听力文本

The American conifer forests may not be the richest in animal life,
美洲的针叶林可能不是动物的乐园，
but their trees are extraordinary.
但这些树木非常特别。
This giant sequoia, a relative of the redwood, is the largest living thing on Earth.
这些美洲杉是红杉的亲戚，也是世界上最大的生物。
Known as General Sherman, it's the weight of ten blue whales.
谢尔曼将军树有十头蓝鲸那么重。
Higher up in the nearby mountains, bristlecone pines, the oldest organisms on the planet.
附近的高山上，狐尾松是地球上最长寿的生物。
Some have been here for five thousand years.
有的在这里已经待了5000年。
They were alive before the pyramids were built and were already three thousand years old when Christ was born.
它们在金字塔建造之前就发芽了，耶稣诞生的时候它们已经活了3000年。

Across the Equator, in the southern hemisphere there are forests that mirror those of the north.
穿越赤道来到南半球，这里的森林如同北半球的翻版。
Here in South America, araucaria trees or monkey puzzles are like the conifers of the Taiga.
这是南美洲，绰号叫“猴子谜”的南洋杉看上去和极地针叶林没什么两样。
They have waterproof scales, instead of needles
它们用防水的鳞片代替了针叶，
and their cones look a little different but the principles are the same.
球果也有些不同，不过它们在本质上还是一样的。
Slender billed parakeets rather than crossbills, extract their seeds.
尖嘴锥尾鹦鹉和交喙鸟一样啄出种籽取食。

视频及简介

在北极边缘有着大片针叶树林，那是矮小的针叶科树木寂静的世界。那些树或许真的很矮，但在高空拍摄下，树林显示出其真实的大小。世界有1/3的树木都生长在这里，在短暂的夏季里，这些树木制造了大量的氧气足以改变的大气的成份。