经济学人280:侵略性物种 棘手问题

 　　Science and technology

　　科学技术

　　Invasive species

　　侵略性物种

　　Thorny¹ questions

　　棘手问题

　　The ecological² effects of buckthorn in North America

　　北美鼠李属植物的生态影响

　　CONSERVATIONISTS, being by definition conservative, usually view the introduction of new species into an environment with horror.

　　生态环境保护者，从定义上看就偏于保守，常对固有环境中新物种的引入恐惧不已。

　　If such a species is successful, it is described as invasive—a rather pejorative³ word.

　　一种新物种一旦引入成功，它常常具有侵略性—一个含贬义的词语。

　　But how much change such species actually cause is often moot⁴.

　　然而，这些物种究竟造成环境多少改变？

　　So two recent studies of European buckthorn in North America, which attempt to find this out, are a welcome shaft⁵ of light on the debate.

　　常常引来争论。最近对鼠李属植物的两项研究有助于搞清这一问题。所以该研究在这场争论中受人瞩目。

　　Buckthorn was imported from Europe to America in the 19th century, to make garden hedges.

　　鼠李属植物在19世纪从欧洲出口到美国，用来制作花园围篱。

　　Since then it has spread through the country's woodlands, which many naturalists⁶ think has been bad for local wildlife.

　　从那时起，它席卷了美国林地。在许多自然主义者眼中，它对当地野生物种产生了不利影响。

　　The new studies suggest they are right—if you are a frog or a small bird.

　　但新的研究证明他们的观点仅适用于青蛙或是小鸟。

　　If you are a coyote or a raccoon, though, buckthorn is a good thing.

　　对于土狼和浣熊，鼠李属植物可是好东西。

　　Seth Magle, of Lincoln Park Zoo, in Chicago, suspected these predators⁷ are commoner where buckthorn grows.

　　赛思在芝加哥林肯动物园工作，他认为在鼠李属植物生长的地方，这些食肉动物是常客。

　　He therefore set up motion-activated cameras in 35 woods near the city.

　　于是他在芝加哥周围的35处丛林中架设了移动追踪照相机。

　　Some sites had a lot of buckthorn. Some did not.

　　一些丛林鼠李属植物繁盛，一些则不然。

　　He did indeed find more coyotes and raccoons where buckthorn is common—particularly in spring, when birds are nesting.

　　在鼠李属植物常见地区，他的确发现了更多土狼和浣熊，—尤其是春天，鸟儿筑巢的时节。

　　Buckthorn is notorious for overshadowing other plants and thus inhibiting⁸ their growth.

　　鼠李属植物臭名昭著，因为它遮挡其他植物，继而抑制其生长。

　　That thins the forest understorey and increases visibility which, Dr Magle reckons, helps predators spot nests that denser⁹ vegetation would hide.

　　玛格拉博士认为，森林下层林木由此变稀薄，能见度增加。这有利于肉食动物找到能被密集植物隐藏的巢穴。

　　So the predators come looking.

　　于是，肉食动物前来寻找。

　　Besides overshadowing its neighbours, buckthorn also engages in chemical warfare¹⁰.

　　鼠李属植物除了挡住了他的邻居，还参与了化学战争。

　　Its leaves are full of a toxin¹¹ called emodin that discourages browsers¹².

　　它的叶子充满了一种名为大黄素的毒素，使得食草动物望而却步。

　　Allison Sacerdote-Velat, one of Dr Magle's colleagues at Lincoln Park Zoo, and Richard King of Northern Illinois University, wondered what effect this chemical has on the world when the leaves fall off.

　　阿里森，和北部伊利诺斯州大学的瑞查德，均好奇当叶子脱落后，这种化学物对地面有何影响。

　　Emodin, they found, when they tested it on frogspawn, kills embryonic¹³ frogs. And when they analysed some local ponds, they discovered the chemical in them. Amphibian¹⁴ numbers have been falling in many places, including America, and many causes have been suggested. Emodin is surely not the only one. But it probably does not help.

　　他们在对蛙卵的实验中发现，大黄素可以杀死胚胎期的青蛙。他们又调查了一些当地的池塘，发现大黄毒蕴含其中。包括美国在内的许多地方，两栖类动物数量均在下降，其原因有许多。大黄毒毫无疑问并非唯一原因，但它也不大可能起到什么好的作用。

　　1.find out 发现；使发作

　　God forbid they find out they have a vagina!

　　但愿她们不会发现她们有一个阴道！

　　Find out what makes you happy.

　　找出什么能让你快乐。

　　2.notorious for 臭名昭著的

　　Mexican elections were once notorious for fraud.

　　墨西哥的选举曾经因为徇私舞弊而臭名昭著。

　　The heavyweight competition is notorious for inflicting¹⁵ serious damage to participants.

　　这项重量级竞争因对参赛者造成严重伤害而臭名昭著。

　　3.full of 充满；尽是

　　His attic¹⁶ is full of treasures.

　　他的阁楼里面充满了宝贝。

　　And you've got a bank full of people?

　　看来你得处理一间满是人的银行？

1 thorny   

adj.多刺的，棘手的

参考例句：

• The young captain is pondering over a thorny problem.年轻的上尉正在思考一个棘手的问题。
• The boys argued over the thorny points in the lesson.孩子们辩论功课中的难点。

2 ecological   

adj.生态的，生态学的

参考例句：

• The region has been declared an ecological disaster zone.这个地区已经宣布为生态灾难区。
• Each animal has its ecological niche.每种动物都有自己的生态位.

3 pejorative   

adj.贬低的，轻蔑的

参考例句：

• In the context of ethnic tourism,commercialization often has a pejorative connotation.摘要在民族旅游语境中，商品化经常带有贬义色彩。
• But news organizations also should make every effort to keep the discussion civil and to discourage the dissemination of falsehoods or pejorat

4 moot   

v.提出；adj.未决议的；n.大会；辩论会

参考例句：

• The question mooted in the board meeting is still a moot point.那个在董事会上提出讨论的问题仍未决的。
• The oil versus nuclear equation is largely moot.石油和核能之间的关系还很有争议。

5 shaft   

n.(工具的)柄，杆状物

参考例句：

• He was wounded by a shaft.他被箭击中受伤。
• This is the shaft of a steam engine.这是一个蒸汽机主轴。

6 naturalists   

n.博物学家( naturalist的名词复数 )；（文学艺术的）自然主义者

参考例句：

• Naturalists differ much in determining what characters are of generic value. 自然学者对于不同性状决定生物的属的含义上，各有各的见解。 来自辞典例句
• This fact has led naturalists to believe that the Isthmus was formerly open. 使许多自然学者相信这个地蛱在以前原是开通的。 来自辞典例句

7 predators   

n.食肉动物( predator的名词复数 )；奴役他人者（尤指在财务或性关系方面）

参考例句：

• birds and their earthbound predators 鸟和地面上捕食它们的动物
• The eyes of predators are highly sensitive to the slightest movement. 捕食性动物的眼睛能感觉到最细小的动静。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 inhibiting   

抑制作用的，约束的

参考例句：

• The high cost of borrowing is inhibiting investment by industry in new equipment. 借款的高成本抑制了企业对新设备的投资。
• The pesticides affect the nervous system by inhibiting the enzyme cholinesterase. 这类农药抑制胆碱酯酶而影响神经系统。

9 denser   

adj. 不易看透的, 密集的, 浓厚的, 愚钝的

参考例句：

• The denser population necessitates closer consolidation both for internal and external action. 住得日益稠密的居民，对内和对外都不得不更紧密地团结起来。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源
• As Tito entered the neighbourhood of San Martino, he found the throng rather denser. 蒂托走近圣马丁教堂附近一带时，发现人群相当密集。

10 warfare   

n.战争(状态)；斗争；冲突

参考例句：

• He addressed the audience on the subject of atomic warfare.他向听众演讲有关原子战争的问题。
• Their struggle consists mainly in peasant guerrilla warfare.他们的斗争主要是农民游击战。

11 toxin   

n.毒素，毒质

参考例句：

• Experts have linked this condition to a build-up of toxins in the body.专家已把这一病症与体内毒素的积累联系起来。
• Tests showed increased levels of toxin in shellfish.检验表明水生有壳动物的毒素水平提高了。

12 browsers   

浏览器

参考例句：

• Three-layer architecture is a model made up of browser, web server and background database server. 这种体系结构是由Browser、Web Server、Database Server组成的浏览器／Web服务器／后台数据库服务器三层模型。 来自互联网
• Another excellent approach is to abandon the browser entirely and, instead, create a non-browser-based, Internet-enabled application. 另一个非常好的方法是干脆放弃浏览器，取而代之，创建一个不基于浏览器，但却是基于互联网的应用。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

13 embryonic   

adj.胚胎的

参考例句：

• It is still in an embryonic stage.它还处于萌芽阶段。
• The plan,as yet,only exists in embryonic form.这个计划迄今为止还只是在酝酿之中。

14 amphibian   

n.两栖动物；水陆两用飞机和车辆

参考例句：

• The frog is an amphibian,which means it can live on land and in water.青蛙属于两栖动物，也就是说它既能生活在陆地上也能生活在水里。
• Amphibian is an important specie in ecosystem and has profound meaning in the ecotoxicology evaluation.两栖类是生态系统中的重要物种，并且对环境毒理评价有着深远意义。

15 inflicting   

把…强加给，使承受，遭受( inflict的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He was charged with maliciously inflicting grievous bodily harm. 他被控蓄意严重伤害他人身体。
• It's impossible to do research without inflicting some pain on animals. 搞研究不让动物遭点罪是不可能的。

16 attic   

n.顶楼，屋顶室

参考例句：

• Leakiness in the roof caused a damp attic.屋漏使顶楼潮湿。
• What's to be done with all this stuff in the attic?顶楼上的材料怎么处理？