【英语趣味课堂】囚禁-Captivity

Todd: Well, you seem like a person who's really conscious about animals. Would you have gone? If you saw the advertisements to go and be next to these tigers, would you go?

Paul: I mean, I think it's obviously like a special opportunity. It doesn't come around that often to get so close to these tigers. I mean, my main concern would be that whether the tigers are taken care of and how much we should meddle¹ with nature, why we should just allow that kind of animal kingdom to run its course, or we should interfere² in that and, you know, put these animals in captivity³ so that we can touch them, just for our own kind of curiosity. I wonder whether it's a price, you know, I mean, whether it's something we should do morally.

 

Todd: Yeah, that's true. There is another way to look at it, though, and that is, according to one of the trainers, you know. If the tiger was in the wild, you know, it would have a rough life as well, and you have encroachment⁴, you have poachers. And by having tiger farms like this, they can guarantee the species; they can guarantee that it goes on. Obviously, they want to protect the tigers in the wild, but by having a domestic population as well, that's also beneficial for the long-term health of the species.

 

Paul: Hm.

 

Todd: So, I guess, you could kind of look at it that way, but maybe that's faulty logic⁵.

 

Paul: Yeah. Maybe we're applying kind of human concepts to animals, and it doesn't always -

 

Todd: Maybe if you asked the tigers, they'd feel differently perhaps.

 

Paul: I don't know how I'd feel about keeping animals in captivity just for kind of human enjoyment⁶. However, I did spend some time in Australia, and that was working with fruit bats. All of the bats that were held in captivity were actually bats that have been rescued. It's kind of a place where they would be able to have longer lives, because they wouldn't have survived due to certain disabilities or injuries. So, I think there is a certain good way or certain benefit that we can offer to animals by keeping them in captivity.

 

Todd: True.

 

Paul: Unfortunately, it seems like in some countries, animals are not really taken care of properly. What do you think about that?

 

重点词汇：

 

Learn Vocabulary from the lesson

conscious

 

You seem conscious about animals.

 

Here, the word conscious is similar in meaning to 'concerned'. Notice the following:

 

Nowadays, students seem more environmentally conscious.

Nowadays, students seem more environmentally concerned .

be next to

 

You be next to the tigers.

 

The preposition 'next to' means to be beside or close to someone or something. Notice the following:

 

He flew home to be next to his ill mother.

Just standing⁷ next to her was exciting.

meddle with nature

 

We meddle with nature.

 

To meddle with nature occurs when humans try to change things that happen naturally in the environment. Notice the following:

 

Meddling⁸ with nature can be dangerous.

I don't think captive breeding is really meddling with nature.

poachers

 

Tigers face difficulties with poachers.

 

Poachers illegally kill animals for their ivory, skin or body parts. Notice the following:

 

Poachers are difficult to catch.

Poaching of elephants continues in many parts of Africa.

faulty logic

 

Maybe that's faulty logic.

 

An example of faulty logic might be: poachers kill tigers for "medicinal" parts so poaching must be good. The medicinal value of these parts is based on cultural beliefs when in fact, they have no proven health benefits. Notice the following:

 

His argument was based on faulty logic.

To say that since captive animals are well fed they must be happy is faulty logic.

1 meddle   

v.干预，干涉，插手

参考例句：

• I hope he doesn't try to meddle in my affairs.我希望他不来干预我的事情。
• Do not meddle in things that do not concern you.别参与和自己无关的事。

2 interfere   

v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰

参考例句：

• If we interfere, it may do more harm than good.如果我们干预的话，可能弊多利少。
• When others interfere in the affair,it always makes troubles. 别人一卷入这一事件，棘手的事情就来了。

3 captivity   

n.囚禁；被俘；束缚

参考例句：

• A zoo is a place where live animals are kept in captivity for the public to see.动物园是圈养动物以供公众观看的场所。
• He was held in captivity for three years.他被囚禁叁年。

4 encroachment   

n.侵入，蚕食

参考例句：

• I resent the encroachment on my time.我讨厌别人侵占我的时间。
• The eagle broke away and defiantly continued its encroachment.此时雕挣脱开对方，继续强行入侵。

5 logic   

n.逻辑(学)；逻辑性

参考例句：

• What sort of logic is that?这是什么逻辑？
• I don't follow the logic of your argument.我不明白你的论点逻辑性何在。

6 enjoyment   

n.乐趣；享有；享用

参考例句：

• Your company adds to the enjoyment of our visit. 有您的陪同，我们这次访问更加愉快了。
• After each joke the old man cackled his enjoyment.每逢讲完一个笑话，这老人就呵呵笑着表示他的高兴。

7 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

8 meddling   

v.干涉，干预（他人事务）( meddle的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He denounced all "meddling" attempts to promote a negotiation. 他斥责了一切“干预”促成谈判的企图。 来自辞典例句
• They liked this field because it was never visited by meddling strangers. 她们喜欢这块田野，因为好事的陌生人从来不到那里去。 来自辞典例句