2019年经济学人 收拾一只企鹅

 

Leopard¹ seals resemble their terrestrial namesakes in two ways. They have polka-dot pelts².

豹形海豹和它们的大陆同名者两个相似之处。它们都有带圆点的皮毛。

And they are powerful, generally solitary³ carnivores that are quite capable of killing⁴ a human being if they so choose—

它们都是强大而孤独的食肉动物，如果愿意，它们甚至能够杀死一个人

as has indeed happened once, in 2003, when a British marine⁵ biologist was the victim.

正如2003年所发生的那样，当时一名英国海洋生物学家是其受害者。

Curiously⁶, though, there have also been reports of leopard seals behaving in a friendly manner towards people—

但奇怪的是，也有很多报道称，豹形海豹对人类表现得很友好—

apparently⁷ trying to present gifts, in the form of prey⁸, to divers⁹. Until now, there has been no explanation for this philanthropy.

显然它们是想把猎物当成礼物送给潜水者。直到现在，对于这种慈善行为都没有任何解释。

But work just published in Polar Biology by James Robbins of Plymouth University, in Britain,

但英国普利茅斯大学的詹姆斯·罗宾斯在《极地生物学》发表的一篇文章表明

suggests that what the seals are actually looking for is a dining partner.

其实海豹是在寻找一个用餐伙伴。

Mr Robbins and his team were studying leopard seals in the waters around South Georgia,

罗宾斯先生和他的团队正在南乔治亚岛水域研究豹形海豹

an island in the Southern Ocean 1,500km from the tip of the Antarctic peninsula.

这个岛屿位于南大洋，距南极半岛顶端1500公里。

Instead of diving, or watching from ships, they used drones to carry out their observations.

他们没有采取潜水或从船上观察的方式，而是使用无人机进行观察。

These drones recorded hitherto unobserved behaviour on the part of the animals.

这些无人机记录了这些动物迄今未被观察到的行为。

First, belying¹⁰ their solitary reputation, the seals came together in groups to attack king penguins¹²

首先，为了掩饰它们孤独的名声，海豹们成群结队地攻击帝企鹅

(twice the size of the gentoo penguin¹¹ in the photograph) that were entering the sea from a rookery on the island.

（是照片中巴布亚企鹅体型的两倍），这些帝企鹅是从岛上的一个群栖地进入大海的。

Second, when a seal did catch a penguin in these circumstances it would sometimes offer to share it with a neighbour

第二，在此情境中，当有海豹抓住一只企鹅后，有时它愿意和一位邻居共享美餐

in a way reminiscent of divers' tales of gift giving.

这种方式令人回忆起了潜水员们赠送礼物的故事。

What looked like an aberration¹³ might thus be a normal way of behaving. But why?

因此，一种看似怪异的行为可能是一种正常的行为方式。但为什么这样？

Mr Robbins's suggestion is that sharing a penguin with a neighbour makes it easier to eat.

罗宾斯先生认为和一位邻居共享是为了更容易享用企鹅。

A close look at footage the drones recorded shows that seals in such partnerships¹⁴ take it in turns to feed.

仔细看看无人机记录的片段，可以发现海豹在这种伙伴关系中轮流进食。

One holds the bird tight in its jaws¹⁵ while the other rips off a chunk¹⁶ of flesh and swallows it. Then they swap¹⁷ roles.

一只海豹紧紧抓住企鹅的咽喉，另一只撕下一大块肉并吞咽进去。然后它们交换角色。

By contrast, for a lone¹⁸ seal to reduce a penguin to bite-sized chunks¹⁹ means

相比之下，单独一只海豹要把一只企鹅咬成小块，

whipping the prey around in its jaws with as much force as it can muster²⁰, in order to tear lumps of flesh free from the carcass.

这意味着它要使出最大的力气猛击猎物的咽喉，以便从尸体上撕下一块块肉。

This commonly happens, but is thought to be extremely tiring. Better, therefore, to find a buddy²¹ and enjoy a meal together.

种情况经常发生，但被认为是非常麻烦的。因此更好的方式是找一个伙伴，共同享用美餐。

1 leopard   

n.豹

参考例句：

• I saw a man in a leopard skin yesterday.我昨天看见一个穿着豹皮的男人。
• The leopard's skin is marked with black spots.豹皮上有黑色斑点。

2 pelts   

n. 皮毛，投掷, 疾行 vt. 剥去皮毛，（连续）投掷 vi. 猛击，大步走

参考例句：

• He did and Tibetans lit bonfires of the pelts. 他做到了，藏民们点起了篝火把皮毛都烧了。
• Description: A warm cloak fashioned from thick fabric and wolf pelts. 一个由厚布和狼皮做成的暖和的斗篷。

3 solitary   

adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士

参考例句：

• I am rather fond of a solitary stroll in the country.我颇喜欢在乡间独自徜徉。
• The castle rises in solitary splendour on the fringe of the desert.这座城堡巍然耸立在沙漠的边际，显得十分壮美。

4 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

5 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

6 curiously   

adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地

参考例句：

• He looked curiously at the people.他好奇地看着那些人。
• He took long stealthy strides. His hands were curiously cold.他迈着悄没声息的大步。他的双手出奇地冷。

7 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

8 prey   

n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨

参考例句：

• Stronger animals prey on weaker ones.弱肉强食。
• The lion was hunting for its prey.狮子在寻找猎物。

9 divers   

adj.不同的；种种的

参考例句：

• He chose divers of them,who were asked to accompany him.他选择他们当中的几个人，要他们和他作伴。
• Two divers work together while a standby diver remains on the surface.两名潜水员协同工作，同时有一名候补潜水员留在水面上。

10 belying   

v.掩饰，与…不符，使…失望；掩饰( belie的现在分词 )；证明（或显示）…为虚假；辜负；就…扯谎

参考例句：

• Belying its simple graphic design, a T-shirt is now a symbolic medium for designers. 在T恤上面充满简洁的设计，现在已经成为设计师的一个符号化的媒介。 来自互联网
• Gordon Brown, belying his clunking image, has brought tech-savvy communications staff into Downing Street. 布朗已经把精通技术的通讯工作人员带到的唐宁街。 来自互联网

11 penguin   

n.企鹅

参考例句：

• The penguin is a flightless bird.企鹅是一种不会飞的鸟。
• He walked with an awkward gait like a penguin.他走路的步子难看得就像企鹅。

12 penguins   

n.企鹅( penguin的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Why can penguins live in cold environment? 为什么企鹅能生活在寒冷的环境中？ 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Whales, seals, penguins, and turtles have flippers. 鲸、海豹，企鹅和海龟均有鳍形肢。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

13 aberration   

n.离开正路，脱离常规，色差

参考例句：

• The removal of the chromatic aberration is then of primary importance.这时消除色差具有头等重要性。
• Owing to a strange mental aberration he forgot his own name.由于一种莫名的精神错乱，他把自己的名字忘了。

14 partnerships   

n.伙伴关系( partnership的名词复数 )；合伙人身份；合作关系

参考例句：

• Partnerships suffer another major disadvantage: decision-making is shared. 合伙企业的另一主要缺点是决定要由大家来作。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• It involved selling off limited partnerships. 它涉及到售出有限的合伙权。 来自辞典例句

15 jaws   

n.口部；嘴

参考例句：

• The antelope could not escape the crocodile's gaping jaws. 那只羚羊无法从鱷鱼张开的大口中逃脱。
• The scored jaws of a vise help it bite the work. 台钳上有刻痕的虎钳牙帮助它紧咬住工件。

16 chunk   

n.厚片，大块，相当大的部分（数量）

参考例句：

• They had to be careful of floating chunks of ice.他们必须当心大块浮冰。
• The company owns a chunk of farmland near Gatwick Airport.该公司拥有盖特威克机场周边的大片农田。

17 swap   

n.交换；vt.交换，用...作交易

参考例句：

• I will swap you my bicycle for your radio.我想拿我的自行车换你的收音机。
• This comic was a swap that I got from Nick.这本漫画书是我从尼克那里换来的。

18 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。

19 chunks   

厚厚的一块( chunk的名词复数 )； （某物）相当大的数量或部分

参考例句：

• a tin of pineapple chunks 一罐菠萝块
• Those chunks of meat are rather large—could you chop them up a bIt'smaller? 这些肉块相当大，还能再切小一点吗？

20 muster   

v.集合，收集，鼓起，激起；n.集合，检阅，集合人员，点名册

参考例句：

• Go and muster all the men you can find.去集合所有你能找到的人。
• I had to muster my courage up to ask him that question.我必须鼓起勇气向他问那个问题。

21 buddy   

n.（美口）密友，伙伴

参考例句：

• Calm down,buddy.What's the trouble?压压气，老兄。有什么麻烦吗？
• Get out of my way,buddy!别挡道了，你这家伙！