美国国家公共电台 NPR In Washington, D.C., A Program In Which Birds And People Lift Each Other Up

 

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

For young people growing up east of the Anacostia River in Washington, D.C., life can be a struggle against gangs and violence. And for much of its modern history, the river itself has been under assault, considered one of the most polluted streams in America and absent of the fish and birds that once thrived in and around it. But for the past 25 years, an organization has been trying to save the Anacostia and the lives of the young adults that grow up not far from its banks. NPR's Hannah Bloch has the story of the Earth Conservation Corps¹ and one member who, with the help of some big birds, was able to turn his life around.

TOINE: But she going to circle, though.

NATE BOGLE: She'll circle around, make sure we're gone and come right back.

HANNAH BLOCH, BYLINE²: The sun is finally poking³ through the storm clouds hovering⁴ low over the Anacostia River as Earth Conservation Corps staffers point out a pair of ospreys nesting on the Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge. The ospreys are great at catching⁵ fish but not always great at keeping them.

TOINE: What the eagles do, they sit and watch the ospreys hunt. And once the osprey catch a fish, the eagles take it from them.

(SOUNDBITE OF VEHICLE TRAFFIC)

BLOCH: All that traffic noise from the bridge doesn't bother these birds. But until Bob Nixon, the founder⁶ of the Earth Conservation Corps, and his team helped bring them back, it was rare to spot ospreys here at all. Homebase for Nixon's group is the Old Capitol Pumphouse further down the Anacostia. It was built in 1903 to provide water to steam heat the White House and the Capitol. But by 1950, the river was way too polluted for that. As you enter the Pump House, you pass a brick wall of framed photos honoring the memory of volunteers from the community, the wall of the fallen. Here's Bob Nixon.

BOB NIXON: This is Monique Johnson. She was murdered in 1992. Then, several years later, Gerald Hewlett was killed just a couple blocks from here. I mean, this sort of trail of tears goes on. This is Benny Jones, and he was beaten to death.

BLOCH: They buried 26 corps members in 25 years. Bob Nixon was an outsider when he came here in 1992. He'd been a Hollywood filmmaker who made a documentary about Dian Fossey, the primatologist of "Gorillas⁷ In The Mist" fame. Fossey agreed to cooperate with Nixon on one condition - that he dedicate a year of his life to a conservation project.

NIXON: I was in Malibu reading the paper, and it had the picture of this creek⁸, the worst creek in America, blocks from the White House.

BLOCH: It was the Lower Beaverdam Creek, a tributary¹⁰ of the Anacostia, overflowing¹¹ with tires and trash. Nixon flew to D.C. and met with community activists¹² and won their trust. Nine young people volunteered to work with him. Nixon quickly realized he was not just confronting a polluted waterway. He had to work against how the kids felt they were seen by the world. One of the kids told him...

NIXON: I'm America's nightmare. No one has - ever thinks anything good can come out of a place like this.

BLOCH: Nevertheless, they got to work, strapping¹³ on hip¹⁴ waders and slogging into that neglected creek. Anthony Satterthwaite and his friend Burrell Dunkin were among the original volunteers.

ANTHONY SATTERTHWAITE: We had a hundred tires, and then we got 300 tires, then 600 tires, and then we start feeling a sense of accomplishment¹⁵.

BURRELL DUNKIN: Right, sense of pride.

SATTERTHWAITE: And we just wanted to get more and more and more.

DUNKIN: Clean.

BLOCH: In a few months, the crew had pulled more than 5,000 tires from the water, and as the area got cleaner, they set their sights even higher. It was 1994, and D.C. was in the grip of a crack epidemic¹⁶ with a murder rate the topped 400 a year. At that low point in the city's recent history, Bob Nixon had the idea to bring the bald eagle back to the nation's capitol. It had disappeared decades earlier. Over the next few years, the Earth Conservation Corps raised and released 16 bald eagles. They named those first birds in memory of their fallen friends, the corps members they'd lost. Again, Anthony Satterthwaite.

SATTERTHWAITE: We wasn't supposed to live to see the age of 21. We was just as endangered as this majestic¹⁷ bird that we was trying to save. So it came - became very powerful, and we connected the two, and that's why we started our raptor education program with Rodney Stotts.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

RODNEY STOTTS: Come on.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

STOTTS: This is a red-tailed hawk¹⁸. I got - we got her back in '09. She was two weeks from being euthanized because no one had held her in five years.

(SOUNDBITE OF BIRD WINGS FLAPPING)

STOTTS: Sky, I got you.

BLOCH: Rodney Stotts is one of four surviving members of the original corps and one of only 30 African-American falconers, he says, in the U.S. Today, he's showing a hawk named Sky to a group of 30 nervous, excited teenagers and giving them some life lessons along the way.

STOTTS: If you are afraid and you put this bird on your hand, you just did one of the biggest things in the world you can do and that's overcome your fear. And once you got a bird, you can't be in the street. You got to fly your bird. You got to train your bird. Nothing that you love will not love you back. Every animal I've had, every everything that I loved loved me back the same way.

BLOCH: Then it's time for the kids to try holding Sky the hawk. The first brave soul to step forward is ninth-grader Cyriella Batou.

STOTTS: Are you ready?

CYRIELLA BATOU: Yeah.

STOTTS: You sure? You don't have to be scared. I would never put you in a situation where you can get hurt, OK?

CYRIELLA: OK.

STOTTS: OK. Extend your arm out like this. Step up. Close your eyes. Close your eyes.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

CYRIELLA: (Laughter).

STOTTS: Hold on. Listen. Open your eyes. Bring your arm up like this. Hold your arm up.

CYRIELLA: (Fast breathing).

STOTTS: Don't hyperventilate. Don't hyperventilate. Now, look at what you're doing. Hold on, hold on, hold on. Calm down. Calm yourself down. Don't worry about touching¹⁹ her. You don't have to worry about touching her.

BLOCH: Sky lets loose with a hearty²⁰ but harmless flap of her wings.

(SOUNDBITE OF BIRD WINGS FLAPPING)

CYRIELLA: (Screaming).

STOTTS: No, you OK, baby. You all right.

BLOCH: After the demonstration²¹, Stotts heads onto a deck overlooking the Anacostia.

STOTTS: Osprey - it's an osprey. Look like he had a fish or something in his talons²².

BLOCH: He's tall and lean and in constant motion. He fumbles²³ under his shirt and pulls out a small carved turtle hanging around his neck. It reminds him, he says, to slow down.

STOTTS: I've always loved animals. I don't like people. I tell everybody I've just never been a people person. We're the only species that lie, steal, rob, kill, for no reason.

BLOCH: It's been a long road to get here, and it hasn't been a straight line. Rodney Stotts used to be a drug dealer²⁴. Now, he lives outside D.C., runs his own small nonprofit and finds satisfaction working with young people.

STOTTS: You realize from who you used to be and all you used to cause is pain and tears. Now you're causing laughter and joy.

BLOCH: When he decided²⁵ he wanted to become a licensed²⁶ falconer, Stotts faced resistance and racism²⁷.

STOTTS: I was told that black people don't birds. Y'all eat them. These are hawks²⁸, owls²⁹ and falcons³⁰, not chickens.

BLOCH: But he ignored all that and focused on what was most important to him. It's not that everything is easy or perfect now - far from it. But Rodney Stotts says working with the birds and animals is what saved his life.

STOTTS: When I'm outside, I can go off, and this great blue heron took my head and took my mind somewhere else. These fish swimming up the stream over here, the beaver⁹ with her babies going out now, from stuff that - when you first got here, it was just trash, all trash. You ain't see no signs of life. So how can you sit here mad and want to fight and do something when all you're seeing is beauty come back? So I'll probably - if I didn't get into animals, I'd have died in the street. I mean, you wanted the truth, right? Oh, OK, (laughter).

BLOCH: The afternoon over, Rodney Stotts can't wait to get back to his place in Maryland and jump on one of his horses. He's named them after loved ones he's lost. Hannah Bloch, NPR News.

1 corps   

n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组

参考例句：

• The medical corps were cited for bravery in combat.医疗队由于在战场上的英勇表现而受嘉奖。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

2 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。

3 poking   

n. 刺，戳，袋 vt. 拨开，刺，戳 vi. 戳，刺，捅，搜索，伸出，行动散慢

参考例句：

• He was poking at the rubbish with his stick. 他正用手杖拨动垃圾。
• He spent his weekends poking around dusty old bookshops. 他周末都泡在布满尘埃的旧书店里。

4 hovering   

鸟( hover的现在分词 )； 靠近（某事物）； （人）徘徊； 犹豫

参考例句：

• The helicopter was hovering about 100 metres above the pad. 直升机在离发射台一百米的上空盘旋。
• I'm hovering between the concert and the play tonight. 我犹豫不决今晚是听音乐会还是看戏。

5 catching   

adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住

参考例句：

• There are those who think eczema is catching.有人就是认为湿疹会传染。
• Enthusiasm is very catching.热情非常富有感染力。

6 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

7 gorillas   

n.大猩猩( gorilla的名词复数 )；暴徒，打手

参考例句：

• the similitude between humans and gorillas 人类和大猩猩的相像
• Each family of gorillas is led by a great silverbacked patriarch. 每个大星星家族都由一个魁梧的、长着银色被毛的族长带领着。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 creek   

n.小溪，小河，小湾

参考例句：

• He sprang through the creek.他跳过小河。
• People sunbathe in the nude on the rocks above the creek.人们在露出小溪的岩石上裸体晒日光浴。

9 beaver   

n.海狸，河狸

参考例句：

• The hat is made of beaver.这顶帽子是海狸毛皮制的。
• A beaver is an animals with big front teeth.海狸是一种长着大门牙的动物。

10 tributary   

n.支流；纳贡国；adj.附庸的；辅助的；支流的

参考例句：

• There was a tributary road near the end of the village.村的尽头有条岔道。
• As the largest tributary of Jinsha river,Yalong river is abundant in hydropower resources.雅砻江是金沙江的最大支流，水力资源十分丰富。

11 overflowing   

n. 溢出物,溢流 adj. 充沛的，充满的 动词overflow的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• The stands were overflowing with farm and sideline products. 集市上农副产品非常丰富。
• The milk is overflowing. 牛奶溢出来了。

12 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》

13 strapping   

adj. 魁伟的, 身材高大健壮的 n. 皮绳或皮带的材料, 裹伤胶带, 皮鞭 动词strap的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• He's a strapping lad—already bigger than his father. 他是一个魁梧的小伙子——已经比他父亲高了。
• He was a tall strapping boy. 他是一个高大健壮的小伙子。

14 hip   

n.臀部，髋；屋脊

参考例句：

• The thigh bone is connected to the hip bone.股骨连着髋骨。
• The new coats blouse gracefully above the hip line.新外套在臀围线上优美地打着褶皱。

15 accomplishment   

n.完成，成就，（pl.）造诣，技能

参考例句：

• The series of paintings is quite an accomplishment.这一系列的绘画真是了不起的成就。
• Money will be crucial to the accomplishment of our objectives.要实现我们的目标，钱是至关重要的。

16 epidemic   

n.流行病；盛行；adj.流行性的，流传极广的

参考例句：

• That kind of epidemic disease has long been stamped out.那种传染病早已绝迹。
• The authorities tried to localise the epidemic.当局试图把流行病限制在局部范围。

17 majestic   

adj.雄伟的，壮丽的，庄严的，威严的，崇高的

参考例句：

• In the distance rose the majestic Alps.远处耸立着雄伟的阿尔卑斯山。
• He looks majestic in uniform.他穿上军装显得很威风。

18 hawk   

n.鹰，骗子；鹰派成员

参考例句：

• The hawk swooped down on the rabbit and killed it.鹰猛地朝兔子扑下来,并把它杀死。
• The hawk snatched the chicken and flew away.老鹰叼了小鸡就飞走了。

19 touching   

adj.动人的，使人感伤的

参考例句：

• It was a touching sight.这是一幅动人的景象。
• His letter was touching.他的信很感人。

20 hearty   

adj.热情友好的；衷心的；尽情的，纵情的

参考例句：

• After work they made a hearty meal in the worker's canteen.工作完了，他们在工人食堂饱餐了一顿。
• We accorded him a hearty welcome.我们给他热忱的欢迎。

21 demonstration   

n.表明，示范，论证，示威

参考例句：

• His new book is a demonstration of his patriotism.他写的新书是他的爱国精神的证明。
• He gave a demonstration of the new technique then and there.他当场表演了这种新的操作方法。

22 talons   

n.（尤指猛禽的）爪( talon的名词复数 )；（如爪般的）手指；爪状物；锁簧尖状突出部

参考例句：

• The fingers were curved like talons, but they closed on empty air. 他的指头弯得像鹰爪一样，可是抓了个空。 来自英汉文学 - 热爱生命
• The tiger has a pair of talons. 老虎有一对利爪。 来自辞典例句

23 fumbles   

摸索，笨拙的处理( fumble的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Van der Meyde boots the ball to safety after Toldo fumbles a right cross. 因为托尔多在右侧漏球，范得美德把球护到安全的地方。
• The placement shot fumbles the primary cause which into this competition Chinese army loses the game. 定位球失球成为本场比赛汉军输球的主要原因。

24 dealer   

n.商人，贩子

参考例句：

• The dealer spent hours bargaining for the painting.那个商人为购买那幅画花了几个小时讨价还价。
• The dealer reduced the price for cash down.这家商店对付现金的人减价优惠。

25 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

26 licensed   

adj.得到许可的v.许可，颁发执照(license的过去式和过去分词)

参考例句：

• The new drug has not yet been licensed in the US. 这种新药尚未在美国获得许可。
• Is that gun licensed? 那支枪有持枪执照吗？

27 racism   

n.民族主义；种族歧视(意识)

参考例句：

• He said that racism is endemic in this country.他说种族主义在该国很普遍。
• Racism causes political instability and violence.种族主义道致政治动荡和暴力事件。

28 hawks   

鹰( hawk的名词复数 )； 鹰派人物，主战派人物

参考例句：

• Two hawks were hover ing overhead. 两只鹰在头顶盘旋。
• Both hawks and doves have expanded their conditions for ending the war. 鹰派和鸽派都充分阐明了各自的停战条件。

29 owls   

n.猫头鹰( owl的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• 'Clumsy fellows,'said I; 'they must still be drunk as owls.' “这些笨蛋，”我说，“他们大概还醉得像死猪一样。” 来自英汉文学 - 金银岛
• The great majority of barn owls are reared in captivity. 大多数仓鸮都是笼养的。 来自辞典例句

30 falcons   

n.猎鹰( falcon的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Peregrine falcons usually pluck the feathers and strip the flesh off their bird prey. 游隼捕到鸟类猎物时，通常是先拔掉它们的羽毛，再把肉撕下来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Though he doubted the wisdom of using falcons, Dr. de la Fuente undertook the project. 虽然德·拉·富恩特博士怀疑使用游隼是否明智，但他还是执行了这项计划。 来自辞典例句