美国国家公共电台 NPR--Encore: Florida is again pitted in a battle with the giant African land snail

Encore: Florida is again pitted in a battle with the giant African land snail¹

Transcript²

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

OK, Florida cannot seem to get rid of an invasive, disease-spreading pest. The giant African land snail can grow up to 8 inches long, which is the length of an iPad mini or a banana. And for the third time, the state is fighting them. WUSF's Jessica Meszaros reports.

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JESSICA MESZAROS, BYLINE³: The giant African land snail is not your garden-variety species. It can grow up to 8 inches long. It'll devour⁴ your plants. It can give you meningitis because it carries the rat lungworm parasite⁵, and it can eat your house. Bryan Benson is with Florida's Agricultural Department.

BRYAN BENSON: They crawl up the sides of houses, absorbing calcium⁶ out of the stucco and leaving fecal matter under the eaves.

MESZAROS: Florida officials thought they'd done away with the snails⁷ in South Florida last year after a 10-year battle, but two weeks ago, they turned up 300 miles away in a home garden. Since then, more than a thousand have been collected in an area of Pasco County, which is now under quarantine. Benson says one big worry is that these mollusks reproduce quickly.

BENSON: If they were established, your agricultural crops would fail. Snails would consume them as they were growing.

MESZAROS: It's not clear how these snails entered Florida again. They're different than the ones found previously⁸. Those had gray-brown flesh. These are white, which is the more prized color in the illegal pet trade. It's against the law to import or possess these snails in the U.S. without a permit, though Benson says people do.

BENSON: They are intercepted⁹ throughout the country - I mean, at all major ports, coming in from other parts of the world, usually intercepted on passengers.

MESZAROS: The quarantine in Pasco County will last about three years. Labrador retrievers trained to sniff¹⁰ out the snails are hot on their trail, and snail bait is being laid. Authorities warn people not to touch the snails if they find one and to contact them.

For NPR News, I'm Jessica Meszaros in Tampa.

(SOUNDBITE OF VUREZ'S "GLORIOUS CRYSTAL GLEAM")

1 snail   

n.蜗牛

参考例句：

• Snail is a small plant-eating creature with a soft body.蜗牛是一种软体草食动物。
• Time moved at a snail's pace before the holidays.放假前的时间过得很慢。

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 devour   

v.吞没；贪婪地注视或谛听，贪读；使着迷

参考例句：

• Larger fish devour the smaller ones.大鱼吃小鱼。
• Beauty is but a flower which wrinkle will devour.美只不过是一朵，终会被皱纹所吞噬。

5 parasite   

n.寄生虫；寄生菌；食客

参考例句：

• The lazy man was a parasite on his family.那懒汉是家里的寄生虫。
• I don't want to be a parasite.I must earn my own way in life.我不想做寄生虫，我要自己养活自己。

6 calcium   

n.钙(化学符号Ca)

参考例句：

• We need calcium to make bones.我们需要钙来壮骨。
• Calcium is found most abundantly in milk.奶含钙最丰富。

7 snails   

n.蜗牛；迟钝的人；蜗牛( snail的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• I think I'll try the snails for lunch—I'm feeling adventurous today. 我想我午餐要尝一下蜗牛——我今天很想冒险。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Most snails have shells on their backs. 大多数蜗牛背上有壳。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

9 intercepted   

拦截( intercept的过去式和过去分词 )； 截住； 截击； 拦阻

参考例句：

• Reporters intercepted him as he tried to leave the hotel. 他正要离开旅馆，记者们把他拦截住了。
• Reporters intercepted him as he tried to leave by the rear entrance. 他想从后门溜走，记者把他截住了。

10 sniff   

vi.嗅…味道；抽鼻涕；对嗤之以鼻，蔑视

参考例句：

• The police used dogs to sniff out the criminals in their hiding - place.警察使用警犬查出了罪犯的藏身地点。
• When Munchie meets a dog on the beach, they sniff each other for a while.当麦奇在海滩上碰到另一条狗的时候，他们会彼此嗅一会儿。