VOA慢速英语2016 科学家拍摄到神秘动物薮犬图片

Cameras Capture Pictures of Mysterious Bush Dog 科学家拍摄到神秘动物薮犬图片

Scientists say they have captured photographs of one of the most mysterious known animals: bush dogs.

科学家称捕捉到最神秘动物薮犬的图片。

Bush dogs live in Central and South America.  They are a rarely seen and threatened species. But the photos suggest they may be more common than scientists thought.

薮犬生活在中南美洲，是一种罕见的濒危物种，但图片表明它们可能比科学家所认为的要更常见。

Scientists used cameras that take photos in the forest when an animal passes by. Photos of the bush dogs were taken in wild areas of Panama. The traps can be found across the country from its Costa Rican border to its border with Colombia.

科学家在森林中使用一种能在动物经过时拍照的相机，他们在巴拿马野地里拍到了薮犬，从巴拿马与哥斯达黎加边境到与哥伦比亚接壤处各地都安置了这种设备。

Ricardo Moreno is a research associate for the Smithsonian Institution. He and a team of biologists from Yaguará, Panama are studying large, wild mammals in that country. He says, “The bush dog is one of the rarest species that we photograph.”

理查德·莫雷诺是史密森学会的研究助理，他和来自巴拿马亚瓜拉的一个生物学家团队在研究该国的大型野生哺乳动物，他说，“薮犬是我们拍摄到的最罕见物种之一。”

The researchers describe the animals as “short-legged and stubby, standing¹ only about a foot (30cm) tall at the shoulder.”

研究者们称这种动物“腿短而粗壮，站起来从脚到肩部的身长大约30厘米。”

Like other dogs, bush dogs hunt in packs of up to 10. They are known to communicate to each other using “high-pitched whines³.” They eat mostly large forest rodents⁵.

薮犬像狗一样10来个成群地捕食，据悉它们使用尖叫声来进行交流，主要以大型森林鼠类为食。

The bush dog is so elusive⁶ that photos of the animal were made only 11 times over 32,000 camera days. That is the number of cameras multiplied by the days in operation.

薮犬行踪很神秘，所以在32000个拍照日里只拍到它们11次，拍照日是摄像机的数量乘以拍照的天数。

The International Union for Conservation of Nature says bush dog populations have dropped by up to 25 percent over the past 12 years. It is considered a “near-threatened” species.

国际自然保护联盟称过去12年间薮犬的数量减少了25%，已被视为是“接近濒危的”物种。

Humans do not hunt or directly threaten bush dogs. But, habitat loss is affecting their numbers. They live mainly in rainforests. Scientists think the animals may require large forest spaces to survive. It is estimated that Panama lost 15 percent of its rainforest from 1990 to 2010.

人类并不捕猎薮犬或直接威胁到它们，但栖息地的缩减在影响到其数量，它们主要生活在热带雨林。科学家认为这种动物可能需要广阔的森林空间才能存活，估计在1998年到2010年间巴拿马的热带雨林面积缩减了15%。

Words in This Story

pack - n. a group of usually wild animals that hunt together?

whine² - v. to make a high, crying sound?

rodent⁴ - n. a small animal (such as a mouse, rat, squirrel, or beaver) that has sharp front teeth?

elusive - adj. hard to find or capture?

habitat - n. the place or type of place where a plant or animal naturally or normally lives or grows

1 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

2 whine   

v.哀号，号哭；n.哀鸣

参考例句：

• You are getting paid to think,not to whine.支付给你工资是让你思考而不是哀怨的。
• The bullet hit a rock and rocketed with a sharp whine.子弹打在一块岩石上，一声尖厉的呼啸，跳飞开去。

3 whines   

n.悲嗥声( whine的名词复数 )；哀鸣者v.哀号( whine的第三人称单数 )；哀诉，诉怨

参考例句：

• The colony whines a centerless loud drone that vibrates the neighborhood. 蜂群嗡嗡喧闹的哀鸣振动邻里。 来自互联网
• The web whines with the sound of countless mosquitoes and flies trapped in its folds. 蜘蛛网内发出无数只被困在蜘蛛丝间的蚊子与苍蝇所发出来的声音。 来自互联网

4 rodent   

n.啮齿动物；adj.啮齿目的

参考例句：

• When there is a full moon,this nocturnal rodent is careful to stay in its burrow.月圆之夜，这种夜间活动的啮齿类动物会小心地呆在地洞里不出来。
• This small rodent can scoop out a long,narrow tunnel in a very short time.这种小啮齿动物能在很短的时间里挖出一条又长又窄的地道来。

5 rodents   

n.啮齿目动物( rodent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Rodents carry diseases and are generally regarded as pests. 啮齿目动物传播疾病，常被当作害虫对待。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Some wild rodents in Africa also harbor the virus. 在非洲，有些野生啮齿动物也是储毒者。 来自辞典例句

6 elusive   

adj.难以表达(捉摸)的；令人困惑的；逃避的

参考例句：

• Try to catch the elusive charm of the original in translation.翻译时设法把握住原文中难以捉摸的风韵。
• Interpol have searched all the corners of the earth for the elusive hijackers.国际刑警组织已在世界各地搜查在逃的飞机劫持者。