Not Guilty--Humans are not always to blame when big animals go extinct
From Economist August-2020
Unfamiliar words
moa [ m ] 恐鸟
the woolly rhinoceros [ra nɑ s r s] 毛犀
shaggy [ ɡi] 头发(或皮毛)蓬乱的
glean [ɡli n], 四处搜集信息
fossilize ['f silaiz] 变成化石
genome ['d i n m]基因组
degrade 降解，降格，退化
permafrost ['p m fr st]永久冻土
Pleistocene ['plaist usi:n]更新世
verge [v d ]边缘
unpalatable [ n'p l t b( )l]难吃的
bout [ba t] 发作
dunnit 犯案
Gapped passage.
From the moa in New Zealand to the dodo in Mauritius, the arrival of humans has often spelled ________(extinct) for tasty but previously isolated animals. Many scientists had assumed that the woolly rhinoceros, a shaggy beast _______ sported an enormous horn, suffered the same fate. The animal was common in northern Europe and northern Asia 30,000 years ago, ______ the first humans arrived. Shortly after, it disappeared. But Love Dalén, a professor at the Centre for Palaeogenetics in Stockholm, and Edana Lord, one of Dr Dalén’s PhD __________(student), are not so sure. In a paper published in Current Biology, they use data from ancient DNA _________(argue) that, this time at least, humans might be innocent. Until recently, information on the fate of the great ice-age mammals _________ (limit) to what could be gleaned _______ fossilised bones. While useful, bones can only tell you so much. They can reveal the number of animals of different ages present at _____ specific location at a specific time. With some species sex can be determined. Occasionally the cause of death can be detected. In the past couple of decades, though, scientists have learned to tap another, _________ (rich) source of information: ancient genomes. By itself, DNA degrades quickly, attacked by water and sunlight. But DNA encased within bones and teeth can survive for longer, especially if those bones and teeth are themselves encased in permafrost. _____ was this sort of DNA that enabled Dr Dalén and Ms Lord to investigate the woolly rhino’s disappearance.
Read and answer the questions:
From the moa in New Zealand to the dodo in Mauritius, the arrival of humans has often spelled extinction for tasty but previously isolated animals. Many scientists had assumed that the woolly rhinoceros, a shaggy beast that sported an enormous horn, suffered the same fate. The animal was common in northern Europe and northern Asia 30,000 years ago, when the first humans arrived. Shortly after, it disappeared. But Love Dalén, a professor at the Centre for Palaeogenetics in Stockholm, and Edana Lord, one of Dr Dalén’s PhD students, are not so sure. In a paper published in Current Biology, they use data from ancient DNA to argue that, this time at least, humans might be innocent. Until recently, information on the fate of the great ice-age mammals had been limited to what could be gleaned from fossilised bones. While useful, bones can only tell you so much. They can reveal the number of animals of different ages present at a specific location at a specific time. With some species sex can be determined. Occasionally the cause of death can be detected. In the past couple of decades, though, scientists have learned to tap another, richer source of information: ancient genomes. By itself, DNA degrades quickly, attacked by water and sunlight. But DNA encased within bones and teeth can survive for longer, especially if those bones and teeth are themselves encased in permafrost. It was this sort of DNA that enabled Dr Dalén and Ms Lord to investigate the woolly rhino’s disappearance.
I. What is mainly introduced
II. Figure out the meaning of the underlined words.
III. Translate the underlined sentences.
Listen and complete the passage.
Working with a team of colleagues, the researchers obtained DNA from 12 woolly-rhinoceros bones collected from permafrost in Siberia, dating from the beginning of the Late Pleistocene, about 130,000 years ago, until the animals were on the verge of extinction. Extra DNA was recovered from one sample of rhino hair and one piece of tissue found in the stomach of a frozen wolf that had been preserved by the cold. Analysing the genetic ___________ of the samples allowed the researchers to make a rough calculation of the size of the woolly-rhino population over time. ____________________________ as humans arrived, the population remained stable from 29,000 years ago until 18,500 years ago, just a few thousand years before the species went extinct. That suggests that, ____________________________ ___________, the rhinos co-existed stably with humans for around 10,000 years. Perhaps the people who ________________________ found them unpalatable. Or perhaps the rhinos were simply too dangerous to hunt with _______________________. (They were the size of the modern white rhino, which is not an animal that takes kindly to being stabbed with spears.) The researchers’ case is not quite conclusive. It is possible that some sort of ______________________________ eventually gave ancient humans the ability to hunt rhinos safely, and that extinction followed after that breakthrough. On the other hand, the animals’ decline lines up suggestively with a rapid bout of ________________________ that began around 14,700 years ago. The researchers argue that this was ______________________ of the animal’s disappearance. This time, it seems, it was Mother Nature who dunnit.
What was to blame for the extinction of the rhinos in the text
Translation
1. ______________________________________________________________
人类的到来通常意味着美味但以前与世隔绝的动物的灭绝。
2. ______________________________________________________________
虽然有用，但骨头只能告诉你这么多。
3. ______________________________________________________________
就是这种DNA让他们能够调查披毛犀（wooly rhino）的消失之谜。
4. ______________________________________________________________
这种犀牛并不是被猎杀致灭绝的，它们一直都和人类稳定地共存。
5. ______________________________________________________________
这更有可能是这种动物消失的原因。
原文：
From the moa in New Zealand to the dodo in Mauritius, the arrival of humans has often spelled extinction for tasty but previously isolated animals. Many scientists had assumed that the woolly rhinoceros, a shaggy beast that sported an enormous horn, suffered the same fate. The animal was common in northern Europe and northern Asia 30,000 years ago, when the first humans arrived. Shortly after, it disappeared. But Love Dalén, a professor at the Centre for Palaeogenetics in Stockholm, and Edana Lord, one of Dr Dalén’s PhD students, are not so sure. In a paper published in Current Biology, they use data from ancient DNA to argue that, this time at least, humans might be innocent. Until recently, information on the fate of the great ice-age mammals had been limited to what could be gleaned from fossilised bones. While useful, bones can only tell you so much. They can reveal the number of animals of different ages present at a specific location at a specific time. With some species sex can be determined. Occasionally the cause of death can be detected. In the past couple of decades, though, scientists have learned to tap another, richer source of information: ancient genomes. By itself, DNA degrades quickly, attacked by water and sunlight. But DNA encased within bones and teeth can survive for longer, especially if those bones and teeth are themselves encased in permafrost. It was this sort of DNA that enabled Dr Dalén and Ms Lord to investigate the woolly rhino’s disappearance.
翻译：
From the moa in New Zealand to the dodo in Mauritius,
从新西兰的恐鸟到毛里求斯的渡渡鸟，
Translation
the arrival of humans has often spelled extinction for tasty but previously isolated animals.
人类的到来通常意味着美味但以前与世隔绝的动物的灭绝。
Many scientists had assumed that the woolly rhinoceros, a shaggy beast that sported an enormous horn, suffered the same fate.
很多科学家认为，毛茸茸、长着巨大角的披毛犀也遭遇了同样的命运。
The animal was common in northern Europe and northern Asia 30,000 years ago, when the first humans arrived. Shortly after, it disappeared.
3万年前，当第一批人类到达时，这种动物在北欧和亚洲北部很常见。不久后，就消失了。
But Love Dalen, a professor at the Centre for Palaeogenetics in Stockholm,
但斯德哥尔摩古遗传学中心的Love Dalen教授
and Edana Lord, one of Dr Dalen's PHD students, are not so sure.
以及Dalen的博士生之一Edana Lord并不太确定。
In a paper published in Current Biology, they use data from ancient DNA to argue that, this time at least, humans might be innocent.
在发表于《Current Biology》的一篇论文中，他们利用来自于古DNA的数据辩称到，至少这一次，人类可能是无辜的。
Until recently, information on the fate of the great ice-age mammals had been limited to what could be gleaned from fossilised bones.
直到最近，关于大冰期时代哺乳动物命运的信息都仅限于从骨骼化石中收集到的那些。
While useful, bones can only tell you so much. They can reveal the number of animals of different ages present at a specific location at a specific time.
虽然有用，但骨头只能告诉你这么多。它们可以揭示出现在特定时期、特定地点的不同年代的动物的数量。
With some species sex can be determined. Occasionally the cause of death can be detected.
可以确定一些物种的性别。有时可以查出它们的死亡原因
In the past couple of decades, though, scientists have learned to tap another, richer source of information: ancient genomes.
虽然在过去几十年里，科学家已经学会利用另一个更丰富的信息远古基因组。
By itself, DNA degrades quickly, attacked by water and sunlight. But DNA encased within bones and teeth can survive for longer,
就其本身而言，DNA受到水和阳光的攻击，降解迅速。但包裹在骨头和牙齿中的DNA存活时间更长，
especially if those bones and teeth are themselves encased in permafrost.
尤其是如果那些骨头和牙齿本身被包裹在多年冻土中。
It was this sort of DNA that enabled Dr Dalen and Ms Lord to investigate the woolly rhino's disappearance.
就是这种DNA让Dalen博士和Lord能够调查披毛犀的消失之谜。
Working with a team of colleagues, the researchers obtained DNA from 12 woolly-rhinoceros bones collected from permafrost in Siberia, dating from the beginning of the Late Pleistocene, about 130,000 years ago, until the animals were on the verge of extinction. Extra DNA was recovered from one sample of rhino hair and one piece of tissue found in the stomach of a frozen wolf that had been preserved by the cold. Analysing the genetic diversity of the samples allowed the researchers to make a rough calculation of the size of the woolly-rhino population over time. Rather than declining as humans arrived, the population remained stable from 29,000 years ago until 18,500 years ago, just a few thousand years before the species went extinct. That suggests that, far from being hunted to extinction, the rhinos co-existed stably with humans for around 10,000 years. Perhaps the people who encountered the beasts found them unpalatable. Or perhaps the rhinos were simply too dangerous to hunt with their simple weapons. (They were the size of the modern white rhino, which is not an animal that takes kindly to being stabbed with spears.) The researchers’ case is not quite conclusive. It is possible that some sort of technological advance eventually gave ancient humans the ability to hunt rhinos safely, and that extinction followed after that breakthrough. On the other hand, the animals’ decline lines up suggestively with a rapid bout of global warming that began around 14,700 years ago. The researchers argue that this was the more likely cause of the animal’s disappearance. This time, it seems, it was Mother Nature who dunnit.
Working with a team of colleagues, the researchers obtained DNA from 12 woolly-rhinoceros bones collected from permafrost in Siberia,
研究人员和同事们从西伯利亚多年冻土中采集到的12根披毛犀骨头中提取到了DNA，
dating from the beginning of the Late Pleistocene, about 130,000 years ago, until the animals were on the verge of extinction.
年代区间约从13万年前的晚更新世开始，到这些动物濒临灭绝为止。
Extra DNA was recovered from one sample of rhino hair and one piece of tissue found in the stomach of a frozen wolf that had been preserved by the cold.
另外的DNA来自于一根犀牛毛发样本，以及在一只冻狼胃部发现的一块组织，这只狼被低温保存了下来。
Analysing the genetic diversity of the samples allowed the researchers to make a rough calculation of the size of the woolly-rhino population over time.
分析这些样本的基因多样性能够让研究人员粗滤估算各时期披毛犀的数量。
Rather than declining as humans arrived, the population remained stable from 29,000 years ago until 18,500 years ago,
随着人类的到来，它们的数量没有减少，而是从2.9万年前开始就保持稳定，直到1.85万年前，
just a few thousand years before the species went extinct.
此时距离该物种灭绝仅几千年。
That suggests that, far from being hunted to extinction, the rhinos co-existed stably with humans for around 10,000 years.
这表明，这种犀牛并不是被猎杀致灭绝的，约一万多年以来，它们一直都和人类稳定地共存。
Perhaps the people who encountered the beasts found them unpalatable.
大概遇到这种野兽的人发现它们超级难吃。
Or perhaps the rhinos were simply too dangerous to hunt with their simple weapons.
又或者只是因为这种犀牛太过危险，人类简单的武器无法捕获它们。
(They were the size of the modern white rhino, which is not an animal that takes kindly to being stabbed with spears.)
（它们的体型和现代白犀牛的差不多，而白犀牛可不是那种喜欢被矛穿刺的动物。）
The researchers' case is not quite conclusive.
研究人员的结论还不是很明确。
It is possible that some sort of technological advance eventually gave ancient humans the ability to hunt rhinos safely,
或许某种继续进步最终赋予了古代人类安全捕获犀牛的能力，
and that extinction followed after that breakthrough.
并且在这次突破之后，它们就灭绝了。
On the other hand, the animals' decline lines up suggestively with a rapid bout of global warming that began around 14,700 years ago.
另一方面，动物数量的减少与始于大约1.47万年前的全球变暖的迅速爆发有明显的联系。
The researchers argue that this was the more likely cause of the animal's disappearance. This time, it seems, it was Mother Nature whodunnit.
研究人员表示，这更有可能是这种动物消失的原因。这一次，似乎是大自然母亲下的手。
