经济学人276:鸟类观察 群情激动

 　　Bird-watching

　　鸟类观察

　　All aflutter

　　群情激动

　　Britain's largest conservation society is ruffling¹ feathers

　　英国最大的鸟类保护组织现在面临着成员流失的危险。

　　ON January 24th and 25th around half a million people were expected to take part in the “big garden birdwatch”, an annual event run by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB). Since 1979, when the event began, people have peered into their gardens to spot feathered creatures and log their sightings in a centralised database. But as well as looking out for wrens², collared doves and blackcaps, this year, for the second time, they are being encouraged to spot squirrels, badgers³, deer and even worms.

　　一年一度的“大花园鸟类调查活动”今年于1月24，25号由英国皇家鸟类保护协会继续举办，此次活动的参与人数达到了50万人。从1979年开始，每当这项活动开始时，人们凝视着那些带羽毛的生物，并将记录的数据汇总到协会管理的数据库中。但是今年人们除了观测鹪鹩，信鸽以及莺类这样的常见鸟类之外，协会再次鼓励人们去观察和记录像松鼠，獾，鹿甚至是蠕虫这样的生物。

　　鸟类观察 可可英语.jpg

　　Since the RSPB was started in 1889 by a group of women worried about the use of feathers in hats, its remit⁴ has widened. The charity now runs 212 nature reserves and lobbies the government about broad issues such as climate change and renewable energy. It has also started to emphasise⁵ that its main focus is far broader than just birds. In 2013 a TV advert⁶ showed a young girl watching for frogs and hedgehogs in her garden; the same year the RSPB magazine Birds was rebranded Nature's Home. People expect all of Nature to be connected, says Mike Clarke, the RSPB's chief executive. “If you go on about birds,” he adds, “you become associated with a bird-watching club.”

　　1889年由一群妇女建立的英国皇家鸟类保护协会，其初衷是担忧在帽子上大量装饰鸟的羽毛会影响鸟类的生存。但自成立之日起，该协会涉足的领域一直在扩大。该协会现在运营着212个自然保护区。同时，还就诸如气候变化以及可再生能源这样的问题不断跟政府进行交涉。协会自身也已经开始强调，他们的关注点远不只是鸟类。2013年，该协会在电视上登出广告主题是一个小女孩在仔细观察她家花园中青蛙和刺猬，同年，协会自办杂志《鸟类》更名为《自然之家》。 人们期望的是关注所有跟自然界相关的事物，协会理事长 Mike Clarke表示“如果我们继续只专注于鸟类，那我们和一家观鸟俱乐部有什么区别？”

　　Despite its popularity, bird-watching has a “slightly geeky reputation” ventures Kevin Cox of Devon Birds, a local birding society. Nature programmes presented by men wearing khaki shorts and tight-fitting T-shirts make searching for frogs and the like seem rather more glamorous⁷. Having grown quickly during the 1990s, membership of the RSPB began to slow later; it even fell slightly between 2011 and 2013. The recession may have squeezed some birders. But membership numbers at other organisations such as the Wildlife Trusts and the British Trust for Ornithology⁹ have continued to rise, albeit¹⁰ from a smaller base. The Wildlife Trusts, an umbrella organisation⁸ of 47 different wildlife organisations, has over 800,000 members. “Back in the day, the RSPB was it,” recalls Martin Garner¹¹, a birder. Now there is strong competition.

　　尽管该活动名声远扬，但是一个叫‘Kevin Cox of Devon Birds'的地区观鸟团体让这次盛会有了一点“小污名”。一群穿着卡其色短裤和紧身T恤的男人搜索着像青蛙这样的动物—这样一档自然节目看上去好像更吸引眼球。而该协会的成员从20世纪90年代起开始急速增长，相对的，RSPB成员的增长速度开始变缓；在2011年至2013年期间甚至有轻微地下滑。之前的经济危机对于观鸟者的人数也有一定程度的影响。但是其它类似的小型机构—Wildlife Trusts 和 British Trust for Ornithology的成员人数却是保持增长的。Wildlife Trusts是一家涵括了47种野生动物的保护组织，现在已经拥有了超过80万名成员。观鸟者Martin Garner表示“放在过去，RSPB一家独大，但是现在竞争非常激烈。”

　　The RSPB's strategy, along with a more active marketing¹² campaign, seems to be working. Between 2013 and 2014 membership numbers increased by 3% and exceeded 1.1m for the first time. And the RSPB's membership is changing. Families accounted for 15% of all members in 2007, but now make up 30%.

　　RSPB的对策则是进行一系列有吸引力的市场营销活动—看上去似乎也起到了作用。2013年至2014年期间，成员数量增加了3%，首次突破了110万人。与此同时，成员的组成结构也在发生变化。2007年家庭成员占据了15%的会员数，但现在这一数据达到了30%。

　　Some worry that, by broadening its appeal beyond birds, the campaigning mission of the charity as set out by its Victorian founders¹³ will be lost. It risks becoming “muzzled by its fear of losing members”, says Mark Cocker, an expert on birds and birders, perhaps preventing the charity from taking a hard political stance. It also risks alienating¹⁴ the most dedicated¹⁵ birders. Many enthusiasts¹⁶ are already turning to more specialist bird organisations that take “hands-on action” to help preserve wetlands or campaign against the hunting of rare species, says Steve Kirk of BirdForum, a website. Their migration¹⁷ may be more permanent than those of the creatures they track.

　　与此同时还存在着一些不可忽视的隐患，随着涉足领域的不断扩大，RSPB可能会渐渐偏离维多利亚时代的创始人的初衷。鸟类及观鸟者专家Mark Cocker认为，协会有因为“害怕失去会员而沉默”的风险，这可能会阻止协会继续维持坚定的政治立场。领域的不断扩大还可能有疏远那些专注于鸟类的会员的危险。BirdForum网的Steve Kirk 表示，很多热衷与此的人表示他们已经准备转投一些更加专注于鸟类保护的组织——这些组织更能采取一些“实际行动”来保护湿地以及进行反对猎杀珍惜品种的活动。比于他们所追踪的生物，可以说，鸟儿还有回来的时候，失去的成员不太可能回来了。候鸟尚有归来日，人去楼空不复还。

1 ruffling   

弄皱( ruffle的现在分词 )； 弄乱； 激怒； 扰乱

参考例句：

• A cool breeze brushed his face, ruffling his hair. 一阵凉风迎面拂来，吹乱了他的头发。
• "Indeed, they do not,'said Pitty, ruffling. "说真的，那倒不一定。" 皮蒂皱皱眉头，表示异议。

2 wrens   

n.鹪鹩( wren的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Other songbirds, such as wrens, have hundreds of songs. 有的鸣鸟，例如鹪鹩，会唱几百只歌。 来自辞典例句

3 badgers   

n.獾( badger的名词复数 )；獾皮；（大写）獾州人（美国威斯康星州人的别称）；毛鼻袋熊

参考例句：

• Badgers had undermined the foundations of the church. 獾在这座教堂的地基处打了洞。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• And rams ' skins dyed red, and badgers' skins, and shittim wood. 5染红的公羊皮，海狗皮，皂荚木。 来自互联网

4 remit   

v.汇款，汇寄；豁免（债务），免除（处罚等）

参考例句：

• I hope you'll remit me the money in time.我希望你能及时把钱汇寄给我。
• Many immigrants regularly remit money to their families.许多移民定期给他们的家人汇款。

5 emphasise   

vt.加强...的语气，强调，着重

参考例句：

• What special feature do you think I should emphasise? 你认为我该强调什么呢？
• The exercises heavily emphasise the required readings.练习非常强调必须的阅读。

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 glamorous   

adj.富有魅力的；美丽动人的；令人向往的

参考例句：

• The south coast is less glamorous but full of clean and attractive hotels.南海岸魅力稍逊，但却有很多干净漂亮的宾馆。
• It is hard work and not a glamorous job as portrayed by the media.这是份苦差，并非像媒体描绘的那般令人向往。

8 organisation   

n.组织，安排，团体，有机休

参考例句：

• The method of his organisation work is worth commending.他的组织工作的方法值得称道。
• His application for membership of the organisation was rejected.他想要加入该组织的申请遭到了拒绝。

9 ornithology   

n.鸟类学

参考例句：

• He found his vocation in ornithology.他发现自己适于专攻鸟类学。
• His main interests are botany and ornithology.他主要对植物学和鸟类学感兴趣。

10 albeit   

conj.即使；纵使；虽然

参考例句：

• Albeit fictional,she seemed to have resolved the problem.虽然是虚构的，但是在她看来好象是解决了问题。
• Albeit he has failed twice,he is not discouraged.虽然失败了两次，但他并没有气馁。

11 garner   

v.收藏；取得

参考例句：

• He has garnered extensive support for his proposals.他的提议得到了广泛的支持。
• Squirrels garner nuts for the winter.松鼠为过冬储存松果。

12 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。

13 founders   

n.创始人( founder的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He was one of the founders of the university's medical faculty. 他是该大学医学院的创建人之一。 来自辞典例句
• The founders of our religion made this a cornerstone of morality. 我们宗教的创始人把这看作是道德的基石。 来自辞典例句

14 alienating   

v.使疏远( alienate的现在分词 )；使不友好；转让；让渡（财产等）

参考例句：

• The phenomena of alienation are widespread. Sports are also alienating. 异化现象普遍存在，体育运动也不例外。 来自互联网
• How can you appeal to them without alienating the mainstream crowd? 你是怎么在不疏忽主流玩家的情况下吸引住他们呢？ 来自互联网

15 dedicated   

adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的

参考例句：

• He dedicated his life to the cause of education.他献身于教育事业。
• His whole energies are dedicated to improve the design.他的全部精力都放在改进这项设计上了。

16 enthusiasts   

n.热心人，热衷者( enthusiast的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• A group of enthusiasts have undertaken the reconstruction of a steam locomotive. 一群火车迷已担负起重造蒸汽机车的任务。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Now a group of enthusiasts are going to have the plane restored. 一群热心人计划修复这架飞机。 来自新概念英语第二册

17 migration   

n.迁移，移居，（鸟类等的）迁徙

参考例句：

• Swallows begin their migration south in autumn.燕子在秋季开始向南方迁移。
• He described the vernal migration of birds in detail.他详细地描述了鸟的春季移居。