美国国家公共电台 NPR 入侵的蚯蚓正在损害美国和加拿大的森林

Invasive earthworms are taking over forests in parts of the U.S. and Canada

入侵的蚯蚓正在损害美国和加拿大的森林

Earthworms are considered a gardener's best friend, but studies from environmental scientists show that non-native earthworms are harming native species in the northern regions of North America.

蚯蚓被认为是园丁最好的朋友，但环境科学家的研究表明，非本地蚯蚓正在危害北美北部地区的本地物种。

A MARTINEZ, HOST:

马丁内斯，主持人：

Parts of the U.S. and Canada are dealing¹ with hordes² of slimy intruders - earthworms.

美国和加拿大的部分地区正在对付成群的粘糊糊的入侵者——蚯蚓。

MALTE JOCHUM: Basically, whatever you have been used to, whatever you evolved with for the last few thousands of years, will now change.

马特·乔楚姆：基本上，无论你过去习惯了什么，无论你在过去几千年里进化了什么，现在都会改变。

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

莱拉·法德尔，主持人：

That's Malte Jochum. He's a soil ecologist from Leipzig University in Germany and one of the authors of a new study about the impact of invasive earthworms on North American forests.

那是马尔特·乔鸿。他是德国莱比锡大学的土壤生态学家，也是一项关于入侵蚯蚓对北美森林影响的新研究的作者之一。

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

（音乐片段）

UNIDENTIFIED CHORUS: (Singing) Doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo. Doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo.

（唱）嘟嘟，嘟嘟，嘟嘟。嘟嘟，嘟嘟，嘟嘟。

MARTINEZ: Think of worms as nature's happy little workers. They munch³ on fallen leaves and other vegetation and release nutrients⁴ into the soil. But worms from other lands are taking over forests in parts of the U.S. and Canada.

马丁内斯：把虫子想象成大自然快乐的小工人。它们啃食落叶和其他植被，并将养分释放到土壤中。但来自其他国家的蠕虫正在美国和加拿大的部分地区占领森林。

BRUCE SNYDER: There are a whole suite⁵ of earthworms that have been invading for the past several hundred years.

布鲁斯·斯奈德：在过去几百年里，有一整套蚯蚓一直在入侵。

FADEL: Bruce Snyder teaches biology at Georgia College & State University, and he says worms from Europe and Asia hitchhiked to America with tourists, livestock⁶, even leftover⁷ fishing bait. And once they find their way into a forest, they eat everything.

FADEL：布鲁斯·斯奈德（Bruce Snyder）在乔治亚学院和州立大学（Georgia College&State University）教授生物学，他说，来自欧洲和亚洲的蠕虫带着游客、牲畜，甚至是剩余的鱼饵搭便车来到美国。一旦他们找到进入森林的路，他们就会吃掉一切。

SNYDER: They're basically removing the whole forest floor. They're eating all the leaf litter, all the partially⁸ decomposed⁹ litter. And that can drastically change a system.

斯奈德：他们基本上是在清除整个森林地面。他们在吃所有的落叶和部分腐烂的落叶。这会极大地改变一个系统。

MARTINEZ: The worms are so ravenous¹⁰ they destroy the ground cover that insects rely on. And as insects fade away, all kinds of plants and animals are at risk.

马丁内斯：这些虫子非常贪婪，它们会破坏昆虫赖以生存的地面覆盖物。随着昆虫逐渐消失，各种植物和动物都面临着危险。

SNYDER: Changing one aspect of the system almost always changes other aspects. That's one of the reasons this recent study is really concerning - is, you know, it's not just the insects; it's - everything in that system is being impacted.

SNYDER：改变系统的一个方面几乎总是改变其他方面。这是最近这项研究真正令人担忧的原因之一——你知道，这不仅仅是昆虫；这是——系统中的一切都受到了影响。

FADEL: Jochum has tips for people who want to help contain the spread of malicious¹¹ earthworms.

FADEL：Jochum为那些希望帮助遏制恶意蚯蚓传播的人提供了一些建议。

JOCHUM: If you take your bike or you go for a hiking trip in remote areas, clean your tires and boots before you go, and never leave unused fishing bait anywhere. Just take it back home.

JOCHUM：如果你骑自行车或去偏远地区徒步旅行，在出发前要清洁轮胎和靴子，不要将未使用的鱼饵留在任何地方。把它带回家。

MARTINEZ: Remember; only you can stop good earthworms from inching toward the dark side.

马丁内斯：记住；只有你才能阻止好蚯蚓慢慢走向黑暗面。

1 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

2 hordes   

n.移动着的一大群( horde的名词复数 )；部落

参考例句：

• There are always hordes of tourists here in the summer. 夏天这里总有成群结队的游客。
• Hordes of journalists jostled for position outside the conference hall. 大群记者在会堂外争抢位置。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 munch   

v.用力嚼，大声咀嚼

参考例句：

• We watched her munch through two packets of peanuts.我们看她津津有味地嚼了两包花生米。
• Getting them to munch on vegetable dishes was more difficult.使他们吃素菜就比较困难了。

4 nutrients   

n.（食品或化学品）营养物，营养品( nutrient的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a lack of essential nutrients 基本营养的缺乏
• Nutrients are absorbed into the bloodstream. 营养素被吸收进血液。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 suite   

n.一套(家具)；套房；随从人员

参考例句：

• She has a suite of rooms in the hotel.她在那家旅馆有一套房间。
• That is a nice suite of furniture.那套家具很不错。

6 livestock   

n.家畜，牲畜

参考例句：

• Both men and livestock are flourishing.人畜两旺。
• The heavy rains and flooding killed scores of livestock.暴雨和大水淹死了许多牲口。

7 leftover   

n.剩货，残留物，剩饭；adj.残余的

参考例句：

• These narrow roads are a leftover from the days of horse-drawn carriages.这些小道是从马车时代沿用下来的。
• Wonder if that bakery lets us take leftover home.不知道那家糕饼店会不会让我们把卖剩的带回家。

8 partially   

adv.部分地，从某些方面讲

参考例句：

• The door was partially concealed by the drapes.门有一部分被门帘遮住了。
• The police managed to restore calm and the curfew was partially lifted.警方设法恢复了平静，宵禁部分解除。

9 decomposed   

已分解的，已腐烂的

参考例句：

• A liquid is decomposed when an electric current passes through it. 当电流通过时，液体就分解。
• Water can be resolved [decomposed] into hydrogen and oxygen. 水可分解为氢和氧。

10 ravenous   

adj.极饿的，贪婪的

参考例句：

• The ravenous children ate everything on the table.饿极了的孩子把桌上所有东西吃掉了。
• Most infants have a ravenous appetite.大多数婴儿胃口极好。

11 malicious   

adj.有恶意的，心怀恶意的

参考例句：

• You ought to kick back at such malicious slander. 你应当反击这种恶毒的污蔑。
• Their talk was slightly malicious.他们的谈话有点儿心怀不轨。