纪录片《南太平洋》 第68期 无尽深蓝（02）

Of all the oceans, the Pacific is by far the largest,

纵观世界，太平洋是目前最大的海洋

stretching almost a third of the way round the globe.

覆盖地球周长的三分之一

It's so huge that the current in the South Pacific takes several years to complete just one cycle.

如此辽阔的海域使得洋流需要数年才能完成一次循环

In an ocean this vast, many animals have to travel huge distances to survive.

在如此宽广的海洋中，许多动物必须跋涉千里才能生存

None more so than the sperm¹ whale, one of the greatest voyagers on the planet.

抹香鲸便是个中翘楚，地球上最出色的航海家之一

Every year, thousands of bull sperm whales,

每年，数千头雄性抹香鲸

some from as far as Antarctica, come to the tropics to breed.

来到热带繁衍后代，有些甚至来自南极

After 15 years away, fattening² themselves up in colder climes,

经过寒冷水域十五年的哺育

they are now back and big enough to compete for a mate.

如今归来，它们已经足够强壮去争夺配偶

These warm, equatorial waters make ideal nurseries.

温暖的赤道海水是理想的育婴床

At just a week old, this white calf³ already weighs over a tonne.

出生仅一周，这头幼崽就已重逾一吨

For the next six years, he will stay by his mother's side,

未来六年，它会待在妈妈身边

relaxing in these tropical waters where killer⁴ whales, his only natural predator⁵, are rarely found.

在这片热带海域自在地成长，唯一的天敌虎鲸几乎不会出现于此。

1 sperm   

n.精子，精液

参考例句：

• Only one sperm fertilises an egg.只有一个精子使卵子受精。
• In human reproduction,one female egg is usually fertilized by one sperm.在人体生殖过程中，一个精子使一个卵子受精。

2 fattening   

adj.（食物）要使人发胖的v.喂肥( fatten的现在分词 )；养肥（牲畜）；使（钱）增多；使（公司）升值

参考例句：

• The doctor has advised him to keep off fattening food. 医生已建议他不要吃致肥食物。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• We substitute margarine for cream because cream is fattening. 我们用人造黄油代替奶油，因为奶油会使人发胖。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 calf   

n.小牛，犊，幼仔，小牛皮

参考例句：

• The cow slinked its calf.那头母牛早产了一头小牛犊。
• The calf blared for its mother.牛犊哞哞地高声叫喊找妈妈。

4 killer   

n.杀人者，杀人犯，杀手，屠杀者

参考例句：

• Heart attacks have become Britain's No.1 killer disease.心脏病已成为英国的头号致命疾病。
• The bulk of the evidence points to him as her killer.大量证据证明是他杀死她的。

5 predator   

n.捕食其它动物的动物；捕食者

参考例句：

• The final part of this chapter was devoted to a brief summary of predator species.本章最后部分简要总结了食肉动物。
• Komodo dragon is the largest living lizard and a fearsome predator.科摩多龙是目前存在的最大蜥蜴，它是一种令人恐惧的捕食性动物。