英语听书《海底两万里》第490期 第30章 从合恩角到亚马逊河(13)

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Harmless and unaggressive, these fine animals were six to seven meters long and must have weighed at least 4,000 kilograms each. 这些美丽、安详、温顺的动物，长6至7米，体重至少有4000公斤。

I told Ned Land and Conseil that farseeing nature had given these mammals a major role to play. 我告诉尼德·兰和康塞尔，有远见的造物主赋予这些哺乳动物一个重要的角色。

In essence, manatees, like seals, are designed to graze the underwater prairies,  的确，正是它们，像海豹一样，以海中的海草为食，

destroying the clusters of weeds that obstruct² the mouths of tropical rivers. 把阻塞热带河流出海口的大面积海草消灭掉。

"And do you know," I added, "what happened since man has almost completely wiped out these beneficial races?  “你们知道吗，”我补充说，“当人类差不多将这些有用的动物种类统统消灭光时，会有什么后果吗？

Rotting weeds have poisoned the air, and this poisoned air causes the yellow fever that devastates³ these wonderful countries. 那就是，腐烂了的海草就会毒化空气，而有毒的空气会导致黄热病，使这个富饶的地区变得一片荒凉。

This toxic⁴ vegetation has increased beneath the seas of the Torrid Zone, 而有害的植物就会蔓延滋长在这片酷热的海里，

so the disease spreads unchecked from the mouth of the Rio de la Plata to Florida!" 疾病就会不可抵制地从普拉塔的里约河口，一直蔓延到佛罗里达。”

And if Professor Toussenel is correct, 但如果按杜斯耐尔的观点，

this plague is nothing compared to the scourge⁵ that will strike our descendants once the seas are depopulated of whales and seals. 这种灾难比起海里的鲸鱼和海豹数量减少而带给我们的后代的灾难来说，那还不算什么。

By then, crowded with jellyfish, squid, and other devilfish, the oceans will have become huge centers of infection, 海洋里到处充斥着章鱼、水母和枪乌贼，海洋将变成一个巨大的疾病传染源，

because their waves will no longer possess "these huge stomachs that God has entrusted⁶ with scouring⁷ the surface of the sea." 因为现在海里不再存在着那些“上帝派来清扫海面的大胃口动物”。

Meanwhile, without scorning these theories, the Nautilus's crew captured half a dozen manatees. 然而，尽管明了这些道理，“鹦鹉螺号”船上的人还是捕捉了6只海牛。

In essence, it was an issue of stocking the larder⁸ with excellent red meat, even better than beef or veal⁹. 这其实是为了充实船上的食品储备，这种美味的海牛肉比牛肉和小牛肉还好吃。

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