吃剩快餐贻鼠患？

Fast Food Scraps1 Threaten Rat Plague? 　　Britain is facing a sharp rise in its rat population as growing numbers of people leave fast food scraps in the street, an environment group warned. Keep Britain Tidy said the rodents3 were abandoning their traditional haunts underground and were roaming the streets, enticed4 by discarded remnants of burgers, pizzas and crisps. "The rat population is on the rise and soon it'll be as common to see a rodent2 on our street as it is to see a dog or a cat," said group Director, Sue Nelson. The practice of dumping fast food litter and scraps on the street rather than in the trash - with young men the worst offenders5 - was behind the rise. According to the National Rodent Survey in 2001, Britain's rat population has grown by nearly one quarter since 1998 and is now estimated at 60 million, two million more than the human population. On average a rat can give birth every 24-28 days and just a single pair of rats can produce a colony of 2,000 a year. Around 200 Britons a year contract Weil's Disease - an infection which can lead to kidney or liver failure and eventually death and which is carried in rat's urine. To highlight the issue, Keep Britain Tidy launched a cinema advert6 entitled "How close do you want them to get?" The ad culminates7 in a shocking image of a young woman sleeping in a bed of rats - echoing the nightmare scenario8 from James Herbert's classic horror tale The Rats, in which mutant rodents begin to prey9 on humans. 　　一个环保组织发出警告：由于越来越多的人把吃剩的快餐扔在大街上，英国的老鼠数量正在急剧上升。“保持英国清洁”组织说，人们抛弃的汉堡包、比萨饼和土豆条残渣正在诱使习惯在地下活动的鼠类转而到大街上漫步。“老鼠数量正在增长，很快在街上看到老鼠就会和看到猫狗一样平常，”该组织负责人苏-尼尔森说。老鼠增多的背后是往大街上而不是垃圾箱里乱扔快餐垃圾和残渣的行为--年轻人是其中的罪魁祸首。根据2001年的国家鼠类调查，英国的老鼠数量自1998年来增长了将近1/4，目前估计为6千万只，比英国人口还多2百万。老鼠平均每24至28天就可生产一次，仅仅一对老鼠一年就能繁殖出一个2000只的鼠群。每年大约有200个英国人感染威尔氏症--一种能导致肾或肝功能衰竭直至死亡的传染病，病源在老鼠的尿液中。为引起人们对这一问题的注意，“保持英国清洁”推出了名为“你希望它们靠得多近？”的影院宣传片。宣传片的高潮是一幅令人震惊的画面：一个年轻妇女睡在一张满是老鼠的床上--这是对詹姆斯-赫伯特的经典恐怖故事《老鼠》中梦魇般的景象的模拟。在那个故事中，变异的老鼠开始捕食人类。 　　Remarks：冒着人人喊打的风险上街的这些老鼠显然没有继承到前辈的智慧--在《伊索寓言》中，一只乡下老鼠选择了田间粗茶淡饭的太平日子而不是城里担惊受怕的奢华生活。

1 scraps   

油渣

参考例句：

• Don't litter up the floor with scraps of paper. 不要在地板上乱扔纸屑。
• A patchwork quilt is a good way of using up scraps of material. 做杂拼花布棉被是利用零碎布料的好办法。

2 rodent   

n.啮齿动物；adj.啮齿目的

参考例句：

• When there is a full moon,this nocturnal rodent is careful to stay in its burrow.月圆之夜，这种夜间活动的啮齿类动物会小心地呆在地洞里不出来。
• This small rodent can scoop out a long,narrow tunnel in a very short time.这种小啮齿动物能在很短的时间里挖出一条又长又窄的地道来。

3 rodents   

n.啮齿目动物( rodent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Rodents carry diseases and are generally regarded as pests. 啮齿目动物传播疾病，常被当作害虫对待。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Some wild rodents in Africa also harbor the virus. 在非洲，有些野生啮齿动物也是储毒者。 来自辞典例句

4 enticed   

诱惑，怂恿( entice的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He enticed his former employer into another dice game. 他挑逗他原来的老板再赌一次掷骰子。
• Consumers are courted, enticed, and implored by sellers of goods and services. 消费者受到商品和劳务出售者奉承，劝诱和央求。

5 offenders   

n.冒犯者( offender的名词复数 )；犯规者；罪犯；妨害…的人（或事物）

参考例句：

• Long prison sentences can be a very effective deterrent for offenders. 判处长期徒刑可对违法者起到强有力的威慑作用。
• Purposeful work is an important part of the regime for young offenders. 使从事有意义的劳动是管理少年犯的重要方法。

6 advert   

vi.注意，留意，言及；n.广告

参考例句：

• The advert featured a dolphin swimming around a goldfish bowl.该广告的內容为一条在金鱼缸里游动的海豚。
• Please advert to the contents below.I believe you won't be disappointed.敬请留意后面的内容。相信您一定不会失望的。

7 culminates   

v.达到极点( culminate的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Each civilization is born, it culminates, and it decay. 各种文明都要历经诞生，鼎盛和衰落。 来自《用法词典》
• The tower culminates in a 40-foot spire. 这塔的顶端是一个40英尺高的塔尖。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

8 scenario   

n.剧本，脚本；概要

参考例句：

• But the birth scenario is not completely accurate.然而分娩脚本并非完全准确的。
• This is a totally different scenario.这是完全不同的剧本。

9 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。