VOA常速英语2016--黑猩猩们的圆满结局（在线收听）

Chimps Finding a Happy Ending 黑猩猩们的圆满结局

Paper plates full of fruit, a colorful sign and dolls for children were all part of a birthday party recently in the American state of Washington.

纸盘上盛满水果，色彩缤纷，还有儿童玩具，这是美国华盛顿州最近举办的生日派对上的场景。

The party was for a chimpanzee named Foxie.

这个派对是为一只名叫福西的黑猩猩举办的。

Foxie has been living at the Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest in Washington since 2008.She was born in a Texas laboratory in 1976, and recently celebrated her 40th birthday.

福西自2008年起一直生活在华盛顿的黑猩猩西北收容所。它1976年出生于德克萨斯州的实验室，最近刚过完40岁生日。

Foxie is a rescue chimp.The party was a nice change from her painful past.

福西是被营救出的黑猩猩。这个派对是为了庆祝它结束了痛苦的过去。

For years, Foxie was used for medical research in hepatitis experiments.Hepatitis is the name for several diseases that affect the liver.The virus can be deadly in human beings.

几年来，福西一直被用于肝炎实验的医学研究。肝炎是影响肝脏功能的疾病。该病毒对人类是致命的。

Researchers operated on Foxie as a test animal.They performed biopsies, removing and testing her tissue for signs of the disease.

研究人员在福西身上进行实验。他们进行活组织检查，移除其组织，并在其组织上进行实验，查看疾病的迹象。

While at the laboratory, she gave birth to four chimps who were taken from her.

在实验室，她还生育了四只黑猩猩宝宝，但宝宝都被带离。

Diana Goodrich works at the Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest.On a windy day, she spoke about Foxie and the rescue program.

戴安娜·古德里奇在黑猩猩西北收容所工作。在一个大风天，她讲起福西和这个救援计划。

“She (Foxie) was really wary when she first came.Really kind of fearful and uncertain.”

“福西刚来时非常谨慎。真的是很害怕很迟疑。”

Her story is similar to hundreds of other chimpanzees who have been used for medical research.Goodrich says the sanctuary has chimps that “have signs of depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.”

它的故事和其他成百上千只被用于医学实验的黑猩猩一样。古德里奇说收容所收留那些“有抑郁、创伤后应激障碍迹象”的黑猩猩。

Chimpanzees are the closest relative genetically to humans.We share almost 99 percent of the deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA).DNA contains the genetic directions organisms need to develop, live and reproduce.

黑猩猩在基因上和人类非常亲近。它和人类99%的DNA都相近。DNA包含了生物发育、存活和繁殖需要的基因方向。

Chimps have been important in developing medicines.They also helped clear the way for astronauts to go into space.A chimp named Ham flew in space before the first man.

黑猩猩对药品研发有重要意义。它们也可以帮助宇航员在太空探路。在人类第一次踏入太空前，一只名叫哈姆的猩猩最先进入太空。

But the use of chimpanzees in research has been shrinking in recent years.An Institute of Medicine report in 2011 said science had improved so much that most research on chimps was no longer justified.

但近些年利用黑猩猩进行实验的情况已经减少。美国医学研究院2011年的一份报告称科学已经进步许多，无需在黑猩猩身上进行实验。

Three years ago, the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) said it was ending research on the animals.

三年前，美国国立卫生研究院称正在停止进行动物实验。

Then, in 2015, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service declared captive chimpanzees “endangered” --just like the chimps in the wild.This means any use of chimps that could harm or kill them would require a special permit.

2015年，美国鱼类和野生动物服务机构称被圈养的黑猩猩处于濒危状态，就像野生黑猩猩一样。任何可能伤害或致黑猩猩死亡的实验需要得到特殊许可。

Kathleen Conlee is with The Humane Society, a group that worked to end medical research on chimpanzees.

凯思林·科林在人道协会工作，该组织致力于停止利用黑猩猩进行医学研究的状况。

“The laboratories have now realized they don’t have a use for chimpanzees anymore so it’s in their interest financially to not be involved in the business of holding onto chimpanzees anymore.”

“各大实验室已经意识到不需要黑猩猩进行实验，所以就他们的利益所言，他们不用再跟捕捉黑猩猩的生意有往来。”

NIH officials are working with groups like Project Chimps and others to retire all of its apes to protected spaces in Louisiana and Georgia.The NIH said it wants its last chimpanzees to move to Louisiana by fall 2026.

美国国立卫生研究院官员与黑猩猩计划等组织合作，将所有被用于实验的黑猩猩送至路易斯安那和乔治亚州的收容所。国立卫生研究院称其计划2026年秋天前将最后一批黑猩猩送至路易斯安那。

Conlee says bringing an end to experimenting on chimps means it is a story with a happy ending.

科林说停止在黑猩猩身上实验，这意味着黑猩猩获得了美满的结局。

“I think the most exciting thing about this campaign is that no other animal protection issue, you usually don’t see an end.There is an end in sight and a, and a great ending for these chimpanzees.”

“我觉得最让人兴奋的是，这一运动并没有其他的动物保护问题，不像其他问题一样看不到结果。你可以看到结果，这些黑猩猩们都获得了美好的结局。”

Now, homes need to be found for the more than 660 chimps who were once used in government research and private labs.That will cost a lot of money.After building and transportation costs, Conlee says housing a chimp will cost as much as $20,000 a year.

如今，还需要为660多只用于国家研究或私人实验的黑猩猩寻找住所。这要花费不少钱。除去修建收容所和转运费后，科林说照顾一只黑猩猩每年要花费2万美元。

Foxie found her home in Washington State, but Diana Goodrich says finding homes for all the chimps is not easy.

福西在华盛顿安了家，但戴安娜·古德里奇说为所有的黑猩猩安家并不容易。

“There’s not space right now for them.So, it’s a matter of getting enough money to build and expand the sanctuaries that exist.”

“现在没有地方容纳它们。所以如今的问题在于筹集资金，修建和扩大已有的收容所。”

Foxie lives with six other chimps.All were once used for hepatitis experiments.

福西和其它六只黑猩猩生活在一起。它们都曾被用于肝炎实验。

The sanctuary will add two to four more chimps to Foxie’s group.

收容所还将收留两至四只黑猩猩，加入福西它们这一群体。

Meanwhile, Foxie seems to be happy with her “troll” dolls -- children’s playthings.

福西似乎很喜欢她的“钓鱼”玩偶——小孩的玩具。

The dolls look like small people, with long, colorful hair and a face that looks a little like an ape.Goodrich says Foxie “immediately fell in love” with the first troll doll she saw.

这些玩偶看起来像小人，有长而多彩的头发，面部长得有点像猩猩。古德里奇说福西第一眼看到这个玩偶，“就喜欢上了”。

She carries one around on her back like a baby.

她将玩偶背在背上，就像背着孩子一样。

She cares for them and hugs them.Goodrich said Foxie is no longer afraid, and has turned out to be the peacemaker in her group.

她照顾它们，还给它们拥抱。古德里奇说，福西不再害怕，而且成为它们这一群中的和平使者。

Words in This Story

doll - n. a child’s toy that looks like a human figure

sanctuary – n. a safe place

decoration – n. something that is added to something to make it more attractive

hepatitis – n. a virus that causes disease that can be deadly

biopsy – n. a medical procedure that requires removing tissue from a body and examining it for disease

wary – adj. not having trust in someone or something

depression – n. a mental condition of feeling sad

post-traumatic stress disorder – n. a mental health condition that comes from a terrifying event, either by experiencing it or seeing it

ape – n. a type of animal, like chimpanzees and gorillas, that are closely related to monkeys and humans and are covered in hair and have a very short tail or no tail