(完整word版)BBC经典-《行星地球》英文解说词(全集)

1、i行星地球英文解说词第 1 集 PLANET EARTH From Pole to PoleA 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 stillplaces barely touched by huma ni ty. This series will take to the last wildernesses and show you

2、the pla net Earth and its wildlife as you have never seenthem before. Imagine our world without sun. Male Emperor penguins arefacing the n earest that exists on pla net Earth Earth -winter in Antarctica. Itscontinuously dark and temperatures drop to minus seventy degreescentigrade. The penguins stay

3、 when all other creatures have fled becauseeach guards a treasure: a sin gle egg rested on the top of its feet and keptwarm beneath the downy bulge of its stomach. There is no food and no waterfor them, and they will not see the sun aga in for four mon ths. Surely nogreater ordeal is faced by any an

4、i mal. As the sun departs from the An tarctic itlighte 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 inher den the whole win ter. Her emerge nee marks the begi nning of spri ng.After mon ths

5、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 theirbright new worldiifor the very first time. The female calls them, but this steep slope is not theeasiest place to take your first steps. But they are hungry and e

6、ager to reachtheir mother, whos delayed feedi ng them on this special day. Now she luresthem with the promise of milk, the only food the cubs have known since theywere born deaf and bli nd ben eath the snow some two mon ths ago. Theirmother has not eate n for five mon ths and has lost half her body

7、weight. Nowshe conv erts the last of her fat reserves into milk for her cubs. The spring sunbrings 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 mustget there before the ice breaks up. For now though i

8、ts still minus thirtydegrees and the cubs must have the shelter of the den. Its six days since thebears emerged and spr ing is advancing rapidly. But even now blizzards canstrike without warning. Being so small, the cubs are easily chilled and they willbe more comfortable resting in the den. But the

9、ir mother must keep them outand active. Shes beco ming weak from hun ger and theres no food on thesenu rsery slopes. The sea ice still holds firm, but it wont last much Ion ger. Day10, and the mother has led her cubs a mile from the den. Its time to put themto the test. Theyve grow n eno rmously in

10、con fide nee, but they dont havetheir mothers sense of urgency. At last it seems that theyre ready for theirjourney and theyre on ly just in time, for a few miles from the coast the ice isalready splitting. Now the mother can start hunting forthe seals they must have, but shes leadi ng her cubs into

11、 a dan gerous newiiiworld. Nearly half of all cubs die in their first year out on the ice. Summerbrings 24 hours of sun light and the thaw ing shift ing Ian dscape. Furthersouth the winter snows have almost cleared from the Arctic tundra. NorthernCanadas wild frontier. Here nature stages one of her

12、greatest dramas - Everyyear three million caribou migrate across the Arctic tundra. The immensity ofthe herd can only be properly appreciated from the air. Some herds travel over2,000 miles a year in search of fresh pastures. This is the Ion gest overla ndmigrati on made by any ani mal. Theyre con s

13、ta ntly on the move. Newbor ncalves have to be up and running the day they are bor n. But the vast herds donot travel alone. Wolves. Packs of them, eight to ten strong, shadow themigration. And they are hungry. Its the newly born calves that they are after.Running directly at the herd is a ploy to g

14、en erate panic. The herd breaks upand now its easier to target an in dividual. In the chaos a calf is separatedfrom its mother. The calf is young, but it can outrun the wolf if only it man agesto keep its footi ng. At this stage the odds are eve n - either the caribou willmake a mistake or after a m

15、ile the wolf will give up. Midsummer on the tun draand the sun does not set. At these latitudes the suns rays are gla ncing andnot eno ugh of their en ergy reaches the ground to en able trees to grow. Youlln eed to travel 500 miles south from here before that is possible. These stunted shrubs mark t

16、he tree line - thebegi nning of the boreal forest - the taiga. The n eedle-shaped leaves of theconi fers are virtually in edible so this forest supports very little ani mal life. Its4a silent place where the snow is unmarked by footprints. In the Arctic win tersnow forms a continu ous bla nket acros

17、s the land. But as spri ng creeps upfrom the south the taiga is unveiled. This vast forest circling the globe containsa third of all the trees on Earth and produces so much oxyge n it cha nges thecompositi on of the atmosphere. As we travel south so the suns in flue ncegrows str on ger and at 50 deg

18、rees 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 collecttheir share of the energy that has come from the sun. Its summer and theseforests are bustling with life.

19、But the good times will not last. Broad leavesmust be shed in winter for their damage by frost. As they disappear, so theland becomes barren with little for animals to eat. The inhabitants mustmigrate, hibernate, or face mon ths of n ear starvati on. The Amur leopard - therarest cat in the world. He

20、re, in the deciduous forests of easter n Russia thewin ter makes hun ti ng very difficult. Pray animals are scarce, and theres noconcealing vegetation. The cub is a year old and still dependent on its mother.Deer are freque nt casualties of the harsh win ter and these leopards are notabove scavengin

21、g 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 creatures, the cats have been pushed to the very edge of ext incti on by hunting an

22、d the destructi on of their habitat. The Amur leopard5symbolises the fragility of our n atural heritage. The future of an entire specieshangs on survival of a tiny number of mothers like this one. All an imals, rare orcom mon, ultimately depe nd for their en ergy on the sun. In Japan the arrivalof t

23、he cherry blossom announces the beginning of spring. The suns energybrings colour to the Iandscape. The earth, as it makes its annual journeyaround the sun, spins on a tilted axis. And its this tilt that creates the seas ons.The adva nee of the seas ons brings con sta nt cha nge. As the suns in flue

24、nee dimini shes in the no rth, so the deciduous forests of America beg in toshut 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 thrive on decay, butmost must make special preparationsfor winter and a life with little sun

25、. Wholepopulations of ani mals are now forced to travel great dista nces in pursuit offood and warmth. 300,000 Baikal teal gather to escape from the Siberia n winter by migrating south to Korea - the worlds entire population in a single flock.But there are parts of the world that have no seas on s.

26、In the tropics the sunsrays strike the earth head on and their stre ngth is more or less constant allyear round. That is why the jungle grows so vigourously and supports so muchlife. This forest covers only 3 perce nt of the pla nets surface, but it containsmore than 50 percent of all its plants and

27、 animals. The can opy is particularlyrich. There are mon keys, birds and millio ns of species of in sects, exactlyhow many we have no idea. The character of the forest cha nges as we descend, beco ming ever darker and damper, favouring different kinds of animals6and plants. Less than 2 percent of th

28、e sun light reaches the floor, but eve nhere there is extraord inary variety .In the great island of New Guinea there are42 different species of birds of paradise, each more bizarre than the last. Thisforest is so rich that nourishing food can be gathered very quickly. That leavesthe male six-plumed

29、 bird of paradise with time to concentrate on other matterslike tidying up his display area. Everything must be spick and span. All is ready.Very impressive, but no one is watching. The superb bird of paradise calls toattract a female. And he has more luck. But what does he have to do to reallyimpre

30、ss her? She retires to con sider her verdict. Its hard not to feel deflatedwhe n eve n your best isnt good eno ugh. The sun in flue nces life in the oceans just as it does on Ian d. Its richest parts are those where waves andcurrents bring fertilising nutrients to surface waters that are bathed in s

31、un light.The seas off the Cape in South Africa have this magic recipe and are hugelyproductive. Summer is the time of ple nty and its now that the seals start tobreed. The strike of a great white shark lasts a mere second. Slowing it downforty times reveals the technique and immense strength of this

32、 massivepredator. If surprise fails, there will be a chase. The shark is faster on astraight course but it cant turn as sharply as the seal, its agility versus power.Once the seals have finished breeding the giant sharks will move on. Its nowbecoming clear that great whites migrate thousa nds of mil

33、es across the oceans to harvest seas onal abundan ces in differe nt seas. The sun, beat ing down on tropical waters, powers the weather systems of the globe. Moisture7evaporates from the warming ocean and rises to create great storms. Thewinds gen eratedout at sea sweep inland across the con ti nen

34、ts. As theytravel across the Sahara they create the biggest of all sand storms blow ingsand halfway round the world to fertilize the Amazon jungle. Winds blowingacross the In dia n Ocea n collect moisture and sweep n orthwards towardsthe Himalayas. As the air rises, so it cools. The water it carries

35、 conden ses intoclouds and the n falls as the life giving rains of the monsoon. So air currentspowered by the sun carry wet air to the middle of continents. Without waterthere can be no life, but its distribution over the land is far from even. Desertscover one third of the Iands surface and theyre

36、growing bigger every year.This is the Kalahari Desert in Southern Africa. Its the dry seas on and thousands of elepha nts have started to travel in desperate search for water. Allacross Southern Africa animals are journeying for the same reas on. Buffalojoin the great trek. Nowhere else on Earth are

37、 so many an imals on the movewith the same urge nt purpose. Theyre all headi ng for the swamps of theOkava ngo, a vast inland delta.At the moment it is dry, but water is coming. The travellers are hampered bydan gerous dust storms. Females and calves can easily get separated fromthe main herd. For t

38、his pair san ctuary lies in the patch of woodla nd a fewmiles ahead. They cant rest until they reach it. The main has already got theresafely. Fin ally, the stragglers emerge from the dust. The exhausted calf is stillblinded by sand. Its mother does everything possible to help it. The storm is8now s

39、ubsidi ng, but not all the elepha nts have bee n so lucky. One youn gsterhas got lost. Thirsty and exhausted, it follows the tracks of its mother, but sadlyin the wrong directi on. At the peak of the dry seas on in the Kalahari waterarrives in the Okava ngo. It fell as rain a thousa nd miles away in

40、 the highlands of An gola and has take n n early five mon ths to reach here. The waterdrives out in sects from the parched ground, which are sn apped up by plovers.Catfish, travelli ng with the flood, collect any drowning creatures the birds havemissed. Its a seas onal feast for an imals of all kin

41、ds. Birds are the first toarrive in any numbers - water cranes, then black storks. Behind the birds comebuffalo. After weeks of marching their trek is coming to an end. As the watersweeps into the Okava ngo a vast area of the Kalahari is tran sformed into afertile paradise. Nowhere on our planet Ear

42、th is the life giving power of waterso clearly dem on strated. The Okava ngo becomes criss-crossed with trailsas animals move into its heart. The new arrivals open up paths like arteriesalong which water flows, extending the reach of the flood. This is an Africararely see n - a lush water world. Som

43、e creatures are completely at home here.These are lechwe - an telope with hooves that splay widely, en abli ng them tomove its speed through the water. For others the cha nge is far less welcome.Babo ons are somewhat apprehe nsive bathers. The water brings a seas on ofple nty for all an imals. Hunti

44、ng dogs. These are now among the rarest ofAfricas mammals, but then nonetheless the con ti nen ts most efficie ntpredators. Their secret is teamwork. Impala are their favourite prey. They start9to hunt and the pack splits up. An aerial viewpo int gives a new in sight intotheir strategy. As the dogs

45、approach their prey they peel off to take upseparate positi ons around their target. They seem to form a cord on aroundthe impala. Movi ng in total sile nce they take up their positi ons. Those earscan detect the slightest rustle. The hunt is on. Three dogs close in on oneimpala. Missed. The lead do

46、g drives the impala towards the hidden flankers.Anticipating their line the leader cuts the corner and joins a flanker for the finalassault. Its all or nothing. One on one. The dog has stam ina, the impala hasspeed. Leap ing into the lake is an act of desperation - impala can barely swim.The dogs kn

47、ow 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 forest and this is aninvitation to join in the meal. The impala is in luck. A pack this size kills once aday and everyth ing is shared. And this impala is reprieved. The elephant

48、s arenearing the end of their long journey. After weeks ofmarchi ng theyre desperately tired. The matriarch can smell water and encourages the herd to make one last effort. The youn gsters are exhausted buttheir mothers have made this journey before and they know that theyre closeto water. After man

49、y hun dreds of miles theyve arrived. The lives of theseelepha nts are domin ated by the annual rhythm of wet and dry, a seas onalcycle created by the sun. At the souther n end of the earth, after four mon thsof total dark ness, the sun once more rises over Antarctica. Now at last theEmperor penguins

50、 abandon their huddle. The males are still carrying the10precious eggs that theyve cherished throughout the An tarctic win ter. Withthe retur ning sun the eggs hatch. Other birds have not even arrived. but theEmperors by enduring the long black winter have given their chicks a headstart. These young

51、sters are now ready and eager to make the most of the briefAn tarctic summer.第 2 集 PLANET EARTH MountainsHuma 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 conquered it, but we can only be visitors here. Th

52、is is a froze n alie n world. This isthe other extreme - one of the lowest hottest places on Earth. Itsiiover a hundred metres below the level of the sea. But here a mountain is ingestation. Pools of sulphuric acid are indications that deep un dergro undthere are tita nic stirri ngs. This is the Dan

53、 akil Depressi on in Ethiopia, lyingwithin a colossal rent of the earths surface where giant land masses arepulling away from one another. Lava rises to the surface through this crack inthe crust creating a chain of young volcanoes. This one, Erta Ale, is today theIongest continually erupting volcan

54、o on the planet, a lake of lava that has beenmolten for over a hundred years. These same volca nic forces also createdEthiopias highla nds. 70 millio n years ago this land was just as flat and asdeep as the Dan akil Depressi on. Molte n lava risi ng from the earths coreforced up a huge dome of rock

55、500 miles wide, the roof of Africa. Overmillennia, rain and ice carved the rock into a Iandscape of spires and canyons.These summits, nearly 3 miles up, are home to some very remarkablemountaineers Gelada babo ons. They are unique to the highla nds of Ethiopia.The cliffs where they sleep are for exp

56、ert climbers only, and Gelado certa inlyhave the right equipme nt. the str on gest fin gers of any primate and an utterlyfearless disposition. But you need more than a head for heights to survive uphere. A day in a Gelados life reveals how theyve risen to the challe nge. Forall mon keys mor ning is

57、groo ming time, a cha nee to catch up with frie nds.But, un like other mon keys, Gelados chatter con sta ntly while they do it. Its agreat way to network while your hands are busy.But these socials cant go on for too long. Gelados have a busy daily schedule12and theres work to be done. Most mon keys

58、 could nt live up here. Theres nofood and few in sects to feed on. But Gelados are unique theyre the only monkeys in the world that live almost en tirely on grass. They live in the largestassemblies formed by any mon keys. Some groups are 800 strong and theycrop the high meadows like herds of wildeb

59、eest. The Gelados graze alongside Walia ibex, which are also unique to these highla nds. These rarecreatures are usually very shy but they drop their guard whe n the Gelados arearound. You might expect that grazers would avoid each others patch but thisis a special alliance from which both part ners

60、 ben efit. Its not so risky to putyour head dow n if others are on the lookout. Ethiopian wolves - they wontattempt an attack in broad daylight. But at dusk the plateau becomes a moredan gerous place. With the graz ing largely over theres a last cha nce tosocialise before returni ng to the sleep ing