Loch Ness monster might be giant eel, scientists say

　　科学家称，尼斯湖水怪可能是巨型鳗鱼

　　The most famous photo of the Loch Ness monster has long been discredited as a hoax, but scientists have come up with a new explanation for other sightings of the elusive beast -- it could be just a giant eel.

　　长久以来，人们一直认为尼斯湖水怪最著名的照片不过是一个骗局，但科学家们对尼斯湖水怪的其他目击事件提出了新的解释——它可能只是一条巨型鳗鱼。

　　A team of researchers used DNA samples from taken from the lake in Scotland where "Nessie" is believed to dwell and concluded that a more familiar creature was behind the legend.

　　一组研究人员检测了来自苏格兰湖泊的DNA样本后得出了结论，尼斯湖水怪传说的背后可能是一种更熟悉的生物。

　　There are large amounts of eel DNA in Loch Ness, Neil Gemmell, a geneticist from New Zealand’s University of Otago said on Thursday.

　　周四，新西兰奥塔哥大学遗传学家尼尔·格默尔表示，尼斯湖中含有大量鳗鱼的DNA。

　　Scientists began the study of the lake’s biodiversity in June 2018, taking 250 samples of water from various locations and depths to identify its inhabitants.

　　2018年6月，科学家们开始研究尼斯湖的生物多样性，他们从不同地点和深度采集了250个样本，以确定其栖息物种。

　　They found about 3,000 distinct species, Gemmell told a press conference at the Loch Ness Centre in Drumnadrochit, Scotland. "Most of those are so small, you’ll never see them."

　　格默尔在苏格兰德拉姆纳德罗基特的尼斯湖中心举行的新闻发布会上说，他们发现了大约3000种不同的物种。“大部分生物都很小，你永远都看不到它们。”

　　Gemmell said that while the study’s primary focus was the lake’s biodiversity, a Loch Ness monster sighting would’ve been a bonus.

　　格默尔说，虽然这项研究的主要关注点是尼斯湖的生物多样性，但如果能发现尼斯湖水怪的痕迹，那将是一个额外的收获。

　　Although the discredited 1934 photo was later said to be a toy submarine, with a model head and neck attached, various theories over the years have suggested the monster could actually be a dragon, a marine dinosaur or just a really big catfish.

　　尽管1934年那张不可信的照片（有着头部和颈部的不明物）后来被说成是一艘玩具潜艇，但多年来的各种理论都表明，这只怪物实际上可能是一条龙、一只海洋恐龙、或者实际上只是一条大鲶鱼。

　　The new data suggested some of the more outlandish theories about Nessie could be ruled out.

　　新的数据表明，关于尼斯湖水怪的一些更古怪的理论已经可以排除。

　　“Is there a plesiosaur in Loch Ness? No. There is absolutely no evidence of any reptilian sequences in our samples,” Gemmell said. "So I think we can be fairly sure that there is probably not a giant scaly reptile swimming around in Loch Ness."

　　格默尔说：“尼斯湖里有蛇颈龙吗？没有。在我们的DNA样本中绝对没有任何爬行动物的痕迹。所以我认为我们可以非常肯定的是，尼斯湖里可能并没有一只巨大的有鳞爬行动物在游动。”

　　(全文共281个词)

　　重难点词汇：

　　hoax  n. 恶作剧；骗局；谎报 v. 捉弄，欺骗

　　outlandish  adj. 古怪的；奇异的；异国风格的；偏僻的

　　reptile  n. 爬行动物；卑鄙的人 adj. 爬行动物的；卑鄙的