Earth, 18,000 years before the present
地球距今一萬八千年以前
it's a world locked in cold
這是個冰封世界
at the height of the last great Ice Age
正處在最近一次冰期的極盛時
Across tens of thousands of years
經過十萬年
unmelting snows have compacted into massive glaciers
未融化的雪堆積擠壓成龐大的冰川
Buried under ice sheets averaging a mile thick
埋在冰層底下的則是平均一英哩厚的陸地
are lands where hundreds of millions live today
這就是現今住滿人的陸地
As Earth's water is increasing locked up in ice
當時地球的水份不斷的變成冰
sea levels plummet more than a hundred meters
因此海平面也驟然下降百餘尺
Exposed sea floor nearly joins Australia to Southeast Asia
裸♥露♥的海底幾乎使澳洲與東南亞相連
Japan becomes part of mainland Asia
日本變成亞洲大♥陸♥的一部分
Across North America ice fields and glaciers
在北美洲冰川與冰原
envelop all of Canada and northernmost United States
覆蓋了整個加拿大以及美國最北部
As the Ice Age spreads Alaska emerges as a crossroads
當冰原範圍擴大，阿♥拉♥斯加逐漸成爲來往的通道
Off it's Bering sea coastline
海水退離白令海岸線
the retreating ocean exposes a great land bridge
裸♥露♥出一片寬達千哩的大♥陸♥橋
a thousand miles wide connecting Asia to America
連接亞洲和美洲大♥陸♥
Across this corridor a river of living creatures would flow
許多生物便藉著這個走廊來往於陸地之間
It was the genesis of a great wave of life
這是美洲生物種類大量繁衍的起始
that would inhabit the Americas and this was it's Eden
這兒曾是生物的伊甸國
Crossing into ancient Alaska
從亞洲遷徙到古代阿♥拉♥斯加的草食動物
migrating herds find new forage and sheltering valleys
找尋到新的食物與棲住地
but they're followed from Asia by fierce carnivore
但是兇猛的肉食動物以及人類等
saber toothed cats giant bears
牙齒銳利劍齒虎、巨熊等
and the greatest of all predators
其他主要的掠食動物也隨之而來
They arrive in small bands from Siberia
他們小羣的從西伯利亞前來
pressing east in pursuit of game
並繼續往東追尋獵物
unaware they're discovering a continent
全然不知他們已經發現了一個新大♥陸♥
The hunters are sustained by bison moose woolly mammoth
最初的美洲人就是靠着野牛、麋鹿各種多毛的哺乳類
and the wild reindeer called caribou
以及馴鹿來維生
Where frozen tundra limits vegetation meat is life
由於凍原限制了植物的生長，肉類便成爲維生的主食
Most of the year it is kill or starve
不捕獵便捱餓
The hunters prosper here across millennia
獵人們在此生活了千餘年
but as the receding Ice Age
但是當冰期逐漸消退
opens the wall of glaciers to the south
而使南方的冰川退縮時
most move on with the herds
大部份的獵人便跟着草食動物羣
into the virgin continents beyond
往新生的陸地遷徒
Their descendants will become Apache and Sioux Aztec and Maya
他們的後代成爲北美洲的阿帕奇族與蘇族
中美洲的阿茲特喀族與瑪雅族
Inca and Amazonian
及南美洲的印加族與亞瑪遜族
Yet some remain in Alaska
但是仍有一些人留在阿♥拉♥斯加
For them this is a world of
mysterious forces and spirits
對他們來說,這是個充滿神祕力量與神靈的世界
To science the Aurora Borealis is created
科學家認爲極光是因爲
by streams of charged particles from the sun
太陽所釋出的帶電粒子
colliding with the atmosphere
與大氣層一連串碰撞而產生
To some Native Americans the Northern Lights
但對某些美洲原住民來說,北極光是
were children not yet born at play in the heavens
是還沒出生的小孩在天上玩耍所造成的
Here at the far edges of existence
在此遙遠的邊陲生活
the wildness of the ancient earth
古代地球的野性
never vanished
從未消失
Even today the solitude of the past
甚至到現在
is broken only occasionally by the sound of the present
亙古的孤寂只偶爾因現代的聲響而間斷
In Alaska the last great Ice Age survives
最後的大冰期仍存在阿♥拉♥斯加
Vast regions appear as lifeless as a frozen planet
一大遍的曠野，猶如冰凍的行星般毫無生命跡象
Sheer walls a mile deep loom as monuments to the power
深達一英哩的險峻峭壁是冰川的遺蹟
of the glaciers which carved them
暗示著冰川切割侵蝕的力量
Most of its rugged terrain can be crossed only with wings
大部份崎嶇不平的地域，只能以飛機飛越
Massive snowfalls compress glacial ice
so dense in some places
大量的降雪將某些地方的冰川緊緊壓縮
only a single color of the spectrum is reflected
使光譜中只有一種顏色能被反射出來
an ethereal blue
那是一種極其微妙的藍色
chilling and strangely beautiful
令人感到寒冷又異常美麗
Where the frozen rivers end
冰川的盡頭便產生了冰山
icebergs are born in a spectacle so mighty
冰山產生的方式非常壯觀
native tribes call it "While Thunder"
所以原住民稱之爲白色霹靂
Some blocks are the size of 30 story buildings
有些冰山體積龐大如三十層的高樓
It would seem a place too hostile for living things
這個地方似乎不適合任何生物居住
but each year after a winter that can last nine months
但是，每年經過九個月的寒冬之後
Alaska erupts with life
阿♥拉♥斯加便開始生氣蓬勃的充滿生命
Hundreds of thousands of birds
成千上萬的鳥遠從北極飛聚到此地來
stream here from as far away as Antarctica
爲了在阿♥拉♥斯加不受干擾的懸崖
to breed in Alaska's protected cliffs and coves
與峽谷間生育下一代，
and to feed on it's rich seas
也爲了在這豐富的海域裏覓食
For one brief season of abundance
在這短暫的豐沛季節裏
life flourishes
生命繁榮茂盛
Ice falls turn to waterfalls
冰川變成瀑布
Grasses emerge fueled by up to 24 hours of sunlight a day
在每天近二十四小時的日照下，綠草快速生長
Animals hurry to store up nutrients
before winter returns
動物們也趕在冬天再度來臨前，加緊儲存營養
Without the plenty of the warm season
如果沒有這種豐饒的溫暖季節
life couldn't survive the long months of bitter cold
生物將無法度過漫長的酷寒歲月
Famished from half a year of hibernation
在經過半年的冬眠飢餓後
even the lordly brown bear
即使是魁梧的棕熊
is content to graze in spring
也滿足的在春天裏喫青草
sharing the meadows with caribou too fleet to be caught
與行動快捷難以追捕到的馴鹿分享草地
As bellies fill play begins
肚子飽了便玩了起來
There is other business conducted
in the fields of fresh grass
在這新鮮的草地上還有其他的事情進行著
the age old rite of spring
春天裏的一種古老儀式
They will remain a couple for only a day or two
sharing a rough affection
它們在一起一、兩天分享一份短暫的情愛
Bear hugs will lead to the conception of new life
熊擁抱交♥配♥後，新生命將渴望在嚴冬裏
to be born in the hibernation den
in the dead of winter
誕生在冬眠的巢穴中
A world of extremes
顯著的潮水漲退
Alaska is swept by enormous tidal fluctuations
也不斷的沖刷着充滿極端差異的阿♥拉♥斯加
Low tide can drain an entire bay like a bathtub
大退潮時甚至整個海灣都乾掉，就像澡缸的水一下子放光一般
Taking advantage of the low tides
brown bears roam the exposed tidal flats
棕熊趁着退潮徘徊在裸♥露♥的潮間帶
to dig for clams
挖掘尋找著蛤蚌
Any protein is welcome in the effort
任何蛋白質都歡迎
to replenish a body that can weigh 1,400 pounds
爲了維持重可達一千四百多磅的身體
Perhaps noticing the success
或許看到母熊和小熊成功的挖到蛤蚌喫
of mother and cub an imitator arrives
狐狸也想來挖挖看
But clamming is not as easy as it looks
但是挖蛤蜊並不像看起來的那麼容易
and just move on
並且頭也不回的繼續走下去
As summer's warmth deepens
當夏季的溫暖更加擴展時
Alaska's three million lakes turn to gathering places
阿♥拉♥斯加的三百萬個湖泊，便轉變成許多動物聚集的地方
Beavers prepare
海狸修整著它們的巢穴
for the ravages of cold weather ahead
by repairing their lodges
以防備寒冬的侵襲
Moose feast on tender aquatic plants
hidden on lake bottoms
麋鹿盡情的享用隱藏在湖底的幼嫩水生植物
Wolf pups gorge on mother's milk
幼狼們則爭相吸食着母狼的奶
to reach near adult size before winter arrives
以使自己在冬天來臨之前長大到接近成狼的體型
But the serenity of summer
但是這麼寧靜的夏季
can be shattered by the approach of an intruder
卻被外來的闖入者所破壞
The black bear has a fearsome reputation
黑熊的名聲令人害怕
but it's the most playful of bear species
但它確是熊類中最愛玩耍的一種
and with the coast clear and the water cool
當沒有任何危險水又清涼時
even a bear may succumb
to the impulse merely to have fun
即使是熊也會經不起誘惑的玩起水來
Life along the coast too is eased by the warm season
海岸邊的生物也舒適安樂的生活在溫暖的季節裏
After a winter battered by North Pacific storms
在經歷了北太平洋整個冬天的風暴後
sea lion colonies haul out to sun themselves
海獅羣齊聚到陽光底下
like vacationers enjoying a day at the beach
就像渡假的遊客享受着海灘上的日光浴一般
A game of King of the Mountain ensues
緊跟着開始一場海獅爭霸戰
In the world of sea lions size matters
在海獅的世界裏體型固然很重要
but patience succeeds
但是耐心更會帶來成功
Ungainly on shore the sea lion moves in the sea
在岸上行動笨拙的海獅，一旦進入海里就來去自如
with the ease of a circus performer
both acrobat and clown
正像馬戲團裏的空中飛人和小丑般，在海洋中翻滾嬉戲
Like its meadows Alaska's seas bloom with fertility
阿♥拉♥斯加的海域和陸地一樣，生機盎然
under the lengthening daylight
在豐富而加長的日照下
So rich are the waters
這個季節裏的海域是如此的豐饒