(本文选自《经济学人》20201212期)
背景介绍：
随着新冠肺炎疫情大流行，前往泰国的外国游客大量减少，泰国南部兰塔岛海滩迎来了成群结队的寄居蟹。而随着寄居蟹数量的激增，它们赖以生存的贝壳则开始供不应求了。于是泰国当局呼吁民众筹集了超过200公斤的贝壳，从而解决了寄居蟹的住房短缺问题。
The Thai authorities find shelter for homeless crustaceans
It’s part of a plan to strike a better balance between nature and tourism
Amid a slump in tourism, one national park in Thailand has seen a dramatic rise in visitors. So numerous are the hermit crabs
thronging
the otherwise empty beaches of Koh Lanta that shells for them to live in have become a scarce commodity.
在全球旅游业迎来寒冬之际，泰国一个国家公园的“游客”却是络绎不绝。大量的寄居蟹涌向了原本空荡荡的兰塔岛海滩，这使得它们赖以生存的贝壳成了稀缺商品。
The Thai government moved quickly to ease the housing shortage, launching a public appeal for empty shells that netted over 200kg. On December 5th these were distributed around the park in a ceremony marking the birthday of the late king, Bhumibol Adulyadej.
为了缓解寄居蟹的住房短缺问题，泰国政府迅速采取行动，呼吁民众筹集了超过200公斤的贝壳。12月5日，在已故国王普密蓬·阿杜德诞辰的祭祀典礼上，人们将这些贝壳散布在公园周围。
Hermit crabs rely on discarded shells to protect their soft bodies, moving to larger shells as they grow. On Koh Lanta and the surrounding, smaller islands, their rapid increase seems to be a natural phenomenon, rather than directly related to the absence of tourists.
寄居蟹依靠废弃的贝壳来保护自己柔软的身体，而随着蟹体逐渐长大，它们会搬家至更大的贝壳中。在兰塔岛及其周边的小岛上，寄居蟹数量的迅速增加似乎是一种自然现象，而与游客数量的减少并无直接关联。
But the shortage of shells may be man-made: pretty ones have long been gathered to be sold as
souvenirs
. Crabs had begun to make do with potential death-traps such as plastic caps and bottles.
但贝壳的短缺或许是人为造成的：漂亮的贝壳早就被人们捡走并作为纪念品售卖了。许多寄居蟹一不小心就钻进了潜在的致命陷阱中（例如塑料瓶盖和塑料瓶）。
The shell drive was part of a government initiative to “restore the balance of nature”. “I have instructed all national parks to do whatever it takes,” says Varawut Silpa-archa, the minister for natural resources. His inspiration comes from the hiatus in tourism brought on by covid-19.
此次贝壳行动正是泰国政府“恢复大自然平衡”计划的一部分。泰国自然资源部长瓦拉沃·西尔帕-阿尔查说：“我已向所有国家公园下达指示，要尽一切努力实施这一计划。”新冠肺炎疫情导致了旅游业的中断，这给他带来了启发。
A ban on international visitors (now lifted, subject to quarantine) and the closure of national parks have helped nature rebound, bringing black-tipped reef sharks back into Thai waters and endangered leatherback turtles back onto Thai beaches. In the coastal provinces of Phang Nga and Phuket, turtles have laid the largest number of eggs for 20 years.
外国游客禁令（现已解除，不过仍要接受检疫）以及国家公园的关闭使自然环境得以恢复，使黑鳍礁鲨重新回到了泰国水域，使濒临灭绝的棱皮龟重新回到了泰国海滩。在攀雅省和普吉省的沿海地区，海龟产卵数量达20年之最。
The government has decided to try to mimic the
respite
forced on it by the coronavirus in future. From now on, all national parks will be required to close for part of the off-season and to limit the number of tourists through a reservation system when they are open.
政府决定日后也将像疫情时期这样给大自然喘息的机会。从现在开始，所有国家公园都将在淡季关闭，并在开放时通过预约系统限制游客数量。
The temporary closure last year of Maya Bay, made famous as the
eponymous
strand in the film “The Beach” and subsequently overrun by tourists, set a precedent. Although such restrictions mean reduced earnings from tourism in the short term, in the longer run more
pristine
parks may help to keep the tourists coming—and shelling out.
去年，玛雅湾海滩（因电影《海滩》中的同名海滩而闻名于世，随后被游客所淹没）的临时关闭开创了一个先例。尽管此类限制在短期内意味着旅游业收入的减少，但从长远来看，更为原生态的公园可能才会吸引更多游客前来并消费。
(红色标注词为重难点词汇)
本文翻译：Vinnie
校核：Vinnie
编辑：Vinnie
泰国是一个高度依赖于旅游业的国家，去年就有超过4000万人次的国际游客前往泰国旅游。而随着新冠肺炎疫情的爆发，该国今年的国际游客少得可怜。但游客数量的骤减也泰国各个景点的自然环境得到了恢复，也让人们意识到了保护自然生态环境的重要性。
throng
[θrɔːŋ] n. 人群；众多 vt. 群集；挤满 vi. 蜂拥而至
souvenir
[ˌsuːvəˈnɪr] n. 纪念品；礼物
respite
[ˈrespɪt] n. 缓解；暂缓 vt. 使缓解；使暂缓
eponymous
[ɪˈpɑːnɪməs] adj. 同名的
