纪录片《我们的地球》 第167期 多样浅海(01)（在线收听）

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 continental 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 mere 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 marine 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 calf 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。