Unit 13 The USA

It was also thought that by removing their main supply of food, the Native Americans would be forced to give in.

當(dāng)時還有人認(rèn)為，斷掉了主要的食物來源，土著人就會被迫屈服。

Unit 13 The USA

Between 1850 and 1910 the bison population is thought to have fallen from 60 million to just a few hundred.

人們認(rèn)為，在1850年到1910年之間，野牛的頭數(shù)從6，000萬頭降到只有幾百頭了。

Unit 13 The USA

The killing of the bison changed the whole wildlife of the plains. With fewer bison, grass shoots were not eaten, so grass did not grow as strongly.

屠宰野牛改變了平原的全部野生生物。野牛少了，嫩草沒有牛來吃了，草就長得不粗壯。

Unit 13 The USA

Bison waste no longer fell on the ground to improve the soil, which as a result became less good for growing plants.

地上不再有野牛的糞便來改良土壤，結(jié)果對于植物生長土壤變得不夠肥沃了。

Unit 13 The USA

The ground supported fewer plants, and the insects which lived on these plants died out.

地上長的植物少了，生活在這些植物上的昆蟲就消亡了。

Unit 13 The USA

There was less food for birds and also for the prairie dog, a kind of animal which lives in holes in the ground.

供鳥類吃的食物少了，供草原犬鼠（一種生活在地洞里的動物）吃的食物也少了。

Unit 13 The USA

This in turn had an effect on the food supply for wolves.

這樣又影響了狼的食物供應(yīng)。

Unit 13 The USA

Thus one simple fact, a change in the number of bison, had an effect on the whole wildlife chain of the plains.

因此，出現(xiàn)了這樣一個簡單的事實--野牛數(shù)目換的變化對平原的整個野生生物鏈都產(chǎn)生了影響。

Unit 14 Roots

Journey Into The Unknown

走向未知世界的旅程

Unit 14 Roots

Kunta wondered why the white people had done this to him.

孔塔不知道白人為什么要這樣對待他。

Unit 14 Roots

Born a free man, he was now in chains.

他生來本是個自由人，如今卻戴上了鐐銬。

Unit 14 Roots

Heavy iron chains around his feet and hands were fixed to a metal bar that ran round the hall about ten centimetres off the ground.

手上和腳上沉重的鐵鏈拴在廳堂四周離地約有10厘米的金屬桿上。

Unit 14 Roots

He was just able to lie down on the ground, but could not stand up.

他只能躺在地上，但不能站起來。

Unit 14 Roots

He sat in the darkness and listened to the people around him.

他坐在黑暗處，聽著周圍的人在講話。

Unit 14 Roots

One man had a head wound and was in pain.

有一個人頭部受了傷，非常痛苦。

Unit 14 Roots

Another, whose language Kunta understood, was crying softly to himself.

另一個人在暗自輕聲地哭訴，他的話孔塔聽得懂。

Unit 14 Roots

Kunta knew it was the middle of the night, for through the small open window high in the wall he could see stars.

孔塔知道已經(jīng)是半夜了，因為通過墻的上方開著的小窗，他能看到星星。

Unit 14 Roots

He could also hear night insects and the sound of waves on the shore.

他還能聽到夜晚里昆蟲的叫聲和波浪拍擊岸邊的聲音。

Unit 14 Roots

Kunta had been seized in the forest and then hit on the head with a hard object.

孔塔在森林里被抓住以后，他的頭部就被一個硬的東西打了一下。

Unit 14 Roots

When he woke up, his hands and feet had already been tied together.

當(dāng)他醒過來的時候，他的手腳已經(jīng)被捆起來了。

Unit 14 Roots

What shocked him most was that the men who carried him were black.

最使他感到驚奇的是，把他運(yùn)走的人都是黑人。

Unit 14 Roots

He reasoned with them, and tried to persuade them to set him free.

他跟這些人講道理，試圖說服他們把他放了。

Unit 14 Roots

But they would not listen to him. When they came to the river, a white man was waiting in the boat for them.

但是他們不聽，當(dāng)他們來到江邊時，一個白人正在船上等著他們。

Unit 14 Roots

There was an argument about money, so it seemed, in a language that Kunta did not understand.

看來他們在用孔塔聽不懂的語言進(jìn)行了一番討價還價。

Unit 14 Roots

Finally, Kunta was thrown into the bottom of the boat and covered with an old smelly cloth.

最后孔塔被扔進(jìn)船底，蓋上一條臭氣熏天的舊布單。

Unit 14 Roots

The men took him in their boat to the castle on the coast where he was now held prisoner.

這些人用船把他送到海岸上的城堡里，如今他被囚禁在這兒。

Unit 14 Roots

Another thing which shocked Kunta was that women were held in the castle too.

還有一件事使孔塔感到驚奇，這就是關(guān)在城堡里的還有婦女。

Unit 14 Roots

He could hear their crying, also children's voices.

他可以聽到婦女們的哭聲，還有孩子們的聲音。

Unit 14 Roots

What was to become of them all, he wondered.

他們這些人會怎么樣呢？他感到很納悶。

Unit 14 Roots

For all his life, he had known that people suddenly disappeared from their villages.

他一生中，聽說過有的人突然間在他們的村莊失蹤了。