英文摘选自National Geographic
As the sky brightens
天色渐明
I see that the 12 pillars are hooded falcons on perches
方才得知12根圆柱阴影是12只戴着眼罩的隼栖息在立柱上
silently awaiting the day's training
默默地等待着新的一天的训练
There are chocolate and cream peregrines, white speckled gyrfalcons, dusky brown sakers, and hybrids of different species
有黄白相间的游隼，白斑矛隼，暗棕色的猎隼，以及其他杂交品种
Together the group contains lineages that cut across Europe, Asia, and the wilds of the Arctic
这12只鸟的血统来源横跨欧洲、亚洲、北冰洋荒地
They represent only a few of the hundreds of birds the sheikh owns
然而，它们只是酋长拥有的上百只鸟中的一小部分
which arguably compose one of the most exquisite collections of falcons ever assembled
可以说，这应该是有史以来最精锐的隼鸟部队之一
Pani, one of the sheikh's aides, hands me a cup of tea and hustles to prepare the lure for the first trainee
帕尼是酋长的一名助手。他给我倒了一杯茶，然后便忙着去准备第一只待训练隼鸟的诱饵
"Good morning, Howard," the sheikh calls out to the lanky, bald man in glasses standing next to me
“早上好，哈维。”酋长向站在我身边戴着眼镜，身材瘦长的光头男人打招呼
Howard Waller, 57, is his falcon breeder, friend, and confidant
哈维·沃勒今年57岁了，是酋长的训隼员，朋友，知己
The sheikh's voice is bright and full of enthusiasm, and the two men immediately spiral into a spirited, hopscotching discussion of falcon esoterica
酋长的嗓音明亮且富有热情，两个人立马就把话题转移到激烈的，东拉西扯的神秘隼鸟知识探讨中。
In the distance Maktoum slips the leather hood off the falcon's head and release it.
在远处，马克图姆轻松摘下隼鸟头上的皮质眼罩，然后将其放飞
The bird beats its large, powerful wings and climbs high into the crisp air
鸟儿拍打着它硕大且强有力的翅膀，冲向寒冷的高空中
immediately spots the lure, and flies toward it
瞬间锁定了诱饵，并飞向它
its head of following the arcs of the swinging wing
它的头随着翅膀沿弧线移动
Sheikh Butti calls to it:"Hah!"
布蒂酋长向它喊道：“哈！”
The falcon swiftly gains altitude, banks hard, and dives on the lure
隼鸟迅速冲向高空，猛地倾斜，然后俯冲向诱饵
but at the last second, the sheikh jerks the wing away
然而，在最后一秒，酋长猛地拉走了诱饵，隼鸟错失了目标
Over centuries, the practice of catching and training falcons proliferated in cultures throughout the known world
几个世纪以来，就我们已知的社会文化而言，捕捉、训练隼鸟正迅速流行开来
King Tut was buried wearing a falcon pendant
图特王下葬时佩戴着隼鸟垂饰
The Greeks struck coins depicting Zeus with a falcon
希腊人铸造的硬币上印有宙斯和隼鸟的图案
One of the earliest Japanese falconers, a woman, wrote a treatise on the subject
一名日本妇女，也是最早的训隼员之一，曾就训隼有专门的论著
Norse merchants traded gyrfalcons from Iceland throughout Europe
挪威商人将爱尔兰的矛隼卖到欧洲大陆各地
and the economy of the Dutch city Valkenswaard depended almost exclusively on the trade of falcons
荷兰城市范肯斯沃德的经济则在很大程度上完全依赖于隼鸟贸易
