中英對照讀新聞》 Climate change causing albatross divorce, says study 研究指出 氣候變遷導致信天翁離婚

◎ 周虹汶

“It is a truth universally acknowledged,” Jane Austen wrote in the opening lines of “Pride and Prejudice,” “that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.”

珍．奧斯汀在「傲慢與偏見」一書開篇寫道，「它是公認的真理」，「擁有許多財富的單身男子，必定需要一個妻子」

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Social mores may have shifted since the early 19th century, but the maxim seems still to hold true for albatrosses, very large seabirds that live mostly in the Southern Hemisphere and are known as some of the world’s most reliably monogamous creatures.

社會風俗或許自19世紀初以來已有所改變，但這格言對主要生活在南半球的大型海鳥信天翁而言似乎依然適用，它們一向以全世界最可靠的一夫一妻制生物聞名。

Climate change and warming water, however, have disrupted the good fortune of some albatrosses and could lead to a rise in partners breaking up, according to a study published Wednesday by New Zealand’s Royal Society.

然而，根據週三由紐西蘭皇家學會發布的一項研究，氣候變遷和海水暖化已經打亂一些信天翁的好運，可能導致分手的伴侶增加。

Warmer water leads to population declines among fish, which means the birds have to spend more time and travel farther to feed. The harsher conditions in turn can effect hormone levels and make it less likely that chicks will survive.

水溫升高導致魚類減少，意味信天翁必須花更多時間與飛得更遠來覓食。更惡劣的環境反過來影響賀爾蒙水準，使得幼鳥比較不可能存活。

新聞辭典

in want of：片語，指需要。例句：The house is in want of repair.（這棟房屋需要整修。）

mores：名詞，社會的風俗、習俗，一般的規矩。例句：Its scenes reflect the mores of the time and region in which it was created.（它的場景反映出它所處的時代和地區的風俗習慣。）