Butterfly effect
Butterfly effect
EDUARDO ZARZA GARCíA, a 55-year-old Nahuatl indian, remembers that when he was a boy, the arrival of millions of butterflies to the hills above his home in central Mexico was associated with 1 ^1 1 the Day of the Dead on November 2nd. His grandparents would say that the palomas (doves), as they were called, were the spirits of his ancestors, paying an annual visit.
现年55岁的那瓦特人EZG还记得，小时候自己家住在墨西哥中部，每年都有数百万蝴蝶飞到附近的小山丘上，人们往往将它们的到来往往与亡灵节 联系 1 ^1 1 起来，每当那时候，他的祖父母就会说，这些鸽子–按照他们的叫法–是逝去先人的灵魂，来此进行一年一度的拜访。
Even after Canadian zoologists discovered in 1975 that the butterflies were in fact the familiar monarchs that laid eggs and hatched during the summer in the United States and Canada, the science was no less 1 ^1 1 alluring. In late autumn, the almost weightless butterflies flutter about 1,500 miles (2,400 km) south to reach a few clumps of fir trees in Mexico where they hibernate and mate. Unlike migrating birds 2 ^2 2 , none has ever made the journey before, making it one of North America’s most extraordinary natural phenomena.
zoologist [zəʊˈɒlədʒɪst] 动物学家
monarch [ˈmɒnək] 君主，[动]黑脉金斑蝶
hatch [hætʃ] 孵化
alluring [əˈlʊərɪŋ] 迷人的
flutter [ˈflʌtə®] 拍翅膀，飘扬，烦扰，紧张
clump [klʌmp] 丛
fir [fɜ:®] 冷杉
hibernate [ˈhaɪbəneɪt] 冬眠
migrate [maɪˈgreɪt] 迁移
phenomena [fə’nɒmɪnə] 现象
即使在1975年加拿大动物学家发现，这些蝴蝶并非什么亡灵，而是人们熟悉的品种–夏天在美国和加拿大产卵、孵化的黑脉金斑蝶之后，从科学的角度而言，它们的故事 依然 1 ^1 1 动人。秋末，这些柔弱的几乎没有重量的蝴蝶拍打着翅膀，向南飞行约1500英里（或2400公里），到达墨西哥的几片冷杉林，并在此冬眠、交配。与 候鸟 2 ^2 2 不同，它们此前从未有过这样漫长的旅行，这一迁徙也因此成为北美最令人叹为观止的自然现象之一。
So it should be an inspiring symbol for North America, whose three leaders met on February 19th in Toluca, within 35 miles (56km) of the Piedra Herrada butterfly sanctuary, to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). But it isn’t. Data collected by the Mexican environment ministry and the World Wildlife Fund, a charity, show that over the last two decades, the size of the monarch population in Mexico has plummeted — at least as measured by the number of hectares they occupy. In a letter ahead of the summit, campaigners urged President Barack Obama and his counterparts to address the issue.
sanctuary [ˈsæŋktʃuəri] 圣所，保护区，避难所
ministry [ˈmɪnɪstri] 政府部门
charity [ˈtʃærəti] 慈善，慈善机关
plummet [ˈplʌmɪt] 暴跌
hectare [ˈhekteə®] 公顷
summit [ˈsʌmɪt] 顶点，峰会
campaigner [kæmˈpeɪnə®] 竞选者,(尤指政治或社会变革)运动领导者,参加者
counterpart [ˈkaʊntəpɑ:t] 职务相应的人
address 解决
因此它本应成为北美励志的象征。2月19日，三位领导人在距皮德拉赫拉达蝴蝶保护区35英里（56公里）的托卢卡会面，庆祝北美自由贸易协定（NAFTA）20周年。但事实并非如此。墨西哥环境部和世界野生动物基金会（一家慈善机构）收集的数据显示，在过去的20年里，墨西哥黑脉金斑蝶数量急剧下降，至少以他们所占的公顷数衡量。在峰会之前的一封信中，活动人士在一封信上敦促奥巴马总统等三位领导人解决这一问题。
Traditionally, the finger of blame for the declining numbers has been pointed at the Mexicans. Illegal logging has affected much of 1 ^1 1 the fir cover that the butterflies need to keep warm. However, the environmentalists who signed the letter grudgingly acknowledged that the Mexicans were becoming better custodians.
logging [ˈlɒgɪŋ] 伐木
grudging [ˈgrʌdʒɪŋ] 不情愿
custodian [kʌˈstəʊdiən] 监护人，看守人
过去，指责的矛头总是对准墨西哥人，称非法伐木破坏了蝴蝶赖以取暖的 大部分 1 ^1 1 冷杉林，然而，在信上署名的环保主义者不情愿地承认，墨西哥人在保护蝴蝶上做得比以前好了。
Not so Americans and Canadians, who they blamed for using modern farming methods that wipe out the milkweed on which the butterflies’ larvae feed on the insects’ staggered journey north, also hitting their numbers. The monarchs’ defenders say increasing use of genetically modified 1 ^1 1 crops, which are resistant to herbicides, encourages farmers to spray a weedkiller, glyphosate, on their fields, destroying milkweed. They propose establishing a “milkweed corridor” along roadsides and on the edge of fields along their migratory route, especially in the United States and Canada.
stagger [ˈstægə®] 蹒跚，动摇，使吃惊
genetically [dʒə’netɪklɪ] 基因的
herbicides ['hɜ:bɪsaɪdz] 除草剂
corridor [ˈkɒrɪdɔ:®] 走廊
但是美国和加拿大人却没有，环保人士指责这两国人民使用现代耕作手段，摧毁了蝴蝶幼虫的食物–乳草类植物。这些幼虫每年蹒跚向北，其数量也遭到冲击。蝴蝶声援者称，抗杀虫剂的 转基因 1 ^1 1 作物使用的增加使得农民在自己的土地上喷洒一种名为草甘膦的除草剂，杀死了乳草类植物，他们提出要在蝴蝶迁徙路线的道路两旁和田野边缘建立一条“乳草走廊”，尤其要在美国和加拿大实行。
The issue is likely to be ignored at the summit. But it should not have been. At a time when NAFTA is badly in need of a new impetus, the rescue of the monarch could have been a compelling metaphor. It is, after all, an example of seamless borders: the offspring (call them “dreamers”) is born in the United States and Canada; the oldies (call them sun-seekers) flock to 1 ^1 1 Mexico. It also shows shared enterprise: The mating (call it assembly, or maquiladora) occurs in Mexico; the finished product delights everyone further north.
impetus [ˈɪmpɪtəs] 动力，势头
compelling [kəmˈpelɪŋ] 引人入胜的，令人信服的，不可抗拒的
metaphor [ˈmetəfə®] 象征，比喻
offspring [ˈɒfsprɪŋ] 后代
flock [flɒk] 一大群
maquiladora [mækwɪlə’dɔ:rə] 外资公司在墨西哥开办产品的、回销本国的组装工厂
这一议题很可能不会引起峰会的注意，但这并不应该，当北美自由贸易协定急需新的推动力时，拯救黑脉金斑蝶可能具有极大的比喻意义：毕竟，它首先是无缝边界的象征：蝴蝶后代（心怀梦想者）出生在美国和加拿大。先辈（追求阳光者）则 涌向 1 ^1 1 墨西哥；它还代表了联合企业：在墨西哥交配（生产），制成品让另两国人的生活更为美好。
Villagers of San Mateo Almomoloa say the rescue plan would be fairer, too. They are poor yet have done their bit 1 ^1 1 to reduce illegal logging. Americans and Canadians are much richer, and have millions of miles of roadside that could usefully be covered with milkweed.
阿尔莫洛瓦圣马特奥的村民称，拯救方案也将会更公平。尽管贫穷，他们却也 尽己所能 1 ^1 1 减少非法伐木，相比之下，美国和加拿大要富裕得多，两国还有数百万英里的道路两侧可以种上乳草，发挥作用。
What is more, thanks to tourists who flock to the monarchs’ winter habitat, they reckon at least 400 locals make a living from the butterflies — taking visitors on horseback, or providing them with tacos, or protecting the sanctuary. If the monarchs were to stop coming, that source of income would dry up. Then they may be the ones migrating north, instead of the butterflies.
reckon [ˈrekən] 认为，估计
此外，他们估计，由于冬季大量游客前往黑脉金斑蝶的栖息地，至少有400名当地人靠蝴蝶收入为生—为骑马的游客牵马，为他们提供炸玉米饼，或是保护神殿。如果蝴蝶不再前来，这一收入来源将会枯竭，届时上演的将不是蝴蝶南飞，而是村民北飞了。