纪录片《我们的地球》 第161期 富饶丛林(16)

When an ant falls in, the spider simply waits for it to drown

蚂蚁掉到陷阱里了，蟹蜘蛛静静等它淹死，

and then abseils down for a spot of fishing.

直接坐收渔翁之利。

Alive, this ant would be far too dangerous for the spider to tackle,

要生存，蚂蚁必须远离蜘蛛的魔爪，

so using the pitchers² as traps means it can get bigger meals.

但是利用猪笼草的陷阱意味着蟹蜘蛛照样可以美餐一顿。

And the spider doesn't rob the pitcher¹ of everything.

蟹蜘蛛也不全是一个不留。

The digested remains³ of its booty will end up in the water, providing instant food for the plant.

它也需要把战利品分一部分给猪笼草，来给猪笼草提供营养。

Other food, like mosquito larvae⁴, seems to be out of reach,

有的食物，例如蚊子幼虫，在瓶底看上去好像吃不到，

but the spider has another surprising trick.

不过蟹蜘蛛自有诡计。

By taking its own air supply trapped in a bubble,

它会带着一个空气泡泡，

the crab⁵ spider can actually dive to the very bottom of the pitcher.

蟹蜘蛛可以潜入到猪笼草的底部。

Once the prey⁶ is captured, the spider hauls itself back up its silken safety line.

一旦猎物到手，蟹蜘蛛还可从水中全身而退。

The pitcher is a one-stop shop for this spider, but it's not alone.

猪笼草好像是蟹蜘蛛的一站式商店，但它并不孤独。

In the jungle there's competition for everything, even a small water-filled pitcher plant.

雨林中到处都有竞争，即使在猪笼草的小小水域里。

1 pitcher   

n.(有嘴和柄的)大水罐；(棒球)投手

参考例句：

• He poured the milk out of the pitcher.他从大罐中倒出牛奶。
• Any pitcher is liable to crack during a tight game.任何投手在紧张的比赛中都可能会失常。

2 pitchers   

大水罐( pitcher的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Over the next five years, he became one of the greatest pitchers in baseball. 在接下来的5年时间里，他成为了最了不起的棒球投手之一。
• Why he probably won't: Pitchers on also-rans can win the award. 为什麽不是他得奖：投手在失败的球队可以赢得赛扬奖。

3 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

4 larvae   

n.幼虫

参考例句：

• Larvae are parasitic on sheep.幼虫寄生在绵羊的身上。
• The larvae prey upon small aphids.这种幼虫以小蚜虫为食。

5 crab   

n.螃蟹，偏航，脾气乖戾的人，酸苹果；vi.捕蟹，偏航，发牢骚；vt.使偏航，发脾气

参考例句：

• I can't remember when I last had crab.我不记得上次吃蟹是什么时候了。
• The skin on my face felt as hard as a crab's back.我脸上的皮仿佛僵硬了，就象螃蟹的壳似的。

6 prey   

n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨

参考例句：

• Stronger animals prey on weaker ones.弱肉强食。
• The lion was hunting for its prey.狮子在寻找猎物。