2014-01-04

【Aiden in English】

        Under the huge yellow sun, the life in Tala Private Game Reserve was remarkable. Everything was moving and had a role in the on-going circle of life. There, 3 of the African Big Five could be seen, which was the black rhino, elephant, and cape buffalo in the wild savannah outside of Durban, South Africa.

        As we drove through, the first animal we saw was a gnu which was sitting in the middle of the road. Its short pointy horns stuck out of the sides of the animal's head while it took its time crossing the road. The next animal we spotted was a black ostrich. It was a male and was dining on a garden of seeds. More animals came out one after the other. The impalas grazed in the tall grass, while Egyptian geese swan through the lagoon, searching for small fish.

        In the mealtime, we noticed some new animals like the Kudus which looked like a deer with long antlers and the Gemsbok, an antelope with a white stripe down the center of its face. However, a Gemsbok had pointy antlers where as a Kudu had curved antlers.

        No matter how good the animals appeared to be, the scenery always better. Endless rolling hills stretched into the distance. On the other side, there was a small pond with a jungle on the horizon. Not a cloud was in the sky and the sun was shining brightly.

        As we went on, the animals began to repeat. Sounders of warthogs flew by and zebras just turned into a black and white blur. Rhino lay down by the lagoon in the sun. Their large horns reflected the light, making it shine and gleam. 

        All the animals seemed like the ones in a zoo. They had no predators because the people kept the lions and leopards away. The animals just stood there without anything to fear. They looked like statues that ate, slept, gave birth, slept, and ate. Sometimes life needs a little danger to really make it interesting.

【红霞译文】

        太阳光芒万丈，把塔拉私营禁猎区的动物滋养得膘肥体胖，生命周而复始永不停息，非洲五霸中的黑犀牛、大象和水牛三位好汉常年驻扎南非德班城外这片野味十足的大草原上。

        我们驱车游览，静坐在马路中间的角马首先挡住了去路，其脑袋上长得羚角又尖又短，过马路不慌不忙，比老牛拉破车速度还慢。接下来黑色公鸵鸟进入视线，它正在花园里忙打牙祭。越来越多的动物竞相出现，黑斑羚在深草丛中饱食终日﹔埃及雁团团围着泻湖飞来转去，死死盯住水中小鱼。

        在领略上述“老面孔”风采的同时，我们还结识了一些新知，像扭角林羚和南非剑羚，两者都是羚羊之类的动物，但扭角林羚鹿角既长又尖﹔而南非剑羚脸心则有斑纹，并且鹿角带弯。

        其实不管这里野生动物有多么诱人，都不及周围自然风光旖旎。放眼望去，连绵起伏的丘陵无穷无尽地伸向遥远，清泉潺潺，绿树悠悠，明媚的天空万里无云，灿烂的阳光普照大地。

        我们继续向前，见到的都是已经熟知的动物。疣猪从眼前飞速闪过，斑马黑白条纹令人看得眼花缭乱﹔犀牛四仰八叉躺在泻湖旁晒着太阳，两个大牛角反射出刺眼的光芒。

        这里所有的野生动物好像圈养在动物园的驯养动物一样没有任何天敌，因为狮子和豹子早已被人们拒之门外，所以它们无忧无虑逍遥自在，犹如一尊活雕塑，整天吃饭、睡觉、繁衍后代，睡了吃吃了睡。生活有时候需要一点紧迫感，否则索然乏味