The Great Emu War: When Australia Lost to Birds

Welcome back to Learn English with Podcasts. Sarah, picture this. A real army. Two machine guns. 10,000 bullets. And the enemy is... birds.欢迎回到 Learn English with Podcasts。Sarah，想象一下：一支真正的军队，两挺机枪，一万发子弹。敌人是……鸟。

It is completely true. It happened in Western Australia in 1932, and it even has a name: the Great Emu War. Yes, a war against emus. And the army did not win.完全是真的。事情发生在 1932 年的西澳大利亚，甚至还有名字：大鸸鹋战争。对，就是一场对鸸鹋的战争。而且军队没赢。

After the First World War, the government gave land to soldiers who came home. Many of them started farms in Western Australia and grew wheat.第一次世界大战后，政府把土地分给回国的士兵。很多人就在西澳大利亚开农场种小麦。

It was nice until the money ran out. In 1929 the Great Depression began, wheat prices fell, and the government had promised help with money but never sent it. The farmers were almost broke when the emus arrived.不错，直到钱花光。1929 年大萧条开始，小麦价格下跌，政府答应过给补贴，却一直没给。鸸鹋来时，农民几乎破产了。

About 20,000. After the breeding season, emus move from the dry inland towards the coast, and the new farms gave them water and open fields. To a bird, that is a free restaurant.大约 2 万只。繁殖季结束后，鸸鹋会从干旱的内陆向海岸迁移，而这些新农场给了它们水和开阔的地。对鸟来说，那就是免费餐厅。

They ate the wheat, they pushed over the crops, and they walked through the fences and made big holes. Then rabbits came in through those holes and ate even more.它们吃掉小麦，踩倒庄稼，还穿过围栏弄出大洞。然后兔子从这些洞钻进来，吃掉更多。

Exactly. And these men had been soldiers. They knew what a machine gun does. So a group of them went to see the Minister of Defence, Sir George Pearce, and asked for guns.正是。而这些人当过兵。他们知道机枪能做什么。于是一群人去找国防部长乔治·皮尔斯爵士，要求派枪。

He did, but with conditions. Soldiers would fire the guns, the state of Western Australia would pay for transport, and the farmers would pay for the bullets and for the soldiers' food. He also thought the birds would make good target practice.他答应了，但有条件。开枪的必须是军人，运输费由西澳大利亚州政府出，子弹和士兵吃饭由农民付钱。他还认为这些鸟是很好的射击练习靶。

There was another reason too. A cameraman from Fox Movietone went along to film it. So part of the plan was simply to be seen doing something for the farmers.还有另一个原因。福克斯新闻的摄影师也一起去了，要拍下来。所以计划的一部分，就是让农民看到政府在做事。

One major, two soldiers, two Lewis guns, and 10,000 rounds of ammunition. That was the whole army. The commander was Major G.P.W. Meredith from the Royal Australian Artillery.一名少校，两名士兵，两挺路易斯机枪，一万发子弹。这就是全部兵力。指挥官是澳大利亚皇家炮兵的 G.P.W. 梅雷迪思少校。

In the First World War it could fire about 500 rounds a minute. So on paper, a few thousand birds should not be a problem.一战时它每分钟能打约 500 发。所以纸面上看，几千只鸟应该不成问题。

The first day was 2 November, 1932. They saw about 50 emus, but the birds were too far away. When the soldiers moved closer, the emus did not run away in a big group. They split into small groups and disappeared into the bush.第一天是 1932 年 11 月 2 日。他们看到大约 50 只鸸鹋，但鸟离得太远。士兵靠近时，鸸鹋并没有一大群逃跑，而是分成小组，消失在灌木里。

Then they tried an ambush near a dam, where about 1,000 emus were drinking. They waited, then opened fire. One gun jammed almost immediately, and the whole group ran. They got about 12 birds.后来他们在一个水坝附近设伏，那里大约有 1,000 只鸸鹋在喝水。他们等着，然后开火。一挺枪几乎立刻卡壳，整群鸟都跑了。他们打了大约 12 只。

Three reasons. Emus are almost 2 metres tall and can run at about 50 kilometres an hour. Their feathers are thick, so a bird can be hit and still keep running. And in every group, one bird stands and watches while the others eat, so the group is warned early.三个原因。鸸鹋差不多 2 米高，能跑到每小时约 50 公里。它们的羽毛很厚，被打中还能继续跑。而且每群里总有一只站着放哨，其他鸟吃东西，所以整群能提前得到警告。

They put a gun on the back of a truck and chased the emus. But the ground was rough, the truck bounced, and the gunner could not aim. They hit almost nothing.他们把机枪架在卡车后面去追鸸鹋。但地面很糟，车一直在颠，射手根本瞄不准。几乎什么都没打中。

After six days they had fired about 2,500 rounds and killed only a few dozen birds. Newspapers laughed at the army, parliament asked questions, and the operation was stopped on 8 November.六天后，他们打了约 2,500 发子弹，只打死了几十只鸟。报纸嘲笑军队，议会开始质询，行动在 11 月 8 日被叫停。

It is not. The farmers asked for help again, and Meredith went back in the middle of November. This time he did much better: he reported 986 emus killed with 9,860 rounds.没完。农民又去求助，梅雷迪思在 11 月中旬又回去了。这次成绩好多了：他报告用 9,860 发子弹打死了 986 只鸸鹋。

Look at the two numbers together. 9,860 divided by 986 is exactly ten. Ten bullets for every one bird. And that was the good phase.把这两个数字放在一起看。9,860 除以 986 正好是 10。每只鸟用掉十发子弹。而这已经是成绩好的阶段了。

Completely. Later the farmers asked for the army again in 1934, and again in 1943, and again in 1948. Every time the government said no. In the end they paid farmers money for each emu they killed, and built long, strong fences.彻底输了。后来农民在 1934 年、1943 年、1948 年又要求派军队。每次政府都拒绝。最后政府改成按只给农民赏金，并修了又长又结实的围栏。

He actually wrote about the emus with respect. He said that if an army had the same ability to take bullets as these birds, it could fight any army in the world. He compared them to tanks.他其实在报告里对鸸鹋表示了敬意。他说，如果一支军队有这些鸟那样承受子弹的能力，就能和世界上任何军队作战。他把它们比作坦克。

Someone in parliament asked whether there would be a medal for the soldiers. The answer was that the medals should go to the emus, because they had won every round.议会里有人问，要不要给士兵发勋章。回答是：勋章应该发给鸸鹋，因为它们每一轮都赢了。

Right next to the kangaroo. Two animals that cannot walk backwards, standing on a badge, both undefeated.就在袋鼠旁边。两种不会后退的动物，站在徽章上，都没输过。

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