The “Monster of Lake Tianchi” in the Changbai Mountains in Jilin province,northeast China,is back in the news after several recent sightings. 近几次露面后,中国东北吉林省长白山的“天池怪物”又成了新闻. The director of a local tourist office,Meng Fanying,said the monster,which seemed to be black in colour,was ten metres from the edge of the lake during the most recent sighting. 据当地的旅游办公室主任孟凡介绍,最近有人看见怪物就在离湖面十米的地方,怪物的颜色似乎是黑色的. “It jumped out of the water like a weal – about 200 people on Changbai’s western peak saw it,” he said. 他说；“大约有两百多人从长白山的西峰看见过怪物,他像海豹一样跃出水面.” Although no one really got a clear look at the mysterious creature,Xue Junlin,a local photographer,claimed that its head looked like a horse. 尽管谁也没有看清楚这种怪物的真面目,但当地一位摄影师薛俊林声称；怪物的头看起来像马头. In another recent sighting,a group of soldiers claim they saw an animal moving on the surface of the water. 最近另有一次,一群战士证实：他们看见湖的水上又东西在游动. The soldiers,who were walking along the side of the lake,watched the creature swimming for about two minutes. 正在湖边行走的战士看见怪物游弋了大约两分钟. “It was greenish-black and had a round head with 10-centimetre horns”,one of the soldiers said. 其中一名战士说：怪物的颜色浅绿带黑,圆形的头上有十厘米左右的角. A third report came from Li Xiaohe,who was visiting the lake with his family. 又一次报导来自李小和,当时他和他的家人正在湖边游玩. He claims to have seen a round black creature moving quickly through the water. 他说他看见圆形黑色的东西在湖面快速游过三四百米后潜入水中. After three or four hundred metres it dived into the water.Ten minutes later the monster appeared again and repeated the action. 十分钟后,怪物再次出现,并重复了相同的动作. Mr Li Xiaohe said that he and his family were able to see the monster clearly because the weather was fine and the lake was calm. 李小和先生和他的家人看清了怪物,因为当时天气好,湖水平静. There have been reports of monsters in Lake Tianchi since the beginning of the last century,although no one has seen one close up. 自上世纪初以来,一直就有关于天池怪物的报导,尽管还不曾有人近距离目睹过. Some photos have been taken but they are not clear because it was too far away. 虽然拍有怪物的一些照片,但由于距离太远,看起来模糊不清. Many people think the monster may be a distant cousin of the Loch Ness monster in Scotland. 许多人认为,天池里有怪物或许是苏格兰尼斯湖中怪物的远亲. They also think that there might be similar creatures in other lakes around the world.Scientists,however,are skeptical. 他们还认为,在世界其他地方可能也有类似的怪物,然而,科学家们表示怀疑. They say that the low-temperature lake is unlikely to be able to support such large living creatures. 他们说,温度低的湖中不可能存活如此大的生物. Lake Tianchi is the highest volcanic lake in the world.It is 2,189 metres high and covers an area of about ten square kilometers.In places it is more than 370 metres deep.天池是世界上最高的火山湖,海拔2189米,面积10平方公里,又的地方水深达370米.
