CNN新闻英语第 74 课：Iguana Alarm 鬣蜥预警

CHRIS WHEELOCK, CNN CORRESPONDENT 克里斯·威洛克，CNN记者
The fractured hull of the cargo ship Jessica is a constant reminder of the potential for catastrophe in the Galapagos Islands. She ran aground in January of 2001, spilling almost the entire cargo of diesel fuel and bunker oil. 杰西卡号货轮破碎的船身经常提醒人们，加拉帕哥斯群岛可能发生大灾难。这艘船于2001年1月搁浅，其装载的柴油燃料和石油几乎全部泄漏一空。

At first, scientists with the Charles Darwin Foundation, responsible for research and conservation of the Galapagos ecosystems, thought damage to the environment and its residents would be minimal. But researchers say further study revealed the dramatic loss of up to 15,000 marine iguanas. Particularly affected was the island of Santa Fe. 起先，负责加拉帕哥斯群岛生态系统研究和维护的查尔斯·达尔文基金会的科学家们认为，此事给环境和居民造成的损害是很小的。但是研究者说，深入研究发现，这造成了高达1.5万头海生鬣蜥死亡的巨大损失，损失最惨重的是圣达菲岛。

HOWARD SNELL, CHARLES DARWIN FOUNDATION 霍华德·斯耐尔，查尔斯·达尔文基金会
On Santa Fe Island, where the oil did reach, mortality rate went up to 72 percent, he says. This is the reason for the published paper in "Nature," reporting 72 percent mortality of the adult iguana population on Santa Fe Island was caused by the contamination of the oil spill by the Jessica boat. 石油确实漂到了圣达菲岛，在那里鬣蜥的死亡率升至72%。因此，发表于《自然》杂志上的文章指出，圣达菲岛上成年鬣蜥72%的死亡率是杰西卡号货轮石油泄漏造成的。

WHEELOCK 威洛克
Severe kill-offs of the iguanas in the Galapagos have been associated with the weather phenomenon known as El Nino in the past. And while iguanas have survived and recovered from natural events, scientists worry the added threat from a man-made catastrophe could be devastating. 过去， 人们一直将加拉帕哥斯群岛鬣蜥高死亡率同厄尔尼诺现象联系在一起。然而，科学家们担心，鬣蜥虽幸免于自然灾害并开始逐步恢复元气，但人为灾害可能让它们雪上加霜，由此造成的危害可能是毁灭性的。

Results of the study published in "Nature" magazine suggests the iguanas died from subtle, long-term effects of the oil spill. The oil may have fouled their food supply, or been directly ingested. There are between 40,000 and 300,000 marine iguanas living on the 13 main islands in the Galapagos chain. 发表于《自然》杂志的一项研究结果表明，石油泄漏长期潜在的影响导致了鬣蜥的死亡。石油可能污染了它们的食物，或是鬣蜥直接吞食了石油。在加拉帕哥斯群岛的13个主要岛屿上，生活着4至30万只海生鬣蜥。

WHEELOCK 威洛克
It is uncertain how the loss of the iguanas would affect the balance of the Galapagos' ecosystem, but scientists note they are the only sea-faring lizard in the world. They have no natural predators and remain herbivores. Marine iguanas are among the unusual creatures that evolved from land creature to sea- dweller, a change that helped form Charles Darwin's now famous theory. 鬣蜥数目的减少对加拉帕哥斯群岛整个生态环境会造成怎样的影响，目前尚不清楚。但科学家们指出，它们是世界上唯一的海生蜥蜴，没有天敌，依旧是食草动物。海生鬣蜥是罕见的、由陆生演化成海生生物的物种之一，这种演化有助于查尔斯·达尔文著名理论的形成。