很难想象一个抽屉大小的空间能容纳多少生命，更难想象这样的一个空间在浩瀚的自然界里有什么特殊意义。那我们就停止空想，看看这样的空间会给我们带来什么惊喜。
美式发音 适合泛听
One cubic foot isn't a lot of space, but the folks at National Geographic thought it was enough to document our planet's biodiversity. They chose a few locations around the globe to photograph anything that swam, flew or crawled through that one cubic foot. One location for the project: a volcanic island in 1)French Polynesia. Its name means “yellow lizard” in 2)Tahitian. Charles Darwin was fascinated by the3)coral reefs there. The island's sheer scenic beauty has made it a sweet honeymoon destination, too.
一立方英尺（约28立方分米）并不是一个很大的空间，但“国家地理”的人觉得用它来记录地球的生物多样性已经足够了。他们在全球选择了几个地点，拍摄在一立方英尺的空间里游过、飞过或者爬过的任何生物。他们选择的其中一个地点是法属波利尼西亚的一个火山岛，它的名字在塔希提语的意思是“黄金的蜥蜴”。查尔斯·达尔文曾对这里的珊瑚礁非常着迷。那里纯粹的美景也使其成为迷人的蜜月胜地。
Host: Photographer David Liittschwager worked on that One Cubic Foot project, along with a team of biologists. Where did you find the greatest biodiversity?
David: Well, the greatest biodiversity we found inside one cubic foot was on a coral reef crest in Moorea, which is part of French Polynesia.
Host: What are the kind of things you found in that very rich cubic foot of water there?
David: Oh, there was everything from damsel fishes to sacoglossen sea slugs, an oval butterfly fish and brittle stars and 4)pygmy gobies, …
Host: Pygmy goby: what's a Pygmy goby?
David: A pygmy goby: it's a small kind of fish.
Host: Right.
David:…Peacock damsel fish, pistol shrimp, the list goes on and on: it's 600 species from our 12 inch cube.
Host: I notice you did not mention the post-5)larval octopus. It kinda looks like a 6)translucent version of Alien. What do you make of that?
David: Well, that guy's only about ¾ of an inch long …
Host: Oh, so not too threatening.
David:…and when he's in that part of his life stage, his principal form of 7)camouflage is to be invisible, so, when he's sitting on a surface, you just see right through him.
It doesn't take a grand landscape to be worth recognizing the value and the joy that can be gotten out of looking closely at nature and enjoying the act of watching your step and seeing what's alive around you. And so life was more amazing than I've imagined.
主持人：摄影师大卫·里茨威格与一组生物学家一起做“一立方英尺”这个项目。你觉得哪里最具生物多样性？
大卫：嗯，在一立方英尺里最具生物多样性的地方是莫雷阿岛的珊瑚礁冠，莫雷阿岛是法属波利尼西亚的一部分。
主持人：在那个内涵丰富的一立方英尺海水里，你都看到了什么？
大卫：哦，那里什么都有，从小热带鱼到海蛞蝓、弓月蝴蝶鱼、海蛇尾，还有侏儒虾虎鱼……
主持人：侏儒虾虎鱼，什么是侏儒虾虎鱼？
大卫：侏儒虾虎鱼是一种非常小的鱼。
主持人：明白。
大卫：还有孔雀雀鲷、枪虾，单子好长，没完没了，因为在我们12立方英寸的空间里一共有六百个物种。
主持人：我注意到你没有提过了幼虫阶段的章鱼，它看起来就像是电影《异形》中外来生物的透明版。你是怎么想的？
大卫：嗯，这小家伙只有四分之三英寸长（约1.9厘米）……
主持人：噢，那不会太具威胁性。
大卫：透明就是它在生命那个阶段的主要伪装，所以它在某个地方停留时，你就能看穿它。
其实，细致入微地观察自然，享受脚下留神，不伤害生命的乐趣，看看身边的生物，这些活动意义重大，也可以给人带来无比的喜悦，让人认识到这一点并不需要一个很大的地方就可以做得到。因此，生命比我原来想象的要神奇得多。
