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The Chinese air force has a new secret weapon: monkeys. |
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中國空軍有一項新的祕密武器:猴子。 |
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The People's Liberation Army Air Force has trained macaques to keep its troops safe by discouraging birds from nesting near the air force base, the PLA's Web site reported earlier this week. |
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中國人民解放軍空軍訓練獼猴阻止鳥兒在空軍基地附近築巢,藉此保護部隊安全,人民解放軍網站在本週稍早報導指出。 |
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The monkeys are used in an unidentified air force base in northern China, which is situated right on a major migratory route for birds. |
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這些猴子使用於中國北部一座未指明的空軍基地,該座基地正位於鳥類的主要遷徙路徑上。 |
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When swarms of birds fly around the base, it poses a threat to military planes that are in mid-flight. |
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The birds could potentially get sucked into plane engines, endangering the lives of both birds and pilots. |
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成群的鳥兒一旦飛經基地周圍,就會對飛行中的軍機造成威脅。那些鳥兒可能會被吸入飛機引擎,危及鳥兒與飛行員的性命。 |
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"Don't worry, we now have a secret weapon!" Su Chuang, a high-ranking officer, was quoted as saying on the PLA Web site. |
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The officer was referring to the specially-trained monkeys that answer to the sound of a whistle. |
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「別擔心,現在我們有祕密武器了!」人民解放軍網站引述一名高階軍官蘇昌(音譯)所說的話。該軍官指的是經過特殊訓練的猴子,會回應哨聲。 |
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When the nests of birds are discovered in treetops, the monkey army is deployed to remove them. |
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一旦在樹梢發現鳥巢,就會部署猴軍將鳥巢清除掉。 |
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The PLA has tried many different methods to remove the nests in the past, including opening fire on the nests, using long bamboo poles to topple them out of trees and having soldiers climb the trees to pick them out. |
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人民解放軍過去已經嘗試過許多種清除鳥巢的不同方法,包括對鳥巢開火、用長竹竿把鳥巢從樹上搗下來,以及由士兵爬到樹上摘下鳥巢。 |
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None of these methods were very effective. |
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Apart from being time-consuming and dangerous for the officers who had to climb the trees, the birds kept coming back. |
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這些方法都不太有效率。除了耗時又對爬樹的軍官危險之外,那些鳥兒也一再回來。 |
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However, when monkeys remove the nests, the birds do not return, as the macaques leave a scent on the branches that discourage the birds, according to the PLA's Web posting. |
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不過,猴子把鳥巢清除掉之後,那些鳥兒卻不會再回來,因為獼猴會在樹枝上留下一股氣味,使得鳥兒不願靠近,人民解放軍網站上的貼文指出。 |
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"The monkeys are loyal bodyguards who defend the safety of our comrades," said the Web report. |
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「那些猴子是忠心的保鏢,保衛我們同志的安全,」網站上的報導寫道。 |