美丽中国1 中英文文档.docx

1、美丽中国1 中英文文档最后的隐世净土The last hidden world中国China数世纪来 旅人传诵着关于这片神奇土地For centuries, travellers to China have told tales of magical landscapes以及那些神奇生物的传说and surprising creatures中国文明是世界最古老的文明Chinese civilization is the worlds oldest而如今是最宏博的and today its largest那数十亿的人民with well over a billion people现存超过五十个民

2、族Its home to more than 50 distinct ethnic groups以及各式各样贴近自然的and a wide range of traditional life styles传统生活方式often inclose partnership with nature我们都知道中国面对着着众多社会 环境问题We know that China faces immense social and environmental problems但这里也存在着令人窒息的美丽but there is great beauty here too中国有着世界最高峰China is hom

3、e to the worlds highest mountains,从无垠的炙热沙漠vast deserts ranging from from searing hot到麻木大脑的寒冷地带to mind numbing cold以及那蒸笼般的森林中steaming forests隐匿的各种珍稀生物harboring rare creatures天际下广阔无垠的草原grassy plains beneath vast horizons以及富饶的热带海洋and rich tropical seas现在 我们第一次有机会Now, for the first time ever深入探索这片伟大的土地w

4、e can explore the whole of this great country接触栖息于此的珍奇生物meet some of the surprising and exotic creatures that live here目睹中国这片神奇土地上and consider the relationship of the people and wildlife of China人与野生世界的羁绊to the remarkable landscaping which they live这就是最原味的中国This is wild China仅以此献给我们多灾多难但美丽依旧的祖国For o

5、ur troubled but drop-dead beautiful motherland我们的中国探索之旅始于南方的亚热带Our exploration of China begins in the warm subtropical south漓江的渔人和鱼鸟栖坐在竹筏上On the Li River fishermen and birds perch on bamboo rafts这个组合已延续千年之久a partnership that goes back more than a thousand years这景致已为世人所熟悉This scenery is known through

6、out the world那是中国水墨永恒的主题a recurring motif in Chinese paintings和旅人永远的胜地and a major tourist attraction中国南部是片有英国国土The south of China is a vast area九倍之大的广阔土地eight times larger than the UK这里Its a landscape of hills是山雨的国度but also of water这里一年之中有250天在降雨It rains here for up to 250 days a year到处都是积水and stand

7、ing water is everywhere在扬子江的涝原In a floodplain of the Yangtse River黑尾鹬在泥泞中寻索着虫子black-tailed godwits probe the mud in search of worms并非只有野生动物在这样的环境下茁壮成长But it isnt just wildlife that thrive in this environment沼泽般湿润肥沃的土地为作物家族最显著的成员提供了最理想的环境the swampy ground provides ideal conditions for the remarkable

8、member of the grass family这就是稻米rice中国有着至少8000年的稻米种植史The Chinese have been cultivating rice for at least 8 thousand years他们改变了这块土地It has transformed the landscape对云南南部的农民而言 冬末是个繁忙的季节Late winter in southern Yunnan is a busy time for local farmers因为他们要为即将来临的春天整顿这片古老的稻田as they prepare the age-old paddy

9、fieldready for the coming spring元阳县的山坡以2000M之势These hill slopes of Yuanyang county斜插于红河谷地的河床plunge nearly 2000m to the floor of the Red River Valley包含了上千由原始刨掘工具所创造出的梯田each contains literally thousands of stack terraces carved out by hand using basic digging tools云南的梯田是中国最古老人类耕作痕迹中Yunnans rice terrac

10、es are among the oldest human structures in China依旧被耕种使用的土地still ploughed as they always have been正如千百年来的习俗一样by domesticated water buffaloes源自云南河谷的家养水牛承担了耕作的重任whose ancestors originated in these very valleys这片人力开拓的土地是工业化前中国最惊奇宏伟的壮景This man-made landscape is one of the most amazing engineering feats

11、of preindustrial China似乎这里的每一寸土地It seems as if every square inch of land都被打上了农耕的痕迹has been pressed into cultivation当薄暮降临As evening approaches另一场古老的仪式上演an age-old ritual unfolds现在是交配的季节Its the mating season雄禾田蛙们为了吸引异性而卖力高鸣and male paddy frogs are competing for the attention of females但这并非总能为你吸引来关注的目光

12、But it dosent always pay to draw too much attention to youself中国池鹭是个饕餮掠食者The Chinese Pond Heron is a crapulous predator就算在耕作过的稻田中央Even in the middle of a ploughed paddy field也会上演喙与爪的血腥剧目nature is red in beak and claw或许这看上去像一场屠杀This may look like a slaughter但每只池鹭一次只能吞噬一只蛙but as each heron can swallow

13、 only one frog at a time此时剩余的多数派得以逃生并获得了明日再度高歌的机会the vast majority will escape to croak another day元阳县这样广泛种植水稻的Terrace paddies like those of YunYang county are found across much of southern China梯田横贯中国南部This whole vast landscape is dominated by rice cultivation苗族人在炎热的贵州发展了高度发达的水稻种植In heated Guizhou

14、province the Miao minority have developed a remarkable rice culture苗族人把木屋建立在陡峭低产的山壁上With every inch of fertile land given over to rice cultivation用其余每寸丰饶的土地来种植水稻the Miao build their wooden houses on the steepest and least productive hillsides所有东西在中国农村都自有其用处In Chinese rural life everything has a use牛

15、棚里的肥料在太阳下晒干用作煮饭的燃料dried in the sun manure from the cowsheds would be used as cooking fuelfountain vi. & vt. 泉水般地喷出或涌出中午时分 宋家人正饱餐以米和蔬菜为主的中饭Its midday and the Song family aretucking into a lunch of rice and vegetables老祖父宋古永置身于天伦之乐外Oblivious to the domestic chitchat寻思着重要的事情granddad Guyong Song has seri

16、ous maters on his mind春季是稻禾生长的伊始时节Spring is a start of the rice growing season庄稼的长势决定了来年宋家人的生计the success of the crop will determin how well the family will eat next year因而选择合适的时机进行耕作是至关重要的so planting at the right time is critical时机的选择取决于当年的天气情况The ideal date depends on what the weather will do this

17、 year而这些却是永难估料的never easy to predict但是身边就存在着贴心小帮手But there is some surprising help at hand宋家厅堂房梁上的是一对刚从冬季迁徙中归来的金腰燕On the cielling of the Songs living rooma pair of red-rumped swallow newly arrive from their winter migration他们正在为装潢新一年度的宅邸而忙碌is busy fixing up last years nest在中国 动物们被赋予独特的象征意义并被细心呵护In C

18、hina animals are valued does much for their symbolic meaning as for many good they may do苗族人笃信成双燕终身相伴不离不弃Miao people believe that swallow pairs remain faithful for life因此他们的存在被视为so their presence is a favor and a blessing幸福生活与美满婚姻的象征bringing happiness to a marriage and good luck to a home如大多数苗人一样 宋家

19、起居室的窗子可以眺望见成片的梯田Like most Miao dwellings, the Songs living room windows look out over the paddy fields从早春起 一扇窗子便为了方便燕子往返穿飞而敞开From early spring, one of these windows is always left open to let the swallows come and go freely古老爹知晓每年燕子归来的确切时间Each year granddad Gu knows the exact day the swallows return

20、苗族人坚信这些鸟儿的归来预示着春季的来临Miao people believe the birds arrival predicts the timing of a season ahead然而今年 他们姗姗来迟This year, they were late因而古老爹和其他族中长老一致认为今年的插秧应当推迟so Gu and the other community elders have agreed that rice planting should be delayed accordingly当苗族人为了插秧而整备田地时As the Miao prepare their fields

21、for planting燕子们或搜集修整巢穴用的泥巴the swallows collect mud to repair their nests或穿越新耕的稻田追逐昆虫and chase after insects across the newly ploughed paddies最终 经过了几周的准备Finally, after weeks of preparation这个预定种植的时刻来临了the ordained time for planting has arrived首先 秧苗必须从苗床上连根拔起but first the seedlings must be uproot from

22、the nursery beds扎成捆移植到高处山地and bundled up ready to be transported to their new paddy那崭新的苗床上higher up the hillside宋家邻里乡亲全员出动帮助移植All the Songs neighbors have turned out to help with the transplanting这是一直来他们的集体协作方式Its how the community has always worked当然一旦时刻来临 宋家人也会做出相同行为来报恩when the time comes, the Son

23、gs will return the favor当农户们忙碌在田埂间时While the farmers are busy in the fields飞燕们则衔着修整巢穴的材料来来往往the swallows fly back and forth with material for their nest人多力量大Many hands make light work插秧的整个过程只持续了仅一个多小时planting the new paddy takes a little more than an hour当工作完成 农户们得以休息Job done, the villagers can rela

24、x至少在明天来临之前at least until tomorrow然而对这些筑巢的飞鸟而言 修筑家园的宏大工程But for the nesting swallows, the work of raising a family才刚刚开始has only just begun新耕种的田地里In the newly planted fields白鹭在寻找食物little egrets hunt for foods稻田成了虫 鱼 蝌蚪的乐园The rice paddy harbor tadpoles fish and insects而白鹭正好以此哺育幼鸟and egrets have chicks

25、to feed重庆自然保护区建立于1996年This colony in Chongqing province is established in 1996当成群的鸟儿安家在阳光村后方的小竹林when a few dozen birds build nests in thebamboo grove behind YanGuang village当地人将其视为幸运的使者Believing they were assigned of luck他们最初小心保护这些白鹭和他们的栖息地local people initially protected the egrets and the colony g

26、rove但当村长病重后他们的态度发生了转变But their attitude change when the head of the village fell ill当政府开始介入保护鸟群时They blame the birds and were all set to destroy their nests他们开始敌视鸟群并着手摧毁巢穴when the local government stepped in to protect them易弯曲的竹子或许并非安家的最佳场所Bendy bamboo may not be the safest nesting place但至少这些小家伙们不会成

27、为捕食者的腹中餐but at least these youngsters wont end up at someones dinner这些小家伙刚从母亲嘴里分得美食These chicks have just had a meal delivered by their mom对新生的小嘴着实是一大挑战quite a challenge for litter beaks介于他们的栖息地是受保护的Providing their colonies are protected像白鹭这样的候鸟是少数直接从发达的水稻种植中获益的鸟类wading birds like egrets are among t

28、he few wild creatures which benefit directly from intensive rice cultivation水稻生长需要大量的水Growing rice needs lots of water但即便是在多雨的南方 有些土地也面临缺水的危机but even in the rainy south, there are landscapes where water is surprisingly scarce相当于法国和西班牙国土加起来那么大This vast area of southwest China的中国西南的广阔土地the size of Fra

29、nce and Spain combined因为宛如被干燥中空的谷地隔离开来的巨大蛋盒般is famous for its clusters of conical hills连绵的锥形山脉而闻名于世like giant upturned egg cartonseperated by dry empty valleys这就是喀斯特地貌This is the karst石灰石地貌俨然成为南部中国的标志性特征a limestone terrain which has become the defining image of southern China喀斯特地貌通常以突起的裸岩状态分布Karst l

30、andscapes are oftenstudded with rocky outcrops这迫使当地农民只得在破碎的小块土地上耕作forcing local farmers to cultivate tiny fields当地人是中国最贫穷的居民之一The people who live hereare among the poorest in China在毗邻的云南省In neighboring Yunnan province遍布着石灰石limestone rocks have taken over entirely这就是著名的石林This is the famous Stone Fore

31、st无数年侵蚀作用的产物the product of countless years of erosion造就了无数的狭道与巅峰producing a maze of deep gullets and sharp-edged pinnacles石灰石有一个独性 那就是能被雨水分解Limestone has a strange property that is dissolves in rain water在数千年的漫长光阴中 水的侵蚀深入到岩床的心脏地带Over many thousands of years, water has corrode its way deep into the heart of the bedrock itself这一自然奇观成为了著名的旅游景点This natural wonder