本期精读选自The Economist一篇关于意大利野生动物的文章Covid-19 has emboldened Italy’s fauna(新冠病毒给意大利动物群壮胆)
疫情除了让很多人无法出门,还对动物造成了影响,比如意大利在封城之后街上出现了很多野生动物。一些人还猜测这些动物本来就存在于城市之中,只是因为封城人们才有机会见到它们。文章还特别介绍了一头名为“巴比龙”的棕熊,它因为“罪行累累”以及聪明机敏而全国闻名。小标题对这头熊的评价也很有意思:A pilfering bear named after a convict isn’t welcome, though(然而,一头以囚犯名字命名且喜欢小偷小摸的熊并不受欢迎),下面是全文分析:
开头段描绘了意大利封城后野生动物出现在人类居住地的景象。
A wolf slinks out of a park in Sesto Fiorentino, an industrial centre near Florence. Goslings waddle behind their mothers along deserted thoroughfares in Treviso. Fallow deer invade a golf course on Sardinia and take a dip in the clubhouse swimming pool.
一匹狼从塞斯托·菲奥伦蒂诺的一个公园里偷偷溜出来,塞斯托·菲奥伦蒂诺是佛罗伦萨附近的一个工业中心。一群幼鹅跟在妈妈身后,摇摇晃晃地走在特雷维索荒芜的大街上。黇鹿们闯进撒丁岛的一个高尔夫球场,还在球场的游泳池里游了一小会泳。
开篇前三句描绘了野生动物闯进人类居住地的场景,三个句子句式齐整,读起来很有节奏感,能加深读者的印象。
take a dip是一个固定搭配,意思是“游一小会泳”。
As Italians entered the sixth week of Europe’s longest covid-19 lockdown on April 13th, one thing they had to cheer them up was the sight of animals in spaces that humankind had temporarily abandoned.
意大利因新冠肺炎采取的封城是欧洲最久的,当意大利人于4月13日进入第六周的封城时,能让他们感到振奋的一件事是看到了动物出现在因疫情而暂时被人类荒废的地带。
第二段介绍了撒丁岛的海豚因无人光顾而出现的异常举动。
At Cagliari on Sardinia, bottlenose dolphins have long been known to wait at the mouth of the port to play in the wake of departing motor vessels.
长期以来,撒丁岛卡利亚里的宽吻海豚会在港口处追逐驶离的内燃机船留下的尾流,它们也因这一点而闻名。
Wake在这里指的是“(船只航行时的)尾流,航迹”,in the wake of something这一短语也可以引申为“作为……的后果,随……之后而来”,比如:Airport security was extra tight in the wake of yesterday's bomb attacks. 昨天的炸弹袭击发生之后,机场安检变得格外严格。
But since the lockdown some have entered right into the port, where they have been filmed swimming up and down under a quay, looking at the humans above.
但自从封城开始后,一些海豚直接游进了港口内部。它们被拍到在码头边游上游下,不时看看岸上的人。
A similar phenomenon has been observed at Trieste. “A non-scientist might speculate that the dolphins are thinking: ‘Why aren’t you moving around in your boats any longer?’” says Giuseppe Bogliani, formerly a University of Pavia professor.
在的里雅斯特也能观察到类似现象。帕维亚大学前教授朱塞佩·博格利亚尼说:“一名非科学家可能会猜测海豚正在思考:'为什么你们现在不开着船四处走动了?'”
第三段提出对“动物回归人类居住地”的不同看法。
Mr Bogliani cautions against assuming that nature is reclaiming its own. Some mammals, like foxes, may have been in the cities already, prowling undetected at night.
博格利亚尼先生提醒说不宜认为大自然正在夺回自己的领地。一些哺乳动物(比如狐狸)可能已经生活在城市中,它们夜间悄悄出来觅食,没被人类发现。
Caution (somebody) against something是一个固定搭配,意思是“提醒(某人)不要做某事”(to warn someone that something might be dangerous, difficult etc.)比如:The newspaper cautioned its readers against buying shares without getting good advice first. 报纸告诫读者事先没有获得好的建议,就不要购买股票。
Against取“反对”含义时用法很灵活,用好这一单词能够让表达更加简洁。比如要表达“他建议我不要去旅行”,可以说:He advised me against travelling. 要表达“你赞成还是反对死刑?”可以说:Are you for or against the death penalty? 类似用法平时遇到可以多加总结。
A golden eagle spotted gliding above a main road in Milan posed a different question: “Is it there because of the lockdown, or did we just see it because of the lockdown?”
一只金雕被人发现在米兰一条主干道上空翱翔,这提出了一个不同的问题:“这只金雕是因为封城后才来到那里,还是因为我们因封城才刚好看到了它?”
结尾段介绍了一只不受欢迎的棕熊“巴比龙”的遭遇。
Not all reappearances have been welcomed.
并非所有动物的回归都受到了欢迎。
Residents in Alpine areas of the province of Trento have been advised not only to stay at home, but to refrain from leaving out rubbish that might attract Italy’s most wanted animal, a brown bear known to scientists as m49 and to the public as “Papillon”
特伦托省阿尔卑斯山地区的居民不仅被建议要留在家中,还被建议不要乱丢可能会吸引“意大利头号通缉动物”的垃圾。这只头号通缉动物是一头棕熊,它被科学家称为m49,公众则将它称为“巴比龙”(因为它去年穿过三道电子围栏成功逃走)。
Wanted在这里是一个形容词,意思是“受通缉的”,这里将这头熊称为"Italy’s most wanted animal"是一种夸张手法,能够增加文章趣味性。
Papillon is nicknamed after Henri Charrière, the only man to escape from the French penal colony on Devil’s Island. Like the late Mr Charrière, the bear has a substantial criminal record. It includes breaking and entering (Alpine cottages and refuges) and attacks on cattle.
“巴比龙”这一昵称因亨利·查里尔而来,他是唯一一个成功逃脱法国设在魔鬼岛上监狱的人。就像已故的查里尔先生一样,这头熊有大量的犯罪记录。这些记录包括闯进阿尔卑斯山上的村舍和避难所,以及多次袭击牛群。
Late在这里是熟词生义,它的含义是“已故的”,比如:She gave her late husband's clothes to charity. 她把丈夫去世后留下的衣服捐给了慈善机构。
Last year the government of Trento issued an order for Papillon’s capture. He has now been spotted heading for Veneto, which has not (yet) issued a warrant. Smart bear.
去年,特伦托政府发布了抓捕“巴比龙”的命令。它现在已经被人发现正前往威尼托,该地(目前)尚未发布逮捕令。这真是一头聪明的熊。
在描述这头熊时作者用的是he,而不是it,这种用词方式能够将熊拟人化,更加突出其机敏聪明的特点。