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The world's oldest living animal is starting over with a clean sheet at 184 years old - after a vet gave him his first ever bath.世界上最年长的生物在184岁高龄时背着清爽的外壳，焕然一新了——兽医给它洗了个澡，还是这辈子头一回呢。
Jonathan the giant tortoise has come out of his shell after centuries of grime were painstakingly scrubbed off his back with a loofah, soft brush and surgical soap.巨龟乔纳森从龟壳里探出脑袋，身上积了两百年的污垢已经小心擦除，清理工具是丝瓜瓤、软刷和手术肥皂。
Dr Joe Hollins, the vet for the British outpost of St Helena in the south Atlantic where Jonathan lives, decided to give him a spruce up ahead of a royal visit in a few weeks' time.乔纳森生活在南大西洋的英国前哨小岛——圣赫勒拿岛上，英国王室将于数周后访问该岛。于是，岛上的兽医乔霍林斯决定为乔纳森梳洗打扮一番，迎接访问。
He carefully scrubbed each of the segments of Jonathan's shell, known as scutes, and removed black sludge and bird droppings while the tortoise sedately chewed on grass.他小心翼翼地擦洗了乔纳森外壳上的每一块甲片——学名“盾甲”，清除掉龟壳上的黑色泥垢和鸟粪，而乔纳森则在一边安静地咀嚼青草。
It was only after his bath it was realised the rings on his shell, which usually tell a tortoises' age, have completely worn away.清洗过后，才看得出乔纳森身上显示龟龄的纹路已经悉数磨平。
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Jonathan, who is 45ins long and can stand up to 2ft tall, arrived on St Helena as a gift to the governor from the Seychelles.乔纳森身长45英寸（约1.14米），站立高2英尺（约0.6米），是塞舍尔送给圣赫勒拿岛督察的礼物。
In his time on St Helena he has seen 28 British governors come and go. Eight British monarchs from George IV to Elizabeth II have been crowned during his lifetime and 51 British Prime Ministers have served at 10 Downing Street.它已经在圣赫勒拿岛上见证了28任英国督察的更迭，经历了自乔治四世到伊丽莎白二世共八代英帝国君王的加冕，而唐宁街10号已然更换了51任英国首相。
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发表于 2017-3-13 21:42:06