VOA慢速英语2020 泰国训猴师否认虐待猴子采摘椰子

A monkey trainer in southern Thailand says that few monkeys are involved in harvesting coconuts¹ for export. His message disputes an activist³ report that led several British supermarkets to ban coconut² products.

泰国南部的一名训猴师表示，很少利用猴子采摘椰子以供出口。他的言论反驳了一份激进分子的报告，这一报告导致数家英国超市下架了椰子产品。

Nirun Wongwanich trains monkeys to fetch coconuts at a Thai "monkey school." He says most coconuts that are used for export are harvested by humans -- with long sticks.

尼伦（Nirun Wongwanich）在泰国的“猴子学校”训练猴子采摘椰子。他说，大多数用于出口的椰子都是人类用长棍收割的。

Only a few farms in the south of Thailand use monkeys for taller coconut trees, he said. He also denied claims of animal abuse.

他表示，泰国南部只有少数农场会训练猴子采摘较高的椰子树。他还否认了虐待动物的这孔梅花。

"There is no truth to that. I have been with monkeys for over 30 years ... I have a bond, a relationship with them," Nirun told the Reuters news agency. He added that he trains six to seven monkeys a year.

尼伦告诉路透社，“这些都不是事实。我跟猴子们相处了30多年了……我与它们之间有纽带，有感情。”他补充说，他每年会训练6到7只猴子。”

Earlier this month, several British companies removed Thai coconut products from their food stores after the group People for the Ethical⁴ Treatment of Animals, or PETA, released a report. The report claimed that coconuts in Thailand are picked by abused monkeys.

本月早些时候，在善待动物组织(PETA)发布一份报告后，数家英国公司下架了自家食品店的泰国椰子产品。报道中称，泰国的椰子均是由被虐待的猴子采摘的。

Prime Minister Boris Johnson's fiancée Carrie Symonds asked other supermarkets to remove the products as well.

英国首相鲍里斯·约翰逊的未婚妻凯莉·西蒙兹(Carrie Symonds)呼吁其他的大型商超也下架类似商品。

PETA has said it believes that all coconuts from Thailand are picked by monkeys.

善待动物组织表示，他们认为所有来自泰国的椰子都是猴子采摘的。

Thailand's government has denied the claims in the PETA report, saying the use of monkey labor⁵ is "almost non-existent."

泰国政府否认了该组织报告中的说法，称利用猴子劳作的现象“几乎不存在”。

Mananya Thaiset is Thailand's deputy⁶ minister of agriculture. She said Thailand's 200,000 coconut growers use almost all human labor and machines for harvesting.

曼安亚（Mananya Thaiset）是泰国农业部副部长。她表示，泰国20万椰子种植者绝大多数使用人力和机器采摘椰子。

"Even all the monkeys in the entire forest won't be enough for the industry," Mananya said.

曼安亚指出：“即使发动森林里所有猴子（采摘）也满足不了整个行业的需求。”

A PETA official on Saturday rejected the Thai arguments.

周六，善待动物组织的官员驳斥了泰国方面的说辞。

PETA's Asia official, Nirali Shah, said, "The industry's efforts to sidetrack the issue with a count of the number of farms and monkeys...only shows the world that they are trying to do more of the same – keep monkeys in chains."

善待动物组织的亚洲官员尼拉里（Nirali Shah）说:“该行业想要通过椰园和猴子的数量对比来转移焦点。这只能向世界表明，他们打算继续这一行为——用铁链把猴子锁起来。”

Last year, Thailand produced more than 806,000 tons of coconut from more than 1,200 square kilometers, a government report shows. It exported coconut milk worth $396 million. About eight percent of that went to Britain.

一份政府报告显示，去年泰国从1200多平方公里的土地上产出超过80.6万吨的椰子。另外，出口了价值3.96亿美元的椰奶。其中大约8%销往英国。

I'm Ashley Thompson.

阿什利·汤普森为您播报。

Words in This Story

coconut - n. a large fruit that has a thick shell with white flesh and liquid inside it and that grows on a palm tree

fetch - v. to go after and bring back something or someone

bond - n. something (such as an interest, experience or feeling) that is shared between people or with people and animals and forms a connection

fiancée - n. a woman that a man is engaged to be married to

sidetrack - v. to cause someone to talk about or do something different and less important

chain - n. a connected series of metal links used for fastening or securing objects and pulling or supporting loads

1 coconuts   

n.椰子( coconut的名词复数 )；椰肉，椰果

参考例句：

• We found a bountiful supply of coconuts on the island. 我们发现岛上有充足的椰子供应。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Coconuts provide "meat", drink, oil, soap and fiber for fishing line. 椰子提供“肉类”，饮料、油脂、肥皂和做钓（鱼）丝的纤维。 来自百科语句

2 coconut   

n.椰子

参考例句：

• The husk of this coconut is particularly strong.椰子的外壳很明显非常坚固。
• The falling coconut gave him a terrific bang on the head.那只掉下的椰子砰地击中他的脑袋。

3 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

4 ethical   

adj.伦理的，道德的，合乎道德的

参考例句：

• It is necessary to get the youth to have a high ethical concept.必须使青年具有高度的道德观念。
• It was a debate which aroused fervent ethical arguments.那是一场引发强烈的伦理道德争论的辩论。

5 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

6 deputy   

n.代理人，代表，副职；adj.代理的，副的

参考例句：

• John will act as a deputy for me during my absence.我离开期间，约翰将代理我的职务。
• She is the deputy headmistress of the school.她是那所学校的代理校长。