怀摩托 萤火虫洞：璀璨如夜空的奇景

张晓敏

在新西兰，有一个地方被称为“世界的第九大奇迹”，那里布满了成千上万的萤火虫，它们聚集在一起，形成了奇妙的景观，就像夜空中璀璨的繁星。让我们走进这个被誉为“奇景”的洞穴吧！

The Waitomo Glowworm Caves， located just outside the Waitomo township on the North Island of New Zealand， is a famous attraction because of a sizeable population of glowworms that live in the caves. Glowworms or Arachnocampa luminosa are tiny， bioluminescent1） creatures that produce a blue-green light and are found exclusively2）in New Zealand.

The caves were carved by underground streams pushing through soft limestone3） over thousands of years. Many have amazing stalactites4） growing down from the ceiling and stalagmites5） growing up from the cave floor， pointy cones6） of layered rock formed over centuries by dripping water. The cave walls are also decorated with galaxies of native glow worms.

Imagine floating silently along on the slow-moving current， through a pitch-black cave， with thousands of glowing lights sparking above your head like a million stars at night. Dont worry； the ceiling is at least 10-feet above your head， so theres no chance of a too-close encounter with a glowworm web. All you can really see is the illumination of the glowworms. The cave is completely dark， with no light entering. Thats probably why the glowworms like it there so much.

The Waitomo Glowworm Caves were first explored in 1887 by local Maori Chief Tane Tinorau accompanied by an English surveyor Fred Mace. Local Maori people knew of the caves existence， but the subterranean7） caverns had never been extensively explored until Fred and Tane went to investigate. They built a raft and with candles in hand， floated into the caves where the stream goes underground.

As they entered the caves， they were amazed by the twinkling glow coming from the ceiling. As they travelled further into the cave by poling8） themselves towards anembankment9）， they were also astounded by the limestone formations.

Jubilant10） at their discovery， they returned many times to explore further， and on one independent trip， Chief Tane discovered the upper level entrance to the cave， which is now the current entrance.

The easiest way to see the caves is with a walking or boat tour. If you are into11） adventure， try the unique experience of blackwater rafting12）—youll crawl， swim and float through the caves on a rubber tube. Or you could abseil13） or zip-line through the darkness. However you choose to explore Waitomo Glowworm Caves， you arebound to14） agree theyre a wonder of nature.

Discovery

怀托摩萤火虫洞就位于新西兰北岛怀托摩城镇外，因数量可观的萤火虫栖息其中而成为著名的景点。萤火虫又名小真菌蚋，是一种微小的发光生物，它们会发出蓝绿色的光，而且这种萤火虫只有新西兰才有。

这些萤火虫洞都是软的石灰岩经过地下水流长达数千年的冲刷和侵蚀而形成的。许多萤火虫洞里都有令人惊叹的从洞顶往下长的钟乳石和从洞穴地面往上长的石笋，还有层状岩在水滴数百年的作用下形成的尖头圆锥体。洞壁上还点缀着土生土长于此、如银河般的萤火虫。

想象自己静静地漂浮在缓慢的水流上，穿行在漆黑的洞穴中，成千上万个散发着微光的光晕就像夜空中数不清的星星，在你头顶闪烁。不用担心，那洞顶距你头顶至少有十英尺（编注：约三米），所以你没有机会跟萤火虫织就的网来个亲密接触。你唯一能真正看到的就是萤火虫的光芒。洞里一片漆黑，没有一丝光线进入，这可能正是萤火虫钟爱这里的原因。

怀托摩萤火虫洞在1887年迎来人们的首次探访，探访者为当地的毛利族酋长塔内·蒂诺劳和英国测量师弗雷德·梅斯。当地毛利人早就知道这些洞穴的存在，但这些地下洞穴一直都没有得到大规模的探查，直到弗雷德和塔内二人前去。他们做了一个筏子，手里拿着蜡烛，漂流到了洞穴中——溪流进入洞中后都流入了地下。

随着两人进入洞穴，他们被洞顶闪烁的光芒惊呆了。两人用筏子将自己撑向一边的河堤，从而在洞中行进，随着越来越深入洞中，他们又被各种石灰岩形成物所震惊。

他们为自己的发现而欣喜若狂，后来又多次重返这里，以进行更深入的探索。在一次独自探索中，酋长塔内发现了洞穴在高处的入口，也就是现在进洞的入口。

探索这些萤火虫洞最容易的方式就是步行或乘船。如果你喜欢探险，可以试试黑水漂流这种独特的体验——你将通过爬行、游泳以及乘坐一个橡胶内胎漂流来在洞中穿行。或者，你也可以用沿着绳子下降或者溜索滑行的方式穿过这片黑暗。不论你选择何种方式来探索怀托摩萤火虫洞，你都一定会赞同：这里的确是一处自然奇观。

1. bioluminescent [?ba???lu?m??nesnt] adj. 生物发光的

2. exclusively [?k?sklu?s?vli] adv. 仅仅，唯独

3. limestone [?la?mst??n] n. 石灰岩

4. stalactite [?st?l?kta?t] n. 钟乳石

5. stalagmite [?st?l?ɡma?t] n. 石笋

6. cone [k??n] n. 圆锥体

7. subterranean [?s?bt??re?ni?n] adj. 地下的

8. pole [p??l] vt. 用杆（或篙）撑（船等）

9. embankment [?m?b??km?nt] n. （海、河流、沼泽地等的）堤，堤围

10. jubilant [?d?u?b?l?nt] adj. 喜气洋洋的，兴高采烈的

11. be into： <口>对……产生兴趣；热衷于，极喜欢

12. blackwater rafting： 黑水漂流， 指乘橡胶内胎穿过地下河洞。

13. abseil [??bse?l] vi. （登山者从峭壁处）绕（或缘）绳下降

14. be bound to： 一定会，很可能会

20 Minutes Later

20分钟后

Think you are just lying there like a lump1） all night？ Think again2）. Your body is busy moving， twitching， maybe even walking around.

你以为你整晚都只是像块木头似的躺在那儿吗？你错啦！你的身体在忙着移动、抽动，甚至可能在四处走动。