纪录片《我们的地球》 第295期 茂密丛林(13)

Hunters living in the dense¹ understorey of the jungle come in all shapes and sizes.

在浓密的下木层中生活的捕猎者形态各异。

But they share a problem.

但它们有一个共同的难题。

How to tell what is a plant, and what is prey².

如何分辨植物和猎物。

This is a game of hide and seek that can be won or lost in the blink of an eye.

这是个捉迷藏游戏，眨眼间就能定输赢。

The long contest between predator³ and prey has produced mimicry⁴ of astounding⁵ accuracy.

捕猎者和猎物之间经过漫长的斗争，形成了令人震惊的拟态水平。

A leaf-tailed gecko masquerading as lichen⁶.

一只叶尾壁虎正伪装成地衣。

Some animals take camouflage⁷ a stage further still...

有些动物把伪装发挥到更高境界

and these streams in Costa Rica are home to one of the most remarkable⁸.

在哥斯达黎加的这条小溪里住着一位杰出的伪装大师。

A glass frog. A male, and tiny, no bigger than your fingernail

一只玻璃蛙。这只雄蛙尺寸迷你，只有人的指甲大小，

and almost entirely⁹ transparent¹⁰... as he needs to be.

身体几乎完全透明，这很有必要。

Almost everything that walks past here could eat him, even a cricket.

几乎所有经过这里的动物都能吃掉它，甚至是一只蟋蟀。

His best chance is to stay absolutely still and trust that the cricket looks right through him.

想活命，它就要保持静止不动，希望蟋蟀的视线能直接穿透它。

1 dense   

a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的

参考例句：

• The general ambushed his troops in the dense woods. 将军把部队埋伏在浓密的树林里。
• The path was completely covered by the dense foliage. 小路被树叶厚厚地盖了一层。

2 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。

3 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。

4 mimicry   

n.（生物）拟态，模仿

参考例句：

• One of his few strengths was his skill at mimicry.他为数不多的强项之一就是善于模仿。
• Language learning usually necessitates conscious mimicry.一般地说，学习语言就要进行有意识的摹仿。

5 astounding   

adj.使人震惊的vt.使震惊，使大吃一惊astound的现在分词)

参考例句：

• There was an astounding 20% increase in sales. 销售量惊人地增加了20%。
• The Chairman's remarks were so astounding that the audience listened to him with bated breath. 主席说的话令人吃惊，所以听众都屏息听他说。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 lichen   

n.地衣, 青苔

参考例句：

• The stone stairway was covered with lichen.那石级长满了地衣。
• There is carpet-like lichen all over the moist corner of the wall.潮湿的墙角上布满了地毯般的绿色苔藓。

7 camouflage   

n./v.掩饰，伪装

参考例句：

• The white fur of the polar bear is a natural camouflage.北极熊身上的白色的浓密软毛是一种天然的伪装。
• The animal's markings provide effective camouflage.这种动物身上的斑纹是很有效的伪装。

8 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

9 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

10 transparent   

adj.明显的，无疑的；透明的

参考例句：

• The water is so transparent that we can see the fishes swimming.水清澈透明，可以看到鱼儿游来游去。
• The window glass is transparent.窗玻璃是透明的。