考研英语阅读篇章里约大冒险蓝鹦鹉原型去世

　　篇章：《里约大冒险》蓝鹦鹉原型去世

　　The bird was a Spix s macaw named Presley, and he was around 40 years old when he died Wednesday. He was thought to be the second-to-last of the remaining wild-born parrots.

　　这是一只斯皮克斯金刚鹦鹉，名叫普雷斯利。周三那天它离世了，约四十岁，被认为是世上最后倒数第二只野生斯皮克斯金刚鹦鹉。

　　Presley s death is a blow to conservation efforts in both a symbolic and literal sense. Critically endangered, these native Brazilian birds are believed to be extinct in the wild. Decades of deforestation and rampant wildlife trafficking have besieged the medium-size macaws, who also ended up having to compete for nest space with introduced Africanized honeybees.

　　无论是象征意义上或是实际上，普雷斯利的死都是对保育界的努力的一大打击。这些本土的巴西雀属于濒危物种，估计已经在野外灭绝。多年来的森林砍伐和猖獗的野生动物走私已经逼使这种中型金刚鹦鹉走投无路，更要与新引进的非洲化蜜蜂争夺筑巢之所。

　　Now, the fewer than 100 remaining Spix s macaws are cloistered in captive breeding programs and refuges throughout the worldand the small population is vulnerable to genetic defects caused by inbreeding. Presley offered the opportunity to inject some much-needed genetic diversity into the population.

　　目前，只有少于100只斯皮克斯金刚鹦鹉存活，它们被隔离在养殖计划里接受监控，在全球各国之间寻求避难所。其中，有少数的鹦鹉更因为近亲繁殖而容易产生基因缺陷。普雷斯利是这群斯皮克斯金刚鹦鹉的希望，可以给予它们很迫切需要的不同基因。