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144 Calamities may befall the world
第144课 灾难即将降临于世界
The mighty mammoth once was the largest mammal of them all, a sight of magnificence,
巨大的猛犸象曾经是最大的哺乳动物，
if not to say majesty, as it strolled across the primordial of landscape.
它在原始的土地上大步行走时看上去十分地壮观（如果不用威严来形容的话）。
But where have they gone, those mighty beasts?
但是，这些巨大的动物去哪儿了呢？
One theory is that some malign organism caused that majestic mammoth demise.
有一种理论认为某些有害的生物体造成了这种威严的哺乳动物的死亡。
Another is that there was some serious flaw in the mammoth's genetic makeup,
另外一种理论认为猛犸象的遗传结构有严重缺陷，
leading to a gradual decrease in fertility rates.
从而导致繁殖量逐渐减少。
Yet another is that a medial of large magnitude struck earth.
还有一种观点认 为是一颗体积庞大的流星击中了地球。
The resulting dust cloud hit the planet in darkness lasting for many years.
带来的尘雾使整个星球笼罩于黑暗之中，这种现象持续了很多年，
This magnified devastation by leading to a major decline in the yield of wild maze, their major source of protein.
这使得野生玉米的产量严重下降，玉米是它们蛋白质的主要来源，从而加剧了猛犸象的灭亡。
If that be so, the beasts would have gradually and painfully died of malnutrition.
如果真的是那样，这些动物肯定是由于营养不良而逐渐痛苦地死去的。
Natural calamities such as medial strikes luckily are rare occurrences.
令人庆幸的是，诸如流星撞击之类的自然灾害极其偶然。
Much more frequent are malicious attacks by the arranged people who, for some reason or other, have become seriously malcontent,
更为频繁的是一些发狂的、带着严重不满的情绪的人因为这样或那样的原因而进行的恶意的攻击。
in days of old a simple tool such as a mallet would often be those maniacs' means of attack.
在古老的年代，像槌棒这样简单的工具都可以成为那些疯子进攻的工具。
With increasing scientific and technological progress alas,
随着科技的进步，天哪！
they increasingly went their malevolent intent by the release of poisonous gas or organisms,
他们越来越多地利用毒气或者生物武器来发泄他们的恶意，
resulting in serious malady or even death for many, in some crowded mall or station concourse,
从而在一些拥挤的购物商场或车站大厅造成了很多人得严重的疾病甚至死亡。
what could be the causes for such acts of malice? One wonders.
这种恶意攻击的原因是什么呢？人们想知道答案。
Mercifully, those criminals spent most of their energy and ideological in doctrination,
幸运的是，罪犯们将大量的心血花在意识形态的教化上，
leaving insufficient time for the maintenance of their equipment.
留下少量时间去保养他们的装备。
Cases of malfunction are therefore fairly common, causing the attackers designed to be thwarted.
因此，故障很常见，导致罪犯的计划受到挫折。