ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Karen Bass - Natural history filmmaker
Karen Bass has traveled the world to explore and capture footage from every environment across the Earth.

Why you should listen

Karen Bass is a director and producer with a passion for travel and natural history. In 20 years at the BBC’s Natural History Unit, Bass made wildlife films in almost every environment across the Earth, from the rainforests of the Congo (where she produced the first-ever film of our closest relative, the bonobo), to the deserts of Libya, Syria and Jordan, from the icy peaks of the Andes to the swamps of the Amazon, from erupting volcanoes in the Caribbean to the nocturnal world of raccoons in downtown Manhattan. Her series include Andes to Amazon, exploring the wildlife and extreme landscapes of South America; Jungle, an investigation of the world’s rainforests; Wild Caribbean, about the varied nature, weather and landscapes of the Caribbean; and Nature’s Great Events, a dramatic portrayal of six of the planet’s most spectacular wildlife events.

Bass is now producing Untamed Americas, an epic series on the natural history of North, South and Central America, for National Geographic Television. The series is set to premiere in June 2012.

Her passion for travel and natural history were evident from an early age, and she has travelled widely on all the continents -- on scientific expeditions, for pleasure and to make films. In recent years she has sought out dragons on Komodo, dived the remote coral reefs of New Guinea, hang-glided over the cliffs of Byron Bay in Australia, climbed active volcanoes in Ethiopia, rafted the length of the Grand Canyon, sailed a traditional dhow in the Indian Ocean and trekked with camels through the Sahara.

 

More profile about the speaker
Karen Bass | Speaker | TED.com
TED2012

Karen Bass: Unseen footage, untamed nature

凯伦.巴斯:前所未见,野性自然

Filmed:
843,025 views

在TED2012上,电影人凯伦.巴斯分享了她为BBC和国家地理摄制的一些大自然影像,令人叹为观止——包括首次示人的管嘴花蜜蝙蝠,它用极为特殊的方式进食……
- Natural history filmmaker
Karen Bass has traveled the world to explore and capture footage from every environment across the Earth. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

00:16
I'm a very lucky幸运 person.
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我是个幸运儿
00:19
I've been privileged特权 to see so much of our beautiful美丽 Earth地球
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我有幸能见识这个地球的很多美景
00:24
and the people and creatures生物 that live生活 on it.
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还有生活其中的人与生物
00:26
And my passion was inspired启发 at the age年龄 of seven,
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我的这份热情是从7岁时开始的
00:30
when my parents父母 first took me to Morocco摩洛哥,
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当父母第一次带我去摩洛哥
00:32
at the edge边缘 of the Sahara撒哈拉 Desert沙漠.
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去到沙哈拉沙漠边缘
00:34
Now imagine想像 a little Brit英国人
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现在请你们想象一下
00:37
somewhere某处 that wasn't cold and damp潮湿 like home.
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一个英国小孩来到一处与家乡的阴冷潮湿截然不同的地方
00:40
What an amazing惊人 experience经验.
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这是多么奇妙的际遇
00:42
And it made制作 me want to explore探索 more.
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这愈加激发我的探索欲
00:45
So as a filmmaker电影制片人,
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所以作为一个电影制作人
00:47
I've been from one end结束 of the Earth地球 to the other
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我跑遍世界的各个角落
00:50
trying to get the perfect完善 shot射击
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寻觅最美的景色
00:53
and to capture捕获 animal动物 behavior行为 never seen看到 before.
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捕捉动物们那些不为人知的一举一动
00:57
And what's more, I'm really lucky幸运,
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我真的是非常幸运
00:59
because I get to share分享 that with millions百万 of people worldwide全世界.
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因为我还能和世界各地数以百万计的人们分享这一切
01:02
Now the idea理念 of having new perspectives观点 of our planet行星
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如今一想到能用新的视野去探索地球
01:08
and actually其实 being存在 able能够 to get that message信息 out
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并能将这些信息确切地传递出去
01:11
gets得到 me out of bed every一切 day with a spring弹簧 in my step.
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我就每天都充满正能量
01:14
You might威力 think that it's quite相当 hard
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你可能会觉得
01:17
to find new stories故事 and new subjects主题,
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挖掘新的故事和主题已变得艰难
01:20
but new technology技术 is changing改变 the way we can film电影.
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但新科技正在改变我们拍摄的方式
01:24
It's enabling启用 us to get fresh新鲜, new images图片
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它帮助我们获取新的影像
01:28
and tell brand new stories故事.
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诉说新的故事
01:30
In Nature's自然的 Great Events活动,
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在《自然大事件》中
01:33
a series系列 for the BBCBBC that I did with David大卫 Attenborough阿滕伯勒,
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这是我和David Attenborough为BBC制作的一个系列纪录片
01:36
we wanted to do just that.
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我们就采用了这种创新
01:39
Images图片 of grizzly灰熊 bears are pretty漂亮 familiar.
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灰熊的影像是我们相当熟悉的
01:42
You see them all the time, you think.
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你会觉得随时都能看到
01:45
But there's a whole整个 side to their lives生活 that we hardly几乎不 ever see
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但是它们的生活依然有鲜为人知的一面
01:49
and had never been filmed拍摄.
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而且从未被拍到过
01:51
So what we did, we went to Alaska阿拉斯加州,
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所以我们就直奔阿拉斯加,
01:55
which哪一个 is where the grizzlies灰熊 rely依靠
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灰熊在那里
01:57
on really high, almost几乎 inaccessible人迹罕至, mountain slopes连续下坡
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在又高又陡的山坡上
02:00
for their denning丹宁.
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建造熊窝
02:02
And the only way to film电影 that is a shoot射击 from the air空气.
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对此唯一的拍摄方式就是航拍
02:10
(Video视频) David大卫 Attenborough阿滕伯勒: Throughout始终 Alaska阿拉斯加州 and British英国的 Columbia哥伦比亚,
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(视频)David Attenborough解说:整个阿拉斯加和不列颠哥伦比亚大地上
02:14
thousands数千 of bear families家庭 are emerging新兴 from their winter冬季 sleep睡觉.
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成千上万的灰熊从冬眠中苏醒过来
02:20
There is nothing to eat up here,
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山顶上没有食物
02:23
but the conditions条件 were ideal理想 for hibernation蛰伏.
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但冬眠条件却十分理想
02:27
Lots of snow in which哪一个 to dig a den巢穴.
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有足够多的雪来挖洞
02:35
To find food餐饮, mothers母亲 must必须 lead their cubs幼崽 down to the coast,
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为了寻找食物,母亲必须带着她们的幼崽去海岸边
02:41
where the snow will already已经 be melting融化.
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那里的冰雪已经开始融化
02:48
But getting得到 down can be a challenge挑战 for small cubs幼崽.
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但对幼熊来说,下坡可不是一件易事
03:21
These mountains are dangerous危险 places地方,
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这些山脉地势险恶
03:25
but ultimately最终 the fate命运 of these bear families家庭,
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但这些灰熊最终的命运
03:28
and indeed确实 that of all bears around the North Pacific和平的,
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也是北太平洋所有的熊的命运
03:32
depends依靠 on the salmon三文鱼.
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都与海里的鲑鱼息息相关
03:36
KBKB: I love that shot射击.
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KB:我很喜欢这个镜头
03:39
I always get goosebumps鸡皮疙瘩 every一切 time I see it.
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每次看都会起鸡皮疙瘩
03:41
That was filmed拍摄 from a helicopter直升机
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这是用直升机拍的
03:43
using运用 a gyro-stabilized陀螺稳定 camera相机.
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并使用陀螺稳定座架摄像机
03:46
And it's a wonderful精彩 bit of gear齿轮,
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这个设备真的很棒
03:49
because it's like having a flying飞行 tripod, crane起重机 and dolly玩具娃娃 all rolled热轧 into one.
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你就像拥有了一个会飞行的三脚架,吊车和移动摄影机的集合体
03:53
But technology技术 alone单独 isn't enough足够.
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不过单单靠技术是不够的
03:56
To really get the money shots镜头,
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要获得真正有价值的画面
03:58
it's down to being存在 in the right place地点 at the right time.
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就得在合适的地点,抓住恰当的时机
04:01
And that sequence序列 was especially特别 difficult.
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天时地利是相当难掌握的
04:04
The first year we got nothing.
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头一年我们什么都没拍到
04:08
We had to go back the following以下 year,
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只好第二年重来
04:11
all the way back to the remote远程 parts部分 of Alaska阿拉斯加州.
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再次来到阿拉斯加荒无人烟的地方
04:14
And we hung鸿 around with a helicopter直升机 for two whole整个 weeks.
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在直升机上绕了整整两个星期
04:17
And eventually终于 we got lucky幸运.
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最后我们终于得到幸运女神的眷顾
04:20
The cloud lifted取消, the wind was still,
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万里碧空,风和日丽
04:24
and even the bear showed显示 up.
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灰熊们也出动了
04:26
And we managed管理 to get that magic魔法 moment时刻.
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我们终于如愿以偿捕捉到那个神奇的瞬间
04:29
For a filmmaker电影制片人,
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对于一个电影制作人来说
04:31
new technology技术 is an amazing惊人 tool工具,
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新科技是非常得力的帮手
04:35
but the other thing that really, really excites的激励 me
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但真正让我兴奋不已的
04:38
is when new species种类 are discovered发现.
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是发现新物种的那一刻
04:41
Now, when I heard听说 about one animal动物,
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当我听说一种动物时
04:43
I knew知道 we had to get it for my next下一个 series系列,
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我知道我必须把它放进我下一档节目中,
04:46
Untamed Americas美洲, for National国民 Geographic地理.
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《国家地理》的《野性美洲》
04:49
In 2005, a new species种类 of bat蝙蝠 was discovered发现
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2005年一种新的蝙蝠被发现
04:55
in the cloud forests森林 of Ecuador厄瓜多尔.
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生活在厄瓜多尔的云雾林里
04:57
And what was amazing惊人 about that discovery发现
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这个发现的神奇之处在于
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is that it also solved解决了 the mystery神秘
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它也同时解开了一个谜团
05:02
of what pollinated授粉 a unique独特 flower.
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我们终于知道是谁为一种奇特的花进行授粉
05:05
It depends依靠 solely独自 on the bat蝙蝠.
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答案就是那种新发现的蝙蝠
05:07
Now, the series系列 hasn't有没有 even aired播出 yet然而,
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这个系列片尚未播出
05:10
so you're the very first to see this.
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所以这是它宝贵的处女秀
05:12
See what you think.
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看看你们有什么想法
05:17
(Video视频) Narrator旁白: The tube-lipped管唇形 nectar花蜜 bat蝙蝠.
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(视频)解说:管嘴花蜜蝙蝠
05:26
A pool of delicious美味的 nectar花蜜
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美味的花蜜
05:28
lies at the bottom底部 of each flower's花卉 long flute长笛.
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全在花的长茎底部
05:30
But how to reach达到 it?
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但要怎么够得着呢?
05:35
Necessity必要性 is the mother母亲 of evolution演化.
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需求乃进化之母
05:40
(Music音乐)
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(音乐)
06:04
This two-and-a-half-inch两个和一个半英寸 bat蝙蝠
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这只6公分长的蝙蝠
06:07
has a three-and-a-half-inch三和半英寸 tongue,
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却长着长达9公分的舌头
06:14
the longest最长 relative相对的 to body身体 length长度
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是世界上所有哺乳动物中
06:18
of any mammal哺乳动物 in the world世界.
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舌与身的长度比最大的了
06:20
If human人的, he'd他会 have a nine-foot九英尺 tongue.
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如果他是人类的话,那么舌头足有3米长了
06:32
(Applause掌声)
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(掌声)
06:34
KBKB: What a tongue.
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KB:多给力的舌头
06:36
We filmed拍摄 it by cutting切割 a tiny little hole in the base基础 of the flower
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我们在花的底部开个一个小孔来对它进行拍摄
06:41
and using运用 a camera相机 that could slow the action行动 by 40 times.
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用的是能40倍的慢速摄影机
06:46
So imagine想像 how quick that thing is in real真实 life.
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所以可以想象出这家伙在现实中速度要多快
06:49
Now people often经常 ask me, "Where's哪里 your favorite喜爱 place地点 on the planet行星?"
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很多人都问我,“地球这么大,你最喜欢哪里?”
06:54
And the truth真相 is I just don't have one.
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事实是我真的没有一个确切的答案
06:56
There are so many许多 wonderful精彩 places地方.
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世上美景数不胜数
06:59
But some locations地点 draw you back time and time again.
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但确实有些地方令你流连忘返
07:02
And one remote远程 location位置 --
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有这么一个偏远的地方——
07:05
I first went there as a backpacker背包客;
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我第一次去是作为背包客
07:07
I've been back several一些 times for filming拍戏,
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后来因为摄影,我又回去了好几次
07:10
most recently最近 for Untamed Americas美洲 --
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最近一次是因为《野性美洲》——
07:11
it's the Altiplano高原 in the high Andes安第斯山脉 of South America美国,
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它在南美的安第斯山的一个高原,
07:16
and it's the most otherworldly空想的 place地点 I know.
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这是我所知的最超脱尘俗的地方了
07:21
But at 15,000 feet, it's tough强硬.
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但它在4500米的高处,非常辛苦
07:24
It's freezing冷冻 cold,
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寒冷刺骨
07:26
and that thin air空气 really gets得到 you.
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空气稀薄
07:30
Sometimes有时 it's hard to breathe呼吸,
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高原反应有时会让你呼吸困难
07:33
especially特别 carrying携带 all the heavy filming拍戏 equipment设备.
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尤其是在搬运沉重的摄影器材时
07:36
And that pounding重击 head just feels感觉 like a constant不变 hangover宿醉.
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严重的头痛就像持续不断的宿醉
07:40
But the advantage优点 of that wonderful精彩 thin atmosphere大气层
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但稀薄空气的好处
07:45
is that it enables使 you to see the stars明星 in the heavens
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就是能让你看到九天之外的繁星
07:49
with amazing惊人 clarity明晰.
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且一览无遗
07:51
Have a look.
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我们欣赏一下
07:55
(Video视频) Narrator旁白: Some 1,500 miles英里 south of the tropics热带,
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(视频)解说:距离热带地区240万公里远
07:59
between之间 Chile智利 and Bolivia玻利维亚,
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在智力和玻利维亚之间
08:01
the Andes安第斯山脉 completely全然 change更改.
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这一段安第斯山脉陡然变化
08:06
It's called the Altiplano高原, or "high plains平原" --
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它被成为高原——
08:10
a place地点 of extremes极端
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一个充满极限
08:14
and extreme极端 contrasts对比.
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和极端对比的地方。
08:18
Where deserts沙漠 freeze冻结
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在这里,沙漠成冰
08:23
and waters水域 boil.
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湖水沸腾
08:26
More like Mars火星 than Earth地球,
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看上去更像火星而不是地球
08:30
it seems似乎 just as hostile敌对 to life.
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生命在这里似乎绝迹
08:41
The stars明星 themselves他们自己 --
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而满天繁星
08:50
at 12,000 feet, the dry, thin air空气
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在海拔3600多米,干燥稀薄的空气中
08:54
makes品牌 for perfect完善 stargazing观星.
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成全了完美的天文观测
09:02
Some of the world's世界 astronomers天文学家 have telescopes望远镜 nearby附近.
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附近有很多天文望远镜
09:08
But just looking up with the naked eye,
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但仅仅就用肉眼去看就已足够
09:12
you really don't need one.
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你根本不需要任何设备
09:16
(Music音乐)
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(音乐)
10:03
(Applause掌声)
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(掌声)
10:09
KBKB: Thank you so much
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KB:非常感谢大家
10:12
for letting出租 me share分享 some images图片
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能让我分享这些影像
10:14
of our magnificent华丽的, wonderful精彩 Earth地球.
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让我们一起领略雄奇壮观的地球
10:17
Thank you for letting出租 me share分享 that with you.
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感谢你们,让我有机会分享这一切
10:19
(Applause掌声)
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(掌声)
Translated by Lee Li
Reviewed by Karen SONG

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Karen Bass - Natural history filmmaker
Karen Bass has traveled the world to explore and capture footage from every environment across the Earth.

Why you should listen

Karen Bass is a director and producer with a passion for travel and natural history. In 20 years at the BBC’s Natural History Unit, Bass made wildlife films in almost every environment across the Earth, from the rainforests of the Congo (where she produced the first-ever film of our closest relative, the bonobo), to the deserts of Libya, Syria and Jordan, from the icy peaks of the Andes to the swamps of the Amazon, from erupting volcanoes in the Caribbean to the nocturnal world of raccoons in downtown Manhattan. Her series include Andes to Amazon, exploring the wildlife and extreme landscapes of South America; Jungle, an investigation of the world’s rainforests; Wild Caribbean, about the varied nature, weather and landscapes of the Caribbean; and Nature’s Great Events, a dramatic portrayal of six of the planet’s most spectacular wildlife events.

Bass is now producing Untamed Americas, an epic series on the natural history of North, South and Central America, for National Geographic Television. The series is set to premiere in June 2012.

Her passion for travel and natural history were evident from an early age, and she has travelled widely on all the continents -- on scientific expeditions, for pleasure and to make films. In recent years she has sought out dragons on Komodo, dived the remote coral reefs of New Guinea, hang-glided over the cliffs of Byron Bay in Australia, climbed active volcanoes in Ethiopia, rafted the length of the Grand Canyon, sailed a traditional dhow in the Indian Ocean and trekked with camels through the Sahara.

 

More profile about the speaker
Karen Bass | Speaker | TED.com