國家地理:加里曼丹島的地底洞天(7)
In 1979, Eavis arrived in Borneo as part of a British expedition designed to study the rainforest and help the recently independent Malaysia understand the newly established Gunung Mulu National Park. Caving was still a relatively young sport, and Eavis and a team of four others were brought on only after expedition leaders realized that there were huge caves among the forest's many treasures.
1979年，艾維斯作為一個英國探險隊的一員來到婆羅洲，該探險隊旨在研究雨林，并讓剛剛獨立的馬來西亞了解新建的姆魯國家公園。洞穴探險仍是一個相對年輕的運動，在探險隊長發(fā)現(xiàn)雨林的豐富寶藏之下還藏有多處巨大洞穴后，派來了艾維斯和其他四名隊員。
Eavis and his friends had honed their skills back home, in Britain, where caves were commonly small and cold. Borneo's caves, opposite in almost every way, pushed Eavis and his companions into another dimension.
艾維斯和他的朋友們回到家鄉(xiāng)錘煉技能。英國的洞穴一般都是又小又冷，而婆羅洲的洞穴與英國的洞穴幾乎在每一點上都大相徑庭，這為艾維斯和他的同伴們打開了另一個世界。
With their first discovery they set their record for size: It was called Deer Cave, or Gua Rusa, and its entrance was so enormous—nearly 500 feet high—that the sun reached deep inside and fresh air followed, creating a strange and wonderful habitat in the seam between daylight and darkness. A mammoth colony of bats clung to the cavern's roof, while on the floor thick piles of guano teemed with cockroaches, crabs, worms, and hosts of specialized microbes.
他們的首個發(fā)現(xiàn)就創(chuàng)下了他們?nèi)サ蕉囱ǖ拿娣e記錄，這個洞穴叫做鹿洞，也叫Gua Rusa，入口很寬--有近500英尺高--陽光可以照到底下深處，里面還可以呼吸到新鮮空氣，在日光與黑暗之間的縫隙中形成了一個奇妙的棲息地。巨大的蝙蝠群緊緊地貼在洞穴的頂部，而地上堆積了厚厚的海鳥糞，上面有許多蟑螂、螃蟹、蠕蟲，還有特定微生物的宿主。
