新西兰英语 228 Stranded Whales

　　Today, 21 dead pilot whales were buried on a beach near the town of Coromandel. Another 42 whales managed to swim back out to sea.
63 whales were stranded¹ on the beach about 6am this morning. Most of them were female² whales with babies. By the time the Department of Conservation (Doc) staff arrived at 8am, 20 whales were dead already. About 500 people, who were on holiday in this area, helped to save the other whales. They used buckets of water, wet blankets and sheets to keep the whales wet and comfortable. It was a cloudy day and that helped also. At high tide in the afternoon, people managed to push the whales back out to sea. A few minutes after they were swimming in the sea, one female whale gave birth to a baby.
No one really understands why whales get stranded but it is very common in New Zealand, especially in shallow³ water. This beach was in a sandy, shallow bay.
On Saturday, 105 pilot whales died at Farewell Spit at the top of the South Island. Farewell Spit is a narrow, sandy strip⁴ of land with shallow water on each side. Nobody lives there. A pilot in a tourist plane saw the whales but by the time Doc staff got there, it was too late. They had been out of the water too long.

1 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。

2 female   

adj.雌的，女(性)的；n.雌性的动物，女子

参考例句：

• We only employ female workers.我们只雇用女工。
• The animal in the picture was a female elephant.照片上的动物是头母象。

3 shallow   

adj.浅的，肤浅的，浅显易懂的；n.(pl.)浅滩，浅处；v.变浅

参考例句：

• The dish is too shallow to serve soup in.盘子太浅，盛不了汤。
• His analysis was always shallow.他的分析总是很肤浅的。

4 strip   

n.长条，条状；连环漫画；n.脱衣舞；vt.脱衣，剥夺；挤干(牛奶)；vt.拆卸；去除(烟叶的茎)；vi.脱衣，表演脱衣舞；剥落

参考例句：

• I need one more strip of cloth to finish this decoration.我还要一根布条来完成这个装饰品。
• We had to strip the old paint from the doors.我们只好把门上的旧漆刮掉。