VOA标准英语2009-Anger Rises as Australian Military Begins Kangar

Animal welfare groups are taking legal action to try to stop the killing¹ of up to 6,000 kangaroos on a military camp near the Australian capital, Canberra. Conservationists have stormed the base to protest the cull². Officials say an overpopulation of kangaroos is damaging the environment.
　
In this image provided by Wildlife Victoria, a gray kangaroo is photographed Saturday, May 9, 2009, with an arrow through its head at parklands near Melbourne, Australia

Activists³ call the shooting of thousands of kangaroos at the Majura army base near Canberra a "brutal⁴ and unsubstantiated slaughter⁵."

This week several protesters broke into the camp after scaling a fence in an unsuccessful attempt to stop the killing. They promise more direct action should a legal challenge fail.

The activists have applied⁶ to a civil panel to have the cull stopped.

Canberra's Administrative⁷ and Civil Appeals Tribunal has the authority to revoke⁸ the Defense⁹ Department's license¹⁰ to shoot the animals.

Nikki Sutterby from the Australian Society for Kangaroos says the military has provided no compelling reason for shooting so many animals.

"They have commenced a slaughter and they are alleged¹¹ to have killed around 2,000 kangaroos within about four days," Nikki said. "Now this is being done without any scientific proof or research to back it up. The suffering that would have been inflicted¹² on these animals would have been horrendous¹³. Joeys would have been separated from their mothers, family groups would have been destroyed."

The Defense Department says the marsupials are overgrazing native grasslands¹⁴, endangering rare plants and insects.

Officials also say the animals are being killed humanely¹⁵ by professional marksmen.

It is estimated there are about 25 million kangaroos across Australia. They are macropods, meaning "great-footed," an apt description for a herbivore with powerful back legs and long feet. This iconic animal is native only to Papua New Guinea and Australia, where it is featured on the country's official coat of arms alongside another native creature, the emu.

1 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

2 cull   

v.拣选；剔除；n.拣出的东西；剔除

参考例句：

• It is usually good practice to cull the poorest prior to field planting.通常在实践上的好方法是在出圃栽植前挑出最弱的苗木。
• Laura was passing around photographs she'd culled from the albums at home.劳拉正在分发她从家里相册中挑选出的相片。

3 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 brutal   

adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的

参考例句：

• She has to face the brutal reality.她不得不去面对冷酷的现实。
• They're brutal people behind their civilised veneer.他们表面上温文有礼，骨子里却是野蛮残忍。

5 slaughter   

n.屠杀，屠宰；vt.屠杀，宰杀

参考例句：

• I couldn't stand to watch them slaughter the cattle.我不忍看他们宰牛。
• Wholesale slaughter was carried out in the name of progress.大规模的屠杀在维护进步的名义下进行。

6 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

7 administrative   

adj.行政的，管理的

参考例句：

• The administrative burden must be lifted from local government.必须解除地方政府的行政负担。
• He regarded all these administrative details as beneath his notice.他认为行政管理上的这些琐事都不值一顾。

8 revoke   

v.废除，取消，撤回

参考例句：

• The university may revoke my diploma.大学可能吊销我的毕业证书。
• The government revoked her husband's license to operate migrant labor crews.政府撤销了她丈夫管理外来打工人群的许可证。

9 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

10 license   

n.执照，许可证，特许；v.许可，特许

参考例句：

• The foreign guest has a license on the person.这个外国客人随身携带执照。
• The driver was arrested for having false license plates on his car.司机由于使用假车牌而被捕。

11 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

12 inflicted   

把…强加给，使承受，遭受( inflict的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• They inflicted a humiliating defeat on the home team. 他们使主队吃了一场很没面子的败仗。
• Zoya heroically bore the torture that the Fascists inflicted upon her. 卓娅英勇地承受法西斯匪徒加在她身上的酷刑。

13 horrendous   

adj.可怕的，令人惊惧的

参考例句：

• He described it as the most horrendous experience of his life.他形容这是自己一生中最可怕的经历。
• The mining industry in China has a horrendous safety record.中国的煤矿工业具有令人不安的安全记录。

14 grasslands   

n.草原，牧场( grassland的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Songs were heard ringing loud and clear over the grasslands. 草原上扬起清亮激越的歌声。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Grasslands have been broken and planted to wheat. 草原已经开垦出来，种上了小麦。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 humanely   

adv.仁慈地；人道地；富人情地；慈悲地

参考例句：

• Is the primary persona being treated humanely by the product? 该产品对待首要人物角色时是否有人情味？ 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓
• In any event, China's interest in treating criminals more humanely has limits. 无论如何，中国对更人道地对待罪犯的兴趣有限。 来自互联网