《里约大冒险》蓝鹦鹉原型去世

 　　The bird was a Spix's macaw named Presley, and he was around 40 years old when he died Wednesday. He was thought to be the second-to-last of the remaining wild-born parrots.

　　这是一只斯皮克斯金刚鹦鹉，名叫普雷斯利。周三那天它离世了，约四十岁，被认为是世上最后倒数第二只野生斯皮克斯金刚鹦鹉。

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　　Presley's death is a blow to conservation efforts in both a symbolic¹ and literal sense. Critically endangered, these native Brazilian birds (Cyanopsitta spixii) are believed to be extinct in the wild. Decades of deforestation and rampant² wildlife trafficking have besieged³ the medium-size macaws, who also ended up having to compete for nest space with introduced Africanized honeybees.

　　无论是象征意义上或是实际上，普雷斯利的死都是对保育界的努力的一大打击。这些本土的巴西雀(斯皮克斯金刚鹦鹉)属于濒危物种，估计已经在野外灭绝。多年来的森林砍伐和猖獗的野生动物走私已经逼使这种中型金刚鹦鹉走投无路，更要与新引进的非洲化蜜蜂(杀人蜂)争夺筑巢之所。

　　Now, the fewer than 100 remaining Spix's macaws are cloistered⁴ in captive breeding programs and refuges throughout the world—and the small population is vulnerable to genetic⁵ defects caused by inbreeding. Presley offered the opportunity to inject some much-needed genetic diversity into the population.

　　目前，只有少于100只斯皮克斯金刚鹦鹉存活，它们被隔离在养殖计划里接受监控，在全球各国之间寻求避难所。其中，有少数的鹦鹉更因为近亲繁殖而容易产生基因缺陷。普雷斯利是这群斯皮克斯金刚鹦鹉的希望，可以给予它们很迫切需要的不同基因。

　　But he left no offspring.

　　但他并没有留下任何后代。

　　There are reports that Presley himself influenced the 2011 movie Rio, an animated⁶ film that tells the tale of a lone⁷ male Spix's macaw. Found living in the United States, the bird, named Blu, is initially⁸ unable to fly. But he returns to Brazil and finds the only other known surviving member of his species, a female named Jewel. Together, the two movie macaws battle wildlife traffickers and eventually start a small family.

　　有报告指出，普雷斯利影响了2011年的动画影片《里约大冒险》。那是有关一只雄性的斯皮克斯金刚鹦鹉的故事。布鲁生活在美国，本来不会飞。但它回到了巴西后找到了唯一一只已知存活的雌性同类——珠儿。这两隻鹦鹉携手协力，与野生动物贩卖者抗争，最后组建了自己的小家庭。

　　Director Carlos Saldanha has said he hoped the movie would raise awareness⁹ of the challenges facing endangered birds in Brazil. "I wanted [to feature] the rarest bird," he told the website Bird Channel in 2011. "The Spix's macaw truly is the rarest."

　　卡洛斯·沙尔丹哈导演说希望这部电影可以提高大众对巴西濒危鸟类的关注，了解它们所面对的挑战。2011年时他告诉网站鸟类频道（Bird Channel），“我想拍摄有关最稀有的鸟类的故事，斯皮克斯金刚鹦鹉的确就是最稀有的。”

　　Released this year, an optimistic sequel, Rio 2, follows Blu and Jewel as they encounter a hidden population of Spix's macaws in the Brazilian Amazon.

　　续集《里约大冒险2》 将于今年上映，故事讲述布鲁和珠儿在巴西亚马逊，遇上一群此前未知存在的斯皮克斯金刚鹦鹉的故事。

1 symbolic   

adj.象征性的，符号的，象征主义的

参考例句：

• It is symbolic of the fighting spirit of modern womanhood.它象征着现代妇女的战斗精神。
• The Christian ceremony of baptism is a symbolic act.基督教的洗礼仪式是一种象征性的做法。

2 rampant   

adj.(植物)蔓生的；狂暴的，无约束的

参考例句：

• Sickness was rampant in the area.该地区疾病蔓延。
• You cannot allow children to rampant through the museum.你不能任由小孩子在博物馆里乱跑。

3 besieged   

包围，围困，围攻( besiege的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Paris was besieged for four months and forced to surrender. 巴黎被围困了四个月后被迫投降。
• The community besieged the newspaper with letters about its recent editorial. 公众纷纷来信对报社新近发表的社论提出诘问，弄得报社应接不暇。

4 cloistered   

adj.隐居的，躲开尘世纷争的v.隐退，使与世隔绝( cloister的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• the cloistered world of the university 与世隔绝的大学
• She cloistered herself in the office. 她呆在办公室里好像与世隔绝一样。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 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。

6 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。

7 lone   

adj.孤寂的，单独的；唯一的

参考例句：

• A lone sea gull flew across the sky.一只孤独的海鸥在空中飞过。
• She could see a lone figure on the deserted beach.她在空旷的海滩上能看到一个孤独的身影。

8 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

9 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。