VOA慢速英语2017 科学家表示没有发现“雪人”

Scientists Find No Evidence of Yeti

For decades, a large creature called a Yeti has been talked about in Western popular culture. It has appeared in films, cartoons, video games and more.

几十年来，西方流行文化一直提到了一种名为雪人的大型生物。它出现在电影、漫画、电子游戏等内容中。

The yeti is large and hairy and walks on two feet. Some people claim they have seen a yeti in the Himalayan Mountains in Asia.

雪人体型巨大、多毛、直立行走。有人宣称他们在喜马拉雅山脉见过雪人。

It has a fearsome reputation.

它的名声非常可怕。

Consider a scene from the American cartoon show, Scooby Doo:

咱们来看看美国动画片《史酷比》中的一个场景：

-Apparently every restaurant that's ever opened here closed down immediately -- under suspicious circumstances.

显然这里所有餐馆都在可疑的情况下立马关闭了。

-Let me guess: Yeti-related circumstances?

让我猜一下：是因为雪人？

-You got it.

你猜对了。

New genetic¹ research suggests that this huge beast may, in fact, exist in the Himalayas.

新的基因研究表明，这种巨大野兽可能真的存在于喜马拉雅山脉。

But it’s probably just a bear.

但是它可能就是熊。

A team of scientists said this week that they had studied the DNA² of nine samples from museums and private collections. All of the samples were said to have come from the yeti.

一队科学家本周表示，他们已经研究了博物馆和私人收藏的9份标本的DNA。这些标本都声称来自于雪人。

They found that eight of the nine samples came from bears – Asian black bears, Himalayan brown bears and Tibetan brown bears, to be exact. The one remaining sample came from a dog, the researchers found.

科学家发现9个标本中，有8个来自于熊，准确地说是亚洲黑熊、喜马拉雅棕熊和西藏棕熊。剩下的一个标本来自于狗。

Charlotte Lindqvist studies bear genetics at the State University of New York at Buffalo³. She is one of the writers of the yeti report published recently in the scientific journal "Proceedings⁴ of the Royal Society B." She said the report’s findings “strongly suggest” that the legend of the yeti is connected closely to bears that live in the mountainous area.

夏洛特·林德奎斯特（Charlotte Lindqvist）在纽约州立大学布法罗分校研究熊类基因学。她是最近发表在科学期刊《英国皇家学会学报B版：生物科学》上的雪人报告的作者之一。她说，该报告的研究结果“充分表明”雪人的传说和栖息在山区的熊密切相关。

Lindqvist called the study the most detailed⁵ research to date of so-called yeti specimens⁷.

林德奎斯特称这项研究是迄今为止对所谓雪人标本进行的最为详细的研究。

While the recent study did not identify a yeti, it did give scientists information about the area’s bear populations.

虽然这项最新研究并未证实雪人，但它确实给科学家提供了关于该地区熊类种群的信息。

The brown bears living high in the Tibetan Plateau and the western Himalayan Mountains appear to belong to two separate bear populations, researchers found. Despite living fairly close to each other, those two populations have been separated for thousands of years, Lindqvist said.

研究人员发现，栖息在青藏高原的棕熊同栖息在喜马拉雅山脉西部的棕熊似乎属于两个不同的熊类种群。林德奎斯特表示，尽管两者的栖息地非常邻近，这两个熊类种群已经分开了几千年。

I'm John Russell.

Words in This Story

decade – n. a period of 10 years

cartoon – n. a film or television show made by photographing a series of drawings : an animated⁸ film or television show

reputation – n. the common opinion that people have about someone or something: the way in which people think of someone or something

fecal – adj. solid waste that is released from the body

specimen⁶ – n. a small amount or piece of something that can be tested or examined

DNA – n. a substance that carries genetic information in the cells of plants and animals — often used before another noun

1 genetic   

adj.遗传的，遗传学的

参考例句：

• It's very difficult to treat genetic diseases.遗传性疾病治疗起来很困难。
• Each daughter cell can receive a full complement of the genetic information.每个子细胞可以收到遗传信息的一个完全补偿物。

2 DNA   

(缩)deoxyribonucleic acid 脱氧核糖核酸

参考例句：

• DNA is stored in the nucleus of a cell.脱氧核糖核酸储存于细胞的细胞核里。
• Gene mutations are alterations in the DNA code.基因突变是指DNA密码的改变。

3 buffalo   

n.(北美)野牛；(亚洲)水牛

参考例句：

• Asian buffalo isn't as wild as that of America's. 亚洲水牛比美洲水牛温顺些。
• The boots are made of buffalo hide. 这双靴子是由水牛皮制成的。

4 proceedings   

n.进程，过程，议程；诉讼(程序)；公报

参考例句：

• He was released on bail pending committal proceedings. 他交保获释正在候审。
• to initiate legal proceedings against sb 对某人提起诉讼

5 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

6 specimen   

n.样本，标本

参考例句：

• You'll need tweezers to hold up the specimen.你要用镊子来夹这标本。
• This specimen is richly variegated in colour.这件标本上有很多颜色。

7 specimens   

n.样品( specimen的名词复数 )；范例；（化验的）抽样；某种类型的人

参考例句：

• Astronauts have brought back specimens of rock from the moon. 宇航员从月球带回了岩石标本。
• The traveler brought back some specimens of the rocks from the mountains. 那位旅行者从山上带回了一些岩石标本。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 animated   

adj.生气勃勃的，活跃的，愉快的

参考例句：

• His observations gave rise to an animated and lively discussion.他的言论引起了一场气氛热烈而活跃的讨论。
• We had an animated discussion over current events last evening.昨天晚上我们热烈地讨论时事。