英國語文第六冊(雙語):熱帶地區(qū)(二)(3)

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The African desert produces only a few plants and animals; but it stamps them all with its own peculiar mark. From the tawny Bedouin to the worm scarcely distinguishable in the sand, it gives all its creatures the same dress—the same colour, which might justly be called the colour of the desert. It is the pale grayish-yellow tint which belongs as well to the gazelle as to the small lark of the sandy wastes. Among the birds there are no doubt many modifications of this general rule, and the deviations increase as the desert gradually merges into the more fertile steppes, but even here its characteristic mark is not to be mistaken.

非洲的沙漠上動植物稀少，這也正是它的與眾不同之處。從棕皮膚的貝多因人到和沙子混為一體的蟲子，沙漠給所有生活在沙漠里的生物穿上了同樣的衣服-同樣的顏色，可以恰當(dāng)?shù)胤Q之為“沙漠之色”。那是一種灰黃色，它既屬于瞪羚，也屬于沙漠里的小云雀。這一通則無疑在鳥兒身上發(fā)生了變質(zhì)，差異隨著沙漠逐漸并入更加肥沃的草原而變得越來越明顯。但是，即使到了這兒，它的特征標(biāo)記同樣顯而易見。

When we consider the scanty vegetation of the Sahara, we cannot wonder that animal life is but sparingly scattered over its surface. The lion, so frequently misnamed "The king of the desert," only shows himself on its borders. As lions cannot exist without flesh and water, they avoid the sandy desert. In fact, they never leave the wooded mountains of the Atlas, or the fruitful plains of the Soudan, to wander far into the Sahara. There snakes and scorpions are the only dangerous animals to be met with.

當(dāng)撒哈拉沙漠那稀少的植被映入我們的腦海時，我們會想到那里的動物肯定同樣罕見。常被誤稱為“沙漠之王”的獅子也只會出現(xiàn)在沙漠的邊緣地帶。獅子因為離不開肉和水，所以它們不會進(jìn)入沙漠腹地。其實(shí)，它們從未離開過阿特拉斯那郁郁蔥蔥的山脈，或者離開蘇丹那肥沃的平原，更不用說遠(yuǎn)赴撒哈拉沙漠。在撒哈拉沙漠，你只會遇到蛇和蝎子這兩種危險類動物。

According to the seasons, animal life fluctuates in the Sahara from north to south. In winter and spring, when heavy rains, falling on its northern borders, provide wide districts, thoroughly parched by the summer heat, with the water and pasturage needed for the herds, the nomadic tribes wander farther into the desert with their camels, horses, sheep, and goats, and retreat again to the coast-lands as the sun gains power. At that time of the year the wild animals—the lion, the gazelle, and the antelope—also wander farther to the south, which then provides them, each according to its taste, with the nourishment which the dry summer is unable to bestow. The ostrich, too, which during the summer ranged farther to the north, then retreats to the south; for hot and sandy plains are the paradise in which this singular bird delights to roam.

動物們的生活會隨著季節(jié)變化在撒哈拉沙漠里從北向南來回遷徙。當(dāng)冬春之時大雨落在沙漠的北部邊緣，給那些已被夏熱烘干了的大片地區(qū)帶來濕潤，給牧群帶來了牧草。游牧族的牧民們也會將自己飼養(yǎng)的駱駝、馬兒、綿羊、山羊漫步驅(qū)趕至沙漠并在太陽再次雄雄升起之時返回。每年的那個時候，野生動物們—獅子、瞪羚和羚羊也會遷徙至更遙遠(yuǎn)的南方，那里會根據(jù)每種動物的口味來為它們提供干燥的夏季無法為它們提供的食物。鴕鳥們也是如此，它們會在夏季漫步至北方，之后會再次返回南方，因為炎熱多沙的平原是鴕鳥這種特殊鳥類可以愉快漫游的天堂之地。