英语沙龙：庇护鸡的女士

The Woman Who Took Chickens Under Her Wing

Minnie Blumfield never lost her enthusiasm. She believed that with age came courage, vision and a true appreciation¹ of life--all life. That’s why, at the age of eighty-six, Minnie became the sole caretaker of a flock of chickens abandoned alongside one of Southern California’s busiest freeways after a poultry² truck mishap³. For reasons known only to the bureaucracy of the day, the chickens were never rescued. Instead, they simply took up residence in the roadside brush, becoming known to locals as the Hollywood Freeway Chickens.

Like many seniors, Minnie lived alone and survived on a meager⁴ pension. But to her, life was precious and not to be callously⁵ surrendered or ignored not even the lives of slaughter-bound livestock⁶. Minnie simply saw creatures in need and without hesitation⁷, stepped into action. For nine years, while others sped past unaware⁸ and unconcerned, Minnie made two pilgrimages a day to provide food and water for the abandoned chickens, using what little money she had available.

As the years passed, she worried about the day when she would no longer be able to care for her adopted flock. Who would look after these poor helpless creatures if she could no longer make her journey？

At ninety-five, just when the cruelties of time began to ravage⁹ Minnie’s body, a heroine appeared. Jodie Mann, a young actress and a founding member of the organization Actors and Others for Animals, was Minnie’s neighbor. Jodie had observed Minnie on her sojourns¹⁰ and noticed the old woman also fed many of the homeless cats in the neighborhood. Jodie approached Minnie to see if her neighbor could identify the owner of a stray dog that Jodie had recently rescued. A quick and lasting¹¹ friendship resulted.

Learning of Minnie’s concern for the fate of her flock, Jodie vowed¹² to“fight City Hall”and find the chickens a new home.

Jodie located a ranch¹³ where the chickens would be able to live out their natural lives, and organized a rescue party to capture the birds. This was a daunting¹⁴ task that tested Jodie’s patience and determination and Minnie’s will to live. As the chickens settled into their new home, Minnie was forced to relocate to a convalescent hospital after a series of debilitating¹⁵ strokes.

Jodie maintained a close and loving relationship with Minnie, visiting her often. She found a good home for Minnie’s cat, Blacky, and made sure that the stray cats that had come to depend on the older woman’s kindness were still provided with care.

Later, as president of Actors and Others for Animals, I was honored to present Minnie Blimfield-then ninety-six years old-with our organization’s inaugural¹⁶ Humanitarian¹⁷ Award.

Inspired by and aptly named for Minnie, the award is a delicate bronze statue of a graceful¹⁸, straw-hatted woman with robust¹⁹ chickens standing²⁰ sentry²¹ at her feet, and a dozing²² cat nestled safely in her arms. To all of us in attendance that day, the bizarre plight²³ of the cast-off chickens, superimposed with Minnie’s undaunted spirit, was awe-inspiring. Many were moved to tears by the soft heart of this frail²⁴ but determined²⁵ woman, who with tears streaming down her own paralyzed face, managed to whisper, “Thank you. ”

Minnie is gone now, but her concern for her fellow creatures lives on in the award that bears her name and likeness²⁶. Her courage and selfless example continue to be a source of inspiration and strength for me, for Jodie and for everyone within our organization, as we continue our work of caring for all living creatures who share our planet, our homes and our hearts.

庇护鸡的女士

明妮.布卢姆菲尔德从未丧失对生活的热爱。她相信随年龄的增长而来的是勇气、梦想和真正懂得生活-整个生活的意义。所以, 在她86岁高龄时, 成了一群鸡惟一的看管人。在一条南加州最繁忙高速公路上, 一次家禽卡车事故后, 一群鸡被遗弃在路旁。出于只有当今官僚作风的原因, 始终没有人来救助这些鸡。它们干脆在路旁灌木丛里定居下来, 当地人称它们为好莱坞高速公路鸡。

像许多老年人一样, 明妮靠菲薄的养老金独自生活。但在她看来, 生命是珍贵的, 不应轻易放弃或忽视, 即使早晚要被屠宰的牲畜的生命也如此。看到动物需要帮助, 她就毫不迟疑地采取行动。9年来, 其他人驾车不觉察也不关心地疾驰而过, 而明妮一天两次虔诚地前来用自己仅有的钱给被遗弃的鸡喂食喂水。

时光消逝, 明妮担心有朝一日她自己将不能再照顾这些她领养的鸡群。如果她去不了了, 谁能关心这些可怜无助的小生灵呢？

明妮95岁那年, 正值无情岁月残酷蹂躏她身体之时, 出现了一位值得称颂的女士。明妮的邻居乔蒂·曼恩是个年轻女演员, 也是演员和非演员爱护动物组织的发起人之一。乔蒂注意到明妮还给社区内许多无家可归的猫喂食。有一次, 乔蒂去明妮家问她能否辨认最近由她救助的一只迷失的狗是谁家的。自此, 日久不衰的友谊在她们间迅速建立。乔蒂了解到明妮关心鸡群命运的事迹后, 她立誓要和市政厅“进行斗争”, 给鸡找个新家。

乔蒂找到一处牧场, 鸡可以在那里过一辈子正常的生活。同时, 她还组织了救助队去抓捕那些鸡。这是项艰巨的任务, 它考验着乔蒂的耐心和决心, 也考验着明妮生存的意志。鸡安置在新家后, 明妮经过几次中风, 身体日趋衰弱, 不得不住进疗养院。

乔蒂和明妮保持着亲密和深情的友谊, 经常去看望她。乔蒂还给明妮的猫“小黑子”找了很好的人家, 确保过去依赖善良的明妮而生存的无主猫继续得到照顾。后来, 我作为演员和非演员爱护动物协会的主席，荣幸地将该组织的首次人道主义奖授与已经96岁高龄的明妮·布卢姆菲尔德。这个奖项是受她的事迹启发而设计, 并贴切地以她的名字命名的。那是座精制的铜像-一个头带草帽、典雅的妇人, 脚下有一群像是为她站岗的健壮的鸡, 怀里安详地卧着一只打盹的猫。那天参加授奖仪式的人, 无不敬佩明妮为救助身处困境被遗弃的鸡表现出的不屈不挠的精神。许多人被那身体脆弱, 但精神坚强的妇人的仁慈心肠感动得落泪。明妮瘫痪的面颊上淌着泪, 她困难地轻声说了句“谢谢”。

明妮已经不在人世, 但是以她的名字命名, 并以她的形象制作的铜像所体现的她对世界上另类生灵的关怀, 将由后人继承并予以发扬。明妮的勇气和忘我精神的榜样将继续成为我、乔蒂和我们组织的每一个成员动力和力量的源泉。我们将继续关切和我们人类共享一个地球、我们家园和我们心灵的所有生灵。

1 appreciation   

n.评价；欣赏；感谢；领会，理解；价格上涨

参考例句：

• I would like to express my appreciation and thanks to you all.我想对你们所有人表达我的感激和谢意。
• I'll be sending them a donation in appreciation of their help.我将送给他们一笔捐款以感谢他们的帮助。

2 poultry   

n.家禽，禽肉

参考例句：

• There is not much poultry in the shops. 商店里禽肉不太多。
• What do you feed the poultry on? 你们用什么饲料喂养家禽?

3 mishap   

n.不幸的事，不幸；灾祸

参考例句：

• I'm afraid your son had a slight mishap in the playground.不好了，你儿子在操场上出了点小意外。
• We reached home without mishap.我们平安地回到了家。

4 meager   

adj.缺乏的，不足的，瘦的

参考例句：

• He could not support his family on his meager salary.他靠微薄的工资无法养家。
• The two men and the woman grouped about the fire and began their meager meal.两个男人同一个女人围着火，开始吃起少得可怜的午饭。

5 callously   

参考例句：

• Sri Lanka has callously ignored calls for a humanitarian cease-fire. 斯里兰卡无情地忽视人道停火的呼吁。 来自互联网
• The pendulum ticks callously, heartlessly. 这是谁的遗训？ 来自互联网

6 livestock   

n.家畜，牲畜

参考例句：

• Both men and livestock are flourishing.人畜两旺。
• The heavy rains and flooding killed scores of livestock.暴雨和大水淹死了许多牲口。

7 hesitation   

n.犹豫，踌躇

参考例句：

• After a long hesitation, he told the truth at last.踌躇了半天，他终于直说了。
• There was a certain hesitation in her manner.她的态度有些犹豫不决。

8 unaware   

a.不知道的，未意识到的

参考例句：

• They were unaware that war was near. 他们不知道战争即将爆发。
• I was unaware of the man's presence. 我没有察觉到那人在场。

9 ravage   

vt.使...荒废，破坏...；n.破坏，掠夺，荒废

参考例句：

• Just in time to watch a plague ravage his village.恰好目睹了瘟疫毁灭了他的村庄。
• For two decades the country has been ravaged by civil war and foreign intervention.20年来，这个国家一直被内战外侵所蹂躏。

10 sojourns   

n.逗留，旅居( sojourn的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• As an example, Edgar Cayce during a reading described his most recent sojourns throughout the cosmos. 例如，埃德加·凯西在一次解读中，描述了他最近的在宇宙中的逗留。 来自互联网

11 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。

12 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

13 ranch   

n.大牧场，大农场

参考例句：

• He went to work on a ranch.他去一个大农场干活。
• The ranch is in the middle of a large plateau.该牧场位于一个辽阔高原的中部。

14 daunting   

adj.使人畏缩的

参考例句：

• They were faced with the daunting task of restoring the house.他们面临着修复房子的艰巨任务。
• Starting a new job can be a daunting prospect.开始一项新工作有时会让人望而却步。

15 debilitating   

a.使衰弱的

参考例句：

• The debilitating disease made him too weak to work. 这个令他衰弱的病，使他弱到没有办法工作。
• You may soon leave one debilitating condition or relationship forever. 你即将永远地和这段霉运说拜拜了。

16 inaugural   

adj.就职的；n.就职典礼

参考例句：

• We listened to the President's inaugural speech on the radio yesterday.昨天我们通过无线电听了总统的就职演说。
• Professor Pearson gave the inaugural lecture in the new lecture theatre.皮尔逊教授在新的阶梯讲堂发表了启用演说。

17 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

18 graceful   

adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的

参考例句：

• His movements on the parallel bars were very graceful.他的双杠动作可帅了!
• The ballet dancer is so graceful.芭蕾舞演员的姿态是如此的优美。

19 robust   

adj.强壮的，强健的，粗野的，需要体力的，浓的

参考例句：

• She is too tall and robust.她个子太高，身体太壮。
• China wants to keep growth robust to reduce poverty and avoid job losses,AP commented.美联社评论道，中国希望保持经济强势增长，以减少贫困和失业状况。

20 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。

21 sentry   

n.哨兵，警卫

参考例句：

• They often stood sentry on snowy nights.他们常常在雪夜放哨。
• The sentry challenged anyone approaching the tent.哨兵查问任一接近帐篷的人。

22 dozing   

v.打瞌睡,假寐 n.瞌睡

参考例句：

• The economy shows no signs of faltering. 经济没有衰退的迹象。
• He never falters in his determination. 他的决心从不动摇。

23 plight   

n.困境，境况，誓约，艰难；vt.宣誓，保证，约定

参考例句：

• The leader was much concerned over the plight of the refugees.那位领袖对难民的困境很担忧。
• She was in a most helpless plight.她真不知如何是好。

24 frail   

adj.身体虚弱的；易损坏的

参考例句：

• Mrs. Warner is already 96 and too frail to live by herself.华纳太太已经九十六岁了，身体虚弱，不便独居。
• She lay in bed looking particularly frail.她躺在床上，看上去特别虚弱。

25 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

26 likeness   

n.相像，相似（之处）

参考例句：

• I think the painter has produced a very true likeness.我认为这位画家画得非常逼真。
• She treasured the painted likeness of her son.她珍藏她儿子的画像。