2020年经济学人 为什么海龟吃塑料垃圾(2)

To test that idea, he and his colleagues set up an experiment involving loggerhead turtles, a species frequently killed by plastic.

为了验证这个想法，他和他的同事们做了一个实验，实验对象是经常被塑料杀死的红海龟。

They arranged for 15 of the animals, each around five months old, to be exposed, in random¹ order,

他们安排了15只动物，每只大约5个月大，按照随机的顺序，让它们闻四种气味，

to four odours delivered through a pipe to the air above an experimental arena².

这些气味通过管道输送到实验场地上方的空气中。

The odours were: the vapour from deionised water; the smell of turtle-feeding pellets made of shrimp³ and fish meal;

这四种气味是：去离子水的蒸汽；由虾和鱼粉制成的喂海龟的小丸的味道

the smell of a clean plastic bottle chopped up into ten pieces;

一个被切成10块的干净的塑料瓶的味道；

and the smell of a similarly chopped bottle that had been kept in the ocean for five weeks to allow algae⁴ and bacteria to grow on it.

以及类似被切块的瓶子的味道，这个瓶子在海洋里漂了五周，上边长满了海藻和细菌。

Two of the smells proved far more attractive to the animals than the others.

事实证明，其中两种气味对动物的吸引力要比其他气味大得多。

When sniffing⁵ both the odour of food pellets and that of five-week-old bottles

当海龟闻食物颗粒的气味和那个五周瓶子的气味时，

turtles kept their nostrils⁶ out of the water more than three times as long,

它们鼻子离水时间是闻到新鲜塑料瓶或去离子水蒸汽气味时的三倍，

and took twice as many breaths as they did when what was on offer was the smell of fresh bottle-plastic or deionised-water vapour.

呼吸的次数是闻到新鲜塑料瓶或去离子水蒸汽气味时的两倍。

On the face of it, then, the turtles were responding to the smell of old bottles as if it were the smell of food.

从表面上看，海龟对旧瓶子的气味的反应就像闻到食物的气味一样。

Though they have not yet tested whether dimethyl sulphide is the culprit,

尽管他们还没有测试过是否二甲基硫化物是罪魁祸首，

Dr Pfaller and his colleagues think it is the most likely candidate.

但Pfaller博士和他的同事认为它是最有可能的候选者。

In an unpolluted ocean, pretty well anything which had this smell would be edible—or, at least, harmless.

在一个没有污染的海洋里，任何有这种气味的东西都是可以食用的——或者至少是无害的。

Unfortunately, five-week-old plastic bottles and their like are not.

不幸的是，漂浮五周的塑料瓶和类似的东西却不是。

1 random   

adj.随机的；任意的；n.偶然的(或随便的)行动

参考例句：

• The list is arranged in a random order.名单排列不分先后。
• On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。

2 arena   

n.竞技场，运动场所；竞争场所，舞台

参考例句：

• She entered the political arena at the age of 25. 她25岁进入政界。
• He had not an adequate arena for the exercise of his talents.他没有充分发挥其才能的场所。

3 shrimp   

n.虾，小虾；矮小的人

参考例句：

• When the shrimp farm is built it will block the stream.一旦养虾场建起来，将会截断这条河流。
• When it comes to seafood,I like shrimp the best.说到海鲜，我最喜欢虾。

4 algae   

n.水藻，海藻

参考例句：

• Most algae live in water.多数藻类生长在水中。
• Algae grow and spread quickly in the lake.湖中水藻滋蔓。

5 sniffing   

n.探查法v.以鼻吸气，嗅，闻( sniff的现在分词 )；抽鼻子（尤指哭泣、患感冒等时出声地用鼻子吸气）；抱怨，不以为然地说

参考例句：

• We all had colds and couldn't stop sniffing and sneezing. 我们都感冒了，一个劲地抽鼻子，打喷嚏。
• They all had colds and were sniffing and sneezing. 他们都伤风了，呼呼喘气而且打喷嚏。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

6 nostrils   

鼻孔( nostril的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Her nostrils flared with anger. 她气得两个鼻孔都鼓了起来。
• The horse dilated its nostrils. 马张大鼻孔。