國家地理:年度十佳新聞圖片(2)

Fire and Flood in Japan

日本火災洪水

Houses burn amid flood waters on March 11 after a magnitude 8.9 earthquake off the coast of Japan triggered a powerful tsunami.

3月11日，日本遭受8.9級大地震襲擊並引發可怕海嘯。災難發生後，無數房屋被泡在洪水中，部分起火燃燒。

The earthquake—the strongest in Japan in 140 years—struck 81 miles (130 kilometers) off the coast of Sendai at 2:46 p.m. local time. A port city of about a million residents, Sendai was hit by tsunami waves up to 33 feet (10 meters) earthquake and its aftershocks were felt as far away as Tokyo, about 250 miles (400 kilometers) from the epicenter.

當地時間下午2點46分，大地震襲擊仙台沿海81英里(130公里)的海域。地震引發的海嘯隨即襲擊這個大約100萬人口的港口城市，海浪高度達到33英尺(10米)。這是日本140年來遭受的最大地震，距離震中大約250英里(400公里)的東京也感到震感和餘震。

Cyclops Shark

獨眼鯊魚

This extremely rare cyclops shark, found in Mexico, was confirmed by scientists in October. The 22-inch-long (56-centimeter-long) fetus has a single, functioning eye at the front of its head. The eye is a hallmark of a congenital condition called cyclopia, which occurs in several animal species, including humans.

10月在墨西哥發現的罕見獨眼鯊魚胎兒。這個胎兒身長22英寸(56釐米)，只有一隻眼睛，長在頭部前部。它患有一種名爲“獨眼畸形”的先天性疾病，很多動物都會出現獨眼畸形，包括人類在內。

Scientists have documented cyclops-shark embryos a few times before, said Jim Gelsleichter, a shark biologist at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville. The fact that none have been caught outside the womb suggests cyclops sharks don't survive long in the wild.

傑克遜維爾北佛羅里達州大學研究鯊魚的生物學家吉姆·格爾雷切特表示，科學家此前就曾多次發現獨眼鯊魚胎兒。但他們一直未能在母體外捕獲獨眼鯊魚，說明這種鯊魚無法在野外存活很久。

Mind-Control Fungus

寄生真菌

A stalk of the new fungus species Ophiocordyceps camponoti-balzani grows out of a "zombie" ant's head in a Brazilian rain forest.

巴西雨林，殭屍螞蟻的頭部向外長出一根類似莖幹的物體，這根“莖幹”實際上是一種新發現的真菌，名爲“Ophiocordyceps camponoti-balzani”。

Originally thought to be a single species, called Ophiocordyceps unilateralis, the fungus is actually four distinct species—all of which can "mind control" ants, scientists announced in fungus can infect an ant, take over its brain, and then kill the insect once the it moves to an ideal location for growing and spreading the fungus's spores.

科學家3月表示，這種真菌最初被認爲是單一物種，名爲“Ophiocordyceps unilateralis”，但實際上有4個截然不同的種羣，並且全部能夠對螞蟻進行大腦寄生。Ophiocordyceps camponoti-balzani能夠感染螞蟻並佔領它們的大腦，一旦螞蟻移動到最適於它們生長和傳播孢子的區域，它們便會痛下殺手，殺死螞蟻。

Largest Crocodile?

捕獲最大鱷魚

Caught alive after a three-week hunt, an allegedly 21-foot-long (6.4-meter-long) saltwater crocodile caught in the Philippines may be the largest crocodile yet captured, officials said in September.

經過長達3周的搜捕，一條長達21英尺(6.4米)的鹹水鱷最終在菲律賓“落網”。官員們9月表示這可能是迄今爲止捕獲的體型最大的鱷魚。

The 2,369-pound (1,075-kilogram) crocodile is suspected of attacking several people and killing two. The animal, named Lolong, survived capture and was held in a temporary enclosure near Bunawan township (map).

這條鱷魚重2369磅(1075公斤)，被命名爲Lolong，曾多次襲擊人類，共造成兩人死亡。目前，Lolong臨時被“囚禁”在棉蘭老島一個圍欄內。

Remembering the Space Shuttle

銘記“亞特蘭蒂斯”號

Cocoa Beach surfers watch from the water as the space shuttle Atlantis lifts off from nearby Kennedy Space Center in Florida on September 8, shot was among those chosen by National Geographic editors as the most unforgettable pictures from the entire NASA shuttle program.

2000年9月8日，“亞特蘭蒂斯”號航天飛機從美國佛羅里達州的肯尼迪航天中心發射升空。在附近的可可海灘，海上的衝浪愛好者目睹了“亞特蘭蒂斯”號飛向雲霄的景象。美國《國家地理雜誌》的編輯將這幅照片評爲美國宇航局航天飛機計劃最令人難忘的照片之一。

In July Atlantis completed STS-135, the final shuttle mission in the program's 30-year history." The space shuttle has been with us at the heart and soul of the human spaceflight program for about 30 years, and it's a little sad to see it go away," STS-135 mission commander Christopher Ferguson told reporters in a televised interview from the International Space Station.

7月，“亞特蘭蒂斯”號完成STS-135任務。這是歷時30年的航天飛機計劃的最後一次太空任務。STS-135任務指揮官克里斯托弗·弗格森在國際空間站接受採訪時說：“航天飛機是近30年的人類太空飛行計劃的核心和靈魂，看到它們退役，我難免感到一絲傷感。