BBC | 《南太平洋》-奇妙岛屿 25

Houses were abandoned and the foundation stones used to construct fortified dwellings in caves underground.

房屋被遗弃了，屋宅的基石被拿到地下穴洞，用来构建坚固的住所

Some evidence even suggests that once everything edible had been consumed,

有证据甚至表明，曾有一度凡是能吃的东西都被拿来食用。

the starving were driven to that most desperate of acts, cannibalism.

饥饿的人们被迫做出最不得已的举动——同类相食。

Understandably, this version of Easter Island's history remains controversial,

不难理解，这一版本的复活节岛历史仍有争议，

because it suggests the Rapa Nui were incredibly short-sighted.

因为按照这个版本的说法，拉帕努伊人就太鼠目寸光了。

As the trees dwindled, why did they do nothing about it?

树木开始减少之时，他们为什么没有采取行动？

But a new theory suggests the Rapa Nui were powerless to prevent their downfall,

然而，有一个新的理论认为，拉帕努伊人无力阻挡自己的没落。

for when they arrived on this island, they were not alone.

当他们来到这座岛上时，并不是岛上唯一的居民。

Rats travelled with people to every corner of the Pacific.

在太平洋上，人类走到哪儿，老鼠就跟到哪儿。

on Easter Island, their impact may have been catastrophic.

而在复活节岛，它们或许带来了灾难性的影响。

Multiplying to plague proportions,

老鼠不断繁殖直至泛滥成灾；

they would have devoured the wild fruits, the seabirds, even the nuts of the giant palms,

它们会吃光野生水果、海鸟甚至大型棕榈树的坚果。

so that the trees may have stopped reproducing long before the last one was felled.

因此，在最后一棵树被砍倒之前，这些树可能早已停止了繁殖。

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