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自6世纪以来，尼斯湖以一只传说中的水怪而享有盛名。
尼斯湖水怪的秘密至今虽无定论，但我们对于真相的追踪却随着发现与了解而绵延不绝！
来吧，和我们一起跟随它的踪影去探寻这平静无波的尼斯湖表面下复杂的水底世界。
It was the biggest slug1 I’d ever seen—five inches of black creepy2. So crawly3! It lookedlike a snail without its shell. I’d nearly stepped on it as I climbed a hill above the lake in Scotland called Loch Ness.
“Slugs grow big here,” my companion said. “And our hunt may be for the grandfather of them all—a giant sea slug.”
My guide was Clem Skelton. He belongs to a group that is trying to track down Nessie. What is Nessie ? No one knows for sure.But Nessie is the nickname for the famous Loch Ness Monster.
Skelton has seen the strange creature six times. But, as always, Nessie disappeared before he could take a close look.
More than one slippery4 creature is said to be living in Loch Ness. In any case, people have reported seeing a humped5 “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 object in Loch Ness—and it’s probably alive!
The man who “caught” Nessie on film was Tim Dinsdale. One day in 1960 he was driving slowly along a road above the black water of Loch Ness.Suddenly, he spotted a reddish6-brown, humpbacked object floating about 1 600 yards away.
He hurriedly stopped his car and grabbed his camera. The thing began moving toward the far shore. Dinsdale filmed what he was sure was the back of a huge animal. It was half in and half out of the water. The creature swam away in a slow zigzag7 course. Soon it disappeared in a giant splash8 of foam9. But Tim Dinsdale had Nessie’s picture on 40 feet of film!
The film was shown on TV programs all over the world. Unfortunately, scientists who study animalsonly laughed about Nessie. But a small group of interested people decided to investigate further. They set up the Loch Ness Phenomena Investigation Bureau. In 1964, the group gave Dinsdale’s film to the photo experts of the Royal Air Force.
What a strange-looking animal it seemed to be! Somenatural scientists say it looks like a reptile from the time of the dinosaurs. This giant reptile of long ago grew to a 30-foot length. Its body was shaped like a barrel, with four paddle-like legs. Above its long slender neck was a tiny head with a large mouth filled with pointed teeth.
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 Ness? From the sea, all say. Untill the end of the last Ice Age, the lake was an arm of the sea. Then the ice on the rugged rocks melted. The earth’s crust rose, leaving the lake separated from the sea.
The lake’s gloomy bottom is well-stocked with fish. What a perfect place for a settlement of monsters!
Today the surface of Loch Ness is 52 feet above sea level. The lake is about 23 miles long. It is one of the deepest lakes in Europe. The water never freezes. There is a wealth of salmon, trout, eels, pike. All this adds up to good living for the shy giant of Loch Ness.
In such ways, we are closing in on the Loch Ness Monsters. Someday we may find out how many there are. When we learn their habits, we can find how to protect and preserve them. Who knows? You yourself may someday have a chance to view the world’s most famous monster—Nessie of Loch Ness .
这是我生平见过的最大的蛞蝓。它身长约五英寸，发黑，是那种蠕动型动物，着实令人感到毛骨悚然。乍一看上去，它就像是一只没有壳的蜗牛。当我爬上苏格兰尼斯湖畔的小山时，差一点踩到它。
“这里的蛞蝓长得非常大，”我的同伴告诉我，“不过我们的目标是找到这些蛞蝓的老祖宗——巨型海蛞蝓。”
克莱姆·斯凯尔顿是我的向导。他是“追踪‘尼西’小组”的成员。“尼西”到底是什么呢？没有人知道具体的答案，但是这似乎是人们给著名的 “尼斯湖水怪”起的绰号。
斯凯尔顿已经与这种奇怪的家伙邂逅六次。但是每次不等斯凯尔顿看个仔细，“尼西”就消失了，情况总是这样。
据说尼斯湖里生存着不止一个令人难以捉摸的动物。不管怎么说，30年来不断有人报导，声称发现一个有驼峰背的“不可名状”的东西。
很长一段时间，人们只不过把尼斯湖里的神秘怪兽当做一个玩笑。但是到了1966年，一切都发生了变化。那一年，英国皇家空军的一些摄影专家对一段有关怪兽的影片做了研究报告。他们说尼斯湖里的确有一种巨大的物体，而且这种物体极有可能是有生命的！
用胶片“捕捉”到“尼西”的人叫蒂姆·丁斯代尔。1960年的一天，他正沿着黑黝黝的尼斯湖畔的道路缓慢地开着汽车。突然，他发现距离自己1 600码的湖面上浮动着一个红褐色的驼峰般的东西。
他急忙刹车，并一把抓起摄像机。那个东西开始向远处的湖岸游移。丁斯代尔拍下了被他坚信是一头“巨兽”的背影。那个东西一半漂浮在水面上，一半隐藏在水下。它缓慢地循“之”字形游走了，溅起一簇巨大的浪花，接着便悠悠地消失了。不过，蒂姆·丁斯代尔已经把“尼西”的形象拍到40英尺长的胶片上了！
世界各地的电台都播映了这部短片。不幸的是，动物科研人员对“尼西”仍然嗤之以鼻。但是，一些对“尼西”感兴趣的人决定做进一步的调查，他们成立了“尼斯湖现象调查局”。1964年，这个组织将丁斯代尔的胶片交给了英国皇家空军摄影专家。
它看上去是多么怪异啊！一些自然科学家说它似乎是自恐龙时代遗留下来的爬行动物。这个远古时期的巨大爬行动物有30英尺长。它的身体好像一个大桶，而且长着四条像桨一般的腿，细长的脖子上有一个长着大嘴的小脑袋，嘴里还有尖利的牙齿。
大多数科学家都认为“尼西”既不是鲸，也不是鲨鱼。他们认为“尼西”可能是一种还不为人类所知的巨大的海鳗。渺小的庭院蛞蝓能把身体拉长而钻进虫洞，因此海鳗也应该能将它的身体形成一个、两个、三个或者更多个驼峰，正如很多人所说的那样。
“尼西”是怎么进入尼斯湖的呢？几乎所有的人都认为它是顺海而入。尼斯湖一直同海洋连为一体，直到最后一次冰期来临。后来嶙峋岩石上的冰融化了，地壳上升，尼斯湖便同大海分开了。
尼斯湖昏暗的湖水深处蕴藏着丰富的鱼类资源。这对于“隐居”在湖里的水怪来说是一个多么好的栖息地啊！
现在，尼斯湖面高于海平面52英尺，湖面长23英里。它是欧洲最深的湖泊之一。湖水永不结冰，里面生存着大量的鲑鱼、鳟鱼、鳗鱼和狗鱼。所有这些鱼类都为尼斯湖里羞于露面的庞然大物提供舒适的生存条件。
就这样，我们渐渐逼近尼斯湖水怪。也许有一天，我们会发现到底有多少这种动物。当我们了解了它们的习性，也许就会知道如何去保护它们。谁知道会怎么样呢？也许有朝一日，你也有机会亲眼目睹世界闻名的水怪—尼斯湖中的“尼西”的风采。
左岸 摘译自 Discover
尼斯湖水怪的秘密至今虽无定论，但我们对于真相的追踪却随着发现与了解而绵延不绝！
来吧，和我们一起跟随它的踪影去探寻这平静无波的尼斯湖表面下复杂的水底世界。
It was the biggest slug1 I’d ever seen—five inches of black creepy2. So crawly3! It lookedlike a snail without its shell. I’d nearly stepped on it as I climbed a hill above the lake in Scotland called Loch Ness.
“Slugs grow big here,” my companion said. “And our hunt may be for the grandfather of them all—a giant sea slug.”
My guide was Clem Skelton. He belongs to a group that is trying to track down Nessie. What is Nessie ? No one knows for sure.But Nessie is the nickname for the famous Loch Ness Monster.
Skelton has seen the strange creature six times. But, as always, Nessie disappeared before he could take a close look.
More than one slippery4 creature is said to be living in Loch Ness. In any case, people have reported seeing a humped5 “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 object in Loch Ness—and it’s probably alive!
The man who “caught” Nessie on film was Tim Dinsdale. One day in 1960 he was driving slowly along a road above the black water of Loch Ness.Suddenly, he spotted a reddish6-brown, humpbacked object floating about 1 600 yards away.
He hurriedly stopped his car and grabbed his camera. The thing began moving toward the far shore. Dinsdale filmed what he was sure was the back of a huge animal. It was half in and half out of the water. The creature swam away in a slow zigzag7 course. Soon it disappeared in a giant splash8 of foam9. But Tim Dinsdale had Nessie’s picture on 40 feet of film!
The film was shown on TV programs all over the world. Unfortunately, scientists who study animalsonly laughed about Nessie. But a small group of interested people decided to investigate further. They set up the Loch Ness Phenomena Investigation Bureau. In 1964, the group gave Dinsdale’s film to the photo experts of the Royal Air Force.
What a strange-looking animal it seemed to be! Somenatural scientists say it looks like a reptile from the time of the dinosaurs. This giant reptile of long ago grew to a 30-foot length. Its body was shaped like a barrel, with four paddle-like legs. Above its long slender neck was a tiny head with a large mouth filled with pointed teeth.
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 Ness? From the sea, all say. Untill the end of the last Ice Age, the lake was an arm of the sea. Then the ice on the rugged rocks melted. The earth’s crust rose, leaving the lake separated from the sea.
The lake’s gloomy bottom is well-stocked with fish. What a perfect place for a settlement of monsters!
Today the surface of Loch Ness is 52 feet above sea level. The lake is about 23 miles long. It is one of the deepest lakes in Europe. The water never freezes. There is a wealth of salmon, trout, eels, pike. All this adds up to good living for the shy giant of Loch Ness.
In such ways, we are closing in on the Loch Ness Monsters. Someday we may find out how many there are. When we learn their habits, we can find how to protect and preserve them. Who knows? You yourself may someday have a chance to view the world’s most famous monster—Nessie of Loch Ness .
这是我生平见过的最大的蛞蝓。它身长约五英寸，发黑，是那种蠕动型动物，着实令人感到毛骨悚然。乍一看上去，它就像是一只没有壳的蜗牛。当我爬上苏格兰尼斯湖畔的小山时，差一点踩到它。
“这里的蛞蝓长得非常大，”我的同伴告诉我，“不过我们的目标是找到这些蛞蝓的老祖宗——巨型海蛞蝓。”
克莱姆·斯凯尔顿是我的向导。他是“追踪‘尼西’小组”的成员。“尼西”到底是什么呢？没有人知道具体的答案，但是这似乎是人们给著名的 “尼斯湖水怪”起的绰号。
斯凯尔顿已经与这种奇怪的家伙邂逅六次。但是每次不等斯凯尔顿看个仔细，“尼西”就消失了，情况总是这样。
据说尼斯湖里生存着不止一个令人难以捉摸的动物。不管怎么说，30年来不断有人报导，声称发现一个有驼峰背的“不可名状”的东西。
很长一段时间，人们只不过把尼斯湖里的神秘怪兽当做一个玩笑。但是到了1966年，一切都发生了变化。那一年，英国皇家空军的一些摄影专家对一段有关怪兽的影片做了研究报告。他们说尼斯湖里的确有一种巨大的物体，而且这种物体极有可能是有生命的！
用胶片“捕捉”到“尼西”的人叫蒂姆·丁斯代尔。1960年的一天，他正沿着黑黝黝的尼斯湖畔的道路缓慢地开着汽车。突然，他发现距离自己1 600码的湖面上浮动着一个红褐色的驼峰般的东西。
他急忙刹车，并一把抓起摄像机。那个东西开始向远处的湖岸游移。丁斯代尔拍下了被他坚信是一头“巨兽”的背影。那个东西一半漂浮在水面上，一半隐藏在水下。它缓慢地循“之”字形游走了，溅起一簇巨大的浪花，接着便悠悠地消失了。不过，蒂姆·丁斯代尔已经把“尼西”的形象拍到40英尺长的胶片上了！
世界各地的电台都播映了这部短片。不幸的是，动物科研人员对“尼西”仍然嗤之以鼻。但是，一些对“尼西”感兴趣的人决定做进一步的调查，他们成立了“尼斯湖现象调查局”。1964年，这个组织将丁斯代尔的胶片交给了英国皇家空军摄影专家。
它看上去是多么怪异啊！一些自然科学家说它似乎是自恐龙时代遗留下来的爬行动物。这个远古时期的巨大爬行动物有30英尺长。它的身体好像一个大桶，而且长着四条像桨一般的腿，细长的脖子上有一个长着大嘴的小脑袋，嘴里还有尖利的牙齿。
大多数科学家都认为“尼西”既不是鲸，也不是鲨鱼。他们认为“尼西”可能是一种还不为人类所知的巨大的海鳗。渺小的庭院蛞蝓能把身体拉长而钻进虫洞，因此海鳗也应该能将它的身体形成一个、两个、三个或者更多个驼峰，正如很多人所说的那样。
“尼西”是怎么进入尼斯湖的呢？几乎所有的人都认为它是顺海而入。尼斯湖一直同海洋连为一体，直到最后一次冰期来临。后来嶙峋岩石上的冰融化了，地壳上升，尼斯湖便同大海分开了。
尼斯湖昏暗的湖水深处蕴藏着丰富的鱼类资源。这对于“隐居”在湖里的水怪来说是一个多么好的栖息地啊！
现在，尼斯湖面高于海平面52英尺，湖面长23英里。它是欧洲最深的湖泊之一。湖水永不结冰，里面生存着大量的鲑鱼、鳟鱼、鳗鱼和狗鱼。所有这些鱼类都为尼斯湖里羞于露面的庞然大物提供舒适的生存条件。
就这样，我们渐渐逼近尼斯湖水怪。也许有一天，我们会发现到底有多少这种动物。当我们了解了它们的习性，也许就会知道如何去保护它们。谁知道会怎么样呢？也许有朝一日，你也有机会亲眼目睹世界闻名的水怪—尼斯湖中的“尼西”的风采。
左岸 摘译自 Discover