The Monster In Loch Nessie

More than one slippery¹ creature is said to be living in Loch Nessie. In any case, people have reported seeing a humped "what-is-it" for over 30 years. For a long time the mysterious monster was considered just a joke. But things changed in 1966.Then, some photo experts of the Royal Air Force reported on their study of a film of the "monster". They said that there really is some huge objects in Loch Ness--and it's probably alive!

Most scientists agree that Nessie is neither a whale nor a shark. They think that it could be a huge, unknown kind of sea slug. The small garden slug can stretch its body to enter worm holes. So a sea slug could shape its body into the one, two, three or more humps that different people say they have seen.

How did Nessie get into Loch Nessie? From the sea, all say. Until the end of the last Ice Age[4] the lake was an arm of the sea. Then the ice on the rugged² rocks melted. The earth's crust³ rose, leaving the lake separated from the sea. The lake's gloomy⁴ bottom is well-stocked with fish. What a perfect place for a settlement of monsters! Gradually, they could get used to fresh water. 

　　参考译文：

　　据说尼斯湖里有不止一个令人难以捉摸的动物。不管怎么说，30年来一直不断有人报导见到了一个有驼峰般隆起的背部的“不知是什么”的动物。在相当长的一段时间里，人们只不过把尼斯湖的神秘的动物当作是一个玩笑，但是在1966年这种情况改变了，英国皇家空军研究报告表明：尼斯湖里确实有某种巨大的物体，而且这个物体可能是有生命的！

　　大多数科学家一致认为“尼西”既不是鲸，也不是鲨鱼。他们认为“尼西”可能是一种庞大的、还不为人类所知的海蛞蝓。渺小的庭院蛞蝓能把身体伸长而钻进虫子洞里。因此，像不同的人所说的那样，海蛞蝓也应该能将它的身体形成一个、二个、三个或更多个的驼峰形隆肉形式。

　　“尼西”是怎么进入尼斯湖的呢？所有的人都认为是从大海进而进去的。最后一次冰期以前，尼斯湖一直是同海洋连为一体的。后来嶙峋的岩石上的冰融化了，地壳上升，把尼斯湖同大海分开了。尼斯湖昏暗的湖水深处蕴藏着丰富的鱼类资源。这是大型怪兽的一个多么好的栖息地啊！它们逐渐地能够适应淡水了。

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