《中英對照讀新聞》 1 Long Neck, 4 Species 一樣的長脖子，卻是不同的4個物種

◎ 蔡子岳

The study researchers collected and analyzed DNA from skin samples representing 190 giraffes from across Africa, the first such analysis to include data from all nine formerly accepted subspecies.

研究人員蒐集、分析從非洲190隻長頸鹿皮膚中取得的DNA樣本，首次從長頸鹿所有9種亞種中皆取得資料。

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The results showed that what was long thought to be one giraffe species is in fact four species.

研究結果顯示，長頸鹿是同一物種的長久想法，事實上應為4個物種。

The 18th-century naturalist Carolus Linnaeus provided the first scientific description of a giraffe in 1758, using a Nubian giraffe as a model.

18世紀生物學家林奈於1758年首次以科學化方式記錄長頸鹿，是以努比亞長頸鹿做樣板。

Over time, more giraffe subspecies were identified. The nine recognized subspecies were described between 1758 and 1911, and inhabited 12 African countries, including South Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Uganda, South Africa and Zimbabwe.

時光遞嬗，更多長頸鹿亞種被辨別出來。於1758至1911年間，9種亞種被記錄，且跨12個非洲國家發現了長頸鹿棲息，包含南蘇丹、肯亞、索馬利亞、烏干達、南非與辛巴威。

The researchers spent five years assembling and testing genetic material from giraffes ranging across Africa. When the dust settled, four species were standing tall: the southern giraffe, northern giraffe, reticulated giraffe and Masai giraffe.

研究人員對全非洲的長頸鹿蒐集來的基因樣本，加以組織、試驗，便用上5年光陰。塵埃落定，總結出來共4種物種：南方長頸鹿、北方長頸鹿、網狀長頸鹿與馬塞長頸鹿。

The nine subspecies were absorbed into these four newly defined species, with the Nubian giraffe — the first representative, from more than 300 years ago — now identified as a subspecies of northern giraffe.

9種亞種被融合至重新定義的4種新物種內，包括努比亞長頸鹿─自300多年前就做為第一位代表─現被辨別為北方長頸鹿中一亞種。

新聞辭典

inhabit：動詞，居住。例句：Our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this planet.（我們最基本的共通連結就是我們同居住在這星球上。）

assemble：動詞，集合。例句：Freedom means the right of people to assemble, organize, and debate openly.（自由意指人們公開地集會、組織與辯論。）

absorb：動詞，吸收。例句：Absorb what is useful, discard what is useless and add what is specifically your own.（有用者吸收，無用者拋棄，然後加添你的特有。）