【精英翻譯】的部落格

A New Insight into the Disappearance of the Dodo傻傻惹人憐的多多鳥

精英翻譯轉自: http://paper.udn.com/papers.php?pname=POH0062&page=1#ph

Scientists recently uncovered new information about one of the first species that disappeared in the modern era.

科學家最近發現有關近代第一批消失物種之一的新資訊。

The dodo was one of the strangest-looking animals that ever lived. These large birds had a long, green beak and lived on the island of Mauritius. Unlike most birds, they could not fly. They got the name dodo because the sailors who discovered them thought they were stupid creatures. Dodos had no natural predators, so they weren't afraid of anything that might hurt them. This made it easy for people to hunt and kill the poor birds. The sailors also brought new animals to Mauritius, such as monkeys, pigs, and dogs. These animals started eating dodo eggs from their nests. By the year 1662, all of these changes had damaged their population, and now dodos no longer exist.

多多鳥（也稱為渡渡鳥）是世上曾經存在過的動物中長相最怪異的一種。這些大型鳥類有很長且綠色的鳥嘴，曾棲息在模里西斯島上。不像大部分的鳥類，牠們無法飛行。牠們被稱為多多鳥是因為發現牠們的水手覺得牠們是愚蠢的生物（編按：多多鳥的名字源自於葡萄牙語裡的「傻瓜」這個詞）。多多鳥沒有天敵，所以不用害怕有任何東西可能會傷害牠們。這使得人類能輕易地獵殺這些可憐的鳥兒。水手也把新的動物帶到了模里西斯，像是猴子、豬，以及狗。這些動物開始掠食多多鳥鳥巢裡的蛋。到了 1662 年，所有的這些改變對牠們的數量造成了損害，而現今多多鳥已經滅絕。

　　 Today, scientists are using new technology to learn about this mysterious bird. In a new study, a team of scientists examined the bones of 22 dodos. They learned that dodos hatched from their eggs every August and quickly grew to adult size. They also found out that changing weather in Mauritius may have played a role in the animal's downfall. Hopefully, learning about this iconic bird will help us prevent more human-caused destruction in the future.

　　今日，科學家正利用新科技來了解這種神祕的鳥類。在一項新研究中，一組科學家仔細檢查了二十二隻多多鳥的骸骨。他們發現多多鳥每年八月時會從蛋裡孵化，而且很快就會生長到成鳥的體形。他們也發現模里西斯多變的天氣可能是造成這些動物滅絕的一種原因。但願瞭解這種知名的鳥類將有助於我們在未來防止更多人類造成的毀滅。