英國(guó)語(yǔ)文第六冊(cè)(雙語(yǔ)):熱帶地區(qū)(二)(2)

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To the presence of mangrove trees must be attributed, in part at least, the unhealthy character of the estuaries of African rivers. From the roots, when left bare by the tide, a sickly odour arises; and the vicinity of a mangrove forest is always exposed to the deadly malaria. "The shore," says Kingsley, describing a mangrove forest, "sank suddenly into a low line of mangrove wood, backed by primeval forest. The loathsome floor of liquid mud lay bare beneath. Upon the endless web of inter-arching roots great purple crabs were crawling up and down. The black bank of dingy leathern leaves above; the endless labyrinth of stones and withes (for every bough had lowered its own living cord, to take fresh hold of the foul soil below); the web of roots, which stretched far away inland; —all seemed one horrid, complicated trap for the voyager: there was no opening, no relief—nothing but the dark ring of mangroves, and here and there an isolated group of large and small, parents and children, bending and spreading, as if in hideous haste to choke out air and sky. Wailing sadly, sad-coloured mangrove-hens ran off across the mud into the dreary dark. The hoarse night-raven, hid among the roots, startled the voyager with a sudden shout, and then all was again silent as the grave."

這里之所以生長(zhǎng)著紅樹(shù)林，部分原因歸結(jié)于非洲河流河口處的病態(tài)特質(zhì)。每當(dāng)潮水退去便會(huì)自樹(shù)根處冒出有毒氣體，而紅樹(shù)林周?chē)膮^(qū)域總是會(huì)暴露在這致命的瘴氣當(dāng)中。金斯利在描述紅樹(shù)林時(shí)說(shuō)到：“海岸突然陷入一片低矮的紅樹(shù)林，后面是原始森林，下面是臭氣熏天的液態(tài)泥漿；拱狀的樹(shù)根交錯(cuò)纏繞著連成一張巨大的樹(shù)根網(wǎng)，上面有紫色的巨型螃蟹爬上爬下；樹(shù)根上方是堆滿了臟兮兮的爛樹(shù)葉的河岸，下方則是錯(cuò)亂交織成迷宮的石頭和樹(shù)枝(因?yàn)槊扛髽?shù)枝都會(huì)長(zhǎng)出小細(xì)枝向下探進(jìn)土壤里)，樹(shù)根大網(wǎng)會(huì)一路延伸到遙遠(yuǎn)的內(nèi)陸地區(qū)。對(duì)航行者來(lái)說(shuō)，這一切似乎都是一個(gè)可怕而復(fù)雜的陷阱：沒(méi)有出口，沒(méi)有救濟(jì)，除了一片黑壓壓的紅樹(shù)林外什么都沒(méi)有。到處都是一群或老或小的孤立的人、父母和孩子，他們彎著腰張開(kāi)四肢，仿佛在忙著阻絕空氣和天空，讓人驚恐。顏色暗淡的紅樹(shù)林悲傷地哭泣著，母雞們跑出泥濘之地進(jìn)入一片凄涼的的黑暗當(dāng)中，一只嘶啞的夜烏鴉藏在樹(shù)根里發(fā)出一聲驚叫，將航行者嚇了一跳，接著，一切又重歸墳?zāi)拱闼兰??！?/p>

In the rivers of Africa the terrible crocodile takes the place held by the alligator in America. There also we encounter the hippopotamus and the still more frightful rhinoceros. Herds of elephants may be seen winding through the open plains, swimming across the rivers in majestic lines and with elevated trunks, or bathing in the shallow lakes for coolness or protection against insects. The antelope (of which Africa is the special nursery), the giraffe, the buffalo, the zebra, are all found in abundance in the plains of southern and central Africa, from Orange river in the south to the Senegal and Nubia in the north.

非洲的水里不像美洲那樣生活著短吻鱷，而是可怕的鱷魚(yú)。我們還在那里遇見(jiàn)過(guò)河馬甚至還有更嚇人的犀牛。在那里人們或許還能看到成群結(jié)隊(duì)的大象在廣闊的平原上蜿蜒前進(jìn)，它們排著整齊壯觀的隊(duì)伍游過(guò)河流，時(shí)而用高處的樹(shù)枝撓撓癢，或在淺湖里洗洗澡來(lái)給自己降溫。非洲南部和中部的平原上—從南邊的奧倫治河一直到北邊的塞內(nèi)加爾和努比亞生活著大量的羚羊(非洲是特別的羚羊孕育之地)、長(zhǎng)頸鹿、水牛和斑馬。