National Parks

National Parks, written by Julie Mettenberg.

《国家公园》，朱莉·梅滕伯格 著

Your Special Place Imagine stumbling upon a special place in the wilderness that's all your own. As you pick your way across a slick log, you can hear cool water trickling in a stream below. The sun reflects off the red canyon walls while an eagle soars quietly overhead. Dry grasses rustle around the perfect hiding spot, gazelles leap in the distance. Untouched places like this are becoming rare as humans use more and more land for farming, housing, and taking resources. But thankfully many nations of the world have preserved areas of wilderness as national parks. In national parks you can still find your own special place.

你的专属秘境 想象一下，你在荒野中偶遇一处完全属于你的特别地方。 当你小心翼翼滑溜溜的原木，能听到脚下小溪里清凉的溪水潺潺流淌。 阳光在红色峡谷岩壁上反光，一只雄鹰静静从头顶翱翔而过。 干草在绝佳藏身地周围沙沙作响，瞪羚在远方跳跃奔跑。 随着人类占用越来越多土地开垦农耕、建造住宅、开采资源，这样纯净未被触碰的地方已经越来越少。 但值得庆幸的是，世界上许多国家都把荒野区域保护起来，设立成国家公园。 在国家公园里，你依然能找到属于你自己的特别秘境。

The value of parks. Protected lands are important for many reasons. Many national parks protect a rich diversity of plants and animals that might otherwise be changed by human development. In a protected area, native plants and animals can exist without interference by humans. Endangered animals can survive without the threat of habitat destruction and hunting. Many parks protect cultures and their histories. In the world's national parks, you can see artifacts or objects left behind from past civilizations. Some preserve an ancient way of life still in practice.

国家公园的价值 这些受保护的土地意义重大，原因有很多。 许多国家公园保护了丰富多样的动植物，如果没有公园，它们的生存会被人类发展改变。 在保护区里，本土动植物可以不受人类打扰，自在生存。 濒危动物可以摆脱栖息地破坏和捕猎的威胁，存活下来。 许多公园还保护了不同文化和它们的历史。 在世界各地的国家公园里，你能看到过往文明遗留下来的文物和物件。 还有一些公园保护着至今仍在延续的古老生活方式。

National parks also provide wild, untouched places where people can get away from it all. Visitors can view rare wildlife, unique landforms, ancient artifacts, and pieces of their own history. They also can surround themselves with the beauty of nature through hiking, backpacking, camping, and other activities. The United States Congress gets the credit for setting aside the first National Park in 1872. President Ulysses S. Grant signed the bill creating Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana. The new law recognized the unique and fragile beauty of Yellowstone's steaming geysers, pools of bubbling mud, and abundant wildlife.

国家公园还为人们提供了原始纯净的天地，让我们可以远离一切纷扰。 游客可以在这里观赏珍稀野生动物、独特地貌，参观古老文物，探寻历史片段。 你还可以通过徒步、背包旅行、露营等活动，全身心沉浸在自然之美中。 世界上第一座国家公园由美国国会在1872年划定设立。 尤利西斯·S·格兰特总统签署法案，在怀俄明州、爱达荷州和蒙大拿州设立了黄石国家公园。 这项新法案认可了黄石独特又脆弱的美：这里有冒着蒸汽的间歇泉、冒泡的泥浆池，还有繁多的野生动物。

Today, hundreds of countries around the world have joined the preservation effort. There are more than 1 ,000 areas of preserved land around the world. Now that you know a little about national parks, let's explore a few up close. Maybe one of these will contain your special place.

如今，全球已有数百个国家加入了自然保护的行列。 全世界共有超过一千处受保护的自然区域。 现在你已经对国家公园有了初步了解，就让我们近距离探访几处吧。 说不定其中就有属于你的特别秘境。

World -famous wonder. Serengeti National Park and Maasai Mara Reserve. Tanzania and Kenya, films and photographs from the Serengeti are perhaps the most famous images of Africa. Dry grasses rustle across broad landscapes colored brown, red, and orange by the African sun. Lions, gazelles, zebras, and antelope lounge peacefully on the immense plains. In 1913, an American hunter found the Serengeti, still unknown to Westerners, and introduced it to the world. But the Maasai people have called it home for thousands of years. They herd cattle and live in traditional villages in the Kenyan portion of the park. The Maasai are famous for their beautiful red clothing, jewelry, and body paint. To the Maasai, the Serengeti has always been Serengetu, the place where the land goes on

世界闻名的奇迹 塞伦盖蒂国家公园与马赛马拉保护区 塞伦盖蒂横跨坦桑尼亚和肯尼亚，这里的影像大概是非洲最广为人知的样子。 广阔原野被非洲太阳染成棕、红、橙三色，干草在风中沙沙作响。 狮子、瞪羚、斑马和羚羊在广袤平原上悠然休憩。 1913年，一位美国猎人发现了当时还不为西方人所知的塞伦盖蒂，将它介绍给了全世界。 但马赛人已经在这里生活了数千年，早就把这里当作故乡。 他们在公园属于肯尼亚的区域放牛，居住在传统村落里。 马赛人因艳丽的红色服饰、精致的首饰和身体彩绘而闻名。 对马赛人来说，塞伦盖蒂一直就是“塞伦格图”，意思是无限延伸的大地