(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
Florida's Everglades are home to lots of large wading birds, like egrets and herons.
But the Glades also have lots of raccoons and possums.
For the mammals, the birds'nests are an all-you-can-eat buffet.
And when an invasion occurs, "sometimes thousands of birds will abandon their nests, and just leave, and there's littered remains of dead chicks and eggs that have been eaten."
Lucas Nell, an ecologist at the University of Georgia.
Nell says that, in order to seek protection from their furry foes, birds actually prefer to build their nests in plots of swamp with a resident alligator.
In fact, in one study a graduate student planted fake alligators.
And the birds seemed to prefer to build nests close to them.
"Where there's a water source, there are alligators, so it's sort of this moat of protection around these colonies."
Nell and his colleagues took to the Everglades at night, hunting for gators near and far from nests.
"You have to use a spotlight and you see the little demon eyes shining out of the marsh."
They lassoed the gators, pulled them into the airboat, and took blood samples and body measurements.
Turns out the gators near bird colonies were 13 percent fatter.
Which means this unusual arrangement may be mutually beneficial.
The birds get protection.
And the alligators?
They feast on any chicks that get kicked out of the nest, as well as on the rest of the extra-productive swamp life, fertilized by all that guano.
The findings are in the journal PLoS ONE.
There is one drawback for adult birds who stray too close to their bodyguard: Gators are not discriminating diners.
"I liken it less to a bodyguard situation, more like keeping some psychopathic murderer in your yard, to keep out cat burglars."
参考译文
佛罗里达的大沼泽地有很多像白鹭及苍鹭等的涉水禽鸟。
但这里也有很多浣熊和负鼠。
而对哺乳动物而言，鸟类的巢穴就好比可以随便享用的自助餐。
当有入侵者到来,有时成千上万的鸟会放弃自己的巢穴选择逃离,而巢中就只剩下被吃掉的雏鸟和蛋的残骸。”
佐治亚州大学的生态学家卢卡斯·内尔说道。
内尔表示为了免受毛茸茸敌人的入侵，鸟类实际上更喜欢在沼泽地附近筑巢，与鳄鱼为邻。
实际上在一项研究中，一名研究生安放了假的鳄鱼。
而看起来鸟类似乎喜欢将巢穴建在挨着鳄鱼附近。
“有水源的地方就会有鳄鱼，因此就像这些殖民地的护城河一样。”
内尔和他的同事们在晚上来到大沼泽地，寻找附近的鳄鱼及其远处的巢穴。
“你必须用聚光灯，这样才能看到那些在沼泽地闪烁的小恶魔们的眼睛。”
他们用套索抓住鳄鱼，拉到汽船上后进行血液抽样及身体检测。
结果表明，鸟巢附近的鳄鱼约重13%。
这表明这种不寻常的安排对双方而言都是有益的。
鸟类得到了保护。
那么鳄鱼又如何呢?
它们享用着被赶出鸟巢的雏鸟及以鸟粪为食其他沼泽生命的盛宴。
这项研究已在《PLoS ONE》杂志上发表。
而成年鸟距自己的保镖太近也有短板：那是因为鳄鱼从不挑食。
“我认为这不像是一种保镖关系，更像是为了防止窃贼，在自己庭院里养了变态杀手一样。”
译文为可可英语翻译，未经授权请勿转载！
重点讲解
1.prefer to 喜欢
例句:I prefer to do it myself.
我宁愿自己做这件事。
2.in fact 事实上
例句:You have to admit that you are, in fact, in difficulties.
你不得不承认，你事实上是陷入了困境。
3.close to 接近
例句:I was close to tears with frustration, but I held back.
我沮丧得快要哭出来，但我忍住了。
4.hunt for 寻找
例句:After a long hunt for him, we saw him emerging from the crowd.
我们找了他半天之后，看见他从人群里出来了。
