美国有线新闻 CNN 消失50年的大象亲属象鼩重现地球

Which of these animals is not extinct¹? Elephant shrew, desert bandicoot, Galapagos giant rat, or Steller's Sea Cow? The only one of these animals that's still on the scene is the elephant shrew.

下列哪种动物没有灭绝？象鼩、荒漠袋狸、加拉帕戈斯巨鼠，还是大海牛？这些动物中唯一幸存的就是象鼩。

Scientist thought the elephant shrew had been extinct for 50 years. Thankfully they were wrong. Why thankfully? Because it's cute. It's related to an elephant but tiny like a mouse. The last time scientist saw one was in the 1970s. But in the African nation of Djibouti where the elephant shrew was recently rediscovered, local residents had said they'd seen them.

科学家原以为象鼩已经灭绝50年。但幸好他们错了。为什么这么说？因为象鼩非常可爱。象鼩与大象有亲缘关系，但它们像老鼠一样小。科学家上一次看到象鼩是在上世纪70年代。但近日象鼩重新现身，非洲国家吉布堤居民说他们看到了象鼩。

These little mammals can run over 18 miles per hour, faster than some elephants. Maybe they didn't want to be found so they just eschewed² scientists. It's not like you're going to see one in a trunk show. Unlike their thundering relatives, these animals are as quiet as a mouse and they're hard to catch even on camera because they're so shrewd³.

这些小型哺乳动物的奔跑速度可达每小时18英里，比一些大象的速度要快。也许它们并不想被发现，所以才避开科学家。大家不会在时装表演上看到象鼩。与它们声音洪大的亲戚不同，象鼩像老鼠一样安静，而且因为它们非常精明，以致镜头也很难捕捉到它们。

1 extinct   

adj.灭绝的，不再活跃的，熄灭了的，已废弃的

参考例句：

• All hopes were extinct.所有希望都破灭了。
• Dinosaurs have been extinct for millions of years.恐龙绝种已有几百万年了。

2 eschewed   

v.（尤指为道德或实际理由而）习惯性避开，回避( eschew的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• I eschewed upbraiding, I curtailed remonstrance. 我避免责备，少作规劝。 来自辞典例句
• Moreover, she has a business plan, an accessory eschewed by cavalier counterparts. 此外，她还有商业计划，这是彬彬有礼的男设计师们回避的一点。 来自互联网

3 shrewd   

adj.机灵的，敏锐的，精明的

参考例句：

• His answer to the journalist is a shrewd one.他回答记者的问题是很机敏的。
• He's too shrewd to be trusted in business matters.他太狡猾，生意上不宜信任。