纪录片《我们的地球》 第167期 多样浅海(01)

Our planet's continents are fringed by shallow seas.

我们陆地的边缘都是浅海域。

Rarely more than two hundred meters deep they lie on the continental¹ shelves

它们挨着大陆架，很少地超过200米深，

which may stretch sometimes for hundreds of miles before the sea floor drops into deeper darker waters.

大陆架有时可能延伸达几百英里，再往下就是漆黑的深渊。

All together they constitute a mere² eight percent of the world's oceans

尽管浅水域仅仅占据了8%的海洋，

but they contain the vast majority of it's marine³ life.

不过大多数的海洋生物都生活在这里。

A male humpback whale sings to attract a mate.

一只雄性座头鲸正在用歌声吸引雌鲸来交配。

The whales have just returned to their breeding grounds in the shallow seas of the tropics.

座头鲸刚刚回到它的热带地区的浅海繁殖地。

The calf⁴ is no more than a few weeks old.

幼鲸才刚刚几周大。

Despite being three meters long and weighing nearly a ton, he is nonetheless vulnerable.

虽然已经三米长，一吨重，还是比较虚弱，也容易受攻击。

But his mother watches over him

不过幸好有妈妈照料，

and, as he begins to tire, she supports him close to the surface so that he can breathe more easily.

疲劳的幼鲸被妈妈托上浮上水面好让它呼吸空气。

1 continental   

adj.大陆的，大陆性的，欧洲大陆的

参考例句：

• A continental climate is different from an insular one.大陆性气候不同于岛屿气候。
• The most ancient parts of the continental crust are 4000 million years old.大陆地壳最古老的部分有40亿年历史。

2 mere   

adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过

参考例句：

• That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
• It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。

3 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

4 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。