The creatures behind repeated sightings of the fabled Loch Ness Monster may be giant eels, according to scientists from New Zealand. They have tried to catalogue all living species in the loch by extracting DNA from water samples.

传说中的“尼斯湖水怪”有了新的“研究进展”。来自新西兰的科学家们发现，历史上被多次“观测”到的尼斯湖水怪有可能只是大个头的鳗鱼。他们主要的研究手段，就是从湖水中提取生物的DNA样本并进行分类，从而推测出“水怪”的可能生物。

Following analysis, the scientists have ruled out the presence of large animals said to be behind reports of a monster. No evidence of a prehistoric marine reptile called a plesiosaur or a large fish such as a sturgeon were found.

在进行分析以后，科学家们排除了存在“怪兽”般大小的动物的可能性。重要的是，之前甚嚣尘上的“史前动物”学说也没有得到证据支撑，在湖中并没有发现与蛇颈龙和鲟鱼有关的环境DNA。

There is a very significant amount of eel DNA. Eels are very plentiful in Loch Ness, with eel DNA found at pretty much every location sampled - there are a lot of them. So - are they giant eels?

研究显示尼斯湖中存在着大量的鳗鱼DNA片段，而这里的确栖息着不少鳗鱼，在几乎所有采样点中都能发现其DNA踪迹。那么，所谓的水怪，会不会是巨型鳗鱼呢？

The research does not reveal their size, but the sheer quantity of the material indicates that we can't discount the possibility that there may be giant eels in Loch Ness. Therefore the possibility that what people see and believe is the Loch Ness Monster might be a giant eel could not be discounted, either.

这项研究并没有揭示与鳗鱼“体型”有关的信息，但是仅从当前收集到的样本数量来看，我们的确不能排除尼斯湖中存在巨型鳗鱼的可能性。在这种前提下，人们过去所坚信的“水怪”，实际是某种大型鳗鱼的可能性，同样也不能得到排除。

That process of elimination sounds not so convincing, right? You should know there was a scandal…

此般“排除法”是不是听上去不够让人信服？你要知道“尼斯湖水怪”本就不大可信，甚至还经历了“造假丑闻”……

The Loch Ness Monster is one of Scotland's oldest and most enduring myths. It inspires books, TV shows and films, and sustains a major tourism industry around its home.

“尼斯湖水怪”堪称苏格兰最古老、最经典的传说。著述它的书籍不计其数，更有大量电视剧和电影围绕它进行创作，在尼斯湖附近，甚至还发展起了与它相关的旅游产业。

The story of the monster can be traced back 1,500 years when Irish missionary St. Columba is said to have encountered a beast in the Loch Ness in 565 AD.

有关尼斯湖水怪的传闻最早可以追溯到一千五百多年前。爱尔兰的传教士圣哥伦巴据说在公元565年，亲眼目睹了尼斯湖中的“怪兽”。

Centuries later, in the 1930s, The Inverness Courier reported the first modern sighting of Nessie. In 1933, the newspaper's correspondent, Alec Campbell, reported a sighting by Aldie Mackay of what she believed to be Nessie. Campbell's report described a whale-like creature and the loch's water "cascading and churning". The editor at the time, Evan Barron, suggested the beast be described as a "monster", kick starting the modern myth of the Loch Ness Monster.

几个世纪后的20世纪30年代，苏格兰的《因弗内斯信使报》报道了现代第一例所谓的“尼斯湖水怪”。1933年，该报纸的记者阿莱克·坎贝尔报道了一名叫做艾尔迪·麦凯的女子目睹了“尼斯湖水怪”。坎贝尔记述了一头像鲸鱼般的生物在湖中涌现，湖水如“瀑布般泻下，水面剧烈翻滚”。时任该报编辑的埃文·巴伦建议将这种未知生物称作“水怪”，这也是“尼斯湖水怪”这一称呼在现代社会中广为流传的开端。

In 1934, highly respected British surgeon, Colonel Robert Wilson, claimed he took a photograph of the monster while driving along the northern shore of Loch Ness. Known as the "Surgeon's Photograph", 60 years later it was confirmed as fake photo. The "monster" caught on camera was apparently a toy submarine bought from Woolworths, with a head fashioned from wood putty.

1934年，当时德高望重的外科医生——罗伯特·威尔逊上校宣称，他在尼斯湖北岸驾车的时候，成功拍摄到了水怪的照片。这张随后流传甚广的水怪照片在六十年后被证明是伪造的，照片上的“怪物”是通过精心摆拍得来——水下游动的“身体”是从伍尔沃斯商店买来的玩具潜水艇，而露出水面的“头部”则是粘上去的一块油灰。

VOCABULARY

Unadon: n. （日语）鳗鱼饭，鰻丼

loch: n. （苏格兰英语）湖

eel: n. 鳗鱼

putty: n. 油灰