February 01, 2008

Swarm-Bots, Belgium, 2007
Photograph by Peter Essick



A team of "swarm-bots" negotiates challenging terrain outside a laboratory in Brussels, Belgium. A red color ring tells others, "Grab me;" blue means "stay away." Scientists study ant colonies, bird flocks, mammal herds, and fish schools to understand the simple genius of such animal swarms. Robots that mimic this complex group behavior could prove useful in a number of human applications.

(Text adapted from and photo shot on assignment for "Swarm Theory," July 2007, National Geographic magazine)

翻译：在比利时布鲁塞尔一个实验室外，一组名为“swarm-bots”的机器人在穿越具有挑战性的地形。当圆环是红色时是告诉其他机器人“抓住我” ；蓝色则是“走开” 。科学家通过研究蚁群、鸟群、兽群和鱼群来了解这些动物群的简单才能。模仿这种复杂的群体行为的机器人可以证明在很多人类应用中是有用的。

February 02, 2008

Miniature Horse, Kentucky, 2003
Photograph by Melissa Farlow



A miniature horse stands in a field near Lexington, Kentucky, a bit of a curiosity in a region known more for its regal, fleet-footed thoroughbreds. There are some 500 thoroughbred horse farms in and around Lexington, where pastures, fed by the rich leavings of a long-vanished sea, are said to be among the world's best.

(Text adapted from and photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "High Stakes in the Bluegrass," May 2003, National Geographic magazine)

翻译：一匹小型马站在肯塔基州列克星敦附近的一块牧场草地上。人们对于这个地方感到有点好奇是因为它以高贵的和飞快的纯种马而闻名。在列克星敦及附近地区,大约有500 个纯种马农场，那里的草场是由长期消失的肥沃的海洋残留物种植而成，被认为属于世界的最佳之列。

February 03, 2008

Twilight Over Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Utah, 1997
Photograph by Diane Cook and Len Jenshel



Crimson twilight gives a Martian air to Utah's Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. With just one maintained trail in an area the size of Delaware, this monument is decidedly big and wild. Wrote one observer: "Almost everywhere, the benchlands lay sliced with canyons—deep wounds that millions of years of flowing water have carved into a quarter billion years' worth of multicolored sandstone deposits."

(Text from and photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Celebrating Canyon Country," July 1999, National Geographic magazine)

翻译：深红色的暮光笼罩着犹他州的大阶梯-埃斯卡兰特国家保护区，此时如同火星上的景色。作为在像特拉华大小的范围内这仅有的一个遗留痕迹， 这座保护区无疑是宽阔和荒野的。有一名观察员写到: 几百万年的溪流冲击，已经把这些有2.5亿年历史的多色砂岩雕刻成了一条条的。

February 04, 2008

Wildflowers and Sky, California, 2000
Photograph by Frans Lanting



A deep-blue sky sets off a mass of yellow wildflower blooms along California's Big Sur coast. Each year more than three million visitors navigate the treacherous turns of Highway 1, drawn by the plunging gorges, fog-strewn coves, exploding surf, and tortuous geography—5,000-foot (1,524-meter) summits plummet abruptly to the ocean—of California's dramatic 90-mile (145-kilometer) coast.

(Photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Big Sur: California's Elemental Coast," August 2000, National Geographic magazine)

翻译：深蓝色的天空映衬着一大片加州大南方岬沿岸绽放的黄色野花。每年，三百多万游客驾车沿着险峻的加州1号公路曲折盘桓，升高下降。他们被这里的风景吸引着，突兀的峡谷，烟雾笼罩的小海湾, 惊涛拍岸的海浪和曲折蜿蜒的地势——5,000 英尺(1,524米) 的峰顶骤然笔直插入海洋——加州变化多端的90 英里(145千米) 海岸线。

February 05, 2008

Tiger Close-Up, 1995
Photograph by Michael Nichols



A wary tiger flashes a toothy snarl in this extreme close-up. Tigers are thought to have evolved in China more than a million years ago, prowling west toward the Caspian Sea, north to Siberia, and south across Indochina and Indonesia. Today, three of the original eight tiger subspecies are extinct, and hunting and habitat loss have reduced populations from hundreds of thousands of animals to perhaps fewer than 2,500.

(Text adapted from and photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Making Room for Wild Tigers," December 1997, National Geographic magazine)

翻译：一只机警的老虎在这个特写镜头里呲牙咆哮。人们认为老虎从一百万多年前就在中国逐渐发展。他们四处觅食，西向里海，北到西伯利亚,南跨印度支那和印度尼西亚。现在, 原本的八种老虎亚种中的三种已经灭绝, 而且人类的过度捕杀和栖息地的减少使老虎的数量从成千上万只下降到可能不到2,500 只。

February 06, 2008

Women Picking Cotton, China, 2003
Photograph by Michael S. Yama**a



Bundled against the wind, a group of women picks cotton in China. The Asian nation is the world's leading producer of cotton, with an output of 6.73 million tons per year. Farmers can't keep up with the burgeoning textile industry, however, which uses about 13 million tons of cotton a year. The Chinese often rely on imports to close the gap, which drives up textile prices for consumers worldwide.

(Photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Chasing the Wall," January 2003, National Geographic magazine)

翻译：在中国,一群妇女在选棉,捆绑好不被风吹走。亚洲国家是世界上领先的棉花生产，棉花出口6730000吨左右。农民并不从事新兴纺织行业，一年也能用掉了约13万吨棉花。中国人往往依靠进口来以缩小贸易顺差，促进全球纺织品消费价格的上升。

February 07, 2008

Buckskin Gulch, Utah, 2003
Photograph by Bill Hatcher



Dark clouds roll over Paria Canyon-Vermillion Cliffs Wilderness in Utah. The 112,500-acre (45,527-hectares) area in northern Arizona and southern Utah is known for its towering stone amphitheaters, sandstone arches, and the Vermillion Cliffs, all painted in dramatic streaks of red, pink, and orange, thanks to heavy iron deposits.

(Photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "One Narrow Escapade," March 2003, National Geographic Traveler magazine)

翻译：乌云向犹他州帕里亚峡谷的黄石公园席卷而来。这一片北亚利桑那州和犹他州南部112500英亩（45527公顷）的土地，因它那宏伟的竞技场闻名天下。砂岩拱门，朱红色的峭壁，铁矿的沉积让这里富于生动的条纹，红色，粉红色，橙色。

February 08, 2008

Harp Seal, Gulf of St. Lawrence, Canada, 2004
Photograph by Brian Skerry



A young harp seal tests the frigid waters in Canada's Gulf of St. Lawrence. Once the object of a bitter controversy between sealers and animal-welfare groups, import restrictions on their pelts and Canadian laws protecting seal pups have helped populations of these charismatic sea mammals recover.

(Photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Harp Seals: The Hunt for Balance," March, 2004, National Geographic magazine)

翻译：一只年轻的海豹试探着加拿大海湾圣劳伦斯那冰冷的海水.曾经海豹捕猎者和动物权益保护组织之间出现过激烈的论战，海豹皮进口数量限制与及加拿大的海豹保护法即将有帮助的人群，让这些神奇的海洋哺乳类动物的数量得以恢复。

February 09, 2008

Pink Anemonefish, Kosrae Island, Micronesia, 2007
Photograph by Tim Laman



Two pink anemonefish peek from the safety of their anemone home on a reef off Micronesia's Kosrae Island. The island's remoteness and a concerted effort by locals to preserve marine wildlife there endows Kosrae with some of the most pristine reefs on Earth.

(Photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Mangroves: Forests of the Tide," February 2007, National Geographic magazine)

翻译：在克罗尼西亚的科斯雷岛，一条粉红的印度红小丑鱼从他们海葵家里窥探着外面的世界，岛上许许多多当地人在用自己的不懈努力来维护这里的海洋野生动物，让科斯雷拥有了地球上最质朴的珊瑚礁。

February 10, 2008

Burmese Boy, Nanyung, Myanmar, 2003
Photograph by Maria Stenzel

A boy bathes in a mist-shrouded river in Nanyung, Myanmar (Burma). Despite rich natural resources, Myanmar remains impoverished and repressed, the result of military regimes that have ruled the nation for more than 40 years.

(Text adapted from and photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Blood, Sweat, and Toil Along the Burma Road," November 2003, National Geographic magazine)

翻译：一个男孩在薄雾弥漫的nanyung河边洗澡，缅甸自然资源丰富，却仍然贫穷被受压迫，军事政权已经统治这个国家超过40年。

February 11, 2008

Coral Reef, Fiji Islands, 2005
Photograph by Tim Laman



Without a strobe light to animate its riot of colors, this Fijian reef in 45 feet (14 meters) of water remains as a fish would see it. Red light, with its longer wavelengths, dissipates at about 30 feet (10 meters), leaving smoky blues and muted yellows to dominate.

(Photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish: Why Are Coral Reefs So Colorful?" May 2005, National Geographic magazine)

翻译：水下45英尺（14米）处的珊瑚礁，斐济岛。

February 12, 2008

Borobudur Temple, Java, Indonesia, 2001
Photograph by Alexandra Boulat



A woman walks among the bell-shaped spires of Indonesia's Borobudur—the world's largest Buddhist temple. Built in the jungles of Java during the eighth and ninth centuries A.D., this ancient pilgrimage site lay abandoned for centuries until it was rediscovered and restored in the early 1900s.

(Photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Indonesia: Living Dangerously," March 2001, National Geographic magazine)

翻译：印尼的Borobudur寺中——全世界最大的佛寺，一位妇女穿行在铃形尖塔中。

February 13, 2008

Aurora Borealis, Acadia National Park, Maine, 2005
Photograph by Michael Melford


Darkness settles over Jordan Pond in Maine's Acadia National Park as northern lights swirl above. "It was my last night in Acadia, and I was setting up for a long exposure of starlight in the night sky," recalls photographer Michael Melford, "and this brilliant red aurora appeared. I was in a panic to make sure I caught it."

(Text from and photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Autumn in Acadia National Park," November 2005, National Geographic magazine)

翻译：笼罩在美国缅因州的亚凯迪亚国家公园上空的北极极光。“这是我在亚凯迪亚的最后一晚，我正架起相机，用长曝光拍夜空”，摄影师迈克尔.福特回忆道，“这时红色的激光出现了，我很恐慌的把这个景色拍了下来。”

February 14, 2008

Common Loons, Moose Lake, Wyoming, 1988
Photograph by Michael Quinton


Two common loons in checkered breeding plumage engage in a courtship ritual in Wyoming's Moose Lake. Loon pairs are generally monogamous and highly territorial, emitting their haunting yodels during the breeding season to ward off intruders and violently attacking any that come too close.

(Photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "The Common Loon Cries for Help," April 1989, National Geographic magazine)

翻译：怀俄明州Moose湖，两只身披丰满羽毛的潜鸟正在互相求爱。

February 15, 2008

Ancient Sculpture, Angkor, Cambodia, 1968
Photograph by W. E. Garrett


Centuries of dormancy allowed the Cambodian jungle ample time to consume the work of Khmer artists in the sprawling Angkor temple complex. Built beginning in A.D. 800, Angkor was the capital of the Khmer kingdom until about A.D. 1430, when its leaders abandoned the site to establish a new capital at Phnom Penh.

(Photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Mekong: River of Terror and Hope," December 1968, National Geographic magazine)

翻译：菩提无根，柬埔寨吴哥，1968。在吴哥枝藤蔓延、非树非庙的树庙前，千年的沉寂足以让柬埔寨丛林吞噬一切高棉艺术家的杰作。始建于公元800年的吴哥曾是高棉王国的首府，直至1430年头领们决定迁都新城金边。－－1968.12《又怕又昐湄公河》，图为此作但未刊出。

February 16, 2008

Scorpion Fish, Tuamotu Archipelago, French Polynesia, 1997
Photograph by David Doubilet


A scorpion fish attempts to hide in the sand in French Polynesia's Tuamotu Archipelago. Masters of disguise, scorpion fish use cryptic coloring and specialized appendages to help them hide from predators and surprise prey. What happens when its cover is blown? The fish uses its highly venomous dorsal spines in a lightning-quick attack.

(Photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Black Pearls of French Polynesia," June 1997, National Geographic magazine)

翻译：在波利尼西亚土阿莫土群岛生活的天蝎鱼把自己隐藏在沙子内。作为乔装高手，天蝎鱼用隐秘的着色和适合于隐身的肢体帮助它们避免被掠食者发现和躲避随时会遇到的袭击。当它们的掩饰的外衣被识破会有什么情况出现呢？天蝎鱼会用它们非常狠毒的背部脊柱进行快速攻击。

February 17, 2008

Saint Simeon Church, Syria, 1978
Photograph by James Stanfield


The isolated ruins of the Church of Saint Simeon stand beneath a turquoise sky in the Syrian desert. This sprawling complex, located on a hill 37 miles (60 kilometers) from the nearest city (Aleppo), was built between A.D. 476 and 491 to honor St. Simeon Stylites, the famed ascetic monk who spent nearly 40 years in prayer atop a 40-foot (12-meter) pillar. The remains of the pillar can still be seen in the church's courtyard.

(Photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Ebla: Splendor of an Unknown Empire," December 1978, National Geographic magazine)

翻译：叙利亚沙漠，孤零零的西缅甸教堂废墟屹立在绿松石般的天空下。這座建立于公元476年到公元491年的建筑坐落于阿勒颇外37英里（60千米）處的一座小山上，用于紀念一位著名的修道者圣西門，他花了大約40年的時間在一根40英尺（12米）高的柱子上祈禱。現在在教堂的院子里仍然可以看到這根柱子。

February 18, 2008

Pines and Palm Trees, Big Cypress National Preserve, Florida, 1996
Photograph by Raymond Gehman


Sunset bathes Florida's Big Cypress National Preserve in an orange glow. The preserve, 720,000 acres (291,375 hectares) of primordial swamp on Florida's southwest coast, is home to the elusive Florida panther and an impressive diversity of birds, among other unique fauna and flora. But human development in and around the area threatens to send this fragile ecosystem into a tailspin.

(Text adapted from and photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "In Big Cypress Country," March/April 1997, National Geographic Traveler magazine)

翻譯：佛羅里達州的大落羽衫国家保留地沐浴在落日橙色的輝芒中。这块保留地坐落在佛罗里达州西南海岸，由占地720，000英亩（291，375公顷）的原始沼泽地组成。這里有許多獨特的動植物，而且還是佛羅里達豹的家園，并且讓人印象深刻的是這里鳥的種類也特別多。但是人類活動已經威脅到了這里脆弱的生態系統，造成了失控的危險地步。

February 19, 2008

Cabbage Coral, Kadavu Island, Fiji, 2004
Photograph by Tim Laman



Cabbage coral provides refuge to a bigeye fish in Great Astrolabe Reef off Fiji's Kadavu Island. More than 330 islands speckle Fijian waters, which hold nearly 4,000 square miles (10,350 square kilometers) of reef, a vital trove of marine biodiversity.

(Text adapted from and photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Fiji's Rainbow Reefs," November 2004, National Geographic magazine)

翻譯：在斐濟Kadavu島Great Astrolabe暗礁處的甘藍珊瑚，為大眼鲷（大眼鲷科家族的一种小型热带海鱼，长有大眼睛和浅红色鳞）提供了庇護場所。330多個島嶼把斐濟水域點綴成斑點狀，此處大約有4000平方英里（10350平方公里）的暗礁，也是海洋生物多樣性的一個重大發現。

February 20, 2008

Leopard Seal, Antarctic Peninsula, Antarctica, 2006
Photograph by Paul Nicklen


A mature female leopard seal makes a threatening gesture to protect her kill from another leopard seal that had appeared behind the photographer. "More frightening than the canines," wrote the photographer, "was the deep jackhammer sound she let loose that rattled through my chest." Her display worked; the rival seal moved on.

(Text adapted from and photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Deadly Beauty," November 2006, National Geographic magazine)

翻譯：在攝影者的身后，一只已達到成熟期雌性海豹，以發出危險信號的姿態來保護她剛剛從另一只海豹那里奪來的獵物。攝影者寫道：比它的犬齒更令人恐怖的，是它發出低沉的手提鉆一樣的警告音穿過我的胸膛的感覺。

February 21, 2008

Pontoon Rafting, Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona, 2006
Photograph by Michael Nichols


Rafters aboard a motorized pontoon boat get a thorough soaking on the rain-swollen Colorado River in Arizona's Grand Canyon National Park. Each year, some 22,000 visitors board rubber paddle rafts, oar-powered wooden dories, and luxury motorized rafts to ply this storied stretch of the Colorado's waters.

(Photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "The Unexpected Canyon," January 2006, National Geographic magazine)

翻譯：坐在摩托浮艇的兩名驾船者全身濕透了，這條洪水暴漲的的河流是美國亚利桑那州大峽谷國家公園科罗拉多河。 每年約有22.000旅游者或是駕駛橡皮艇，或者是用漿的木船，奢侈一點的是摩托橡膠艇來這條河里面穿行。

February 22, 2008

Pearl Station and Reef, French Polynesia, 1996
Photograph by David Doubilet


A split shot shows a coral reef beneath a pearl workstation in French Polynesia's Tuamotu Archipelago. The region, a 900-mile (1,450-kilometer) arc of 76 sparsely populated atolls and two islands, is one of the world's primary producers of cultured black pearls.

(Photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Black Pearls of French Polynesia," June 1997, National Geographic magazine)

翻譯：這張照片展示的是法國玻利尼西亚土阿莫土群岛的一家珍珠養殖場下面的珊瑚礁。這片900英里的弧形區域由稀疏分布的76個環礁和2個島嶼組成，它也是世界上主要黑珍珠產地之一。

February 23, 2008

Beaufort Sea, Yukon Territory, Canada, 1999
Photograph by Michael Melford


Sunset over the Beaufort Sea plunges Canada's Yukon Territory into a crimson haze. More than 313,000 tourists make summer pilgrimages to the territory, one of North America's last great wildernesses. Today tourism booms there, drawing adventurers to the frontier's glaciated peaks, untouched wilderness, and abundant wildflowers and wildlife.

(Photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Caribou Dreams," March 1999, National Geographic Traveler magazine)

翻譯：黃昏的太陽，越過波弗特海(靠美国阿拉斯加州东北岸和加拿大西北岸)，即將從加拿大的育空區落入到深紅色的薄雾中。總計達313.000的旅游者朝圣般的來到此地，北美最后的一塊巨大的野生荒原。今天那里旅游業變得繁榮起來，吸引了大批的冒險者來到邊境攀登結冰的山頂，游覽未受人類活動影響的荒原，這里有遍野的野花和野生動植物。

February 24, 2008

School of Fish, Tuamotu Archipelago, 1997
Photograph by David Doubilet

A school of fish clusters near a reef in French Polynesia's Tuamotu Archipelago. The extensive reefs of the Tuamotu harbor a bounty of exotic marine life and make the region one of the premier scuba diving sites in the world.

(Photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Black Pearls of French Polynesia," June 1997, National Geographic magazine)

翻譯：在法国玻利尼西亚南太平洋阿莫土群岛的暗礁旁边，许多鱼聚集成群。阿莫土群岛大量的暗礁為眾多的海洋生物提供了庇護場所，并且也使此地成為世界有名的潛水場地。

February 25, 2008

Mountain Stream, New Hampshire, 1995
Photograph by Medford Taylor


An autumn blush colors trees along a secluded stream in New Hampshire's White Mountains. Part of the Appalachian Mountains, the Whites, as they're called locally, are home to 6,300-foot (1,916-meter) Mount Washington, tallest mountain in Northeastern United States and record-holder for the fastest winds on Earth—231 miles an hour (372 kilometers an hour).

(Photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "The White Mountains," September/October 1995, National Geographic Traveler magazine)

翻譯：秋天一棵顏色變為紅色的樹矗立在美国新罕布什尔州白山的一條隱蔽的小溪旁。當地人叫其白山，它是阿巴拉契亚山脉的一部分，也是高6300英尺（1916米）美國北部最高峰華盛頓山的發源地，同時此地也是世界最快風速紀錄保持者所在地，達到每小時231英里（372千米/小時）。

February 26, 2008

Oceanic Whitetip Shark, Bahamas, 2007
Photograph by Brian Skerry


The oceanic whitetip, one of the most abundant sharks just three decades ago, is critically endangered in parts of its range because of relentless demand for its fins. But bans in the Bahamas on the export of shark parts and commercial long-line fishing have made the islands' blue waters a veritable shark sanctuary.

(Text adapted from and photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Blue Waters of the Bahamas: An Eden for Sharks," March 2007, National Geographic magazine)

翻译：远洋白鳍鲨，一种30年前还非常常见的鲨鱼，现在由于人们对它鳍的需求导致大量捕杀，现在已经快达到灭绝的危险了。但是巴哈马群岛出台了对于禁止这种鲨鱼出口和禁止商业捕捞的禁令，使这里真正成为远洋白鳍鲨的避难所。

February 27, 2008

Berber Woman, Taarart, Morocco, 2005
Photograph by Alexandra Boulat


A Berber woman shows her hand, stained dark with henna for a wedding in the Moroccan town of Taarart. There are about 25 million Berbers—also known as Amazigh—living in Morocco and Algeria. They trace their roots back thousands of years before the seventh century Arab conquest that brought Islam to the region's mountains and deserts.

(Text adapted from and photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Among the Berbers: A Journey Through Morocco's High Atlas Mountains," January 2005, National Geographic magazine)

翻译：一位北非柏柏尔妇女在展示她被一种指甲花染料涂成黑色的手掌，这样她是用来参加摩洛哥Taarart小城镇的一场婚礼的。那里有2500万的柏柏尔人居住在摩洛哥和阿尔巴利亚。他们的根源可追溯到数千年前，阿拉伯人征服这片沙漠山岭区域，并且把伊斯兰教带到这里。

February 28, 2008

Ruins of Nemrud Dagh, Turkey, 2000
Photograph by Reza


The sun sets on the first-century ruins of Nemrud Dagh, Turkey, millennia after it set on the ancient kingdom itself. Built by King Antiochus I in southeastern Turkey, the kingdom is one of the best preserved but least known ruins of the Late Hellenistic period. Its monuments are a story in stone depicting the king, his family and ancestors, and their interaction with the gods.

(Photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Wrath of the Gods: Centuries of Upheaval Along the Anatolian Fault," July 2000, National Geographic magazine)

翻译：阳光下一世纪建造的土耳其Nemrud Dagh遗迹。它是安条克一世建造于土耳其南部，这个朝代是保存最晚好但是又被很少人知晓的近希腊文化时期之一。它的纪念碑内容是刻在石头上的描写这位国王的一个故事，包括他的家庭和祖先，还有他们和上帝的交流。

February 29, 2008

Argiope Spider, New Caledonia, 2000
Photograph by Peter Essick


An argiope spider awaits prey in its ornate web in the French South Pacific territory of New Caledonia. The thick webbing is called stabilimentum, a structural flourish which some scientists think serves to make the webs more visible to birds, which might otherwise fly into them.

(Photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "New Caledonia: France's Untamed Pacific Outpost," May 2000, National Geographic magazine)

翻译：法国南太平洋领土新喀里多尼亚岛，一只黄蜂蜘蛛在它织的网上静静的等待猎物的到来。那个粗的袋状编织物被叫做stabilimentum，这是一种建筑设计构造，一些科学家认为