新奇事件簿 澳大利亚宽带网络被鸟群袭击

Australia's high-speed, state-of-the-art broadband network is under attack from thousands of birds. The birds doing the damage are Australia's ubiquitous and colourful cockatoos. They have taken a liking¹ for chewing the broadband cables that criss-cross Australian towns and cities. They are causing hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage to the cables. The National Broadband Network (NBN) company that maintains the fibre-optic cables reports that they need to spend around $60,000 each time they are called out to fix the cables. The birds' handiwork is also causing great frustration² to Internet users across the country. Internet users have reported Internet outages and painfully slow speeds.

澳大利亚最先进的高速宽带网络被数千只鸟袭击。肇事的是澳大利亚随处可见的色彩斑斓的美冠鹦鹉。他们喜欢咀嚼贯穿澳大利亚城镇的宽带网线。它们对这些宽带造成了数十万元的破坏。维修光纤的全国宽带网络公司(NBN)报道称，每次他们外出维修这些网线都需要花费大约6万美元。这些鸟的行为还导致全国各地的互联网用户非常沮丧。互联网用户报告网络中断或者网速很慢。

Cockatoos are a type of parrot which normally eats fruit, nuts, wood and bark. A spokeswoman from NBN said she was at a loss as to why the birds had become partial to chewing the cables. She guessed that it was the colourful plastic that encased the power lines and broadband cables. She told reporters: "They are constantly sharpening their beaks³ and as a result will attack and tear apart anything they come across. Unfortunately, they've developed a liking to our cables." She joked: "You wouldn’t think it was possible, but these birds are unstoppable when in a swarm⁴. I guess that's Australia for you; if the spiders and snakes don't get you, the cockatoos will."

美冠鹦鹉是一种鹦鹉，通常情况下食用水果，坚果，木头和树皮。来自NBN的一名女发言人表示，至于这些鸟为什么偏爱网线，她也非常困惑。她猜测是因为包裹电线和网线的塑料颜色非常鲜艳。她告诉记者：“它们要经常磨砺自己的嘴巴，因此会袭击和撕裂它们遇到的任何物品。不幸的是，它们逐渐发展出了对我们的网线的偏好。”她开玩笑说：“你肯定认为这是不可能的。但是这些鸟群行凶的时候你根本制止不了。我猜将来在澳大利亚，就算蜘蛛和蛇不袭击你，美冠鹦鹉也会袭击你。”

1 liking   

n.爱好；嗜好；喜欢

参考例句：

• The word palate also means taste or liking.Palate这个词也有“口味”或“嗜好”的意思。
• I must admit I have no liking for exaggeration.我必须承认我不喜欢夸大其词。

2 frustration   

n.挫折，失败，失效，落空

参考例句：

• He had to fight back tears of frustration.他不得不强忍住失意的泪水。
• He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration.他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。

3 beaks   

n.鸟嘴( beak的名词复数 )；鹰钩嘴；尖鼻子；掌权者

参考例句：

• Baby cockatoos will have black eyes and soft, almost flexible beaks. 雏鸟凤头鹦鹉黑色的眼睛是柔和的，嘴几乎是灵活的。 来自互联网
• Squid beaks are often found in the stomachs of sperm whales. 经常能在抹香鲸的胃里发现鱿鱼的嘴。 来自互联网

4 swarm   

n.(昆虫)等一大群；vi.成群飞舞；蜂拥而入

参考例句：

• There is a swarm of bees in the tree.这树上有一窝蜜蜂。
• A swarm of ants are moving busily.一群蚂蚁正在忙碌地搬家。