纪录片《我们的地球》 第158期 富饶丛林(13)

These bullet ants are showing some worrying symptoms.

这只子弹蚁正在现出令人担忧的症状。

Spores¹ from a parasitic² fungus³ called Cordyceps have infiltrated⁴ their bodies and their minds.

一种叫做虫草的寄生菌的孢子已经侵入了它的身心。

Its infected brain directs this ant upwards⁵.

寄生孢子直接入侵大脑。

Then, utterly⁶ disoriented, it grips a stem with its mandibles.

失去了方向感的子弹蚁只好用下颚咬住茎。

Those afflicted⁷ that are discovered by the workers are quickly taken away and dumped far away from the colony.

这些病蚁迅速被工蚁发现并把它弄到了远离巢穴的地方。

It seems extreme, but this is the reason why.

这看上去有些极端，不过不是没有道理的。

Like something out of science fiction, the fruiting body of the Cordyceps erupts from the ant's head.

有几分像科幻小说，虫草的子实体从蚂蚁脑袋里长出来。

It can take three weeks to grow, and when finished, the deadly spores will burst from its tip.

3个星期的生长期，长成后，孢子将从蚂蚁的头顶脱落。

Then any ant in the vicinity will be in serious risk of death.

然后,附近的蚂蚁将面临死亡的威胁。

The fungus is so virulent⁸ it can wipe out whole colonies of ants.

这种剧毒的菌类足以杀死整个蚂蚁群落。

And it's not just ants that fall victim to this killer⁹.

而且它们杀死的不仅仅是蚂蚁。

There are literally¹⁰ thousands of different types of Cordyceps fungi¹¹

大约有1千种不同的有毒寄生菌，

and, remarkably¹², each specialises on just one species.

而且它们都归属于同一物种。

But these attacks do have a positive effect on the jungle's diversity,

这种攻击对雨林生物多样性起肯定作用

since parasites¹³ like these stop any one group of animal getting the upper hand.

这种寄生虫能阻止某种生物种群的优势。

The more numerous a species becomes, the more likely it will be attacked by its nemesis¹⁴, a Cordyceps fungus.

越多的物种产生，就会遭到越多的寄生菌攻击。

1 spores   

n.（细菌、苔藓、蕨类植物）孢子( spore的名词复数 )v.（细菌、苔藓、蕨类植物）孢子( spore的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Ferns, mosses and fungi spread by means of spores. 蕨类植物、苔藓和真菌通过孢子传播蔓生。
• Spores form a lipid membrane during the process of reproducing. 孢于在生殖过程中形成类脂膜。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 预防生物武器

2 parasitic   

adj.寄生的

参考例句：

• Will global warming mean the spread of tropical parasitic diseases?全球变暖是否意味着热带寄生虫病会蔓延呢？
• By definition,this way of life is parasitic.从其含义来说，这是种寄生虫的生活方式。

3 fungus   

n.真菌，真菌类植物

参考例句：

• Mushrooms are a type of fungus.蘑菇是一种真菌。
• This fungus can just be detected by the unaided eye.这种真菌只用肉眼就能检查出。

4 infiltrated   

adj.[医]浸润的v.（使）渗透，（指思想）渗入人的心中( infiltrate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The headquarters had been infiltrated by enemy spies. 总部混入了敌方特务。
• Many Chinese idioms have infiltrated into the Japanese language. 许多中国成语浸透到日语中。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

5 upwards   

adv.向上，在更高处...以上

参考例句：

• The trend of prices is still upwards.物价的趋向是仍在上涨。
• The smoke rose straight upwards.烟一直向上升。

6 utterly   

adv.完全地，绝对地

参考例句：

• Utterly devoted to the people,he gave his life in saving his patients.他忠于人民，把毕生精力用于挽救患者的生命。
• I was utterly ravished by the way she smiled.她的微笑使我完全陶醉了。

7 afflicted   

使受痛苦，折磨( afflict的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• About 40% of the country's population is afflicted with the disease. 全国40%左右的人口患有这种疾病。
• A terrible restlessness that was like to hunger afflicted Martin Eden. 一阵可怕的、跟饥饿差不多的不安情绪折磨着马丁·伊登。

8 virulent   

adj.有毒的，有恶意的，充满敌意的

参考例句：

• She is very virulent about her former employer.她对她过去的老板恨之入骨。
• I stood up for her despite the virulent criticism.尽管她遭到恶毒的批评，我还是维护她。

9 killer   

n.杀人者，杀人犯，杀手，屠杀者

参考例句：

• Heart attacks have become Britain's No.1 killer disease.心脏病已成为英国的头号致命疾病。
• The bulk of the evidence points to him as her killer.大量证据证明是他杀死她的。

10 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

11 fungi   

n.真菌，霉菌

参考例句：

• Students practice to apply the study of genetics to multicellular plants and fungi.学生们练习把基因学应用到多细胞植物和真菌中。
• The lawn was covered with fungi.草地上到处都是蘑菇。

12 remarkably   

ad.不同寻常地，相当地

参考例句：

• I thought she was remarkably restrained in the circumstances. 我认为她在那种情况下非常克制。
• He made a remarkably swift recovery. 他康复得相当快。

13 parasites   

寄生物( parasite的名词复数 )； 靠他人为生的人； 诸虫

参考例句：

• These symptoms may be referable to virus infection rather than parasites. 这些症状也许是由病毒感染引起的，而与寄生虫无关。
• Kangaroos harbor a vast range of parasites. 袋鼠身上有各种各样的寄生虫。

14 nemesis   

n.给以报应者，复仇者，难以对付的敌手

参考例句：

• Uncritical trust is my nemesis.盲目的相信一切害了我自己。
• Inward suffering is the worst of Nemesis.内心的痛苦是最厉害的惩罚。