外國人最想和你聊的時事話題：尼斯湖水怪
- 雙語介紹
- 關鍵詞句
What is Ness Monster 什么是尼斯湖水怪
The Loch Ness Monster (Scottish Gaelic Niseag) is a cryptid that is reputed to inhabit Loch Ness in the Scottish Highlands. The most frequent speculation is that the creature represents a line of longsurviving plesiosaurs. It is similar to other supposed lake monsters in Scotland and elsewhere, though its description varies from one account to the next.
Popular interest and belief in the animal has varied since it was brought to the world's attention in 1933. Evidence of its existence is anecdotal, with minimal and much-disputed photographic material and sonar readings. The scientific community regards the Loch Ness Monster as a modern-day myth, and explains sightings as a mix of hoaxes and wishful thinking. Despite this, it remains one of the most famous examples of cryptozoology. The legendary monster has been affectionately referred to by the nickname Nessie (Scottish Gaelic: Niseag) since the 1950s.
A variety of explanations have been postulated over the years to account for sightings of the Loch Ness Monster.
Bird wakes
There are wake sightings that occur when the loch is dead calm with no boat nearby. A bartender named David Munro claims to have witnessed a wake he believed was a creature zigzagging, diving, and reappearing. (There were 26 other witnesses from a nearby car park.) Some sightings describe the onset of a V-shaped wake, as if there were something underwater. Moreover, many wake sightings describe something not conforming to the shape of a boat. Under dead calm conditions, a creature too small to be visible to the naked eye can leave a clear v-shaped wake. In particular, a group of swimming birds can give a wake and the appearance of an object. A group of birds can leave the water and then land again, giving a sequence of wakes like an object breaking the surface, which Dick Raynor says is a possible explanation for his film.
Eels
A giant eel was actually one of the first suggestions made. Eels are found in Loch Ness, and an unusually large eel would fit many sightings. This has been described as a conservative explanation. Eels are not known to protrude swanlike from the water and thus would not account for the head and neck sightings. Dinsdale dismissed the proposal because eels move in a side-to-side undulation.
On 2 May 2001, two conger eels were found on the shore of the loch； however, as conger eels are saltwater animals and Loch Ness is a freshwater body of water, it is believed that they were put there to be seen as "Mini-Nessies".
Elephant
In a 1979 article, California biologist Dennis Power and geographer Donald Johnson claimed that the Surgeon's Photograph was in fact the top of the head, extended trunk and flared nostrils of a swimming elephant, probably photographed elsewhere and claimed to be from Loch Ness. In 2006, paleontologist and artist Neil Clark similarly suggested that travelling circuses might have allowed elephants to refresh themselves in the loch and that the trunk could therefore be the head and neck, with the elephant's head and back providing the humps. In support of this he provided a painting.
Resident animals
When viewed through a telescope or binoculars with no outside reference, it is difficult to judge the size of an object in the water. Loch Ness has resident otters and pictures of them are given by Binns, which could be misinterpreted. Likewise he gives pictures of deer swimming in Loch Ness, and birds that could be taken as a "head and neck" sighting.
自古至今，有不少學者對"尼斯湖水怪(Ness Monster)之謎"一直持懷疑甚至完全否定的態(tài)度。他們認為，尼斯湖根本就沒有什么怪獸，而是一種光的折射(refringence)現象給人們造成的錯覺(illusion)。有的則認為很可能是在尼斯湖湖底有一些具有浮力(buoyant force)的漿沫石，這些漿沫石在一定的條件下浮上水面隨波飄蕩。當人們站在湖岸邊時，遠遠望去，由于視覺的錯誤，往往把奇形怪狀的漿沫石誤認為是怪獸。
但是，全世界許多著名的科學家堅信在尼斯湖中確實存在有一種至今尚未被人們查明的怪獸(monster)。他們認為，幾億年前，尼斯湖一帶原是一片極目浩瀚的滄茫海洋，后來由于地殼運動(crustal movement)頻繁，經歷了多次海陸變遷，才逐漸演變成今天的面貌。因此，很可能有一種尚未被人類認識的遠古動物(weird ancient animals)，獨特的海棲爬蟲類至今仍然生活在尼斯湖里。
Some people believe in the Loch Ness monster.
有些人相信尼斯湖水怪是存在的。
The world's biggest and most famous kelpie is the Loch Ness Monster, although it is often mistaken for a sea serpent (FB).
世界上體積最大，最出名的馬形水怪是尼斯湖怪，只是常被誤認為是海蛇（神奇動物）。
Even the Loch Ness Monster makes the list at number 56.
甚至連尼斯湖水怪也榜上有名，排行第56位。
Nessie is usually categorized as a type of Lake Monster.
尼斯湖水怪通常被認為是一種湖中的怪物。
The Loch Ness Monster, sometimes called Nessie or Ness (Scottish Gaelic: Niseag), is a mysterious and unidentified animal or group of animals claimed by some to inhabit Loch Ness, a large deep freshwater loch near the city of Inverness in northern Scotland.
尼斯湖水怪是由尼斯湖邊的原住民聲稱發(fā)現的一種或一組神秘的動物。尼斯湖位于蘇格蘭以北，是一片深水淡水湖。
Hugh Gray took the first known photos of the Loch Ness Monster in 1933.
1933年，休·格雷拍攝了已知的第一張"尼斯湖水怪"的照片。
On Christmas, a new family film about the alleged, elusive beastie will hit theaters: "The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep."
在圣誕節(jié)，一部關于這個傳聞中令人難以捉摸的動物的新家庭影片即將上映：《尼斯湖水怪》。
Ness Lake is a lake of north-central Scotland. It drains through the Ness River into the Moray Firth and is part of the Caledonian Canal system. The Loch Ness Monster is reputed to inhabit its deep waters.
尼斯湖是蘇格蘭中北部的一個湖。湖水流經尼斯河注入馬里灣，是喀里多尼亞運河流域的一部分。尼斯湖怪獸以棲息于深水中而聞名。
Ness Lake Monster is one of the most mysterious and attractive riddles.
尼斯湖水怪，是地球上最神秘也最吸引人的謎之一。
Ness Lake Monster attracts visitors all over the world each year as well as the attention of scientists and explorers.
尼斯湖水怪每年都吸引世界各地的游客前往參觀，同時也吸引著許多科學家和探險者的目光。
It has been widely spread since 1500 years ago that there was a huge monster in the Ness Lake, which always swallowed human beings and livestock.
早在1500多年前，就開始流傳尼斯湖中有巨大怪獸常常出來吞食人畜的故事。
In recent one hundred years, Ness Lake Monster appears from time to time like ghost.
近一百多年來，尼斯湖水怪像幽靈似地時隱時現。
From ancient time till now, many scholars keep doubting about even totally deny the existence of Ness Lake Monster.
自古至今，有不少學者對"尼斯湖水怪之謎"一直持懷疑甚至完全否定的態(tài)度。
In June 6th, the expeditions went to Ness Lake to take many photos.
6月6日，考察隊到尼斯湖拍下了很多的照片。
Since the pictures of Ness Lake Monster being taken since 1930's, we have nearly 4000 witness materials about the so-called Ness Lake Monster.
自上個世紀30年代尼斯湖水怪被首次拍下來以來，我們已經有了近4000份所謂尼斯湖水怪的目擊材料。
No matter true or virtual, Ness Lake Monster will be a symbol of Scotland.
不管尼斯湖水怪是真實的還是虛擬的，尼斯湖水怪都將成為蘇格蘭的一個象征。
Part 3 Let's Talk！ 開始交流吧！
Christina: Good morning, Ella. What are you reading?
克里斯蒂娜：早上好，埃拉。你在看什么？
Ella: I'm reading newspaper.
埃拉：我在看報紙。
Christina: Is there any interesting news?
克里斯蒂娜：有什么有趣的消息嗎？
Ella: It is said that there is another person who witnessed Ness Water Monster.
埃拉：據說又有人看到尼斯湖水怪了。
Christina: The Ness Monster has long been a topic people are interested in.
克里斯蒂娜：尼斯湖水怪一直以來都是人們樂于談論的話題。
Ella: Not only ordinary people who like debating its reality, most scientists are devoting to the exploration of Ness Monster riddle.
埃拉：不僅人們喜歡討論它的真實性，很多科學家也致力于探索尼斯湖水怪之謎。
Christina: Do you think Ness Monster exists?
克里斯蒂娜：你認為尼斯湖水怪真的存在嗎？
Ella: I think it is just an imagination of people, which doesn't exist at all.
埃拉：我認為這只不過是人們的一種想象，實際上并不存在尼斯湖水怪。
Christina: But many people claim that they witness the Ness Monster.
克里斯蒂娜：但是的確有很多人聲稱見過尼斯湖水怪。
Ella: Maybe what they see is just a big fish or some ocean creature that unknown for people.
埃拉：或許他們看到的只不過是一種大魚或者某種人們未知的海洋生物。
Christina: Well, how to explain those pictures?
克里斯蒂娜：那么如何解釋那些照片呢？
Ella: The synthetic technology is very exquisite, which could not been regarded as the evidence for the existence of Ness Monster.
埃拉：現在的照片合成技術很高，這不能作為尼斯湖水怪存在的證據。
Christina: The scientists also hold different opinions towards it. Some of them firmly believe in its existence, while others consider it just as refringence of light.
克里斯蒂娜：對此科學家們也持有不同的意見。有些科學家認為確實存在尼斯湖水怪，而另一些科學家則認為那只不過是一種光線的現象。
Ella: Besides we can't exclude the fact that somebody wants to be famous with its help.
埃拉：此外不能排除有些人是為了借此出名。
Christina: No matter exists or not, this topic will continuous.
克里斯蒂娜：無論尼斯湖水怪是否真的存在，這一話題都將持續(xù)下去。
Ella: To be frank, I really hope that I can see this mysterious Ness Monster by myself one day.
埃拉：說實話，我真的希望有朝一日能夠親眼見到這個神秘的尼斯湖水怪。
