国家地理:Gator in the Backyard 后院的不速之客

"The lady, she has two small dogs and she was worried because the alligator¹ finds the back of her house and just gets up there and he sounds itself and lays out there. She tries to chase him off and he don't move, because he opens his mouth. So she's a little bit worried, which she has plenty of reasons to be."

Rick finds the distressed² homeowner: Debra Whine³ Simon and her dogs. As they played on the shore, they had a lucky escape from the gator.

''Look at the face, he and he was away, almost by the skin of your teeth.''

The local residents have taken pictures of the alligator sitting on the shore.

''This guy was (Oh, he's a big one.) at the other yard(Is it big? This is a big one) and that's from faraway. (That's a good sight one, isn't it? Yeah.) That's from, now look at the next picture, which was like three trees over, so was far-away.''

And he's not done it to have fun.
Is it really?
See!
You think so?

Debra's worried about her pets.

''My direct concern is that they are not food: alligator food. They... I mean, they're my, my, my babies. And I..., it freaks me out that there's a predator⁴, that actually because they must sense that there are dogs that live here and that's why they do come and hang out here. ''

Because of the urgency of the situation, Rick and Scott are prepared for an all-nighter.

''I, I have eggs for breakfast. Don't worry about it. (What time do you want me to be here?) There it goes. You are staying right here until that thing is gone.''

The lake at the back of the property is massive. The gator could be anywhere.

Simon was out on her bank, and she's got a couple of toy poodles that the gator will enter and harass⁵ them. Said she's sick and tired of living like this. Welcome to south Florida.''

''Dogs are on the food chain for the alligator, there's no doubt about it.''

At night, alligators⁶ are difficult to see, but their eyes gleam orange from reflected light. As Rick sweeps his spotlight⁷ across the lake, there's no sign of the deadly predator.

''Plan is we're gonna go up around the band and see if we see this guy. It's perfect night, perfect for hunting, but not seeing the alligator. So either he's moved on looking for a female, or he's in thick grass around the band up here.''

Rick drives around the lake. He's concerned that it's getting late and that his flashlight might be scaring local residents.


''He started to shine a light like this and the back at these old people's house like what we've been doing. You get the law call every time. ''

It's why you use that low light.''

''Well, we've checked every inch of body of water out here in this community, haven't seen the alligator. So er, he was just for tonight.''

alligator or gator: An alligator is a large reptile⁸ with short legs, a long tail and very powerful jaws⁹. 【动】(产于美国及中国的)短吻鳄

1 alligator   

n.短吻鳄(一种鳄鱼)

参考例句：

• She wandered off to play with her toy alligator.她开始玩鳄鱼玩具。
• Alligator skin is five times more costlier than leather.鳄鱼皮比通常的皮革要贵5倍。

2 distressed   

痛苦的

参考例句：

• He was too distressed and confused to answer their questions. 他非常苦恼而困惑，无法回答他们的问题。
• The news of his death distressed us greatly. 他逝世的消息使我们极为悲痛。

3 whine   

v.哀号，号哭；n.哀鸣

参考例句：

• You are getting paid to think,not to whine.支付给你工资是让你思考而不是哀怨的。
• The bullet hit a rock and rocketed with a sharp whine.子弹打在一块岩石上，一声尖厉的呼啸，跳飞开去。

4 predator   

n.捕食其它动物的动物；捕食者

参考例句：

• The final part of this chapter was devoted to a brief summary of predator species.本章最后部分简要总结了食肉动物。
• Komodo dragon is the largest living lizard and a fearsome predator.科摩多龙是目前存在的最大蜥蜴，它是一种令人恐惧的捕食性动物。

5 harass   

vt.使烦恼，折磨，骚扰

参考例句：

• Our mission is to harass the landing of the main Japaness expeditionary force.我们的任务是骚乱日本远征军主力的登陆。
• They received the order to harass the enemy's rear.他们接到骚扰敌人后方的命令。

6 alligators   

n.短吻鳄( alligator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Two alligators rest their snouts on the water's surface. 两只鳄鱼的大嘴栖息在水面上。 来自辞典例句
• In the movement of logs by water the lumber industry was greatly helped by alligators. 木材工业过去在水上运输木料时所十分倚重的就是鳄鱼。 来自辞典例句

7 spotlight   

n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目

参考例句：

• This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
• The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。

8 reptile   

n.爬行动物；两栖动物

参考例句：

• The frog is not a true reptile.青蛙并非真正的爬行动物。
• So you should not be surprised to see someone keep a reptile as a pet.所以，你不必惊奇有人养了一只爬行动物作为宠物。

9 jaws   

n.口部；嘴

参考例句：

• The antelope could not escape the crocodile's gaping jaws. 那只羚羊无法从鱷鱼张开的大口中逃脱。
• The scored jaws of a vise help it bite the work. 台钳上有刻痕的虎钳牙帮助它紧咬住工件。