纪录片《南太平洋》 第122期 水火相容（27）

The National Park had cause to be concerned.

国家公园是有理由顾虑的

Disaster had nearly struck Isabela Island,the very place Richard hoped to film the penguins².

灾难几乎打垮伊莎贝拉岛，那里正是理查德要拍摄企鹅的地方

Just a few introduced goats multiplied to a staggering 100,000.

起初引进的几只山羊成倍繁殖变成惊人的10万只

Their indiscriminate grazing devastated³ the landscape,

它们不加区别地吃草毁坏景致

destroying the shade and food of the unique giant tortoises.

毁掉了隐蔽地方和独特大陆龟的食物

Something had to be done.

有些事不得不这样做

The government of Ecuador took on the battle,

厄瓜多尔政府发起一场战斗

and, against all odds⁴, managed to eradicate⁵ every goat.

要根除每只山羊尽管困难

With the goats gone, the landscape quickly recovered,

由于山羊的离去，景致立马恢复

and the population of the island's precious giant tortoises increased.

岛民珍贵的大陆龟增加了

The goat invasion did not affect the penguins.

山羊的入侵没有影响企鹅

But the penguins have other pressures,and not all man made.

但企鹅有其它的压力，并不全是人为的

Galpagos penguins are the most northerly penguins in the world.

加拉帕戈斯企鹅是世上最北面的企鹅

And they can only live here because of the cold, nutrient-rich current,

它们能生活在这是因为有寒冷而富于养分的洋流

flowing all the way from the Antarctic, which supports huge shoals of fish...penguin¹ food.

从南极一路漂来，供养着大片的鱼群...企鹅的食物

But just a small change in water temperature can dramatically alter this food source.

只要水温轻微的变化就会彻底改变食物来源

And that is exactly what happened.

这究竟怎么发生的

1 penguin   

n.企鹅

参考例句：

• The penguin is a flightless bird.企鹅是一种不会飞的鸟。
• He walked with an awkward gait like a penguin.他走路的步子难看得就像企鹅。

2 penguins   

n.企鹅( penguin的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Why can penguins live in cold environment? 为什么企鹅能生活在寒冷的环境中？ 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Whales, seals, penguins, and turtles have flippers. 鲸、海豹，企鹅和海龟均有鳍形肢。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

3 devastated   

v.彻底破坏( devastate的过去式和过去分词)；摧毁；毁灭；在感情上（精神上、财务上等）压垮adj.毁坏的；极为震惊的

参考例句：

• The bomb devastated much of the old part of the city. 这颗炸弹炸毁了旧城的一大片地方。
• His family is absolutely devastated. 他的一家感到极为震惊。

4 odds   

n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别

参考例句：

• The odds are 5 to 1 that she will win.她获胜的机会是五比一。
• Do you know the odds of winning the lottery once?你知道赢得一次彩票的几率多大吗？

5 eradicate   

v.根除，消灭，杜绝

参考例句：

• These insects are very difficult to eradicate.这些昆虫很难根除。
• They are already battling to eradicate illnesses such as malaria and tetanus.他们已经在努力消灭疟疾、破伤风等疾病。