标准体重的阿拉斯加（阿拉斯加举行胖熊比赛活动）

原文标题：WildlifeWinter is comingAlaska’s Fat Bear Week proves conservation can be joyful野生动物凛冬将至阿拉斯加的“胖胖熊黄金周”表明，原来环保也可以很有趣Katmai National Park finds a competitive way to teach people about wildlife卡特迈国家公园用一种竞技方式来给人们普及野生动物的知识

[Paragraph 1]FOR ONE rabid corner of the internet, October is Octobear. 对于互联网一个狂热的群体来说，十月代表了熊的月份。On October 5th, Katmai National Park & Preserve in southern Alaska kicked off fat Bear Week, when the park’s brown bears are pitted against each other in a bracket challenge much like college basketball’s March Madness tournament. 10月5日，阿拉斯加南部的卡特迈国家公园和自然保护区拉开了“胖胖熊黄金周”的序幕，公园里的棕熊在一场类似于大学篮球“疯狂三月”锦标赛中相互角逐。

Fans use before and after photos to vote for the bear they think has gained the most weight over summer to prepare for hibernation. 粉丝们根据前后对比照片来给胖胖熊投票，投给心目中夏天里体重增加最多，为冬眠做好准备的熊。But what began as a niche contest for conservationists has become a global campaign where superfans stump for their favourite chunkster to be crowned the fattest of them all. 但起初这只是环保主义者组织的小众竞技活动，现在已成为一场全球性的活动，在这场运动中，超级粉丝们为他们最喜欢熊能夺冠成为最胖的熊而大肆宣传。

[Paragraph 2]Fat Bear Week began in 2014 as Fat Bear Tuesday. “胖胖熊黄金周”始于2014年，即胖胖熊星期二。Mike Fitz, a former park ranger at Katmai, noticed that live webcams showing the bears generated a lot of online comments. 迈克·菲茨曾是卡特迈的一名护林员，他注意到熊的实时网络影像能吸引很多在线评论。He and the other rangers let people vote for their favourite fat bear on Facebook. The one-day event attracted just 1,700 votes in 2014. Last year’s week-long contest elicited nearly 800,000. 他和其他护林员在“脸书”上发动网友参与投票选出最喜欢的胖胖熊的活动。2014年这项为期一天的活动只吸引了1700张的投票。去年为期一周的活动获得了近80万张投票。

Like its basketball progenitor, fans join office bracket pools and gather to watch the live bear cams set up around the park. 就像篮球粉丝先驱一样，胖胖熊粉丝们进入了公园监控室，聚集在一起观看在熊的直播画面，摄像头就设在公园周围。Some go further. Jean Gross is hosting a bear-themed potluck where she lives in Northern Michigan. Guests must bring foods that appeal to both bears and humans, such as salmon patties and honey butter. 有些人升级了活动。吉恩·格罗斯正在她的居住地北密歇根举办一场以熊为主题的聚餐活动。客人必须带上熊和人类都喜欢吃的食物，如鲑鱼馅饼和蜂蜜黄油。This year Ms Gross says she is rooting for Holly, an older female, because “she is a nice little fat girl and so am I”. 今年，格罗斯女士说她会投票给年纪较大的雌熊霍莉，因为“她是一个可爱的小胖妞，我也是”。

[Paragraph 3]The contest serves two purposes besides gushing over the rotund ursids. 除了向大众宣传熊科动物外，这场活动还有两个目的。America’s national parks are often in remote, undeveloped areas. They can be difficult and costly to travel to. 美国的国家公园通常位于偏远、未开发的地区。民众去这些地方有困难，而且花费也很高。Fat Bear Week brings Alaska’s pristine wilderness to fans’ computer screens.“胖胖熊黄金周”将阿拉斯加的原始荒野生活带到了粉丝们的电脑屏幕上。

“The webcams help to democratise the experience,” says Mr Fitz, now a naturalist for explore.org, which operates the bear cams. “It’s not limited to the fortunate few who can go to the river any more.”菲茨先生现在是负责运营拍熊摄像机的explore.org的自然学家。他说：“网络摄像头有助于使这种体验大众化，而不是仅限于少数能去河边的幸运儿。”

[Paragraph 4]Second, Fat Bear Week heaps attention upon the bears, and the ecosystems they inhabit. 第二，“胖胖熊黄金周”将大众的注意力集中在熊及它们所居住的生态系统上。The 2,200 bears of Katmai are so husky because they feed from one of the healthiest salmon runs in the world, says Sara Wolman, a former park ranger. 前护林员萨拉·沃尔曼说，卡特迈公园的2200只熊之所以如此粗壮，是因为它们以世界上最健康的鲑鱼为食。Salmon in the Pacific Northwest have suffered due to overfishing, dam construction and warming rivers due to climate change. 由于过度捕捞、大坝建设和气候变化导致的河流变暖，太平洋西北部的鲑鱼受到威胁。Brooks River, where Katmai’s bears like to fish, has so far dodged these threats. 卡特迈公园的熊喜欢在布鲁克斯河捕鱼，到目前为止，这条河没有受到威胁。

[Paragraph 5]Creators and fans of Fat Bear Week argue the contest has gone viral because it is a conservation success story that for one week helps dispel feelings of doom about habitat loss and climate change. “胖胖熊黄金周”的活动发起者方及粉丝们认为，这场活动已经风靡一时，是因为这是一个成功的环保故事，为期一周的比赛有助于消除对栖息地丧失和气候变化的末日感。“Maybe things aren’t super great all the time in the world,” says Felicia Jimenez, a current Katmai ranger, “but there’s some really fat bears in Alaska.”现任卡特迈公园护林员费利西亚·希梅内斯说：“也许世界上的事情并不总是完美无缺的，但阿拉斯加确实有一些胖胖熊。”（恭喜读完，本篇英语词汇量约479左右）原文出自：2022年10月1日《The Economist》United States版块。

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【补充资料】（来自于网络）阿拉斯加南部棕熊体型是仅小于科迪亚克岛棕熊的并列第二大熊。Glenn（1980）在阿拉斯加半岛各取100只5岁以上成年雌雄阿拉斯加棕熊，雄性棕熊头颈躯干直线长度可达2米，肩高1.2米，雄性最高体重800KG。雌性棕熊头颈躯干长度可达1.85米，雌性最高体重198KG。阿拉斯加棕熊会游泳，捕鱼是它们获取高脂肪高蛋白的方式。每年夏天，生活在海洋里的鲑鱼要游回河里产卵，阿拉斯加棕熊就事先站在河道的关键位置上，用肥大的熊掌或者长满锋利牙齿的大嘴捕捉逆流而上的鲑鱼，棕熊是杂食动物，以许多东西为食，包括樱桃、根、嫩芽、真菌、鱼、昆虫及小型哺乳动物。

【重点句子】（3 个）FOR ONE rabid corner of the internet, October is Octobear. 对于互联网一个狂热的群体来说，十月代表了熊的月份。Fat Bear Week brings Alaska’s pristine wilderness to fans’ computer screens.“胖胖熊黄金周”将阿拉斯加的原始荒野生活带到了粉丝们的电脑屏幕上。Second, Fat Bear Week heaps attention upon the bears, and the ecosystems they inhabit. 第二，“胖胖熊黄金周”将大众的注意力集中在熊及它们所居住的生态系统上。

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