纪录片《我们的地球》 第324期 极端沙漠(15)（在线收听）

Dune grass, the only vegetation here, provides virtually none,

沙丘草是这里唯一的植物，近乎无荫可寻，

but just an inch beneath the surface of the sand, it is several degrees cooler.

但仅仅是沙子表面下几厘米处，温度都要低上几度。

Avoiding the extreme heat imposes a rhythm on desert life.

为躲避难耐的高温，沙漠动物有了自己的节奏。

And many animals here choose the simplest option of all...

许多动物都选择了最简单的解决方案...

staying hidden all day, and only venturing out in the cool of the night.

白天隐匿在各处，只在凉爽的夜晚外出活动。

As darkness falls, animals appear from seemingly nowhere.

夜幕降临，动物纷纷从各处冒出。

And, among them, inevitably, are hunters.

而这之中，必然存在猎食者。

One of the most voracious nocturnal predators is also one of the hardest to see.

其中最贪婪的夜间捕食者，也最难寻觅它们的踪迹。

This mysterious creature hardly ever appears on the surface of the dunes.

这个神秘的生物鲜少出现在沙丘表面。

But there are signs on the sand that can give it away.

但沙子的移动，却泄露了它的行踪。

It lives only here, where the sand grains are so perfectly dry and polished, that they flow almost like water.

它只生活在沙粒干燥光滑的地区，让它们可以如流水般行动自如。

It's no bigger than a ping-pong ball. A golden mole.

它的体型还没有乒乓球大。一只金毛鼹鼠。

It's totally blind, but there's nothing to see underground anyway.

它的视力已完全退化，但地下本来也没有什么可看的。

Instead, it has superb hearing.

取而代之的是它极佳的听觉。

Its entire head acts as an amplifier that picks up vibrations through the sand,

它的头犹如扩音器，能够捕捉通过沙子传来的振动，

so, to locate prey on the surface of the dune, it has, paradoxically, to thrust its face into the dune.

所以，为了定位沙丘表面上的猎物，它反而矛盾地将脸埋进沙子里。