2016年考研英语二阅读理解Text2全文翻译

　　Biologists estimate that as many as 2 million lesser prairie chickens——a kind of bird living on stretching grasslands——once lent red to the grey landscape of the midwestern and southwestern United States.（生物学家估计小草原鸡有200万之多——一种鸟类生活在辽阔的草原上——曾经为美国中西部和西南部灰色的景观增添了一抹红色。） But just some 22,000 birds remain today, occupying about 16% of the species’ historic range.（但是如今只剩下2200只鸟，占该物种历史数量的16%。）

　　The crash was a major reason the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) decided to formally list the bird as threatened.（主要由于数量骤降，美国鱼类和野生动物管理局决定正式将该种鸟类列入受威胁物种。）”The lesser prairie chicken is in a desperate sitution,” said USFWS Director Daniel Ashe.（美国鱼类与野生动物局局长丹尼尔·阿什说：“小草原鸡正处于一个绝望的处境。”）Some environmentalists, however, were disappointed.（然而一些环境学家对此感到失望。）They had pushed the agency to designate the bird as “endangered,” a status that gives federal officials greater regulatory power to crack down on threats.（他们已经推动该机构认定该鸟作为“濒危物种”，这样使得联邦政府用更大的管理权去制裁各种对该鸟的威胁。）But Ashe and others argued that the “threatened” tag gave the federal government flexibility to try out new, potentially less confrontational conservation approaches.（但是阿什和其他人认为这个“受威胁物种”这个标签使联邦政府灵活地去尝试全新的、更少地潜在对抗的保护措施。）In particular, they called for forging closer collaborations with western state governments, which are often uneasy with federal action, and with the private landowners who control an estimated 95% of the prairie chicken’s habitat.（特别是，他们呼吁那些对联邦行动感到不安的控制着估计超过95%小草原鸡栖息地的私人领主与西方各州政府缔造一个更加紧密的合作。）

　　Under the plan, for example, the agency said it would not prosecute landowner or businesses that unintentionally kill, harm, or disturb the bird, as long as they had signed a range-wide management plan to restore prairie chicken habitat.（例如，在这个计划下，相关部门声称只要土地领主和商业公司在无意中杀害或者干扰小草原鸡，只要他们签署一份更大范围的管理计划以恢复小草原鸡的栖息地就可以免于被起诉。）Negotiated by USFWS and the states, the plan requires individuals and businesses that damage habitat as part of their operations to pay into a fund to replace every acre destroyed with 2 new acres of suitable habitat.（谈判由美国鱼类与野生动物保护局和各州进行，这个计划要求由于个人或者商业机构的操作毁坏了栖息地则需要支付一笔资金，资助新的2英亩合适的栖息地去顶替那损坏的一英亩栖息地。） The fund will also be used to compensate landowners who set aside habitat.（这笔资金也用于补偿那些留出栖息地的土地领主。）USFWS also set an interim goal of restoring prairie chicken populations to an annual average of 67,000birds over the next 10 years.（鱼类与野生动物管理局设置了一个恢复小草原鸡数量的中期目标，在未来10年期间每年平均67000只。）And it gives the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies(WAFWA), a coalition of state agencies, the job of monitoring progress.（并且让一个州联合机构——西部鱼类和野生动物联合机构执行监督进展的工作。）Overall, the idea is to let “states remain in the driver’s seat for managing the species,” Ashe said.（阿什说：“总的来说，这个想法就是让各州保留对物种管理的主导地位。”）

　　Not everyone buys the win-win rhetoric.（不是所有人对双赢论调买账。）Some Congress members are trying to block the plan, and at least a dozen industry groups, four states, and three environmental groups are challenging it in federal court.（一些国会议员试图阻止该计划，至少数十个行业组织，四个州和三个环境组织正在联邦法院质疑这个计划。）Not surprisingly, industry groups and states generally argue it goes too far; environmentalists say it doesn’t go for enough.（毫不意外，行业组织和各州表示这个计划太过了；环境保护者们认为这个计划还不足以运行。）”The federal government is giving responsibility for managing the bird to the same industries that are pushing it to extinction,” says biologist Jay Lininger.（杰伊·林戈尔说：“联邦政府把管理这种鸟的责任给那些正把这个物种推向灭绝的行业。”）

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