课文
In the early days of the settlement of Australia, enterprising settlers unwisely introduced
the European rabbit.
在澳大利亚移民初期，一些有创业精神的移民不明智地把欧洲兔子引进了澳大利亚。
This rabbit had no natural enemies in the Antipodes, so that it multiplied with that
promiscuous abandon characteristic of rabbits.
这种兔子在澳大利亚及新西兰没有天敌，因此便以兔子所特有的杂乱交配迅猛繁殖起来。
It overran a whole continent.
整个澳洲兔子成灾。
It caused devastation by burrowing and by devouring the herbage which might have
maintained millions of sheep and cattle.
它们在地下打洞，吃掉本可以饲养数百万头牛羊的牧草，给澳洲大陆造成了毁灭性的破坏。
Scientists discovered that this particular variety of rabbit (and apparently no other animal)
was susceptible to a fatal virus disease, myxomatosis.
科学家们发现，这种特殊品种的兔子（显然不包括别的动物）易患一种叫“多发性粘液瘤”
的致命毒性疾病。
By infecting animals and letting them loose in the burrows, local epidemics of this
disease could be created.
通过让染上此病的动物在洞内乱跑，就可以使这种疾病在一个地区蔓延起来。
Later it was found that there was a type of mosquito which acted as the carrier of this
disease and passed it on to the rabbits.
后来又发现，有一种蚊子是传播这种疾病的媒介，能把此病传染给兔子。
So while the rest of the world was trying to get rid of mosquitoes, Australia was
encouraging this one.
因此，世界上其他地方在设法消灭蚊子的时候，澳大利亚却在促使这种蚊子大量繁殖。
It effectively spread the disease all over the continent and drastically reduced the rabbit
population.
蚊子把这种疾病扩散到整个澳洲大陆，效果甚佳，结果兔子的数目在为减少。
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