -- massive holes in the bedrock that channeled rainfall into subterranean rivers. These river caves were younger, formed hundreds of thousands of years ago, lined with beautiful limestone formations, and home to fish, birds, snakes, ghost-white crabs, and a galaxy of insects and spiders.

另一些海拔较低的洞穴，就像巨大的雨水排水沟--把雨水引到地下河流的基岩上的大洞。这些河洞算是较为年轻的，形成于几十万年前，里面有漂亮的石灰岩、鱼、鸟、蛇、煞白的螃蟹、还有许多昆虫和蜘蛛。