Unit 1
The Perfect Swarm
Narrator:
Damage from swarms of locusts can reach disastrous proportions. A single swarm
of desert locusts can consume over 70,000 metric tons of vegetation a day. There is, however,
one continent that鈥檚 locust
-
free: North America.
鏃佺櫧锛?/p>
铦楄櫕缇ょ殑浼ゅ鍙互杈惧埌鐏鹃毦鎬х殑绋嬪害銆?/p>
涓�涓崟涓�鐨勬矙婕犺潡铏彲浠ユ秷鑰楄秴杩?/p>
70000
鍚ㄧ殑
妞嶈涓�澶┿�傜劧鑰岋紝鏈変竴涓ぇ闄嗘槸铦楄櫕鑷敱锛氱編鍥藉寳閮ㄣ�?/p>
Interestingly enough, this wasn鈥檛 always true. For hundreds of years, the Rocky Mountain locust
was
a
common
pest
in
the
American
West.
Back
in
the
mid
-
1800s,
thousands
of
pioneers
journeyed
across
the
U.S.
in
search
of
free
land
and
new
opportunities.
They
settled
on
the
frontier of the western states, and began to farm the land intensively, growing corn and other
crops.
鏈夎叮鐨勬槸锛?/p>
杩欏苟涓嶆�绘槸鐪熷疄鐨勩�?/p>
鍑犵櫨骞存潵锛岃惤鍩哄北鑴夌殑铦楄櫕鏄編鍥借タ閮ㄧ殑涓�绉嶅父瑙佸铏�傛棭
鍦?/p>
19
涓栫邯涓彾锛屾垚鍗冧笂涓囩殑鍏堥┍鑰呰法瓒婄編鍥藉湪鑷敱鐨勫湡鍦板拰瀵绘壘鏂扮殑鏈轰細銆備粬浠畾灞呭湪瑗?/p>
閮ㄨ竟澧冿紝骞跺紑濮嬪鍦熷湴杩涜闆嗕腑鑰曠锛岀妞嶇帀绫冲拰鍏朵粬鍐滀綔鐗┿�?/p>
Then,
in
1875,
out
of
nowhere,
a
rare
combination
of
air
currents,
drought,
and
basic
biology
produced
the
right
conditions
for
an
unthinkable
event,
the
worst
storm
ever
recorded,
the
鈥減erfect swarm.鈥?nbsp;It came over the horizon like a strange, dark cloud. Not millions, not billions, but
trillions of insects, sweeping through the land like a living tornado. Those who saw the incredible
event and survived never forgot what they witnessed.
鐒跺悗锛屽湪
1875
锛岃蛋鍑烘棤澶勶紝涓�涓綍瑙佺殑缁勫悎锛岀┖姘旂數娴侊紝骞叉棻锛屽拰鍩烘湰鐢熺墿瀛︿骇鐢熶簡姝ｇ‘
鐨勬潯浠朵负涓�涓笉鍙兂璞＄殑浜嬩欢锛?/p>
鏈�鍧忕殑椋庢毚鏈夊彶浠ユ潵锛?/p>
鈥滃畬缇庣殑缇も�?/p>
锛?/p>
瀹冨湪鍦板钩绾夸笂鍍忎竴涓
鎬殑锛岄粦鏆楃殑浜戙�備笉鏄笂鐧句竾锛屼笉鏄暟鍗佷嚎锛岃�屾槸鏁颁互涓囦嚎璁＄殑鏄嗚櫕锛屽儚涓�涓椿鐢熺敓鐨勯緳鍗?/p>
椋庡腑鍗疯繃澶у湴銆?/p>
閭ｄ簺鐪嬪埌浜嗕护浜洪毦浠ョ疆淇＄殑浜嬩欢锛?/p>
骞跺垢瀛樹笅鏉ョ殑浜轰粠鏉ユ病鏈夊繕璁颁粬浠璇佷簡
浠�涔堛�?/p>
The swarm came together over the state of Texas, and soon moved quickly across the frontier in a
huge destructive cloud that was nearly 3,000 kilometers long. The storm spread north towards
North Dakota. The locusts eventually went as far west as the Rocky Mountains, leaving a path of
devastation and destruction wherever they went.
缇よ仛鍦ㄥ痉鍏嬭惃鏂窞鐨勪笂绌猴紝骞跺緢蹇湪涓�涓法澶х殑鐮村潖鎬х殑浜戯紝鏄繎
3000
鍏噷闀跨殑杈圭晫杩呴�?/p>
绉诲姩銆?/p>
椋庢毚鍚戝寳鍒颁簡鍖椼�?/p>
铦楄櫕鏈�缁堝湪钀藉熀灞辫剦鐨勮タ閮紝
绂诲紑浜嗕竴鏉＄牬鍧忔�х殑閬撹矾鍜屾瘉鐏殑閬?/p>
璺�?/p>
An account from one person who observed the swarm described the locust storm. The locusts
came
down
from
the
sky
like
hail.
Frightened
people
ran
screaming
into
their
homes
as
the
locusts鈥?nbsp;claws dug into their skin and hung upon their clothing. They heard sharp cracks as the
insects
came
underfoot.
The
large
locusts
were
everywhere,
looking
with
hungry
eyes
turning
this way and that. Their bodies blocked the sun, bringing darkness along with the destruction.
涓�涓潵鑷竴涓汉鐨勫笎鎴凤紝
瑙傚療鍒扮兢鎻忚堪浜嗚潡铏鏆淬�?/p>
铦楄櫕浠庣┖涓惤涓嬪鍐伴浌銆?/p>
褰撹潡铏殑鐖瓙
琚寲杩涗粬浠殑鐨紝
鎸傚湪浠栦滑鐨勮。鏈嶄笂鏃讹紝
鍚撳緱浜轰滑灏栧彨鐫�杩涘叆浠栦滑鐨勫閲屻�?/p>
闅忕潃鏄嗚櫕鏉ヨ俯鍦?/p>
鑴氫笅浠栦滑鍚埌灏栭攼鐨勮缂濄�?/p>
澶ц潡铏埌澶勯兘鏄紝
鐪嬬潃楗ラタ鐨勭溂鐫涜浆鍔ㄧ潃杩欐牱鐨勬柟寮忋�?/p>
浠栦滑鐨勮韩
浣撴尅浣忎簡澶槼锛屽甫鏉ヤ簡榛戞殫涓庢瘉鐏�?/p>
Crop
damages were
absolutely
astonishing.
If
such
destruction
were
to
happen
today
it
would
cost an estimated US$116 billion, more than the most costly hurricane in American history. And
then, something remarkable happened: the Rocky Mountain locust simply vanished.
鍐滀綔鐗╃殑鎹熷鏄粷瀵规儕浜虹殑銆?/p>
濡傛灉杩欐牱鐨勭牬鍧忓皢鍙戠敓鍦ㄤ粖澶╋紝
瀹冨皢鑺辫垂澶х害
116
缇庡厓锛?/p>
瓒呰繃