读者文摘:牛油果的营养价值(2)

But as much as you humans love me, you're not nearly the first species to clamor for my substantial flesh.

但是虽然你们人类很爱我，但是你们远不是第一个吵着要吃我的肉的物种。

Millennia¹ ago in my native southern Mexico and Central America, there existed beasts with digestive systems large enough to process and then disperse² my massive pit.

几千年前，在我的家乡墨西哥南部和中美洲，存在着消化系统足够大的野兽，它们可以处理并传播我巨大的果核。

These were the so-called megafauna: sloths³ that could reach ten feet tall;

这些就是所谓的巨型动物：能长到十英尺高的树懒；

armadillo-like glyptodons that were as big as small cars; and gomphotheres, cousins of the elephant, with their ginormous tusks⁴.

像犰狳一样的雕齿兽，有小汽车那么大；还有大象的近亲嵌齿象，他们有着巨大的象牙。

Historians and botanists⁵ don't know exactly which of these snacked on me,

历史学家和植物学家并不知道这些物种的哪些以我为食。

but they all would have been able to pop me into their mouths like peanuts, then poop out my pits far and wide for new trees to grow.

但是他们都可以把我像花生一样放进我的嘴里。然后把我的果核排到很远的地方，好让新树长起来。

Without them to spread my unusually large seed, my creamy green gift would have been little more than a weird⁶ and momentary⁷ blip in fruit's sugary history.

没有它们散播我异常大的种子，我这个奶油绿色的礼物只不过是含糖水果历史上一个奇怪而短暂的小插曲。

Fast-forward to about 13,000 years ago, when humans came along and hunted my behemoth patrons into extinction⁸.

快退到13000年前，那时人类出现并猎杀我的巨兽主顾导致其灭绝。

That would have been the end of me, too, had people not decided⁹ that they also loved a dose of plant-based fat.

如果人类不喜欢这种植物性脂肪的话，我这个物种也会灭绝的。

While human digestion¹⁰ can't accommodate my pit, your hands can,

虽然人类的消化系统不能容纳我的果核，但是你们的手可以，

and I was able to achieve even wider distribution via the thumb-carrying Homo sapiens who ate me and tossed my seed here and there.

我们能够通过长有拇指的智人实现更广泛的分布，他们吃了我，把我的种子扔得到处都是。

One last word—of caution. There has been a spate¹¹ of "avocado hand,"

最后一个要小心的事。“牛油果手”已经出现了一大批，

which is what happens when well-meaning guac makers¹² whack¹³ their knives at my pit in hopes of dislodging it but instead find themselves with a blade in the palm.

当好心的牛油果酱生产商用刀子对我的果核重击，希望能把它弄出来，但是手掌却被刀刃弄伤时，就会发生这种情况。

ER doctors report an increase in such incidents and strongly advise caution when preparing me.

急诊室的医生报告说，这类事件在增加，并强烈建议人们在加工我时要谨慎。

Please listen to them. My reputation for being both healthy and rich gets dinged when I bite the hand that breeds me.

请听取他们的建议。在使我生长的手受伤的时候，我的有益健康和营养丰富的声誉会受到重击。

1 millennia   

n.一千年，千禧年

参考例句：

• For two millennia, exogamy was a major transgression for Jews. 两千年来，异族通婚一直是犹太人的一大禁忌。
• In the course of millennia, the dinosaurs died out. 在几千年的时间里，恐龙逐渐死绝了。

2 disperse   

vi.使分散；使消失；vt.分散；驱散

参考例句：

• The cattle were swinging their tails to disperse the flies.那些牛甩动着尾巴驱赶苍蝇。
• The children disperse for the holidays.孩子们放假了。

3 sloths   

懒散( sloth的名词复数 )； 懒惰； 树獭； （经济）停滞。

参考例句：

• Mummies of pleistocene ground sloths, with original skin, hair, tendons and claws have been found. 还发现了保存原有皮肤，毛发，腱和爪的更新世时期地面树懒的木乃伊。
• He was inspired by fossils of armadillos and sloths. 犰狳和树懒化石让他获得了灵感。

4 tusks   

n.（象等动物的）长牙( tusk的名词复数 )；獠牙；尖形物；尖头

参考例句：

• The elephants are poached for their tusks. 为获取象牙而偷猎大象。
• Elephant tusks, monkey tails and salt were used in some parts of Africa. 非洲的一些地区则使用象牙、猴尾和盐。 来自英语晨读30分（高一）

5 botanists   

n.植物学家，研究植物的人( botanist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Botanists had some difficulty categorizing the newly found plant. 植物学家们不大容易确定这种新发现的植物的种类。 来自辞典例句
• Botanists refer this flower to the rose family. 植物学家将这花归入蔷薇科。 来自辞典例句

6 weird   

adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的

参考例句：

• From his weird behaviour,he seems a bit of an oddity.从他不寻常的行为看来，他好像有点怪。
• His weird clothes really gas me.他的怪衣裳简直笑死人。

7 momentary   

adj.片刻的，瞬息的；短暂的

参考例句：

• We are in momentary expectation of the arrival of you.我们无时无刻不在盼望你的到来。
• I caught a momentary glimpse of them.我瞥了他们一眼。

8 extinction   

n.熄灭，消亡，消灭，灭绝，绝种

参考例句：

• The plant is now in danger of extinction.这种植物现在有绝种的危险。
• The island's way of life is doomed to extinction.这个岛上的生活方式注定要消失。

9 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

10 digestion   

n.消化，吸收

参考例句：

• This kind of tea acts as an aid to digestion.这种茶可助消化。
• This food is easy of digestion.这食物容易消化。

11 spate   

n.泛滥，洪水，突然的一阵

参考例句：

• Police are investigating a spate of burglaries in the area.警察正在调查这一地区发生的大量盗窃案。
• Refugees crossed the border in full spate.难民大量地越过了边境。

12 makers   

n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式）

参考例句：

• The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
• The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 whack   

v.敲击，重打，瓜分；n.重击，重打，尝试，一份

参考例句：

• After years of dieting,Carol's metabolism was completely out of whack.经过数年的节食，卡罗尔的新陈代谢完全紊乱了。
• He gave me a whack on the back to wake me up.他为把我弄醒，在我背上猛拍一下。