評(píng)論
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Mexico's Yucatan peninsula has no rivers, lakes or streams,
墨西哥的尤卡坦半島沒有河流、湖泊和小溪
so the Maya relied on the cenotes, the flooded entrances to the water-filled caves.
因此瑪雅文化完全依賴于沼穴--地下水洞的入口
These flooded shafts are the region's only source of open fresh water.
這些水潭是整個(gè)地區(qū)唯一的露天淡水資源
The cenotes are, in effect, gigantic freshwater wells.
沼穴于是成了巨大的淡水井
Away from the life-giving rays of sunshine, one might not expect to find plants.
這里遠(yuǎn)離給予生命的陽光，似乎不太可能會(huì)有植物。
But in the darkness of the cave tunnels,
但是在黑暗的洞穴通道內(nèi)
roots of giant tropical trees have pushed their way through cracks in the limestone to reach the flooded caverns.
大型熱帶樹木的根系卻已穿透石灰?guī)r裂縫伸入到水洞之中
Without this water, the Yucatan's forest could not grow so luxuriantly.
如果沒有這些水，尤卡坦半島的森林不可能長得如此茂盛。
The Maya knew that their lives depended on this water,
瑪雅人固然知道它們的生活離不開這些水
but it's only with the help of today's technology
但只有借助現(xiàn)代科技
that we've come to appreciate the full significance and scale of these flooded passageways.
我們才能完全了解這些地下水道的重要性及其規(guī)模。
