(完整word版)BBC经典-《行星地球》英文解说词(全集)

1、行星地球英文解说词 第 1 集 PLANET EARTH From Pole to Pole A hun dred years ago there were one and a half billio n people on Earth. Now, over six billio n crowd our fragile pla net Earth. But eve n so, there are still places barely touched by huma ni ty. This series will take to the last wilder nesses and show

2、you the pla net Earth and its wildlife as you have never seen them before. Imagine our world without sun. Male Emperor penguins are facing the n earest that exists on pla net Earth Earth -winter in Antarctica. Its continuously dark and temperatures drop to minus seventy degrees centigrade. The pengu

3、ins stay when all other creatures have fled because each guards a treasure: a sin gle egg rested on the top of its feet and kept warm beneath the downy bulge of its stomach. There is no food and no water for them, and they will not see the sun aga in for four mon ths. Surely no greater ordeal is fac

4、ed by any ani mal. As the sun departs from the An tarctic it lighte ns the skies in the far n orth. Its March and light returns to the high Arctic, sweep ing away four mon ths of dark ness. A polar bear stirs. She has bee n in her den the whole win ter. Her emerge nee marks the begi nning of spri ng

5、. After mon ths of confin eme nt un dergr ound she tobogga ns dow n the slope. Perhaps to clea n her fur, perhaps for sheer joy. Her cubs gaze out of their bright new world for the very first time. The female calls them, but this steep slope is not the easiest place to take your first steps. But the

6、y are hungry and eager to reach their mother, whos delayed feedi ng them on this special day. Now she lures them with the promise of milk, the only food the cubs have known since they were born deaf and bli nd ben eath the snow some two mon ths ago. Their mother has not eate n for five mon ths and h

7、as lost half her body weight. Now she conv erts the last of her fat reserves into milk for her cubs. The spring sun brings warmth but also a problem for the mother. It starts to melt the sea ice. That is where she hunts for the seal she needs to feed her cubs. And she must get there before the ice b

8、reaks up. For now though its still minus thirty degrees and the cubs must have the shelter of the den. Its six days since the bears emerged and spr ing is advancing rapidly. But even now blizzards can strike without warning. Being so small, the cubs are easily chilled and they will be more comfortab

9、le resting in the den. But their mother must keep them out and active. Shes beco ming weak from hun ger and theres no food on these nu rsery slopes. The sea ice still holds firm, but it wont last much Ion ger. Day 10, and the mother has led her cubs a mile from the den. Its time to put them to the t

10、est. Theyve grow n eno rmously in con fide nee, but they dont have their mothers sense of urgency. At last it seems that theyre ready for their journey and theyre on ly just in time, for a few miles from the coast the ice is already splitting. Now the mother can start hunting for the seals they must

11、 have, but shes leadi ng her cubs into a dan gerous new world. Nearly half of all cubs die in their first year out on the ice. Summer brings 24 hours of sun light and the thaw ing shift ing Ian dscape. Further south the winter snows have almost cleared from the Arctic tundra. Northern Canadas wild f

12、rontier. Here nature stages one of her greatest dramas - Every year three million caribou migrate across the Arctic tundra. The immensity of the herd can only be properly appreciated from the air. Some herds travel over 2,000 miles a year in search of fresh pastures. This is the Ion gest overla nd m

13、igrati on made by any ani mal. Theyre con sta ntly on the move. Newbor n calves have to be up and running the day they are bor n. But the vast herds do not travel alone. Wolves. Packs of them, eight to ten strong, shadow the migration. And they are hungry. Its the newly born calves that they are aft

14、er. Running directly at the herd is a ploy to gen erate panic. The herd breaks up and now its easier to target an in dividual. In the chaos a calf is separated from its mother. The calf is young, but it can outrun the wolf if only it man ages to keep its footi ng. At this stage the odds are eve n -

15、either the caribou will make a mistake or after a mile the wolf will give up. Midsummer on the tun dra and the sun does not set. At these latitudes the suns rays are gla ncing and not eno ugh of their en ergy reaches the ground to en able trees to grow. Youll n eed to travel 500 miles south from her

16、e before that is possible. These stun ted shrubs mark the tree line - the iii begi nning of the boreal forest - the taiga. The n eedle-shaped leaves of the coni fers are virtually in edible so this forest supports very little ani mal life. Its a silent place where the snow is unmarked by footprints.

17、 In the Arctic win ter snow forms a continu ous bla nket across the land. But as spri ng creeps up from the south the taiga is unveiled. This vast forest circling the globe contains a third of all the trees on Earth and produces so much oxyge n it cha nges the compositi on of the atmosphere. As we t

18、ravel south so the suns in flue nce grows str on ger and at 50 degrees of latitude a radical tran sformatio n begi ns. Summers here are long eno ugh for broadleaf trees to replace conifers. Broadleaves are much easier to eat and digest so now animals can collect their share of the energy that has co

19、me from the sun. Its summer and these forests are bustling with life. But the good times will not last. Broad leaves must be shed in winter for their damage by frost. As they disappear, so the land becomes barren with little for animals to eat. The inhabitants must migrate, hibernate, or face mon th

20、s of n ear starvati on. The Amur leopard - the rarest cat in the world. Here, in the deciduous forests of easter n Russia the win ter makes hun ti ng very difficult. Pray animals are scarce, and theres no concealing vegetation. The cub is a year old and still dependent on its mother. Deer are freque

21、 nt casualties of the harsh win ter and these leopards are not above scavenging from a corpse. African leopards could never survive here, but the Russia n cats have thick fur to shield them from the cold. There are only forty Amur leopards left in the wild and that number is falling. Like so many cr

22、eatures, the cats have been pushed to the very edge of ext in cti on by hunting and the destructi on of their habitat. The Amur leopard symbolises the fragility of our n atural heritage. The future of an entire species hangs on survival of a tiny number of mothers like this one. All an imals, rare o

23、r com mon, ultimately depe nd for their en ergy on the sun. In Japan the arrival of the cherry blossom announces the beginning of spring. The suns energy brings colour to the Iandscape. The earth, as it makes its annual journey around the sun, spins on a tilted axis. And its this tilt that creates t

24、he seas on s.The adva nee of the seas ons brings con sta nt cha nge. As the suns in flue nee dimini shes in the no rth, so the deciduous forests of America beg in to shut dow n los ing their leaves in preparati on for the dark cold mon ths ahead. One seas onhands over to ano ther. Some orga ni sms t

25、hrive on decay, but most must make special preparationsfor winter and a life with little sun. Whole populations of ani mals are now forced to travel great dista nces in pursuit of food and warmth. 300,000 Baikal teal gather to escape from the Siberia n win ter by migrating south to Korea - the world

26、s entire population in a single flock. But there are parts of the world that have no seas on s. In the tropics the suns rays strike the earth head on and their stre ngth is more or less constant all year round. That is why the jungle grows so vigourously and supports so much life. This forest covers

27、 only 3 perce nt of the pla nets surface, but it contains more than 50 percent of all its plants and animals. The can opy is particularly rich. There are mon keys, birds and millio ns of species of in sects, exactly how many we have no idea. The character of the forest cha nges as we desce nd, beco

28、ming ever darker and damper, favouring different kinds of animals and plants. Less than 2 percent of the sun light reaches the floor, but eve n here there is extraord inary variety .In the great island of New Guinea there are 42 different species of birds of paradise, each more bizarre than the last

29、. This forest is so rich that nourishing food can be gathered very quickly. That leaves the male six-plumed bird of paradise with time to concentrate on other matters like tidying up his display area. Everything must be spick and span. All is ready. Very impressive, but no one is watching. The super

30、b bird of paradise calls to attract a female. And he has more luck. But what does he have to do to really impress her? She retires to con sider her verdict. Its hard not to feel deflated whe n eve n your best isnt good eno ugh. The sun in flue nces life in the ocea ns just as it does on Ian d. Its r

31、ichest parts are those where waves and currents bring fertilising nutrients to surface waters that are bathed in sun light. The seas off the Cape in South Africa have this magic recipe and are hugely productive. Summer is the time of ple nty and its now that the seals start to breed. The strike of a

32、 great white shark lasts a mere second. Slowing it down forty times reveals the technique and immense strength of this massive predator. If surprise fails, there will be a chase. The shark is faster on a straight course but it cant turn as sharply as the seal, its agility versus power. Once the seal

33、s have finished breeding the giant sharks will move on. Its now becoming clear that great whites migrate thousa nds of miles across the ocea ns to harvest seas onal abundan ces in differe nt seas. The sun, beat ing dow n on tropical waters, powers the weather systems of the globe. Moisture evaporate

34、s from the warming ocean and rises to create great storms. The winds gen eratedout at sea sweep inland across the con ti nen ts. As they travel across the Sahara they create the biggest of all sand storms blow ing sand halfway round the world to fertilize the Amazon jungle. Winds blowing across the

35、In dia n Ocea n collect moisture and sweep n orthwards towards the Himalayas. As the air rises, so it cools. The water it carries conden ses into clouds and the n falls as the life giving rains of the monsoon. So air currents powered by the sun carry wet air to the middle of continents. Without wate

36、r there can be no life, but its distribution over the land is far from even. Deserts cover one third of the Iands surface and theyre growing bigger every year. This is the Kalahari Desert in Southern Africa. Its the dry seas on and thousa nds of elepha nts have started to travel in desperate search

37、for water. All across Southern Africa animals are journeying for the same reas on. Buffalo join the great trek. Nowhere else on Earth are so many an imals on the move with the same urge nt purpose. Theyre all headi ng for the swamps of the Okava ngo, a vast inland delta. At the moment it is dry, but

38、 water is coming. The travellers are hampered by dan gerous dust storms. Females and calves can easily get separated from the main herd. For this pair san ctuary lies in the patch of woodla nd a few miles ahead. They cant rest until they reach it. The main has already got there safely. Fin ally, the

39、 stragglers emerge from the dust. The exhausted calf is still blinded by sand. Its mother does everything possible to help it. The storm is now subsidi ng, but not all the elepha nts have bee n so lucky. One youn gster has got lost. Thirsty and exhausted, it follows the tracks of its mother, but sad

40、ly in the wrong directi on. At the peak of the dry seas on in the Kalahari water arrives in the Okava ngo. It fell as rain a thousa nd miles away in the highla nds of An gola and has take n n early five mon ths to reach here. The water drives out in sects from the parched ground, which are sn apped

41、up by plovers. Catfish, travelli ng with the flood, collect any drowning creatures the birds have missed. Its a seas onal feast for an imals of all kin ds. Birds are the first to arrive in any numbers - water cranes, then black storks. Behind the birds come buffalo. After weeks of marching their tre

42、k is coming to an end. As the water sweeps into the Okava ngo a vast area of the Kalahari is tran sformed into a fertile paradise. Nowhere on our planet Earth is the life giving power of water so clearly dem on strated. The Okava ngo becomes criss-crossed with trails as animals move into its heart.

43、The new arrivals open up paths like arteries along which water flows, extending the reach of the flood. This is an Africa rarely see n - a lush water world. Some creatures are completely at home here. These are lechwe - an telope with hooves that splay widely, en abli ng them to move its speed throu

44、gh the water. For others the cha nge is far less welcome. Babo ons are somewhat apprehe nsive bathers. The water brings a seas on of ple nty for all an imals. Hunting dogs. These are now among the rarest of Africas mammals, but then nonetheless the con ti nen ts most efficie nt predators. Their secr

45、et is teamwork. Impala are their favourite prey. They start to hunt and the pack splits up. An aerial viewpo int gives a new in sight into their strategy. As the dogs approach their prey they peel off to take up separate positi ons around their target. They seem to form a cord on around the impala.

46、Movi ng in total sile nce they take up their positi ons. Those ears can detect the slightest rustle. The hunt is on. Three dogs close in on one impala. Missed. The lead dog drives the impala towards the hidden flankers. Anticipating their line the leader cuts the corner and joins a flanker for the f

47、inal assault. Its all or nothing. One on one. The dog has stam ina, the impala has speed. Leap ing into the lake is an act of desperation - impala can barely swim. The dogs know their prey must come out or drown - now its a waiting game. The rest of the pack are calling. Theyve made a kill in the fo

48、rest and this is an invitation to join in the meal. The impala is in luck. A pack this size kills once a day and everyth ing is shared. And this impala is reprieved. The elephants are nearing the end of their long journey. After weeks of marchi ng theyre desperately tired. The matriarch can smell wa

49、ter and en courages the herd to make one last effort. The youn gsters are exhausted but their mothers have made this journey before and they know that theyre close to water. After many hun dreds of miles theyve arrived. The lives of these elepha nts are domin ated by the annual rhythm of wet and dry

50、, a seas onal cycle created by the sun. At the souther n end of the earth, after four mon ths of total dark ness, the sun once more rises over Antarctica. Now at last the Emperor penguins abandon their huddle. The males are still carrying the precious eggs that theyve cherished throughout the An tar

51、ctic win ter. With the retur ning sun the eggs hatch. Other birds have not even arrived. but the Emperors by enduring the long black winter have given their chicks a head start. These youngsters are now ready and eager to make the most of the brief An tarctic summer. 第 2 集 PLANET EARTH Mountains Hum

52、a n beings ven ture into the highest parts of our pla net at their peril. Some might think that by climbing a great mountain they have somehow conq uered it, but we can only be visitors here. This is a froze n alie n world. This is the other extreme - one of the lowest hottest places on Earth. Its 1

53、0 over a hundred metres below the level of the sea. But here a mountain is in gestation. Pools of sulphuric acid are indications that deep un dergro und there are tita nic stirri ngs. This is the Dan akil Depressi on in Ethiopia, lying within a colossal rent of the earths surface where giant land ma

54、sses are pulling away from one another. Lava rises to the surface through this crack in the crust creating a chain of young volcanoes. This one, Erta Ale, is today the Iongest continually erupting volcano on the planet, a lake of lava that has been molten for over a hundred years. These same volca n

55、ic forces also created Ethiopias highla nds. 70 millio n years ago this land was just as flat and as deep as the Dan akil Depressi on. Molte n lava risi ng from the earths core forced up a huge dome of rock 500 miles wide, the roof of Africa. Over millennia, rain and ice carved the rock into a Iands

56、cape of spires and canyons. These summits, nearly 3 miles up, are home to some very remarkable mountaineers Gelada babo ons. They are unique to the highla nds of Ethiopia. The cliffs where they sleep are for expert climbers only, and Gelado certa inly have the right equipme nt. the str on gest fin g

57、ers of any primate and an utterly fearless disposition. But you need more than a head for heights to survive up here. A day in a Gelados life reveals how theyve risen to the challe nge. For all mon keys mor ning is groo ming time, a cha nee to catch up with frie nds. But, un like other mon keys, Gel

58、ados chatter con sta ntly while they do it. Its a great way to network while your hands are busy. But these socials cant go on for too long. Gelados have a busy daily schedule and theres work to be done. Most mon keys could nt live up here. Theres no food and few in sects to feed on. But Gelados are

59、 unique theyre the only mon keys in the world that live almost en tirely on grass. They live in the largest assemblies formed by any mon keys. Some groups are 800 strong and they crop the high meadows like herds of wildebeest. The Gelados graze alon gside Walia ibex, which are also unique to these h

60、ighla nds. These rare creatures are usually very shy but they drop their guard whe n the Gelados are around. You might expect that grazers would avoid each others patch but this is a special alliance from which both part ners ben efit. Its not so risky to put your head dow n if others are on the loo