評(píng)論
打印
The story of how the Amazon got its name begins on June 24, 1542.
亞馬遜這個(gè)名字的由來(lái)，要從1542年6月24日開(kāi)始講起。
Francisco de Orellana was praying for an escape from the green world that had swallowed his beleaguered expedition.
那天，法蘭西斯科·德·奧雷亞納正在祈求他的遠(yuǎn)征隊(duì)能從這片綠色世界脫困。
The Spaniard's two boats, containing fewer than 50 starving men, were nearing what the crew hoped would be their salvation.
這個(gè)西班牙人的兩艘船和船上為數(shù)不到50、餓得發(fā)慌的探險(xiǎn)隊(duì)員，正逐漸靠近他們一心向往的出路。
After seven months of navigating a series of tributaries beginning at the foot of the Andes, they'd finally reached the largest river any of them had ever seen, and Orellana hoped it would soon lead them to the Atlantic Ocean.
過(guò)去七個(gè)月來(lái)，他們航行過(guò)一條又一條發(fā)源于安地斯山腳下的支流，如今總算抵達(dá)他們平生見(jiàn)過(guò)最大的河川，奧雷亞納祈盼這條河很快就會(huì)帶著他們駛?cè)氪笪餮蟆?/div>
He was accompanied by Gaspar de Carvajal, a Dominican friar, who kept a detailed chronicle of their journey.
隨行的加斯帕·德·卡爾瓦哈是道明會(huì)修士，留下了旅程的詳細(xì)記述。
The priest recorded the Europeans' astonishment at the advanced cultures they encountered -- densely populated villages along the riverside, including one that stretched on for many miles.
卡爾瓦哈寫下這些歐洲人遇到進(jìn)步的文化時(shí)的驚訝--沿河有人口稠密的村落，其中一個(gè)村子還綿延了好幾公里。
He described networks of wide roads, beautiful plazas and fortified palisades, carefully cultivated farms, and painted pottery as fine as any in Spain.
他描述了寬闊道路的路網(wǎng)、美麗的廣場(chǎng)和厚重木材制成的柵欄、精心耕種的農(nóng)田，還有跟西班牙陶器一樣精美的彩繪陶器。
Along the way, some communities welcomed them with generosity -- feeding them manioc, yams, corn, and turtles.
這一路上，有些部落慷慨地接待他們，以樹薯、山藥、玉米和烏龜肉招待他們。
But on this June day, still some 600 miles from the end of the enormous river, they were attacked by an army of warriors led by ferocious women "who fought so courageously that the Indian men did not dare to turn their backs."
但在6月的那一天，在離這條大河的終點(diǎn)還有將近100公里遠(yuǎn)處，他們竟遭到一群由兇猛女子率領(lǐng)的戰(zhàn)士攻擊，“她們驍勇善戰(zhàn)，連那些印第安男人都不敢不提防?！?/div>
Carvajal, who came out of the battle with an arrow in his side, compared the women to the Amazons of Greek legend.
卡爾瓦哈身側(cè)中了一箭，但大難不死，后來(lái)他把這些女子比作希臘神話里的亞馬遜女戰(zhàn)士。
His accounts of the voyage, the first by a European to traverse South America, would later be dismissed as fantasy by Spanish authorities.
他的旅行見(jiàn)聞，是橫越南美洲的歐洲人對(duì)這片新大陸的最早記載，西班牙當(dāng)局后來(lái)斥之為空幻之作。
And yet, the term "Amazon," however inapt, would come to identify this vast and complex region.
然而，不管“亞馬遜”這個(gè)名稱多么不符史實(shí)，都開(kāi)始被用以指稱這片廣袤又復(fù)雜的地區(qū)。
Since then, the Amazon has been defined by many myths, which only in recent years archaeologists, like me, and other scientists have begun to unravel.
從那時(shí)起，亞馬遜流域就一直受許多毫無(wú)根據(jù)的說(shuō)法所界定，近幾年才有考古學(xué)家（比如我）和其他科學(xué)家開(kāi)始澄清事實(shí)。
Click on a satellite image of the Amazon, and it's easy to fall prey to the myth that it's a pristine jungle.
點(diǎn)開(kāi)亞馬遜流域的衛(wèi)星影像之后，很容易誤以為自己看到的是原始叢林。
It appears like a green mantle, composed of 344 billion trees covering much of the northern half of South America.
這里看上去像一片綠色大地，3440億棵樹覆蓋住南美洲北半部的大部分地區(qū)。
Zoom in, and you find a labyrinth of river valleys; more than 6,200 rivers and tributaries drain an area roughly the size of the contiguous United States.
放大之后，你會(huì)看到迷宮般的河谷，有超過(guò)6200條河流與支流，流經(jīng)一片大小和美國(guó)本土差不多的區(qū)域。
It's the planet's largest, most biodiverse tropical rainforest. Roughly 10 percent of all Earth's plant and animal species live there.
這里是地球上最大、生物最多樣的熱帶雨林，全世界大約10%的動(dòng)物與植物物種在這里生存。
The Amazon shelters 40,000 species of seed plants, 2,400 species of fish, 1,300 species of birds, and 1,500 species of butterflies.
亞馬遜流域庇護(hù)了4萬(wàn)種種子植物、2400種魚類、1300種鳥類及1500種蝴蝶。
Such a place, it would seem, must have been left largely untouched by humans.
生態(tài)這么豐富的地方，想必大部分未受人類破壞。
But this is one of the enduring misconceptions that over the past four decades scientists have been methodically debunking.
但這是存在已久的誤解，過(guò)去40年來(lái)科學(xué)家一直在有系統(tǒng)地駁斥像這樣的錯(cuò)誤看法。
Thanks to rock art, stone tools, and other remains found in remote areas in Colombia and Brazil, we know the human presence in the Amazon Basin extends back at least 13,000 years.
多虧了在哥倫比亞和巴西偏遠(yuǎn)地區(qū)發(fā)現(xiàn)的巖畫、石器和其他遺跡，我們才知道人類出現(xiàn)在亞馬遜流域的時(shí)間可以追溯到至少1萬(wàn)3000年前。
Ancient Amazonians were depicting Pleistocene creatures, including mastodons and giant sloths, around the same time ancient Europeans were painting mammoths and woolly rhinos.
古代亞馬遜人描繪了更新世的生物，包括乳齒象和大地懶，而大約在同時(shí)，古代歐洲人畫的是猛犸象和毛犀。
Over time, those Amazonian populations grew, and by 1492, scientists estimate, the region was home to as many as 10 million people.
生活在亞馬遜流域的居民數(shù)量隨著時(shí)間日益增長(zhǎng)，科學(xué)家估計(jì)，這片區(qū)域在1492年就已經(jīng)有多達(dá)1000萬(wàn)人了。
| 重點(diǎn)單詞 | 查看全部解釋 | |||
| expedition | [.ekspi'diʃən] |
想一想再看 n. 遠(yuǎn)征，探險(xiǎn)隊(duì)，迅速 |
聯(lián)想記憶 | |
| astonishment | [əs'tɔniʃmənt] |
想一想再看 n. 驚訝，令人驚訝的事 |
||
| covering | ['kʌvəriŋ] |
想一想再看 n. 覆蓋物，遮避物 adj. 掩護(hù)的，掩蓋的 |
||
| remote | [ri'məut] |
想一想再看 adj. 偏僻的，遙遠(yuǎn)的，遠(yuǎn)程的，(感情等)距離很大 |
聯(lián)想記憶 | |
| tropical | ['trɔpikəl] |
想一想再看 adj. 熱帶的，炎熱的，熱帶植物的 |
||
| pristine | ['pristi:n] |
想一想再看 adj. 遠(yuǎn)古的，原始狀態(tài)的，未受損的，新鮮而純凈的 |
聯(lián)想記憶 | |
| enormous | [i'nɔ:məs] |
想一想再看 adj. 巨大的，龐大的 |
聯(lián)想記憶 | |
| identify | [ai'dentifai] |
想一想再看 vt. 識(shí)別，認(rèn)明，鑒定 |
||
| enduring | [in'djuəriŋ] |
想一想再看 adj. 持久的，忍耐的 |
||
| generosity | [.dʒenə'rɔsiti] |
想一想再看 n. 慷慨，大方 |
聯(lián)想記憶 |
