The Cleverest 1)Scam in the Animal World

⊙ By John Downer

翻譯：T Boy

其實，寬吻海豚只不過發明了一種獨有的捕食方法罷了，而在南非，卷尾鳥與狐獴這對“合作伙伴”卻要彼此斗智斗勇，才能填飽肚子。它們一而再的較量讓人忍俊不禁。英式發音 適合泛聽語速：115詞/分鐘

聽力難度

Perhaps the cleverest scam in the animal world can be found in South Africa’s Kalahari Desert.

At the heart of this2)deceptionis the3)drongo,a bird that likes to hang out with4)meerkats. The meerkats5)foragefor insects. While they eat, a meerkat is on6)sentryduty looking for danger.Drongos have7)keen eyesight, and as they can8)perchhigher, they often spot the danger first.9)Martial eaglesare a serious threat. The drongo’s alarm10)alerts the meerkats. They, in turn, call and run for cover.

Having their own11)lookout bird helps the meerkats spend more time feeding. But there is a price to pay. The drongo isn’t quite as selfless as he seems, and has learned to turn this alarm to his advantage. He becomes an expert on their habits, learning that when an adult finds food, it calls out to the youngsters to share. As the food is about to be exchanged, the drongo calls the alarm,but this time, it’s a trick. As the meerkats abandon their food and flee, the drongo steals their meal.

1) scam [sk?m] n. 詭計，陰謀

2) deception [d??sep?（?）n] n. 騙局，詭計

3) drongo [?dr??ɡ??] n. 卷尾鳥

4) meerkat [?m??k?t] n. （南非）狐獴，貓鼬，蒙哥

5) forage [?f?r?d?] v. 搜尋食物

6) sentry [?sentr?] n. 警衛，看守

7) keen [ki?n] adj. 銳利的

8) perch [pз?t?] v. （鳥）棲息，停歇

9) martial eagle 猛雕

10) alert [??lз?t] v. 警告

11) lookout [?l?ka?t] n. 瞭望

Onto a good thing, the drongo tries again. But the meerkats know when they’ve been12)duped.And this time, no one reacts at all.

So the drongo takes it to the next level. But even screaming the alarm in their face doesn’t work. The meerkats are smart enough to know a cheat when they hear one.

Or are they? The drongo has another trick to pull. This time, the drongo13)mimicsthe meerkats’ own alarm call. It’s so accurate, the meerkats are duped again.

Drongos get over a fifth of their daily meals by making false alarms and stealing. When he’s exhausted all his tricks, he tries a more14)brazen approach. But he’s pushed his luck too far. He must try his scams elsewhere.

The intelligence of animals is sometimes so extraordinary, it can truly amaze.

12) dupe [dju?p] v. 欺騙

13) mimic [?m?m?k] v. 模仿

14) brazen [?bre?z（?）n] adj. 厚顏無恥的

見招拆招

① At the heart of this deception is the drongo, a bird that likes to hang out with meerkats.

② They, in turn, call and run for cover.

③ Onto a good thing, the drongo tries again.

在英語中，介詞短語的用法很靈活，它和名詞或相當于名詞的詞一起構成介詞短語在句中作狀語、定語、表語等，視需要不同，可放在句首、句中或句末。靈活運用介詞短語可以讓文章的句型結構更為多樣化，更加活潑。本文中三個使用了介詞短語的句子形式各不相同：

① 這是一個倒裝句，介詞短語at the heart of this deception在句子中充當表語，與系動詞is一起被提到主語the drongo前，用以強調介詞短語要表達的內容。

② 介詞短語in turn在句中作狀語，說明動詞call的方式。

③ 介詞短語onto a good thing作狀語，說明主句發生的原因。

參考譯文

也許動物世界里最狡詐的騙局發生在南非的卡拉哈里沙漠。

在這場騙局中，扮演主角的是卷尾鳥，這種鳥喜歡跟狐獴一起混。狐獴搜尋昆蟲作食物，它們在同伴進食時，有一只狐獴負責放哨，觀察著四周潛在的危險。卷尾鳥的目光非常敏銳，而且它們棲息在高處，所以總能最先發現險情。猛雕是一個致命的威脅，卷尾鳥發出的警報驚動了狐獴，它們相互提醒，找地方藏起來。

有了自己的瞭望鳥，狐獴可以花更多時間覓食，但這也是要付出代價的。卷尾鳥并非如其所表現的那么無私，它學會了從這種警報中獲得好處。它逐漸掌握了狐獴的習性，知道成年狐獴在找到食物后，會把幼崽叫出來進食。而就在食物即將在長幼狐獴之間交換的那一刻，卷尾鳥發出了警報聲，這次卻是一個陰謀。當狐獴扔下食物逃跑后，卷尾鳥便偷走了它們的食物。

卷尾鳥嘗到了甜頭，重施故伎。但是狐獴已經知道自己被騙了。這一次，沒有一只狐獴采取行動。

于是，卷尾鳥就把騙術升級，但即使它面對著狐獴高聲尖叫也未能奏效，聰明的狐獴能夠判斷自己聽到的是個騙局。

不過，真的是這樣嗎？卷尾鳥還有別的花招。這一次，卷尾鳥模仿了狐獴特有的警哨聲，它的模仿如此惟妙惟肖，狐獴又上當了。

卷尾鳥每天五分之一的食物是通過虛假的示警和偷竊獲取的。當它黔驢技窮的時候，它就嘗試更加厚顏無恥的手段，可惜它的運氣已經到頭了，不得不轉移戰場。

有時候，動物的智力是如此非凡，實在讓人震驚不已。