这些孩子们刚放学
These children are off to school
在中国农村每天早上都意味着一段
In rural China, that may mean a long trek each morning
穿越一两个洞穴的艰苦跋涉
passing through a cave or two on the way
然而并非所有孩子都要徒步上学
But not all pupils have to walk to school
这些孩子是寄宿生
These children are boarders
当孩子们快要到达学校时
As the day pupils near journey's end
住宿生还在做早饭
the boarders are still making breakfast
校园内仿若被关掉了灯一般黑暗
In the school yard, someone seems to have switched the lights off
但这里其实并没有正规的操场
But this is no ordinary play ground
以及正规的学校
and no ordinary school
只不过是座
Its house
洞穴中的房屋而已
inside a cave
天然拱顶阻隔了雨水
A natural vault of rock keeps out the rain
为教室省去了屋顶
so there is no need for a roof on the classroom
中东洞穴学校由六个班级
Zhongdong cave school is made up of 6 classes
共200名学生组成
with a total of 200 children
如同这所学校般 这个洞穴住宅区
As well as a school, the cave houses 18 families
是18户人家和他们牲畜的聚居地
together with their livestock
这或许是世界上唯一在洞穴中饲养的牛了
This could be the only cave dwelling cows on Earth
放学后是游戏的时间
With school work over, it's play time at last
在中国南方 洞穴不仅用于遮蔽
In southern China, caves aren't just used for shelter
他们也能为当地人带来恩惠
they can be a source of revenue for the community
数代的人持续受到洞穴的恩泽
People have been visiting this cave for generations
洞穴地底覆盖了满满鸟粪
The cave floor is covered in guano
仅仅十分钟时间就能让农人满载而归
so plentiful that 10 minutes' work can fill these farmer's baskets
这是一种宝贵的天然肥料
This used as a valuable source of fertilizer
鸟粪的源头能听到河水上空的鸟鸣
A clue to the source of the guano can be heard above the noise of the river
噪音因为山洞而被放大
The sound originates high up in the roof of the cave
入口处聚满了雨燕
The entrance is full of swifts
他们是社交性动物
They are very sociable birds
约200000多的共享贵州南部的洞穴
more than 200,000 of them share this cave in southern Guizhou province
中国最大的雨燕栖息地
The biggest swift colony in China
如今 中国的家燕多数将巢穴建在建筑物的屋顶
These days, Chinese house swifts
mostly nest in the roofs of buildings
但其实在房屋被发明出来之前
but rock crevasses like these were their original home
这样的岩缝才是他们原本安家的地方
long before houses were invented
尽管雨燕依靠洞穴遮蔽
Though the swifts depend on the cave for shelter
他们却必定在日落前归巢
they never stray further than the limits of daylight
因为他们的眼睛无法在黑夜中看清事物
as their eyes can't see in dark
然而洞穴深处
However, deep inside the cavern
是一群更适应地下
are the creatures are better equipped
隐秘生活的居民
for subterranean life
一群蝙蝠刚刚醒来
A colony of bats is just waking up
他们运用超声波在黑夜中确定自己的方位
using ultrasonic squeaks to orientate themselves in the darkness
夜晚是狩猎时间
Night is the time to go hunting
Rickett鼠耳蝠是亚洲蝙蝠中唯一
Rickett's mouse-eared bat is the only bat in Asia which specializes in catching fishes
通过在水面依靠声波对涟漪的反射追踪游鱼的蝙蝠种
tracking them down from the sound reflection of ripples on the water surface
这种非凡的技巧仅在数年前被发现
This extraordinary behavior was only discovered in the last couple of years
现在首次被记录下来展示给世人
and has never been filmed before
如果说在黑暗中追捕游鱼是如此的不可思议
If catching fish in the dark is impressive
想象下倒挂状态下不用爪子吞食滑溜溜的米诺鱼是怎样的神奇场景
imagine eating a slippery minnow with no hands while hanging upside down
拂晓降临至桂林的喀斯特山地
Dawn, over the karst hills of Guilin
这些山地的嶙峋奇秀归功于
These remarkable hills owe their peculiar shapes
漓江那弱酸性的水质
to the mildly acid waters of the Li River
亿万年的侵蚀褪去了他们的本来面目
whose meandering course over eons of time has corrode away their basis
只剩下坚硬的河道残留下来
until only the rocky course remained
漓江是中国最清澈的河流之一
Li is one of the cleanest rivers in China
是捕鱼者和他们训练有素的鸬鹚最爱的捕获点
a favorite spot for fishermen with their trained cormorants
这帮七八十岁的男人全部姓黄
The men, all called Huang, come from the same village
他们来自同一个村落
now in their seventies and eighties
他们毕生都以捕鱼为生
they've been fishermen all their lives
在释放鱼鸟之前
Before they release the birds
他们在鸟的脖子上松松的系一条套索
they tie a noose, loosely around the neck
以防止鸟儿私自将捕到的鱼吞进肚子里
to stop them swallowing any fish they may catch
伴随着即兴的舞蹈， 黄老汉鼓励着他的鸟儿们跳入水中
Chancing and dancing, the Huangs encourage their birds to take the plunge
在水下
Underwater
鸬鹚的狩猎本能暴发
the cormorant's hunting instinct kicks in
他们化身为水下的游鱼追踪导弹
turning them into fish seeking missiles
一只鸬鹚小分队搭档合作齐心协力
Working together,
一早上便能收获颇丰
a good cormorant team can catch a couple of dozen decent-sized fish in a morning
鸟儿们被训练过只能带着鱼儿回到筏子
The birds return to the raft with their fish because they've been trained to do so
从出生的那一刻起
From the time it first hatched
鸬鹚们就开始被训练为忠仆
each of these cormorants has been reared to a life of obedience to its master
这些鸟儿是高效的奴隶
The birds are, in effect, slaves
但是它们并不是白痴
But they are not stupid
据说鸬鹚能够记住它们捕获的鱼的数目
It's said the cormorants can key the tally of the fish they catch
至少能记住七条
at least up to seven
除非它们不时得到打赏 当然这不过是收回一点自己的劳动成果罢了
So unless they get a reward now and then,they simply withdraw their labor
渔夫理所当然得把最好的鱼留给自己
The fishermen of course keep the best fish for themselves
鸬鹚则能享受剩余的部分
The cormorants get the leftover tiddlies
项圈摘除后 鸟儿们终于能享用它的战利品了
With its collar removed，the bird can at last swallow its prize
最美妙的莫过于得到额外的打赏
Best of all,when it isn't meant to have...
而如今 现代捕鱼技术的激烈竞争
These days,competition for modern fishing techniques
意味着使黄老汉已不能仅靠鸬鹚捕鱼这一传统的手段谋生了
means the Huangs can't make a living from traditional cormorant fishing alone
这一流传了1300多年的传统
And this 1300-year old tradition
如今只能成为取悦游客的表演
is now practiced mostly to entertain tourists
但在贵州省附近的草海湖上
But on Caohai lake in nearby Guizhou Province
一种与众不同的捕鱼业正在蓬勃发展
an even more unusual fishing industry is alive and well
庚钟胜正在去为夜间布网的路上
Geng Zhongsheng is on his way to set out his net for the night
老庚的怪网是一种一头扎起来的管状装置
Geng's net is a strange tubular contraption with a closed off end
上百渔夫依靠这个
More than a hundred fishermen make their living from the lake
水质富矿的高产湖泊为生
Its mineral-rich waters are highly productive
并在此布下天罗地网
and there are nets everywhere
第二天清早老耿和他的儿子回来收获他们猎物
The next morning, Geng returns with his son to collect his catch
乍看之下收获平平
At first sight, it looks disappointing
小鱼.虾米.和扭个不停的虫子
Tiny fishes, lots of shrimps, and some wriggling bugs
然而老耿看上去来并不那么消沉
Geng doesn't seem too down hearted
大鱼被保持存活
The larger fish are kept alive
这是唯一在酷暑下保鲜的办法
the only way they'll stay fresh in the heat
令人吃惊的是 一些虫子也被专门挑捡出来
Surprisingly, some of the bugs are also singled out for special treatment
它们是蜻蜓的幼虫
They are the young stage of dragonflies
以蠕虫和蝌蚪为食的掠食者
predators that feed on worms and tadpoles
这里是世界上蜻蜓卵收获最丰的地方
Nowhere else in the world are dragonfly nymphs harvested like this
回到家后 老耿把他的获物在屋顶上摊开晒干
Back home, Geng spreads his catch on the roof to dry
在中国，但凡能吃的东西都不会被浪费
It's being in China, nothing edible would be wasted
在遥远的南方有这样一种说法
There is a saying in the far south
“长腿的唯桌子不吃
"We will eat anything with legs, except a table;
长翅膀的独飞机不啃”
and anything with wings, except a plane."
几个钟头后 这些晒干了的昆虫便会被带到市场上卖掉
Within a few hours, the dried insects are ready to be backed up and taken to market
其中蜻蜓蛹能卖到最好的价格
Its the dragonfly nymphs that fetch the best price
幸运的是 草海的蜻蜓资源非常丰富且高速再生
Fortunately, Caohai's dragonflies are abundant and fast breeding
所以老耿和其他的渔民远不会危及它们的数量
so Geng and his fellow fishermen have so far had little impact on their numbers
但绝非所有野生动物都这样生机勃勃
But not all wildlife is so resilient
这所上海附近的佛庙
This buddhist temple near Shanghai
有一段与之相关的传奇故事
has an extraordinary story attached to it
2007年5月
In May 2007
一支狂野中国摄制组在这所寺庙的鱼塘里
A Wild China camera team filmed this peculiar Swinhoe's turtle
拍摄到了这只罕见的斑龟
in the temple's fishpond
据寺庙的和尚所说 这只龟在明朝期间被赐予寺庙
According to the monks, this turtle had been given to the temple during the Ming dynasty
至今已有400余年历史了
over 400 years ago
它被认为是地球上最老的动物
It was thought to be the oldest animal on Earth
软壳龟被很多从中国人视为神赐的馈赠
Soft shell turtles are considerd a god-made delicacy by many Chinese
在被记录下的时候
and when it was filmed
它已是中国仅存的三只斑龟之一
this was one of just three Swinhoe's Turtles left alive in China
他的同胞们
The rest of its kind
被当作食物剿杀殆尽
having been rounded up and eaten
悲痛人心的是在拍摄后的短短几周后
Sadly, just a few weeks after filming
这只远古的生物与世长辞了
this ancient creature died
他的其他同类现在被散养在不同动物园保护着
The remaining individuals of its species are currently kept in seperate zoos
据测算现在斑龟在自然界中已经灭绝了
and Swinhoe's Turtle is now reckoned extinct in the wild
事实上 中国25种淡水龟中
In fact, most of the 25 types of fresh water turtles in China
多数都已然濒危
are now vanishingly rare
杜绝物种灭绝的唯一途径
The answer to extinction
就是加以保护
is protection
这里有贯穿中国南方的不断壮大的自然保护区网络
And there is now a growing network of nature reserves through southern China
其中 张家界天子山那由沙石构成的高耸的
Of these, the Tianzi Mountain Reserve at Zangjiajie is perhaps the most visited by Chinese nature lovers
塔状反重力地貌最受中国自然爱好者的青睐
who come to marvel at the gravity-defying landscape of soaring sand stone pinnacles
蜿蜒在张家界的山峰间清澈见底的溪流
Winding between Zhangjiajie's peaks
居住着一种中国最奇怪的生物
crystal clear mountain streams are home to what is perhaps China's strangest creature0
这种奇异的动物
This bizarre animal
属于蝾螈的一种
is a type of newt
中国大鲵
the Chinese Giant Salamander
在中国 它被称之为娃娃鱼
In China, it is known as the baby fish
这名称源自当他悲伤时发出的类似婴儿哭泣的声音
because when distressed, it makes a sound like a crying infant
成年体长1~1.5米
It grows up to a meter and a half long
这使它成为世界上最大的两栖类动物
making it the world's largest amphibian
在自然条件下 一只大鲵可以活到十岁
Under natural conditions, a Giant Salamander may live decades
但是和很多其他中国动物一样
But like so many Chinese animals
它被视为美味佳肴
it is considered delicious to eat
尽管被列为国家级保护动物
Despite being classed as protected species
大鲵仍然被当作食物非法买卖
giant salamanders are still illegally sold for food
现在娃娃鱼已经非常稀有
and the baby fish is now rare
在自然界濒临灭绝了
and endangered in the wild
幸运的是在像张家界这样的一些地方
Fortunately in a few areas like Zhangjiajie,
大鲵在政府的严格保护下得以幸存
Giang Salamanders still survive under strict official protection
张家界的河流向东北注入
The rivers of Zhangjiajie flow northeast into the Yangtse floodplain
以鱼米之乡文明的长江平原
known as the land of fish and rice
在安徽省一个湖泊的小岛上
On an island in a lake in Anhui province
一只小龙蠢蠢欲动
a dragon is stirring
这里是中国最大最稀有爬行动物的古老家园
This is the ancestral home of China's largest and rarest reptile
一种传说中的神秘生物
A creature of mystery and legend
龙卵是非常珍贵的
Dragon eggs are greatly prized
这些孩子们需要快点孵化出来
these babies need to hatch out quick
看起来有人正在进行搜寻
It would seem someone is on their trail
对一只无助的爬行类幼仔来说
For a helpless baby reptile
囚禁在令人窒息的蛋壳的坚韧隔膜里
imprisoned in a leathery membrane inside a choky shell
在孵化过程中
a process of hatching
需要拼尽全力挣扎
is a titanic struggle
时间在不断流逝
And time is running out
小鳄鱼需要耗费2个小时才能将脑袋伸出蛋壳
It's taken 2 hours for the little dragon to get its head out of this egg
现在是拼尽全力
It needs to gather its strength now
进行最后奋力一击的时刻
a final massive push
最终获得自由
Free at last
扬子幼鳄出于本能的向巢的表面爬去
the baby Chinese alligators instinctively head upwards toward the surface of the nest
迎接全新的世界
and a <i>...</i> side world
但造访者并不是它们的同类
But the visitors are not what they seem