(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
Scientists say they have captured photographs of one of the most mysterious known animals: bush dogs.
Bush dogs live in Central and South America. They are a rarely seen and threatened species. But the photos suggest they may be more common than scientists thought.
Scientists used cameras that take photos in the forest when an animal passes by. Photos of the bush dogs were taken in wild areas of Panama. The traps can be found across the country from its Costa Rican border to its border with Colombia.
Ricardo Moreno is a research associate for the Smithsonian Institution. He and a team of biologists from Yaguará, Panama are studying large, wild mammals in that country. He says, "The bush dog is one of the rarest species that we photograph."
The researchers describe the animals as "short-legged and stubby, standing only about a foot (30cm) tall at the shoulder."
Like other dogs, bush dogs hunt in packs of up to 10. They are known to communicate to each other using "high-pitched whines." They eat mostly large forest rodents.
The bush dog is so elusive that photos of the animal were made only 11 times over 32,000 camera days. That is the number of cameras multiplied by the days in operation.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature says bush dog populations have dropped by up to 25 percent over the past 12 years. It is considered a "near-threatened" species.
Humans do not hunt or directly threaten bush dogs. But, habitat loss is affecting their numbers. They live mainly in rainforests. Scientists think the animals may require large forest spaces to survive. It is estimated that Panama lost 15 percent of its rainforest from 1990 to 2010.
I'm Kathleen Struck.
词汇解释
1.research associate 研究助理；助理研究员
“The cause of dementia is not vitamin D deficiency, ” said David Llewellyn, a research associate at Cambridge University and the study’s lead author.
这项研究报告的主要作者、剑桥大学的研究助理大卫卢埃林说：“老年痴呆症的原因并不是维生素D缺乏。
2.mammal n. [脊椎] 哺乳动物
The whale is a mammal.
鲸鱼是哺乳动物。
3.stubby adj. 短而粗硬的；又短又秃的；断株样的
He pointed a stubby finger at a wooden chair opposite him.
他用粗短的手指指了指他对面的一把木椅。
4.high-pitched adj. 声调高的；声音尖锐的；紧张的；陡的
A woman squealed in a high-pitched voice.
一位女士尖声叫了起来。
5.whine vi. 发牢骚；哭诉；嘎嘎响；发呜呜声 vt. 哀诉 n. 抱怨；牢骚；哀鸣
He could hear her dog barking and whining in the background.
他能听到她的狗在远处吠叫哀鸣。
6.rodent adj. 啮齿类的；咬的，嚼的；侵蚀性的 n. [脊椎] 啮齿动物
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。
内容解析
1.Scientists used cameras that take photos in the forest when an animal passes by.
pass by 经过；走过；(时间)逝去；过去；忽略；遗漏；不注意；
I passed by your house last night at about ten o'clcok.
我昨天晚上大约十点钟的时候经过你家。
Three years had passed by before she finally found a suitable job.
三年过去了，最终她才找到一份合适的工作。
2.Like other dogs, bush dogs hunt in packs of up to 10. They are known to communicate to each other using "high-pitched whines." They eat mostly large forest rodents.
in packs 成群
Lions do not hunt in packs, but alone.
狮子不成群猎食而是单独出动。
Wolves hunt in packs.
狼是成群猎食的。
参考译文
科学家称捕捉到最神秘动物薮犬的图片。
薮犬生活在中南美洲，是一种罕见的濒危物种，但图片表明它们可能比科学家所认为的要更常见。
科学家在森林中使用一种能在动物经过时拍照的相机，他们在巴拿马野地里拍到了薮犬，从巴拿马与哥斯达黎加边境到与哥伦比亚接壤处各地都安置了这种设备。
理查德·莫雷诺是史密森学会的研究助理，他和来自巴拿马亚瓜拉的一个生物学家团队在研究该国的大型野生哺乳动物，他说，“薮犬是我们拍摄到的最罕见物种之一。”
研究者们称这种动物“腿短而粗壮，站起来从脚到肩部的身长大约30厘米。”
薮犬像狗一样10来个成群地捕食，据悉它们使用尖叫声来进行交流，主要以大型森林鼠类为食。
薮犬行踪很神秘，所以在32000个拍照日里只拍到它们11次，拍照日是摄像机的数量乘以拍照的天数。
国际自然保护联盟称过去12年间薮犬的数量减少了25%，已被视为是“接近濒危的”物种。
人类并不捕猎薮犬或直接威胁到它们，但栖息地的缩减在影响到其数量，它们主要生活在热带雨林。科学家认为这种动物可能需要广阔的森林空间才能存活，估计在1998年到2010年间巴拿马的热带雨林面积缩减了15%。
我是凯瑟琳·斯托克。
