2017年12月六级第3套仔细阅读 Passage 1 原文翻译及答案解析

At the base of a mountain in Tanzania's Gregory Rift, Lake Natron burns bright red, surrounded by the remains of animals that were unfortunate enough to fall into the salty water. Bats, swallows and more are chemically preserved in the pose in which they perished, sealed in the deposits of sodium carbonate in the water. The lake's landscape is bizarre and deadly- and made even more so by the fact that it's the place where nearly 75 percent of the world's flamingos (火烈鸟) are born.

在坦桑尼亚格雷戈里裂谷的一座山脚下，纳特龙湖燃烧般地呈亮红色，周围是那些不幸落入盐水中的动物残骸。蝙蝠、燕子等动物以它们死亡时的姿势被化学方式保存，封存在水中的碳酸钠沉积物里。这片湖的景观奇异而致命——更甚的是，世界上近75%的火烈鸟在这里诞生。

The water is so corrosive that it can burn the skin and eyes of unadapted animals. Flamingos, however, are the only species that actually makes life in the midst of all that death. Once every three or four years, when conditions are right, the lake is covered with the pink birds as they stop flight to breed. Three quarters of the world's flamingos fly over from other salt lakes in the Rift Valley and nest on salt- crystal islands that appear when the water is at specific level- too high and the birds can't build their nests, too low and predators can more briskly across the lake bed and attack. When the water hits the right level. The baby birds are kept safe from predators by a corrosive ditch.

水具有强腐蚀性，能灼伤不适应动物的皮肤和眼睛。然而，火烈鸟是唯一能在这种死亡之地中生存的物种。每三到四年，当条件合适时，湖面上会覆盖着这些粉红色的鸟，它们停飞繁殖。世界上四分之三的火烈鸟从裂谷的其他盐湖飞来，在盐晶岛上筑巢，这些岛屿在水位特定时出现——水位太高，鸟儿无法筑巢；水位太低，捕食者能更迅速地穿过湖床攻击。当水位恰到好处时，幼鸟通过腐蚀性沟渠得以免受捕食者侵害。

"Flamingos have evolved very leathery skin on their legs so they can tolerate the salt water," says David Harper, a professor at the University of Leicester. " Humans cannot, and would die if their legs were exposed for any length of time." So far this year, water levels have been too high for the flamingos to nest.

“火烈鸟进化出了非常坚韧的皮肤在腿上，因此能耐受盐水，”莱斯特大学教授戴维·哈珀说。“人类则不行，如果腿暴露在盐水中任何一段时间就会死亡。”今年迄今为止，水位一直太高，火烈鸟无法筑巢。

Some fish, too, have had limited success vacationing at the lake as less salty lagoons (泻湖) form on the outer edges from hot springs flowing into Lake Natron. Three species of tilapia (罗非鱼) thrive there part-time. "Fish have a refuge in the streams and can expand into the lagoons when the lake is low and the lagoons are separate," Harper said. "All the lagoons join when the lake is high and fish must retreat to their stream refuges or die." Otherwise, no fish are able to survive in the naturally toxic lake.

一些鱼类也在这个湖中度假取得了有限的成功，因为从温泉流入纳特龙湖，在外缘形成了盐度较低的泻湖。三种罗非鱼在那里部分时间茁壮成长。“鱼类在溪流中有避难所，当湖水低、泻湖分离时，可以扩展到泻湖中，”哈珀说。“当湖水高时，所有泻湖连接，鱼类必须撤回溪流避难所，否则就会死亡。”除此之外，没有鱼类能在这种天然有毒的湖中生存。

This unique ecosystem may soon be under pressure. The Tanzanian government has once again started mining the lake for soda ash, used for making chemicals, glass and detergents. Although the planned operation will be located more than 40 miles away, drawing the soda ash in through pipelines, conservationists worry it could still upset the natural water cycle and breeding grounds. For now, though, life prevails even in a lake that kills almost everything it touches.

这个独特的生态系统可能很快面临压力。坦桑尼亚政府已再次开始开采该湖的纯碱，用于制造化学品、玻璃和洗涤剂。尽管计划中的作业将位于40多英里外，通过管道抽取纯碱，但环保主义者担心这仍可能扰乱自然水循环和繁殖地。不过目前，生命依然盛行于这个几乎杀死一切触碰之物的湖中。