#每日英文閱讀
Heart-melting picture of two ‘widowed’ penguins comforting each other wins prestigious photography prize
Physical comfort is something we have hugely missed in 2020 - hugs after a hard day, proud pats on the back, and sweet hand squeezes of reassurance.
煎熬一天後互相擁抱、驕傲地拍拍後背、暖心又撫慰地握緊對方的手…肢體接觸帶來的慰藉是 2020 年的我們最想念也最欠缺的一樣事物。
The touching photograph was taken by German photographer Tobias Baumgaertner in Melbourne, and bagged a win at Oceanographic magazine's Ocean Photograph Awards. He spent three full nights watching the penguin colony to gain the shot of two fairy penguins adorably embracing. This award-winning shot of two widowed penguins comforting each other in Australia is a perfect reminder of the primal need for physical intimacy.
這張溫馨的照片由德籍攝影師 Tobias Baumgaertner 在墨爾本所拍攝，贏得了《海洋學雜誌》的海洋攝影大獎。他花了整整三個晚上的時間觀察企鵝巢穴，為的是拍到兩隻神仙企鵝可愛的擁抱瞬間。照片中，兩隻喪偶的小企鵝互相扶持打氣，喚醒了我們對親密肢體接觸的原始渴望。
St Kilda Pier, where the snap was taken, has a colony of around 1,400 fairy penguins, also known as little penguins, known for their lack of height. They are the smallest penguin species, with an average height of just 33cm, and are closely monitored by local volunteers.
本次照片的取景地位於聖科達海灘，那裡有一個神仙企鵝的巢穴，住著大約 1,400 隻的企鵝。神仙企鵝又叫做小企鵝，因為牠們非常矮小，是世界上最小的企鵝，平均身高僅 33 公分，由當地的志工密切觀測。
He wrote on Instagram: "These two Fairy penguins poised upon a rock overlooking the Melbourne skyline were standing there for hours, flipper in flipper, watching the sparkling lights of the skyline and ocean."
Baumgaertner 在 Instagram 上寫道：「這兩隻神仙企鵝靜靜地站在岩石上，眺望墨爾本的天際線長達數小時。牠們的腳丫子緊緊地靠在一起，一同欣賞漫天星空和海洋。」
"A volunteer approached me and told me that the white one was an elderly lady who had lost her partner and apparently so did the younger male to the left. Since then, they meet regularly, comforting each other and standing for hours watching the dancing lights of the nearby city."
「有一名當地的志工聯繫我，告訴我白色的那隻母企鵝年紀比較大，失去了伴侶，而左邊那隻公企鵝年紀比較輕，很明顯也失去了另一半。自此之後，牠們就經常見面，互相安慰彼此，一起站著欣賞附近城市的閃爍燈光好幾個小時。」
"Between not being able or allowed to use any lights and the tiny penguins continuously moving, rubbing their flippers on each other’s backs and cleaning one another, it was really hard to get a shot but i got lucky during one beautiful moment. I hope you enjoy this moment as much as I did," he added.
「因為拍攝時不可以使用任何燈光，再加上小企鵝們非常活潑好動，常常用腳丫磨蹭對方的背、互相清理，要拍到照片真的很困難。但我很幸運，捕捉到這麼美妙的瞬間。我希望你們也都能和我一樣，非常享受這個瞬間。」
Users showed their appreciation of the image, with one commenting: "This is definitely one of the greatest pictures of all time!"
很多人都很喜歡這張照片，有人留言：「這張照片絕對是數一數二的完美作品！」
Another said, "I saved this post! This photo made my day. Especially on the meltdown days due to everything that is our reality. Thank you for capturing this magical moment."
還有人說：「我把照片存下來了！尤其在目前這麼悲慘的狀況中，它能讓我開心一整天。謝謝你捕捉這麼不可思議的瞬間。」
精選單字
reassurance 安慰
bag a win 獲獎
widowed 喪偶的
primal need 原始需求
poise 沉靜
approach 聯絡
make my day 讓我整天都很開心
meltdown 悲慘的
艾咪碎碎念：相信這兩天大家都被小企鵝洗版了吧！真的好可愛 <3 平安夜來點小療癒，預祝大家聖誕快樂！
