美国国家公共电台 NPR--靠敏锐嗅觉发现数百枚地雷的英雄小鼠去世,享年8岁

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A heroic bomb-sniffing¹ rat, credited with saving human lives, has died

Transcript²

A bomb-sniffing rat named Magawa has died. The eight-year-old rodent³ was part of a humanitarian⁵ program by a nonprofit group, which trains and sends rats to post-conflict countries.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

OK, we have some sad news out of Cambodia this week. A beloved rat named Magawa has died. And before you laugh, listen to this story.

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

The 8-year-old rodent spent most of his life with his nose to the ground, sniffing out landmines⁷. Thanks to his incredible sense of smell, he is believed to have actually saved lives.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED NPR BROADCAST)

MICHAEL HEIMAN: He has a very strong character. He's very quick, and he's a hard worker. But he's also the first one to take a nap when there is a short break.

MARTIN: That's Michael Heiman. He spoke⁸ to NPR in 2020. He worked with Magawa in Cambodia through a nonprofit called APOPO.

INSKEEP: The program trains and dispatches rats to post-conflict countries. Magawa was perfect for the job because he was too small to trigger buried explosives. He used to wear a little harness attached to a rope as he scavenged across the ground for the scent⁹ of TNT.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED NPR BROADCAST)

HEIMAN: He's searching back and forward, back and forward until his area is completely cleared. If there is a mine, Magawa will start scratching.

INSKEEP: And the scratching alerted his team of humans, who would then dig up the explosive with the help of metal detectors¹⁰.

(SOUNDBITE OF SHOVELS¹¹ DIGGING)

INSKEEP: Magawa would earn a banana treat while a bomb disposal team safely detonated the ordnance¹².

(SOUNDBITE OF EXPLOSIVE DETONATING)

MARTIN: In Cambodia, over 19,000 people have been killed by landmines. After decades of war, millions of mines and bombs are buried there. A Cambodian farmer named Den⁴ Deum talked with the South China Morning Post in 2019. As a boy, Den lost an eye from a landmine⁶ explosion. Now Den has kids of his own, and the organization APOPO sent rats to clear explosives from his family's farmland.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

DEN DEUM: (Non-English language spoken).

MARTIN: "Now my children can run free without any fear," Den says.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

DEUM: (Non-English language spoken).

MARTIN: "Everyone here is so grateful to the animals. It just makes me happy."

INSKEEP: And as for Magawa, who earned the title HeroRAT, he enjoyed a year of well-deserved retirement¹³. According to APOPO, he uncovered more than 100 landmines, more than any other rat in their program.

(SOUNDBITE OF OF WATER'S "THE POWERS OF THE UNIVERSE")

1 sniffing   

n.探查法v.以鼻吸气，嗅，闻( sniff的现在分词 )；抽鼻子（尤指哭泣、患感冒等时出声地用鼻子吸气）；抱怨，不以为然地说

参考例句：

• We all had colds and couldn't stop sniffing and sneezing. 我们都感冒了，一个劲地抽鼻子，打喷嚏。
• They all had colds and were sniffing and sneezing. 他们都伤风了，呼呼喘气而且打喷嚏。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 rodent   

n.啮齿动物；adj.啮齿目的

参考例句：

• When there is a full moon,this nocturnal rodent is careful to stay in its burrow.月圆之夜，这种夜间活动的啮齿类动物会小心地呆在地洞里不出来。
• This small rodent can scoop out a long,narrow tunnel in a very short time.这种小啮齿动物能在很短的时间里挖出一条又长又窄的地道来。

4 den   

n.兽穴；秘密地方；安静的小房间，私室

参考例句：

• There is a big fox den on the back hill.后山有一个很大的狐狸窝。
• The only way to catch tiger cubs is to go into tiger's den.不入虎穴焉得虎子。

5 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。

6 landmine   

n.地雷

参考例句：

• A landmine is a kind of weapon used in war.地雷是一种运用于战争的武器。
• The treaty bans the use,production and trade of landmine.那条约禁止使用生产和交易雷。

7 landmines   

潜在的冲突； 地雷，投伞水雷( landmine的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The treaty bans the use production and trade of landmines. 该条约规定，禁止使用地雷相关产品及贸易。
• One of the weapon's of special concern was landmines. 在引起人们特别关注的武器中就有地雷。

8 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

9 scent   

n.气味，香味，香水，线索，嗅觉；v.嗅，发觉

参考例句：

• The air was filled with the scent of lilac.空气中弥漫着丁香花的芬芳。
• The flowers give off a heady scent at night.这些花晚上散发出醉人的芳香。

10 detectors   

探测器( detector的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The report advocated that all buildings be fitted with smoke detectors. 报告主张所有的建筑物都应安装烟火探测器。
• This is heady wine for experimenters using these neutrino detectors. 对于使用中微子探测器的实验工作者，这是令人兴奋的美酒。 来自英汉非文学 - 科技

11 shovels   

n.铲子( shovel的名词复数 )；锹；推土机、挖土机等的)铲；铲形部份v.铲子( shovel的第三人称单数 )；锹；推土机、挖土机等的)铲；铲形部份

参考例句：

• workmen with picks and shovels 手拿镐铲的工人
• In the spring, we plunge shovels into the garden plot, turn under the dark compost. 春天，我们用铁锨翻开园子里黑油油的沃土。 来自辞典例句

12 ordnance   

n.大炮，军械

参考例句：

• She worked in an ordnance factory during the war.战争期间她在一家兵工厂工作。
• Shoes and clothing for the army were scarce,ordnance supplies and drugs were scarcer.军队很缺鞋和衣服，武器供应和药品就更少了。

13 retirement   

n.退休，退职

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。