但日益增长的生活与生产需求 But increased demand for water by people and industry
使得黄河水量骤减 面临干涸的危机 now threaten to run the river dry 黄河河滩肥力的源头—— And the source of its fertility
黄土高原却依旧沉浸在危机之中 the Loess Plateau is also under threat 因耕作而日益 Loosened by cultivation 疏松的表土在不断流失 its soft soil is blowing away
中国北部平原忍受着沙尘暴的侵袭 The North China Plain is choked with dust storms
沙尘暴甚至逼近北京 that even loom over Beijing 以至于 So much so
中国政府不得不 that the Chinese government
将提高城市空气质量视为 has made improving the city's air quality a priority
举办奥运会前的整顿重头 in the run up to the Beijing Olympics 中国中部地区的生命支持系统问题重重 Heartland China's life-support system is in trouble
然而在一些地区 yet, in a few places 依旧存留着最后的处女地
it's still possible to find landscapes that appear to have remained untouched
在中国北方平原的南部边界 At the southern edge of the North China Plain
坐落着秦岭 lie the Qinling Mountains 1500公里的蜿蜒崎岖 At 1500km long
宛如横穿中国的脊梁 they run like a backbone through the middle of China
深山中隐藏着 Deep within the mountains
偏僻幽寂的山谷与森林 is a maze of remote valleys and forests 这里是那些神奇生命的乐土 home to strange and wonderful creatures 这些金丝猴 These are Golden Snub-nosed Monkeys 是中国的特色物种 a species unique to China
他们通常“但闻其声不见其影” Seldom seen, they are frequently heard 那独特的婴啼般的叫声和出众的外表Their strange child-like calls and extraordinary appearance
成就了当地人有关 may have inspired the local tales 深山雪人的传说 of yeti-like wild man of the mountain 冬天气温降至-10°C As winter temperatures drop to -10°C 他们浓密的毛发起到了保暖的作用 their dense fur keeps them warm
互相修理毛发不仅有助于保持 Mutual grooming not only keeps that precious fur
宝贵毛发的良好状态 in good condition
同时有助于增进成员间的关系 but also helps to reinforce bonds within the troop
在夏天,猴子成群活动 In summer, the monkeys go around in huge bands
但是在每年的艰苦时期 but at this lean time of the year
它们分裂成了更小的队伍搜寻食物 they split up into smaller foraging parties 隆冬时期 In the dead of winter
猴子们被迫在石头中搜寻食物 the monkeys are forced to rummage around the rocks
只能找到很少的地衣和苔藓 for a few meager morsels of lichen and moss
随着猴子居住地方周围的世界 As the world surrounding their mountain home
充满城镇和农田的时候 has filled up with towns and croplands 西藏扁鼻猴的居住地 the snub-nosed monkeys' habitat 发生了显著的变化 has changed dramatically
现在,只剩下一万只猴子了 Today, there are just 10 000 left in existence 对于住在秦岭的人来说 To the people who live in the Qinling mountain
森林和野生动物是能被利用的资源 the forest and its wildlife are a resource to be used
这些资源是人们生活的保障 the basis of their livelihood 那些人和更神秘的居民 These people share the forest
分享森林资源 with an even more illusive inhabitant 它们可能是中国最著名的动物 It's probably China's most famous animal 但是很少人看到过它们 but very few have ever seen it 与猴子不同的是 Unlike the monkeys
这种生物有很独特的食性 this cerature has a very specific diet 竹子 bamboo
这是野生大熊满 It's a wild Giant Panda
由于对声音敏感 Secret and sensitive to noise 大熊猫经常离开 the giant panda is often gone
以免有任何东西靠近它 before anyone going get close to it
中国人认识熊猫已经很久了 The panda has long been known in China 两千多年前的字典上边就提到过熊猫It was mentioned in dictionaries more than 2000 years ago
据说御花园还曾经养过熊猫 and the imperial garden is said to have housed one
在茂密的竹林里 In the dense bamboo of the forest 熊猫很少见到同类 one panda rarely sees another
所以,它们通过特殊的气味联系 Instead, they communicate by subtle scent signals
熊猫身长1.5米,体重135千克 At 1.5m long and 135 kilos, the giant panda 熊猫属于熊科 is a member of the bear family 但是那是这种分类方法 But its bear-like digest system
是按照食肉方法分的,不是按吃韧性纤维分的is built for eating meat, not this tough fibrous stuff
更糟的是 And to make matters worse
竹叶冻住了 the bamboo leaves are frozen solid
但是熊猫发明了一个巧妙的方法 But the panda has devised a cunning way 来把冰弄掉 of breaking the ice off
它用鼻子把冰蹭掉 It rubs the bamboo over its snout 不像其他熊类 Unlike other bears
熊猫不能通过冬眠 the panda can't fatten itself up and hibernate 来度过冬天 竹子的能量很低 熊猫不得不把大量时间放在吃上 eating
一旦一个地方的竹子吃完了 熊猫必须继续前进到另一个地方 熊猫的爪子也与熊爪有很大的不同too
熊猫的爪子很灵活 熊猫腕骨很大,能准确地抓住 to grasp
并灵活地控制竹子 precision
令猴子都羡慕 把竹叶弄成雪茄形状 便于它们咀嚼 饥饿的熊猫曾流浪在 广阔丰饶的竹林当中 这些竹林曾覆盖中国的中心地带 但是自从20世纪50年代以后 伐木破坏了秦岭地区的山林 forests
剩下的熊猫局限在 剩下的独立的地方生活 在过去的50年里 中国的中心地带受到已经沙漠化 干涸的河流和被伐的森林 deforestation
影响了人类和野生动物 中国人和周围的 环境 似乎失去了平衡 如果我们再深究一下 就会发现即使在今天 仍然有着 connections
through the winter
Bamboo is so low in energy
that the panda must spend most of the day Once it has exhausted one area it must move on to the next
The panda's paw is surprisingly unbearlike It's flexible
with an enlarged wrist bone which allows it but maneuver the bamboo with dexterity and that a monkey would be proud of
Twisting the bamboo leaves into a cigar shape makes them easier to munch Hungry pandas once roamed
across vast tracks of bamboo-rich forest that covered much of China's heartland But since the 1950s
logging has fragmented the Qinling mountain Its remaining wild pandas are now confined within isolated reserves In the last 50 years
China's heartland has been subjected
to desertification, drying rivers and affecting not only people, but wildlife too The relationship between the Chinese people and their environment
appears bo be out of balance but if we dig a little bit deeper
there are some surprising and intimate
令人惊奇的密切联系 even today
那些与自然联系的线索 Clues to the nature of these links 可以从日常生活中发现 can be found in everyday life
即使在中国首都的中心 even in the centre of China's capital city 在北京的公园里 In the parks of Beijing
鸳鸯时刻关注着自己的孩子 mandarin ducks keep a close watch over their young
中国人相信它们终生守候在一起 Believed by the Chinese to pair for life
几百年以来他们都被看做 they have been seen for centuries as a symbol 爱与忠诚的象征 of love and fidelity
人们认为那些鸟儿的形象 Images of these birds are believed 可以增进人际关系 to improve personal relationships 因此 As a result
北京的鸳鸯得到了妥善的保护 Beijing's mandarin ducks are highly protected 北京古老胡同的小巷 The alleyways of the capitals's ancient hutongs
是很多不同生物的家园 are home to a very different kind of creature 每天,周国光都要 Each day, Zhou Guoguang 照料他那一窝鸽子 tends his brood of pigeons
这一两个小时他可以远离 his chance to escape the pressures of city life 城市生活的压力 for an hour or two
在屋顶上 Up here on the rooftops
周国光相信他的鸽子能够被安全的照料 Zhou is confident his charges will be safe
但鸽子要是在下边的街上觅食 but in the streets below
就潜藏着被偷偷带走的危险 lurk dangerous spirits that scavenge and steal 胡同的深处 Deeper into the hutongs
极少受到现代北京的影响 the influence of modern Beijing recedes 那些巷子充满了古老的传说 These alleys are full of ancient beliefs 夜幕降临 As night falls
藏在深处的动物开始活动了 spirits emerge from their hiding places 黄鼠狼 The Yellow Weasel 一些人认为 Some people believe
冒犯这些狡猾的肉食动物 that offending this crafty predator 能带来坏运气 can bring bad luck
所以对黄鼠狼晚上的活动 so they turned a blind eye
人们睁一只眼闭一只眼 to the weasel's night-time marauding 旧的观念 Old beliefs
连同逐渐增强的保护意识 coupled with a rising awareness of conservation
使得黄鼠狼 are helping the yellow weasel's survive 能在北京城生存 in the middle of Beijing
尽管人们还在猎杀残存的鸽子 despite killing the odd pigeon 在中国的南部 In the south of China
