第17课

旁白 neutral

In the early days of the settlement of Australia, enterprising settlers unwisely introduced the European rabbit.

在澳大利亚早期定居时，富有进取心的定居者不明智地引进了欧洲兔。

旁白 neutral

This rabbit had no natural enemies in the Antipodes, so that it multiplied with that promiscuous abandon characteristic of rabbits.

这种兔子在大洋洲没有天敌，因此它以兔子特有的滥交放纵方式大量繁殖。

旁白 neutral

It overran a whole continent.

它遍布了整个大陆。

旁白 neutral

It caused devastation by burrowing and by devouring the herbage which might have maintained millions of sheep and cattle.

它通过挖洞和吞食草料造成了破坏，这些草料本可以养活数百万只绵羊和牛。

旁白 neutral

Scientists discovered that this particular variety of rabbit (and apparently no other animal) was susceptible to a fatal virus disease, myxomatosis.

科学家发现，这种特殊品种的兔子（显然没有其他动物）易感染一种致命的病毒性疾病——黏液瘤病。

旁白 neutral

By infecting animals and letting them loose in the burrows, local epidemics of this disease could be created.

通过感染动物并将它们释放到洞穴中，可以制造这种疾病的局部流行。

旁白 neutral

Later it was found that there was a type of mosquito which acted as the carrier of this disease and passed it on to the rabbits.

后来发现有一种蚊子充当这种疾病的载体，并将其传播给兔子。

旁白 neutral

So while the rest of the world was trying to get rid of mosquitoes, Australia was encouraging this one.

因此，当世界其他地方都在努力消灭蚊子时，澳大利亚却在鼓励这种蚊子。

旁白 neutral

It effectively spread the disease all over the continent and drastically reduced the rabit population.

它有效地将疾病传播到整个大陆，并大幅减少了兔子数量。

旁白 neutral

It later became apparent that rabbits were developing a degree of resistance to this disease,

后来，很明显兔子对这种疾病正在产生一定程度的抵抗力，

旁白 neutral

so that the rabbit population was unlikely to be completely exterminated.

因此兔子种群不太可能被完全消灭。

旁白 neutral

There were hopes, however, that the problem of the rabbit would become manageable.

然而，人们希望兔子的（鼠害）问题能够变得可控。

旁白 neutral

Ironically, Europe, which had bequeathed the rabbit as a pest to Australia, acquired this man-made disease as a pestilence.

具有讽刺意味的是，欧洲将兔子作为害虫遗赠给澳大利亚，现在却将这种人为的疾病视为一场瘟疫。

旁白 neutral

A French physician decided to get rid of the wild rabbits on his own estate and introduced myxomatosis.

一位法国医生决定清除自己庄园里的野兔，并引入了黏液瘤病。

旁白 neutral

It did not, however, remain within the confines of this estate.

然而，它并没有局限于这个庄园。

旁白 neutral

It spread through France, where wild rabbits are not generally regarded as a pest but as a sport and a useful food supply,

它传播到法国，在那里野兔通常不被视为害虫，而是作为一项运动和有用的食物来源，

旁白 neutral

and it spread to Britain where wild rabbits are regarded as a pest but where domesticated rabbits,

并传播到英国，在那里野兔被视为害虫，但家养兔子，

旁白 neutral

equally susceptible to the disease, are the basis of a profitable fur industry.

同样易受这种疾病感染，却是利润丰厚的毛皮产业的基础。

旁白 neutral

The question became one of whether Man could control the disease he had invented.

问题变成了人类是否能够控制他所制造的疾病。