Lesson 26 The past life of the earth

But even in the most favourable circumstances only a small fraction of the creatures that die are preserved in this way before decay sets in or, even more likely, before scavengers eat them.

即使是在最有利的環(huán)境中，死去的生物中也只有一小部分能在開(kāi)始腐爛前，或更可能在被食腐動(dòng)物吃掉之前，被這樣保存下來(lái)。

Lesson 26 The past life of the earth

After all, all living creatures live by feeding on something else, whether it be plant or animal, dead or alive, and it is only by chance that such a fate is avoided.

因?yàn)橐磺猩锒际强砍詣e的東西來(lái)活命的，不管這種東西是植物還是動(dòng)物，死的還是活的，因此，生物偶爾才能避免被吃掉的命運(yùn)。

Lesson 26 The past life of the earth

The remains of plants and animals that lived on land are much more rarely preserved, for there is seldom anything to cover them over.

曾在陸地上生活過(guò)的動(dòng)植物的遺體被保存下來(lái)的更為罕見(jiàn)，因?yàn)殛懙厣蠋缀鯖](méi)有什么東西覆蓋它們。

Lesson 26 The past life of the earth

When you think of the innumerable birds that one sees flying bout,

你可以想象出天上有看得見(jiàn)的飛來(lái)飛去、數(shù)不清的鳥(niǎo)，

Lesson 26 The past life of the earth

not to mention the equally numerous small animals like field mice and voles which you do not see,

地上有不顯眼的無(wú)數(shù)的老鼠和田鼠之類的小動(dòng)物，

Lesson 26 The past life of the earth

it is very rarely that one comes across a dead body, except, of course, on the roads.

但是，除非在路上，很少有人遇到這些動(dòng)物的尸體，

Lesson 26 The past life of the earth

They decompose and are quickly destroyed by the weather or eaten by some other creature.

因?yàn)樗鼈兏瘮≈蠛芸炀捅伙L(fēng)化掉，或被別的動(dòng)物吃掉了。

Lesson 26 The past life of the earth

It is almost always due to some very special circumstances that traces of land animals survive,

幾乎總是由于某些特殊的條件，陸地動(dòng)物的遺體才被存下來(lái)，

Lesson 26 The past life of the earth

as by falling into inaccessible caves, or into an ice crevasse, like the Siberian mammoths,

如掉進(jìn)難以到達(dá)的洞穴，或掉進(jìn)冰河裂縫里，或者像西伯利亞長(zhǎng)毛象那樣掉進(jìn)冰窟中，

Lesson 26 The past life of the earth

when the whole animal is sometimes preserved, as in a refrigerator.

有時(shí)整個(gè)動(dòng)物像被放在冰箱里一樣被保存下來(lái)，

Lesson 26 The past life of the earth

This is what happened to the famous Beresovka mammoth which was found preserved and in good condition.

著名的那林索夫卡長(zhǎng)毛象就是這樣被保存下來(lái)的，而且保存得很好。

Lesson 26 The past life of the earth

In his mouth were the remains of fir trees -- the last meal that he had before he fell into the crevasse and broke his back.

它嘴里還留著冷杉 -- 它掉進(jìn)冰河裂隙折斷脊椎柱之前的最后一頓飯。

Lesson 26 The past life of the earth

The mammoth has now been restored in the Palaeontological Museum in Leningrad. Other animals were trapped in tar pits, like the elephants, sabre-toothed cats, and numerous other creatures that are found at Rancho la Brea,which is now just a suburb of Los

這頭長(zhǎng)毛象已被修復(fù)，現(xiàn)存于圣彼得堡古生物學(xué)博物館。有的動(dòng)物掉進(jìn)天然瀝清坑里被保存下來(lái)，如在蘭橋。拉。布里 -- 現(xiàn)在是洛杉磯的郊區(qū)發(fā)現(xiàn)的大象、劍齒虎和許多其他動(dòng)物。

Lesson 26 The past life of the earth

Apparently what happened was that water collected on these tar pits, and the bigger animals like the elephants ventured out on to the apparently firm surface to drink, and were promptly bogged in the tar.

瀝青坑里積存了水，大象那樣的大動(dòng)物冒險(xiǎn)到似乎堅(jiān)固的水面上去飲水，立即掉進(jìn)了瀝青坑。

Lesson 26 The past life of the earth

And then, when they were dead, the carnivores, like the sabre-toothed cats and the giant wolves, came out to feed and suffered exactly the same fate.

大象死后，一些食肉動(dòng)物，如劍齒虎和大灰狼就來(lái)吃大象，結(jié)果遭到了同樣的命運(yùn)。

Lesson 26 The past life of the earth

There are also endless numbers of birds in the tar as well.

瀝青坑里還有無(wú)數(shù)只鳥(niǎo)的尸體。

Lesson 27 The 'Vasa'

From the seventeenth-century empire of Sweden,

從17世紀(jì)瑞典帝國(guó)

Lesson 27 The 'Vasa'

the story of a galleon that sank at the start of her maiden voyage in 1628 must be one of the strangest tales of the sea.

在1628年，一艘大帆船在處女航開(kāi)始時(shí)就沉沒(méi)了，這個(gè)流傳至今的故事無(wú)疑是航海史上最離奇的事件之一。

Lesson 27 The 'Vasa'

For nearly three and a half centuries she lay at the bottom of Stockholm harbour until her discovery in 1956.

這艘大船在斯德哥爾摩港口的海底躺了將近3個(gè)半世紀(jì)之后，直到1956年才被發(fā)現(xiàn)。

Lesson 27 The 'Vasa'

This was the Vasa, royal flagship of the great imperial fleet.

這就是"瓦薩號(hào)，帝國(guó)大艦隊(duì)的皇家旗艦。

Lesson 27 The 'Vasa'

King Gustavus Adolphus, 'The Northern Hurricane',

當(dāng)時(shí)號(hào)稱北方颶風(fēng)的國(guó)王古斯塔夫斯·阿道爾弗斯

Lesson 27 The 'Vasa'

then at the height of his military success in the Thirty Years' War,had dictated her measurements and armament.

正處在"三十年戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)"的軍事鼎盛階段，他親自規(guī)定了這艘船的規(guī)模和武器配備。

Lesson 27 The 'Vasa'

Triple gun-decks mounted sixty-four bronze cannon.

三層的火炮甲板上裝著64門青銅加農(nóng)炮，

Lesson 27 The 'Vasa'

She was intended to play a leading role in the growing might of Sweden.

目的就是要在不斷增長(zhǎng)的瑞典勢(shì)力中起主導(dǎo)作用。

Lesson 27 The 'Vasa'

As she was prepared for her maiden voyage on August 10, 1628, Stockholm was in a ferment.

在1628年8月10日，瓦薩號(hào)準(zhǔn)備首航時(shí)，斯德哥爾摩一片歡騰。

Lesson 27 The 'Vasa'

From the Skeppsbron and surrounding islands the people watched this thing of beauty begin to spread her sails and catch the wind.

人們從斯開(kāi)波斯布朗和周圍的島嶼前來(lái)觀看這艘美麗的戰(zhàn)船揚(yáng)帆起航，乘風(fēng)前進(jìn)。

Lesson 27 The 'Vasa'

They had laboured for three years to produce this floating work of art;

瑞典人辛辛苦苦干了3年才建成這件水上藝術(shù)品，

Lesson 27 The 'Vasa'

she was more richly carved and ornamented than any previous ship.

它比以往任何船只雕刻得都更加精美，裝飾得都更加華麗。

Lesson 27 The 'Vasa'

The high stern castle was a riot of carved gods,

高聳的船樓上雕刻著令人眼花繚亂的神仙、

Lesson 27 The 'Vasa'

demons, knights, kings, warriors, mermaids, cherubs;

妖魔、騎士、國(guó)王、武士、美人魚(yú)和小天使，