眾所周知，酒這個東西古今中外都很受歡迎，因為爽，好喝，閒來無事、朋友聚會都少不了它。愛喝酒不打緊，有的人酒量大，而有的人喝不了幾口就張牙舞爪，讓同行小夥伴處理不及。人況且這幅德行，那其它的動物發起酒瘋來可就更加不受控制了。尤其是大型動物，那可真的是排山倒海啊。所以說，動物也能喝醉嗎？今天這篇文章就來細談一下動物們的酒後狀態，尤其是陸地上最大的動物——大象，跟酒的不解之緣。
來源：NYT
標題:Elephants Really Can’t Hold Their Liquor (1) 大象的酒量實在是小（1）
正文:Humans are not the only animals that get drunk. Birds that gorge on fermented berries and sap are known to fall out of trees and crash into windows. Elk that overdo it with rotting apples get stuck in trees. Moose wasted on overripe crab apples get tangled in swing sets, hammocks and even Christmas lights.人類並不是唯一會喝醉的動物。大家知道吞食發酵過的漿果和汁液的鳥兒會從樹上掉下來撞到窗戶上。吃太多腐爛蘋果的麋鹿會被卡在樹上。駝鹿吃多了熟透的蘋果而被困在鞦韆、吊床甚至聖誕燈上。
Elephants, though, are the animal kingdom’s most well-known boozers. One scientific paper describes elephant trainers rewarding animals with alcoholic beverages,with one elephant in the 18th century said to have drunk 30 bottles of port a day. In 1974, a herd of 150 elephants in West Bengal, India, became intoxicated after breaking into a brewery, then went on a rampage that destroyed buildings and killed five people.不過，大象是動物王國裡最著名的酒鬼。有一篇科學論文描述了馴象師用酒精飲料獎勵動物的事情，據說 18 世紀的一頭大象一天喝了 30 瓶波特酒。1974 年，印度西孟加拉邦的 150 頭大象群，在闖入一家釀酒廠後變得醉醺醺的，然後大肆橫行，毀壞了建築物並造成 5 人死亡。
Despite these widespread reports, scientists have questioned whether animals — especially large ones such as elephants — actually become inebriated. In 2006, researchers calculated that based on the amount of alcohol it takes to get a human drunk, a 6,600-pound elephant on a bender would have to quickly consume up to 27 liters of seven percent ethanol,the key ingredientin alcohol. Such a quantity of booze is unlikely to be obtained in the wild.儘管有這些廣泛的報導，但科學家們還是對動物--尤其是大象這樣的大型動物--是否真的會醉酒提出了質疑。2006年，研究人員計算了一下，根據人類醉酒所需的酒精量，一頭6600磅重的大象如果可以縱情狂喝，得迅速喝掉多達27升、乙醇含量為7%的酒才能喝醉，而乙醇是酒精的關鍵成分。這樣的酒量是不可能在野外獲得的。
A study published in April in Biology Letters shows that the earlier researchers made a common mistake: They assumed that elephants would have to consume as much alcohol to get drunk as humans do. In fact, elephants are likely exceptionallightweights because they lack a key enzyme that quickly metabolizes ethanol.4月發表在《生物學通訊》雜誌上的一項研究表明，早期的研究人員犯了一個共同的錯誤。他們假設大象必須消耗人類醉酒所需的酒精量才會喝醉。事實上，大象很可能是罕見的輕量級選手，因為它們缺乏一種能快速代謝乙醇的關鍵酶。
重點詞彙:
1.gorge /ɡrd/
n. 峽谷
v. 拼命吃
2.fermented /fmentid/
adj. 發酵的
3.sap /sp/
n. 植物汁液
4. elk /lk/
n. 麋鹿
5.rot /rɑt/
v. 腐爛
例句
Sugar will rot your teeth.
糖會蛀牙。
6. moose /mus/
n. 駝鹿
7.. tangle /tɡl/
n. （線、毛髮等的）纏結的一團；混亂
v. 糾纏；紛亂；使...混亂
8.crab /krb/
n. 螃蟹；脾氣乖戾的人
9.hammock /hmk/
n. 吊床
10.boozer /buz/
n. 酒鬼
11.beverage /bvrd/
n. 飲料
12.intoxicated /ntɑksketd/
adj. 喝醉的；極度興奮的；陶醉的，忘乎所以的
13.go on a rampage
橫衝直撞
14.inebriated /nibretd/
adj. 酒醉的，喝醉的
15.bender /bnd/
n.（一段時間的）狂歡作樂
16.ingredient /nɡridnt/
n. 成分
搭配
key ingredient
關鍵因素，關鍵成分
17.ethanol /θnl/
n. 乙醇
18.exceptional /kspnl/
adj. 傑出的，優秀的；異常的，罕見的
19.lightweight /latwet/
n. 輕量級選手（原文指大象酒量小）
20. enzyme /nzam/
n. 酶，酵素
21. metabolize /mtblaz/
v. 新陳代謝
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