EZCNN 易英网

The Struggle for Life in the Pack 成群结队拼生存

課文朗讀

課文中英文講解

繁體中文譯本

Sometimes, when we see birds soaring in the sky or fish swimming peacefully in a mountain stream, we grow envious of their seemingly simple lives. Their main goal appears to be just finding food and eating it. However, in the struggle to find sustenance, an animal might find itself eaten before it can eat. For most animals at the bottom of the food chain, fighting off predators is not a possibility, and running from them often results in a short chase followed by death. For animals like this, safety can only be found in numbers.

有时候当我们看到鸟儿在天空翱翔，或是鱼儿在山间溪流中悠游着，我们不禁对牠们那种看似简单的生活心生羡慕。我们希望自己能像牠们一样，只需要觅食过日子。然而，在努力觅食的同时，动物可能会发现自己还没吃到东西就先被其它动物给吃了。大部分处于食物链底层的生物，要与掠食者对抗是不可能的，即使脱逃也只会是临死前的一场短暂追逐而已。对这些生物来说，只有群聚在一起才可能安全。

The wildebeest of Africa’s Serengeti is one such animal. When the dry season comes, the million-strong herds must head for greener pastures. But when the path is blocked by a river teeming with hungry crocodiles, the wildebeests have no choice but to cross the deadly river.

非洲赛伦盖提国家公园的牛羚就属这类的动物。当旱季来临时，上百万只的牛羚必须前往找寻更翠绿的牧草。但是当进行路线被满是饥饿鳄鱼的河流所阻挡，他们别无选择还是得过这条致命的河流。

Although the wildebeests have sharp hooves that they can use to fight off predators, going one-on-one with a crocodile is a losing proposition. It’s safer to stick with the herd. A few stragglers will be singled out by the hungry beasts of prey; but when one wildebeest is caught, hundreds more slip by, and the survival of the herd is assured.

虽然这些牛羚拥有尖锐的蹄可以用来对抗掠食者，不过与这些鳄鱼一对一也不是个好方法，和其他羊群待在一起还是比较安全的。少数落单的牛羚会被那些饥饿的猛兽锁定为狩猎目标，但是一旦有一只牛羚被抓到，其他数百只便得以脱逃，进而确保羊群能存活下去。

For the wildebeest, there is safety in numbers. Although some perish in the jaws of predators, the strong ones that keep up with the herd live on to give birth to strong offspring. All of this may seem like a lottery of life and death, but for the wildebeest, playing the odds is a better bet than going it alone.

对这些牛羚来说，群居才有安全可言。虽然有些牛羚成了掠食者嘴里的牺牲品，羊群中其它的坚强的存活者会继续繁衍强壮的后代。这些看起来似乎像是攸关存亡的赌注，但是对牛羚来说，赌赌运气总比单打独斗来得好。。

Vocabulary

sustenance [ˋsʌstənəns] n. 食物，粮食

million-strong 多达百万的

pasture [ˋpæstʃɚ] n. 牧草地，放牧场

survival [sɚˋvaɪv!] n. 继续生存; 幸存

assure [əˋʃʊr] v. 确信

perish [ˋpɛrɪʃ] v. 消灭；死去

offspring [ˋɔf͵sprɪŋ] n. 子孙；后代

More Information

envious [ˋɛnvɪəs] adj. 嫉妒的；羡慕的[（+of）]

fight off 抵抗; 击退 to defend against or drive back

predator [ˋprɛdətɚ] n. 食肉动物；掠夺者

wildebeest [ˋwɪldɪ͵bist] n. 牛羚（产于非洲）

teem [tim] v. 充满，富于[（+with）]

hoof [huf] n. 蹄(pl. hooves)

one-on-one [ˋwʌnɑnˋwʌn] adj. 一对一（的）

proposition [͵prɑpəˋzɪʃən] n.【口】（要对付的）事情；问题

stick with 紧跟; 跟…在一起﹐不离开…

straggler [ˋstræglɚ] n. 走散的人；离群的动物

single out: 挑出 to choose or pick

beast of prey 猛兽

live on: 继续存在着  persist, carry on

give birth to  生产, 生育

play the odds  碰运气

課文中英文講解

Humans are social animals, and we find comfort in being around other people. But humankind also lauds the individual. The heroes we admire are often people who have dared to stand out from the crowd. However, for some species of animals, straying from the group makes them vulnerable, and staying with the group ensures survival.

人类是群居的动物，在别人旁边时，我们会觉得很安心。但是人类也赞扬个体。我们所敬佩的英雄人物常常都是敢于与众不同的人。但是对某些动物而言，脱离团体使他们容易遭到攻击，而与团体在一起才能确保他们得以存活。

In the Antarctic, young Adelie penguins learn this lesson when they take their first swim. Lurking in the water below the ice, leopard seals wait as hundreds of young penguins line up at the water’s edge. Suddenly, one penguin plunges into the water, and the others follow, their instincts telling them to stick with the group. The seals will catch some of the young penguins, but not all of them; and the ones that stray from the group are the first to be caught.

在南极地区，年幼的阿德利企鹅在他们第一次游泳时就学到了这一课。躲在冰层下水中的豹斑海豹，就等着这数百只的小企鹅在水边排排站。要是突然有一只企鹅跳入水中，其他的就会跟着跳入，牠们的本能告诉牠们要与团体待在一起。海豹会猎捕一些小企鹅，但不是全部，而那些落单的小企鹅则会是首先被猎捕的。

Flamingos also rely on a group mentality to stay alive. Like all animals that live in groups, they have learned that if their neighbor makes a sudden move, they’d better copy the movement. That way, even if just one flamingo senses danger, the whole flock will react to evade it. Those who lag behind or don’t follow along risk becoming a meal for predators.

红鹤也是依赖这种成群结队的心态而活。就像其他群居动物一样，牠们已经学会，如果牠们邻近的同伴忽然移动了，牠们最好也跟着做。如此一来，即使只有一只红鹤察觉到有危险，整群鸟儿都能够实时反应而安然逃脱。而那些落后的或是不跟着移动的红鹤，则有被掠食者吃掉的危险。

In the human world, blindly going along with the group is seen as a sign of weakness. It shows that you have lost your own sense of identity. However, for many animals in the wild, sticking with the pack means the difference between life and death.

在人类的世界，盲目地跟从群体被视为是一种懦弱的象征。这表示你已经失去了自己的主体性。然而，对许多野生动物来说，成群结队却代表着生与死的差别。

－By Will Thelin

Vocabulary

stray [stre] v. 迷路，走失；走散

vulnerable [ˋvʌlnərəb!] adj. 易受伤的

ensure [ɪnˋʃʊr] v. 保证；担保

instinct [ˋɪnstɪŋkt] n. 本能；天性

mentality [mɛnˋtælətɪ] n. 心理状态

evade [ɪˋved] v. 躲避；逃避

identity [aɪˋdɛntətɪ] n. 身分；本身；本体

More Information

laud [lɔd] v. 赞美

stand out 突出, 显著  to be easily seen or noticed

lurk [lɝk] v. 潜伏

plunge [plʌndʒ] into  跳入; 投入

flamingo [fləˋmɪŋgo] n. 火烈鸟；红鹤

rely on 依靠, 信赖

flock [flɑk] n.（飞禽，牲畜等的）群

lag behind  落在后面

Reading Questions

1. What is the main idea of the articles in this unit?

A. Many animals, especially the ones that can’t defend themselves well, rely on staying in a group to survive.

B. Wildebeests, penguins, and flamingos are animals that can’t easily fight off natural predators.

C. Humans, unlike animals in the wild, are often rewarded for their individual achievements.

D. When the strong animals in a group survive, it guarantees their young will also be strong.

2. What is true about wildebeests?

A. The rainy season forces them to immigrate annually to find food.

B. They will travel hundreds of miles to avoid meeting predators.

C. They can use their hooves as weapons to defend themselves.

D. They are excellent swimmers, and crossing rivers is the easiest part of their lives.

3. Which of the following animals prey on Adelie penguins?

A. Flamingos

B. Leopard seals

C. Crocodiles

D. Wildebeests

4. According to the articles in the unit, which of the following sentences is NOT true?

A. Animals that live in groups survive by mimicking any actions their neighbors make.

B. When Adelie penguins swim for the first time, their instincts tell them to stay with the group.

C. Flamingos rely on their individual cunning to escape dangerous predators.

D. In the human world, sticking to the group without thinking for oneself is often seen as being weak.

Huge Crocodile Eats Wildebeest in Serengeti

Answer