【 加 纳 帕 戈 斯 群 岛 】
诞生在海底火山喷发的烈焰之中 Born of fire from the depths of the earth
遭受着太阳无情的烘烤 baked by an infernal sun
他是地球上最奇特的动植物的乐园 home to the strangest creatures imaginable
当人类第一次踏足这里 When people first came here
以为自己来到了地狱 they thought that they had found a hell on earth
但这里不是地狱 But this is no hell
这里是充满着活力的“生命熔炉” it is a vibrant crucible of life
终于，有一个人发现了真相 In time, one man saw the truth
他彻底改变了我们对这些岛屿的看法 and changed much more than just our view of these islands
他的名字就叫查尔斯·达尔文 His name was Charles Darwin
这个故事将要讲述加纳帕戈斯群岛 This is the story of how the lonely Galapagos islands came from obscurity to change the world for ever
如何由默默无闻的荒岛
最后永远地改变这个世界
『 改 变 世 界 的 荒 岛 』
公元前1535年3月10日
尊敬的陛下，我们度过了风平浪静的六天 Your sacred Majesty
现在遇到了强大的海流，我们的船开始随波逐流 we had this 6 day calm
the currents were so strong and engulfed us in such a way
在三月十日那天，我们被冲到了岛上
that on the 10, March, we were brought to some islands
托马斯·德贝尔·兰加，巴拿马的主教 Thomas de Berlanga, the bishop of Panama was sailing from Panama to Peru
当时正坐在从本国驶向秘鲁的航船上
当风势减弱的时候 But when winds failed him, strong currents took hold
汹涌的巨浪却使船失去了控制，船完全偏离了航向
and he was carried wildly off course
最后，主教和他的随从发现了陆地 Eventually, the bishop and his men found land
然而，这又是怎样的陆地啊 But what a land!
仿佛不知在什么时候 It seems as though at some time God had showered stones
上帝曾下过一场猛烈的石头雨
地上满是岩浆的灰渣，寸草不生 and the earth is like slag - worthless
这里的土地和生物有如来自地狱 Both the land and its creatures seemed infernal
他们挖了一口水井，却发现井水居然比海水还要咸 They dug a well, but found water saltier than the sea
其中两个人死了 Two men died
他们祈求上帝保佑 They prayed for deliverance
当风再起时，主教和他的随从终于离开了这里 The winds returned
记录了在这个俨如地狱的地方的遭遇 and the bishop and his men got away to record their tale of a hell on earth
他们发现了加纳帕戈斯 They had discovered the Galapagos
离南美海岸600英里，正处在赤道上 600 miles off the coast of South America right on the equator
加纳帕戈斯，是由大约12座岛组成的群岛 the Galapagos are a small group of a dozen or so islands
孤零零地耸立在浩瀚的太平洋中 alone in the vast Pacific Ocean
千百年来，那里的火山岩浆形成的海岸和巨大的火山 For millennia, their lava-clad shores and great volcanic mountains
一直无人注意，无人绘制过地图，也一直保持着原有风貌 remained unnoticed, uncharted, untainted
知道大约500年前，命运把巴拿马主教带到了这里 until fate brought the bishop of Panama here nearly 500 years ago
只要看一眼，我们就能明白，为什么这个地方会让主教如此惊恐 At first sight
it's easy to see why the bishop was horrified by this place
从大海里冒出巨大的蜥蜴 From the sea come dragons marine iguanas
海鬣蜥
连走带跑地上岸 slithering onto the land
黑的如同熔岩，它们仿佛要把诅咒吐出来 As black as the lava itself they seemed to spit a curse
在它们清除因吸收海水而积累的盐分的时候 as they purge themselves of salt from drinking sea water
在后面的沙漠，有更大的蜥蜴 In the deserts behind
larger dragons
连续五天，主教不得不靠吃仙人掌肉活命 For 5 days the bishop was forced to survive on cactus pads
这些陆鬣蜥也吃 these land iguanas eat little else
它们是直接从针刺上咬下去后，连肉带汁的享受 They bite right through the needle sharp spines to reach the surprisingly juicy flesh
在这里，浓烟滚滚的内陆地带 And in the smoldering interior,
有巨大的生灵 there are giants
这些乌龟体重与4个成年男子相当 Tortoises, as heavy as 4 grown men
在巨大的躯体里面，这些乌龟能够储存足够的脂肪 In their huge bodies
维持整年不吃不喝任何东西 they can store enough fat to go for a year without eating or drinking anything
为了在这里生存，便好像需要化身成怪物 To survive here
it seems you need to be a monster
抑或只要与众不同，就意味着有用？ Or is it just that you need to be different?
一只鸟，像凤凰一样，从荒芜海岸的灰烬里冒了出来 A bird, phoenix-like, emerges from the ashes of this barren coast
这是一只鸬鹚 A cormorant
但它的翅膀太小了，羽毛又太乱了 But its wings are scruffy and small
看起来不像会飞 It looks like it could never fly
它不会飞 It can't
然而，在波涛之下还有一个世界 But there is another world beneath the waves
海洋是一块宝地 The ocean is rich
而正是在海洋里，不会飞的鸬鹚找到了它的生存方法
And this is where the flightless cormorant has found its way of surviving
将飞行变成游泳的能力 by trading flight for streamlining
剩下退化了的羽毛，紧紧贴伏身体上 With what's left of its wings tucked flat against its body
脚非常发达 enlarged feet take over
这样才适合在海底灵活地捕食八爪鱼、鳗鱼以及小鱼 propelling it on in search of octopus, eels and small fish
一直雌鸟正蹲在巢穴里 A female is on the nest
巢是它用海草精心编制的舒适的床 She makes it from seaweed, expertly weaved into a comfortably bed
保护它自己和它下的蛋不受到锋利的岩石的伤害 protection for her and her eggs from the razor-sharp lava
这只雄鸟给它的配偶带来了一份礼物 The male brings a gift for his mate
用来加固巢，也为了巩固它们的关系 for the nest and also to bond their relationship
没有飞行的能力，它们犹如流放于此地的囚犯 Without the power of flight these birds are marooned here
但是它们没有天敌，在自己的家门口就找得到全部所需的食物 but they have no predators
and on their doorstep is all the food they need
对于这些把加纳帕戈斯当作家的怪鸟 For the strange creatures that have made the Galapagos home
生活有点苦，但未到苦不堪言的地步 life is harsh but not hell
如果巴拿马主教当时幸运的话，他可能会看到不同的景象 If the bishop of Panama had been luckier he might have seen things differently
每年一月 In January each year
造成加纳帕戈斯群岛气候干燥的罪魁祸首，寒冷的洪堡洋流 the cold Humboldt current that makes Galapagos so dry, loosens its grip
开始减退
取而代之的力量是从北方而来的一股暖流 and gives way to warm water from the north
在美好的年份里，它会给这里的岛屿带来惊人的变化 In good years it brings a remarkable change to the islands
突然呈现出一派完全不同的景象 Suddenly, a very different Galapagos appears
藏在灰烬中的种子发芽了 From the ash hidden seeds come to life
帕罗桑塔，这种很久以前就被人们认为灭绝了的树，在这里复活了 Palo Santo trees that seem long dead are resurrected
黑白的世界变得五彩斑斓 from black and white to color
加纳帕戈斯的春天 A Galapagos spring
然而，这里的春天也与众不同 but even spring here is different
陆蜥蜴在金黄色的草地里吃草 The golden meadows are grazed by land iguanas
由滋味的仙人掌肉换成了另一种美食 relishing a pleasant change from cactus pads
这一只雌木蜂也被吸引，沉醉于花丛当中 And this female carpenter bee also drawn to the new flush of flowers
它在百花丛中飞舞 visits many different kinds
但奇怪的是，几乎所有的花都是黄色的
But strangely, almost all of them are yellow
木蜂是加纳帕戈斯唯一的蜂 She is the only kind of bee in Galapagos
假如木蜂喜欢黄色，这里的花不是黄色就没有意义了 If she likes yellow
there's little point in a flower being anything else
雨水也带来了小鸟，它们开始吱吱喳喳唱起歌来 The rain has also brought out little birds and all around they start to sing
这只雄雀想要吸引雌雀来参观它筑的巢 This male finch tries to entice the female to inspect his nest
巢被精心地筑在仙人掌刺保护得到的空间内 Carefully built in the protection of a spiny cactus pad
雌鸟喜欢，住进去了 She likes it and settles in
然而，这些看起来很不凡的鸟，也有着很不普通的一面 But even these ordinary-looking birds are extraordinary
在地上和树上 On the ground, in the trees where you would expect to find many different birds
你以为会看到很多不同种类的鸟
但在这里，就只有一个种类 Here one kind rules
全部都是雀科的鸟
These are all finches
在加纳帕戈斯有13种不同的雀科鸟 In Galapagos there are 13 different species of finch taking the place of the other birds
而其他科的鸟一种也没有
关键原因是，每一只雀都有不同用途的喙 The key is that each has a different beak
厚而实的用来咬碎种子 Thicker, stronger for cracking seeds
长而利的用来吮吸花蜜 Long and sharp for flowers
细而尖的用来从岩峰利挖出小虫子 Delicate and pointed for winkling tiny creatures from cracks in rocks
甚至还有一种啄木鸟雀 There's even a woodpecker finch
但是没有啄木鸟的舌头，是不能直接吃到树洞里的虫子的 But without a woodpeckers tongue
it can't reach grubs that deep inside burrows so it has to use all its canny to get what it wants
因而它必须施展浑身解数才能如其所愿
它这段一条小树枝 It breaks off a twig,
做探测工具
a tool for probing
不是很合适
Not quite right
太好了，刚刚好 Yes, just right
再叼一条树枝区探另一个树洞 Another tool for another burrow
又一条肥美的虫子 another fat grub
这里的世界，人们最初看到的只是其中的一面 There's a lot more to this world than at first meets the eye
多年来，却一直没人知道加纳帕戈斯这么美的风景 For many years, this brighter side of Galapagos remained completely hidden
遭巴拿马主教诅咒、没有名字，没人靠近过这里 Cursed by the bishop of Panama
given no name
Nobody came near
事实上，也没有人相信这些岛屿也真的存在 But then nobody was even sure the islands existed
它们如幽灵般在虚无缥缈的烟雾之中 shifting currents, mists, like ghosts
忽隐忽现 Now you see them, now you don't
在水手的心里，加纳帕戈斯是“Las Encantadas” In the minds of mariners
the Galapagos were Las Encantadas, enchanted
“被施了魔法的陆地”
后来，在16世纪末，有人把这些岛屿标在地图上 Then, in the late 1500s
就12个粗略的记号和一个名称 somebody put them on a map
Just 12 crude marks and a name
lslas de Galapagos Isla de Galapagos - islands of the tortoises
乌龟之岛
一标在地图上就变得真实了 Put it on a map and it becomes real
第一批来的是海盗 The first to come were pirates
加纳帕戈斯是绝好的基地 The Galapagos was the perfect base for raids on Spanish galleons carrying gold from South America
在此地袭击南美来的西班牙货船非常有利
但是抢劫对加纳帕戈斯来说并不新鲜 But piracy is nothing new to Galapagos
军舰鸟正寻找目标实施抢劫 frigatebirds looking for plunder
在这些悬崖峭壁上是数以千计的鸟巢 In these cliffs are the nests of hundreds of thousands of seabirds
这么多鸟儿聚集在一起，很快争端开始出现 With so much traffic, it's not long before something gets into trouble
这是一只海燕 A storm petrel
又一只军舰鸟飞过来 But another frigate is in there like a shot and another
然后又一只
两只，三只白头鸟 two, three white headed juveniles
它们一起袭击黑头鸟 They harried the all black male
逼着它丢弃嘴里叼着的燕子 forcing it to drop the petrel
军舰鸟名声很坏，但并不完全因为它们就想要这么干 Frigates have a fearsome reputation
but the odds are not all in their favor
如果它们自己入海捕食的话，长翅膀就会沾上过多的水 If they ditch in the sea
their long wings can get critically waterlogged With every swoop, they risk drowning
每一次入海捕食，都有淹死的危险
在军舰鸟的领地里，雄鸟一个个都鼓起了红色喉囊 In the colony, the males inflate their extraordinary red-throat pouches
它们想要吸引正在天上飞的雌鸟 They are trying to be irresistible to females passing overhead
它得手了！ He's got one
雌鸟很快住了进来，整理起雄鸟的巢 She soon settles in and tidies up his nest
雄鸟则非常小心地看着 He watches over her very carefully
毕竟周围都是做强盗的鸟 After all, he is surrounded by pirates
另一支雄鸟想来抢夺 Another male tries to muscle in
现在雌鸟加入了 Now she joins in
雌鸟已经做出选择，它帮助雄鸟驱逐外来者 She's already made her choice and helps drive the newcomer away
它的搭档没有浪费时间 Her partner wastes no more time
等完事后，雌鸟就把头靠在舒适的“枕头”上轻松一下 And when it's all over
she gets a rest on a comfortable pillow
与世隔绝，这里正是海盗们寻找安宁的理想所在 Hidden away from the rest of the world this is a place for pirates to find peace
第二波来加纳帕戈斯的人，不是为了掠夺过往的船只 The next wave of people came to Galapagos not to plunder passing ships
而是为了掠夺岛屿本身的财富 but for the riches of the islands themselves
在偏西方向 In the far west
克伦威尔潜流与巨大的洋流碰撞，从而变成一股上升流 the deep Cromwell current collides with the massive islands and rises bringing nutrients from the abyss deep
从深海带来了新的潮流
这里是赤道附近的海洋里物产最丰富的地方之一 These are some of the richest seas on the equator
但是，并非这些鱼吸引了这些人前来此地 But it wasn't fish that draw people to these waters
这是抹香鲸 A sperm whale
它们可以潜入三千多米深的海底去捕食鱿鱼 They dive to over 3,000 feet for squid
那里深的连赤道上阳光也无法照下去 It's so deep even the equatorial sun is completely shut out
所以，抹香鲸用回声定位的方法来捕食 So they find their food via echo-location
它们如今受到了保护 Today, they are protected
在我们眼里是美丽的巨大生物 We see them as beautiful giants
但在不久以前，情况却大为不同 But not so long ago, the view was very different
它们被当作怪物，遭到想要牟利的人猎杀 These were monsters to be killed for profit
是“鲸油热”和“海中怪兽”搏斗的故事 It was the rush for whale oil and stories of battles with Levithians of the deep
引起了全世界对加纳帕戈斯群岛的广泛关注 that brought the Galapagos to the attention of the world at large
但岛屿被发现后，付出代价的并不仅仅只有鲸 But it wasn't just the whales that were paying the price of discovering
有一样东西，海盗和捕鲸者都想得到 There was one thing that pirates and whalers all wanted -
新鲜食物 fresh food
脂肪含量丰富，体型又巨大，使得龟成为船上最好的供给 Their rich fat, their giant size made tortoises perfect for the ship's larder
在两百年内，有超过二十万只被掠走 In 200 years
over 200,000 were taken
在一些岛上，龟已经销声匿迹了 On some islands tortoises were completely wiped out
悲中有喜的是 But out of the tragedy came some good
随着更多的人来到加纳帕戈斯 As more people came to Galapagos
岛屿的位置开始变得更清楚 a clearer picture of the islands began to appear
每一座岛屿都取了名字 Each got its own name
一些地方仍然被认为是非常可怕的 Some parts were still deemed infernal
另一些地方则用于抛锚 But others had sheltered places to anchor
or a few trees - vital timber for repairing ships
或者提供修船的关键原料，木材
尽管仍然被认为被施了魔法，但地图上的轮廓已经越来越清楚 Though still enchanted, the islands took on more recognizable shapes,
所标注的位置也越来越精确了 More accurately fixed on a map
是该了解这些岛屿了 It was a start of coming to understand them
当雄伟的贝格尔号 When His Majesty's Ship Beagle reached the Galapagos on the 15, Sep. 1835
1835年9月15号抵达加纳帕戈斯的时候
这是他返程前最后一分钟的停留 It was a last minute stop before a long journey home
这艘给南美洲绘制地图的船，已经在海上航行了三年多 She had been charting the coast of south America for more than 3 years
现在还有五星期的时间 She now had just 5 weeks to make a modern and accurate map of this little known outpost
来给这些不为人知的岛屿绘制一张精确的现代地图
但这次并非又一次普普通通的着陆 But this was much more than just another landfall
历史的进程将因此而改变 It was to change the course of history
在船上是博物学家查尔斯·达尔文 On board, was naturalist Charles Darwin
不是我们熟悉的那个睿智、蓄着花白大胡子的达尔文 not the wise, grey beareded Darwin we know so well but young, impressionable, just 26
而是年轻、敏感、才26岁的达尔文
他起初看到这个地方，让人望而却步 At first, he saw the place much as those before him
没有什么比这更荒凉、更可怕的了 Nothing could be less inviting
Nothing more rough and horrid
漆黑的岩石，被悬在正空的太阳晒的滚烫 The black rocks heated by the rays of the vertical sun give to the air a closer sultry feeling
空气因此也变得无比地闷热
如同烤炉一样 like a stove
但很快，他就有所发现 But he soon began to see more
他脚下坚硬的地面仿佛昨天才刚形成 The very ground on which he was walking seemed solidified only yesterday
像是大海在最汹涌澎湃的时候凝固了 It looks like the sea petrified in its most boisterous moments
在贝格尔号，他一直埋头 On the Beagle, his head had been buried in a new and controversial book, called 'Principles of Geology'
在读一本浮游争议的新书，《地质学原理》
这本书描述了物质世界在自然力的作用下 which described a physical world constantly changing molded by nature's forces
永远处在不断的变化中
就在几星期前，在南美洲他遇到了一场地震 And just weeks before, in South America he had been caught in an earthquake
他所读的和所经历的激发了他的灵感 Inspired by what he had read and experienced
年轻而富有想象力的心灵激发了他的热情 fired up by a young and fertile mind
他看到了一个完全不同的加纳帕戈斯 He was opening his eyes to a very different Galapagos
在别人认为是一个阴森可怕，一成不变的地方 Where others had seen it as hellish, ancient and unchanging
查尔斯·达尔文却看到了一个全新的世界 Charles Darwin saw a brand-new land
这个世界就是由一种至今仍然活跃着的力量所创造 made fresh from the depths of the ocean by forces still very alive today right beneath him
在他脚下
他是对的 He was right.
在西边，费尔南迪纳岛的正下面是一个火山热点 In the west, right under the island of Fernandina is a volcanic hotspot
在这里，岛屿一个接一个地诞生 Here, constantly, islands are being born
但他没有看到的是，当岛屿诞生之后 But what he couldn't see
was that as each island is created, it is carried off that hotspot on shifting oceanic plates
它们就在漂移的大洋板块上被送离火山热点
犹如被放置在传输带上 as though on a conveyer belt
岛屿在缓慢地移动，每年几英寸 They move slowly, a couple of inches a year
但在地质学上，这种速度是相当惊人的 But in geological terms, that is staggeringly fast
从达尔文发现时到现在，它们已经向东南方向移动了35英尺 Since Darwin saw them, they have now moved about 35 feet further to the southeast
当贝格尔号按计划穿过加纳帕戈斯群岛时 As HMS Beagle moved methodically through the archipelago
达尔文不知道这些，它们正在绘制地图的岛屿正在移动 Darwin had no idea that the islands they were mapping were moving
他也不知道这种移动多么重要 or how important that movement was
随着岛屿不断地移动，它们也发生了变化 As the islands go on their journey, they change
它们变得不再那样地可怕 They become a touch less infernal
一些开始出现绿色，另一些变得平坦而干燥 Some turn green
Others become flat and dry
每座岛屿都随着稍有温差的洋流漂移 Each is also carried into a slightly different mix of ocean currents
英尺每座岛屿都各有稍异的气候 and so gets a slightly different climate
结果是每座岛屿都拥有了独一无二的特点 The result is that each island ends up with its own unique character
贝格尔号经过一座最遥远的岛屿，原来也是最独特的 One of the most remote islands the Beagle passed is also the most unusual
在遥远的东北方向是热诺维萨岛 In the far northeast is Genovesa
岛上熔岩覆盖，偏僻而荒芜 remote, barren, lava-clad
有上百万只海鸟在此筑巢 and home to a million seabirds
这些鸟在遥远的太平洋上觅食 The birds forage far out in the Pacific Ocean
但是每天在躲过军舰鸟的四面夹击后 but every day once they run the gauntlet of frigate birds
它们便返回到碎石堆，回到它们的巢穴 they return to this battered rock, to their nests
在悬崖峭壁的后面 Behind the cliff
适当的熔岩冷却到适当的温度 just the right type of lava has cooled in just the right way
正好形成一座由无数狭小的隧道和裂缝组成的迷宫 to form a labyrinth of tiny tubes and cracks
其大小刚好能让加纳帕戈斯海燕钻进来 into the perfect size for Galapagos storm petrels
没有人知道它们是怎样知道哪一个石缝是它们的巢 Nobody knows how they find which crack is theirs
当它们往地面俯冲之后，便开始逆风飞行 But as they swoop over the ground they turn upwind
看起来它们是嗅着气味回家的 so it's thought they smell their way home
不管是怎样找到回家的路，这都已经是奇迹了 However they find their way it's a miracle
一路从东太平洋的中部飞回到一只小小的蛋所在的地方 From the middle of the Pacific to a single tiny egg
但是，也就是现在，是它们最容易受到攻击的时候 But it's just now that they are most vulnerable
这是一只短耳猫头鹰 A short-eared owl
海燕在空中的飞行速度很快 The petrels are too quick in the air
猫头鹰体型由于太大，无法一路追踪到海燕狭窄的洞穴里面 and the owl too big to follow them deep inside their tiny tunnels
所以猫头鹰的办法是，在海燕进出洞穴的时候出击 So its best chance is to grab a bird coming in or out
首先，猫头鹰用它锐利的眼光观察到一个活动的洞穴的入口 First, it uses its sharp eyesight to spot an entrance to an active burrow
它并不马上追踪海燕，而是飞到海燕洞穴的外面 It doesn't go for a petrel straight away
but positions itself just outside
它像猫一样，悄悄地接近猎物 It creeps closer, more cat than owl
它全神贯注 It listens
海燕飞走了 It gets away
但是它受到了惊吓 but the petrel is stunned
猫头鹰盯着它企图回去下面 The owl spots it trying to get back underground
另一只猫头鹰看到了，它想要抢走猎物 A second owl is watching but now makes a challenge
它只能自己捕食了 It'll have to hunt for itself
猫头鹰勉强才钻进洞穴的入口 It can just squeeze into the entrance hall of one of the tunnels
现在它等着海燕进洞 Now it waits for a petrel coming in
在其他岛屿也有短耳猫头鹰 There are short-eared owls on other islands but only on Genovesa have they learnt to hunt like this
但只有在热诺维萨岛才有以这种方式捕食的种类
似乎地图上每座岛屿都有同样奇特的故事 And it seems that every island on the map has a similarly strange story to tell
加纳帕戈斯以这些行动缓慢的巨龟命名是由道理的 It's not surprising the Galapagos are named after these lumbering giants
乌龟巨大的圆顶屋状的壳看起来就像它们栖息的这座岛 Their great dome shells look just like the islands they inhabit
那些常年下雨的高海拔岛屿，有时生长着特别茂盛的草木 Those islands high enough to catch rain can be surprisingly lush
在这里，圆形龟壳有利于乌龟 Here, the round shells are perfect for budging through the undergrowth without getting snagged
完美地从树枝下挤过而不给缠住
但是，在其他低海拔的岛屿几乎从不下雨 But on other lower islands there's almost no rain
这里的乌龟显得非常的不同 And here, the tortoises look very different
它们的龟壳前部呈现出一种曲线形的拱状结构 They have shells with a curved arch at the front that looks just like a Spanish saddle or Galapagos
外表真的很像“加纳帕戈”即西班牙语里的“马鞍”
事实上，岛屿正是以这种龟命名的 The islands were actually named after these tortoises
这里的乌龟在地面上吃不到什么东西 Here there's so little to eat on the ground
所以他们只有伸长脖子才能够得着美味的植物 that they need to stretch their necks to reach more suckling vegetation
拱状形的龟壳不会妨碍乌龟把脖子伸得特别长 The curved arch in their shells allows for that extra stretch
在加纳帕戈斯的其他岛屿上，生命呈现出不同的演变进程 On different islands, Galapagos life is taking a different course
然而，那时达尔文并没有意识到 As yet, Darwin was unaware of it
但随着贝格尔号从一座岛屿开到另一座 达尔文把握了每一次上岸的机会 But as the Beagle hopped from island to island he took any opportunity to go ashore
在弗若里安南岛，邮局海湾的沙滩上遇到 On the island of Floreana he was met on the beach at Post Office Bay
加纳帕戈斯有史以来第一批移民的总督 by a governor of the first ever settlement in the Galapagos, an Englishman called Lawson
英国人罗森
罗森讲述了关于加纳帕戈斯生物的奇特现象 Lawson's tales of the strange Galapagos life
激发了达尔文深入岛屿进行考察的兴趣 encouraged Darwin to go deep into the interior of the islands
他每到一处都要采集标本 And wherever he went, he collected
他见到了乌龟，但只见到那种由圆顶屋形龟壳的乌龟 He saw the tortoises, though only the dome shelled kind
因而他并没有发现龟壳形状的秘密 so didn't see their secret
他看到了长着不同喙的小鸟，但没有想到它们都属于雀科 He saw the little birds with their different beaks but didn't guess they were all finches
他把一只小鸟叫做“乌鸫”，另一只叫做“鹪鹩” He called one a black bird another a wren
还有一种叫做“嘲鸟” There was anothe bird too, the mockingbird
这种嘲鸟好像和南美洲的嘲鸟是近亲，但又有着某种差异 He'd seen them in South America but these were somehow different
现在他还不知道这种差异有何意义 For now he had no idea how important that difference would be
随着达尔文越来越深入岛屿的中心地带 As Darwin went further and further into the heart of the islands
他看到了从未有博物学家看过的景象 He found a sight to Galapagos that no naturalist had seen before
在弗洛雷阿纳岛和桑地亚哥岛的高地上，他都发现了神奇的森林 In the highlands of Floreana and Santiego he found enchanted forests
在极少数的地方，他发现了淡水 And in a handful of places he found freshwater
方圆600英里内唯一的淡水资源 the only freshwater for 600 miles
鸭子在里面戏水 Ducks dabble as though in a park
乌龟在厚厚的火山泥泞中嬉戏打滚 Tortoises wallow in thick volcanic mud
军舰鸟从外面残酷的世界来这里饮水 Frigatebirds come from the harsh world outside to drink
这不是什么地狱，而是人间的伊甸园 This is no hell on earth but garden of Eden
达尔文问了自己一个关键的问题 Darwin asked himself the crucial question
“为什么这些小鸟孕育了如此奇异而独特的生命？” Why are these small islands blessed with such strange and unique life?
然而就在距离真相仅几步之遥时 But just a breath away from revelation
达尔文却只能随船离开，从此一去不返 Darwin was taken away never to return
1835年10月20日傍晚 At sunset on the 20, October, 1835
贝格尔号启航前往塔希提岛之后便返回了出发地 The Beagle set sail for Tahiti and then home
然而，损失只是一部分 But all was now lost
神奇的岛屿已经施了魔法 the enchanted islands had cast their spell
达尔文离开加纳帕戈斯不久之后就开始有了重要发现 No sooner had Darwin left the Galapagos than he began to see the truth
在他长时间对采集的标本进行分类的时候 As he spent the long hours at sea sorting through his collections
一种标本突然引起了他的注意 one specimen suddenly caught his attention
不是巨龟，不是雀鸟，而是嘲鸟 not tortoise, not finch, but mockingbird
我在四个不同的岛上都采集了标本 I have specimens from 4 different islands
在两座岛上的看起来一样，但另两座却不一样 On 2 islands they appear the same the other 2 they are different
在一座岛上的种类，在另一个岛上是不能找到的 In each island, each kind is exclusively found
岛屿不同，嘲鸟也不同 Different islands within sight of each other have different mockingbirds
它们的羽毛与都其他岛上的略有差异 with slightly different feather and like the finches slightly different beaks
如同雀科鸟一样，它们的喙也都各有特点
达尔文现在想起了罗森总督说起过的一件事 Darwin now remembered something governor Lawson had told him about tortoises
总督说自己能分辨出哪一只乌龟来自哪一座岛屿 He claimed to could tell which island the tortoise came from just by the shape of its shell
仅凭龟壳的形状就可以
岛屿不同龟也不同 Different island, different tortoise, same thing
道理相同
他从加纳帕戈斯壮观的风景中 He had seen from the dramatic Galapagos landscape that the islands were constantly changing
看出了这些岛屿都在不断地变化
那么有没有可能，生物也在变化？ Could living things be changing too?
他的遐想穿越时空 He began to see back through time
我仿佛看到了天地造物的过程 I fancied myself brought near to the very act of creation
他看到了加纳帕戈斯在海底喷发的火山烈焰中诞生 He saw that the Galapagos had been born of fire, sterome from the depths of the ocean
那时毫无生机
然而生命却从别处而来 but life had then come from elsewhere
先是出现在与世隔绝的加纳帕戈斯的一个岛上 In isolation on the Galapagos
接着出现在一个又一个的其他岛上 and then further isolation from island to island
生命的形态从一种变为另一种 it had changed one form into another
达尔文在刹那间看见了加纳帕戈斯最大的秘密 Darwin had caught a fleeting glimpse of Galapagos' great secret
新的植物，新的动物——新的生命，正在由岛屿本身创造 New plants, new animals, new life was being made by the islands themselves
他在其他的物种里寻找同样的形态 He looked for the same pattern in other species
有一天，这种小雀鸟将以他命名 One day, the little finches would be named after him
但尽管他采集了那个时代最好的有完整喙系列的标本 but though he had the best collection to date with a whole range of different beaks
但仍然无法分辨哪只雀鸟来自哪座岛 He hadn't thought to label which islands they came from
因此，现在这些标本还没什么用 So for now, they couldn't help
至于那些巨龟，带到船上的有四五十只成年龟 And as for the tortoises, 45 adults were brought aboard the Beagle
但是，所有龟都被吃掉 but every one had been eaten
龟壳也扔在大海里了，再也无法找到了 Their shells thrown over board lost for ever
达尔文不能回去，他永远无法知晓雀鸟的喙 Unable to return, Darwin would never know the true story of the finches' beaks and the tortoises' shells
和巨龟的壳所隐藏的秘密
然而在嘲鸟身上，他发现了进化的蛛丝马迹 But in the mockingbirds he had caught a glimpse of evolution
1859年，离开加纳帕戈斯24年后 In 1859, 24 years after leaving the Galapagos
查尔斯·达尔文的《物种起源》终于面世了 Charles Darwin's 'Origin of Species' was finally published
这本书永远地改变了世界 It changed the world for ever
直到临终他都一直坚信 Until the end of his days, he always held on to one certainty
荒岛加纳帕戈斯是他所有思想的起源 that the lonely Galapagos islands were the origin of all his views, the origin of 'The Origin of Species'
是《物种起源》的起源
巨龟给古代的水手流下了如此深刻的印象 以至他们就把整座岛屿以它命名 Giant tortoises so impressed the ancient mariners that they named these islands after them
龟肉成为海盗供给物的来源 Their fat flesh fuels the pirate's plunder
在龟壳里隐藏着解开地球上最大的秘密的线索 In their shells is a clue to the greatest mystery on earth
但是对龟而言，生活却是如此简单 But for a tortoise, life is simple
刚刚下了一场雨，它们便爬到阿尔塞多火山峰顶绿油油的草地上 The recent rain draws them to the green meadows on the summit of Alcedo volcano
不仅为了吃那里丰盛的草，也为了繁衍后代 not just for the lush grazing but to breed
雄龟在向雌龟求爱 He tries to seduce her
极尽所能 everything in time
这种求爱仪式可能会令人想到“永恒”两个字 This age old ritual may remind us of permanence
然而，这是大错特错了 but that couldn't be further from the truth
巨龟的后代可能会长有与前代有一点点不同的龟壳 The offspring of these tortoises may have a slightly different shell
这将使它们在岛上的生存能力更强一点 that gives them a slightly better chance of surviving on their island
连这些行动如此缓慢，寿命如此长的动物也在发生变化 Even these animals that move so slow, and live so long are changing
从我们第一次来到这些岛上到现在，我们对它们的了解也发生了变化 Since people first came to these islands our understanding of them has changed too
加纳帕戈斯并非地狱 The Galapagos is not hell on earth
but a vibrant, living demonstration of evolution of life
它是生命进化最活生生的例子
在这里，在这与世隔绝的小世界中 Here on this little world within itself
我们仿佛更加接近那个伟大的事实 we seem to be brought somewhat closer to the great fact
最大的秘密 that mystery of all mysteries
地球上首次的新生命的诞生 the first appearance of new beings on this earth
在下一集中 In the next episode
我们将共同探索加纳帕戈斯的生命形态是怎样被自然的力量所左右 we discover how life in Galapagos is driven by elemental forces of change
过去的、现在的、还有未来的 Past, present and future
Transcription by Andrew & Hattie