美国国家公共电台 NPR--How 4 children lost in the Amazon jungle for 40 days were able to stay alive

How 4 children lost in the Amazon jungle for 40 days were able to stay alive

Transcript¹

It's an incredible tale of terror, hardship and endurance. Four Colombian children survived a plane crash and 40 days in the Amazon rainforest before being found alive.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

Four Indigenous² children are recovering in Colombia after spending 40 days lost in the Amazon jungle. The children, including a baby, first survived a deadly plane crash, then managed to stay alive in the rainforest until they could be rescued by the Colombian army. Reporter John Otis has more.

JOHN OTIS, BYLINE³: The children were stranded⁴ in a patch of rainforest in southern Colombia that was so thick there was no place for the rescue helicopter to land. Instead, as the chopper hovered⁵ overhead, troops rappelled down to the jungle floor, then hoisted⁶ the children back up to the aircraft. Once on board, doctors treated them for dehydration⁷ and malnutrition⁸. The children - ages 13, 9 and 4, plus an 11-month-old baby - are members of the Huitoto Indigenous group. They were traveling with their mother aboard a single-engine Cessna to visit their father. He had fled their village after being threatened by a guerrilla group that he feared would try to recruit his children. However, the Cessna developed engine trouble and disappeared on May 1. Due to bad weather, it took the army two weeks to locate the crash site. There, they found the dead bodies of all three adults aboard the plane, including the kids' mother, Magdalena Mucutuy. The one positive sign was that the children were missing.

OSCAR GARZON: We are not losing hope because we know they are alive.

OTIS: That's Army Lieutenant⁹ Colonel Oscar Garzon, who advised the search-and-rescue team.

GARZON: That was the task. We are not going to leave that place unless we find them. No matter what, we will find them.

OTIS: He said the children abandoned the crash site to get away from the dead bodies and to look for food and water. They were well prepared to forage¹⁰ because they were raised in the jungle, says Consuelo de Vengoechea. She's an anthropologist¹¹ who studied and lived with the children's family.

CONSUELO DE VENGOECHEA: They are always climbing in the trees, running in the trees.

OTIS: They actually run in the trees?

VENGOECHEA: Yes. It's incredible. They run in the trees, taking the different fruits.

OTIS: After leaving the crash site, she said, the kids ate juan soco, a fruit similar to passion fruit, and seeds known as milpeso, which are packed with oil and vitamins. They also found a box of food airdropped by the army. The baby was kept alive with water mixed with yucca flower, a bag of which they found on the airplane.

VENGOECHEA: (Non-English language spoken).

OTIS: Because they lacked a baby bottle, de Vengoechea says that Lesly Mucutuy, the 13-year-old girl who was the group's leader, used a leaf to drip the yucca mixture into the baby's mouth. The kids had a mosquito net and a plastic tarp on top of which they piled banana leaves to bunk¹² down at night. Meanwhile, Indigenous volunteers - who knew the jungle better than the soldiers - joined the search. But even they found it tough going, says Alberto Acosta, a volunteer who spent 19 days in the jungle.

ALBERTO ACOSTA: (Non-English language spoken).

OTIS: He says "they saw deer, tapirs, oncillas - which are like small tigers - and lots of snakes. What they didn't spot were the kids, who were apparently¹³ spooked by the soldiers and spent much of their time hiding from them. To calm them down, the kids' grandmother recorded a message for Lesly, the 13-year-old, in the Huitoto language that was broadcast into the jungle.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: (Speaking Huitoto).

OTIS: She says, "Lesly, this is your grandmother. I'm asking you a favor. You must remain calm and stay put." For further inspiration, the Indigenous volunteers took ayahuasca, a psychedelic brew¹⁴ made of jungle plants. They figured the resulting visions might point them in the right direction. In the end, says Lieutenant Colonel Garzon, it was a Belgian Shepherd rescue dog named Wilson who first came across the kids.

GARZON: The kids - they were telling us that they were joined by the dog, and it was a good sign for them because they said someone is here.

OTIS: Finally, last Friday, the kids' 40th day in the jungle, the human search party found them.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: (Non-English language spoken).

OTIS: In this video of that moment, you can hear them chanting and giving thanks that all four children are alive. Now the kids are being treated here at the military hospital in Bogota.

FIDENCIO VALENCIA: (Non-English language spoken).

OTIS: Their great uncle, Fidencio Valencia, says they're still weak, but that the color is returning to their faces. As for Lesly, the heroine who carried the baby through the jungle and kept her siblings¹⁵ alive, she still has a bruise¹⁶ on her forehead from the airplane crash.

VALENCIA: (Non-English language spoken).

OTIS: Valencia says, "I tell her, don't worry, all this will be over soon, and you will again be very beautiful."

For NPR News, I'm John Otis in Bogota, Colombia.

1 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。

2 indigenous   

adj.土产的，土生土长的，本地的

参考例句：

• Each country has its own indigenous cultural tradition.每个国家都有自己本土的文化传统。
• Indians were the indigenous inhabitants of America.印第安人是美洲的土著居民。

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 stranded   

a.搁浅的，进退两难的

参考例句：

• He was stranded in a strange city without money. 他流落在一个陌生的城市里， 身无分文，一筹莫展。
• I was stranded in the strange town without money or friends. 我困在那陌生的城市，既没有钱，又没有朋友。

5 hovered   

鸟( hover的过去式和过去分词 )； 靠近（某事物）； （人）徘徊； 犹豫

参考例句：

• A hawk hovered over the hill. 一只鹰在小山的上空翱翔。
• A hawk hovered in the blue sky. 一只老鹰在蓝色的天空中翱翔。

6 hoisted   

把…吊起，升起( hoist的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He hoisted himself onto a high stool. 他抬身坐上了一张高凳子。
• The sailors hoisted the cargo onto the deck. 水手们把货物吊到甲板上。

7 dehydration   

n.脱水，干燥

参考例句：

• He died from severe dehydration.他死于严重脱水。
• The eyes are often retracted from dehydration.眼睛常因脱水而凹陷。

8 malnutrition   

n.营养不良

参考例句：

• In Africa, there are a lot of children suffering from severe malnutrition.在非洲有大批严重营养不良的孩子。
• It is a classic case of malnutrition. 这是营养不良的典型病例。

9 lieutenant   

n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员

参考例句：

• He was promoted to be a lieutenant in the army.他被提升为陆军中尉。
• He prevailed on the lieutenant to send in a short note.他说动那个副官，递上了一张简短的便条进去。

10 forage   

n.(牛马的)饲料，粮草；v.搜寻，翻寻

参考例句：

• They were forced to forage for clothing and fuel.他们不得不去寻找衣服和燃料。
• Now the nutritive value of the forage is reduced.此时牧草的营养价值也下降了。

11 anthropologist   

n.人类学家，人类学者

参考例句：

• The lecturer is an anthropologist.这位讲师是人类学家。
• The anthropologist unearthed the skull of an ancient human at the site.人类学家在这个遗址挖掘出那块古人类的颅骨。

12 bunk   

n.(车、船等倚壁而设的)铺位；废话

参考例句：

• He left his bunk and went up on deck again.他离开自己的铺位再次走到甲板上。
• Most economists think his theories are sheer bunk.大多数经济学家认为他的理论纯属胡说。

13 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

14 brew   

v.酿造，调制

参考例句：

• Let's brew up some more tea.咱们沏些茶吧。
• The policeman dispelled the crowd lest they should brew trouble.警察驱散人群，因恐他们酿祸。

15 siblings   

n.兄弟，姐妹( sibling的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• A triplet sleeps amongst its two siblings. 一个三胞胎睡在其两个同胞之间。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She has no way of tracking the donor or her half-siblings down. 她没办法找到那个捐精者或她的兄弟姐妹。 来自时文部分

16 bruise   

n.青肿，挫伤；伤痕；vt.打青；挫伤

参考例句：

• The bruise was caused by a kick.这伤痕是脚踢的。
• Jack fell down yesterday and got a big bruise on his face.杰克昨天摔了一跤，脸上摔出老大一块淤斑。