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Thank you for joining us for today’s Spotlight. I’m Rebekah Schipper.
感谢大家收听今天的重点报道节目。我是丽贝卡·席佩尔。
And I’m Liz Waid. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting.
我是莉兹·怀德。重点报道节目用慢速英语的方式播报新闻。
It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
以便让世界各地的人们更容易听懂。
Can one small island serve as a model for all of planet earth?
一个小岛能成为整个地球的模型吗？
Today’s Spotlight will look at the history of Easter Island.
今天的重点报道节目聚焦于复活节岛的历史。
This small island experienced the fall of a very special culture.
这个小岛经历了一种非常特殊的文化的衰落。
Could what happened to the people of Easter Island happen to us?
复活节岛上发生的事情会发生在我们身上吗？
Easter Island is in the South Pacific.
复活节岛位于南太平洋。
It is the loneliest piece of populated land in the world.
它是世界上最孤独的地方，那里人口稀少。
It sits in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, all by itself.
它独自坐落在太平洋的中央。
The closest people live over 1600 kilometres away.
距离最近的人住在1600公里以外。
But Easter Island’s distance from other land did not keep people from populating it.
但复活节岛与其他陆地的距离并没有阻止人们在这里居住。
In the middle of the first millennium the first people arrived on Easter Island.
在第一个千年中期，第一批人来到复活节岛。
They settled there.
他们在那里定居下来。
And their population began to grow.
他们的人口开始增长。
For many years, Easter Island was a perfect place to live.
多年来，复活节岛一直是一个完美的居住地。
It was beautiful.
它是美丽的。
Clear blue water surrounded it.
清澈碧蓝的海水环绕着它。
A thick palm forest offered many resources.
茂密的棕榈林提供了许多资源。
There was a wide coastal plain with rich soil.
那里有一片广阔的沿海平原，土壤肥沃。
The people could grow their main vegetables: sweet potatoes and yams.
人们可以种植他们的主要蔬菜：红薯和山药。
And more than 30 different kinds of seabirds made the island their home.
30多种不同种类的海鸟在岛上栖息。
The birds' songs filled the air with music.
鸟儿的歌声使空气中充满了音乐。
The people of Easter Island, the Rapanui, created wonderful stone structures that still stand on Easter Island today.
复活节岛的居民，拉帕努伊人，创造了奇妙的石头建筑物，这些建筑物至今仍屹立在复活节岛上。
In fact, Easter Island is known for these structures.
事实上，复活节岛以这些建筑物而闻名。
They are called “Moai.”
它们被称为“摩埃”。
Moai look like large stone heads.
摩埃看起来像巨大的石头。
There are hundreds of Moai on the island.
岛上有成百上千的摩埃石像。
They face the land.
它们面朝陆地。
Their backs are turned away from the sea.
它们背对着大海。
The Moai served as the peoples’ gods.
摩埃石像是那里的居民的神。
