新冠肺炎一波未平，巴基斯坦蝗灾一波又起。
While the outbreak of Coronavirus has not been resolved yet, the locust infestation in Pakistan is raising fresh concerns.
巴基斯坦的蝗灾已经达到20年内最严重的程度。2月初，该国政府就宣布了国家进入紧急状态。
The locust numbers in Pakistan are the worst in 20 years and the government declared an emergency earlier this month.
根据巴方需求，中国政府已经派出蝗灾防治工作组抵达巴基斯坦。而甚至有“10万只鸭子将出征灭蝗”的消息出现！
At the request from Pakistan, a team of experts has been sent to Pakistan to develop targeted programmes against the locust. There is also a rumour going around that China will deploy 100,000 ducks to kill the locusts!
鸭子这一种族确实有灭蝗的能力：据专家表示，一只鸭子一天就可以吃掉200只蝗虫，它们甚至连虫卵都不放过。早在2000年，中国就曾用鸭子抗击过新疆地区的蝗灾。
Ducks are natural locust eaters. According to experts, a duck can eat more than 200 locusts a day, not even leaving their eggs behind. Earlier in 2000, China already used ducks to tackle locust infestation problems in Xinjiang province.
然而，防治工作组里的一名教授表示鸭子是喜水的动物，并不一定能适应巴基斯坦的干旱气候。鸭子大军是否能出征还是要多加测试啊！
However, a professor in the team said that ducks rely on water and they may not adapt to the dry climate in Pakistan well. So whether the ducks will be deployed will remain a theory until further testing!