VOA慢速英语2015 2014年偷猎犀牛达到创纪录水平

 

AS IT IS 2015-02-05 Rhino¹ Poaching Reaches Record Level in 2014 2014年偷猎犀牛达到创纪录水平

The poaching, or illegal killing², of rhinos³ in South Africa is growing worse each year. The government recently reported that a record number of rhinos were poached in 2014. The killings⁴ continue even though the government has increased efforts to try to stop poachers.

Edna Molewa is South Africa’s environmental issues minister. She spoke⁵ to reporters in Pretoria about the record number of killings.

“During 2014, we (are) sad to say this, the number of 1,215 rhinos were killed. This is a rise in the number of poached rhino from 1004 in 2013. This is indeed very worrying.”

That is an increase of 21 percent from 2013, a year which had more rhino killings in South Africa than ever before.

The World Wildlife Fund, or WWF, estimates 20,000 rhinos live in South Africa. That is more than 80 percent of the rhinos in the world. About half of the rhinos in South Africa live in Kruger National Park.

The animals are hunted for their horn. Many people in Asia believe the horn has healing power. But there is no scientific evidence for this belief. The horn is made of keratin. That is the same substance as human hair, fingernails and toenails.

Ms. Molewa said 386 suspected poachers were arrested last year, an increase from the year before. But rhino protection workers say poachers often go unpunished after arrest. South Africa’s legal system is inefficient⁶.

Ms. Molewa said more needs to be done. She said South Africa is taking strong measures to protect rhinos. She said efforts include moving some of the animals to secret places in neighboring countries.

“Now, in the last quarter -- which is last year, 2014 -- 56 rhino have already been moved out of poaching hot spots and translocated from certain areas within the Kruger National Park to what we call an intensive protection zone -- ITZ -- as well as to other, more secure areas. And over and above that, approximately 100 rhinos have been translocated to neighboring states in the SADC region during 2014.”

She said 200 more rhinos will be moved this year.

Jo Shaw is the rhino program manager at the WWF. She spoke to VOA on Skype about the record number of rhino killings last year in South Africa.

“It’s obviously extremely worrying news. We’re, we’re talking about a loss of a hundred rhinos a month, or, or more than three a day. We really need to see strategic, concerted action not just at a national level but internationally.”

She says officials should find the criminal groups responsible for the poaching and punish them.

Conservationists and government officials are to meet in Botswana in March at the Inter-governmental Conference on Illegal Wildlife Trade. They will talk about ways to stop the trade in rhino horns. That may be the only way to stop the killing of rhinos.

Words in This Story

hot spot – n. idiom a place where there is much danger or fighting

translocate(d) – v. relocate; move

SADC – n. acronym⁷ for “South African Development Community”

concerted – adj. done in a planned and deliberate way usually by several or many people

1 rhino   

n.犀牛，钱, 现金

参考例句：

• The rhino charged headlong towards us.犀牛急速地向我们冲来。
• They have driven the rhino to the edge of extinction.他们已经令犀牛濒临灭绝。

2 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

3 rhinos   

n.犀牛（rhino的复数形式）

参考例句：

• There are many reports of people taming and even training Indian rhinos. 有许多关于人们驯养甚至训练印度犀牛的记载。 来自辞典例句
• The rhinos had fed during the night in the rice fields of these villagers. 犀牛夜里在这些村民的庄稼地里也已吃饱了。 来自辞典例句

4 killings   

谋杀( killing的名词复数 )； 突然发大财，暴发

参考例句：

• His statement was seen as an allusion to the recent drug-related killings. 他的声明被视为暗指最近与毒品有关的多起凶杀案。
• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。

5 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。

6 inefficient   

adj.效率低的，无效的

参考例句：

• The inefficient operation cost the firm a lot of money.低效率的运作使该公司损失了许多钱。
• Their communication systems are inefficient in the extreme.他们的通讯系统效率非常差。

7 acronym   

n.首字母简略词，简称

参考例句：

• That's a mouthful of an acronym for a very simple technology.对于一项非常简单的技术来说，这是一个很绕口的缩写词。
• TSDF is an acronym for Treatment, Storage and Disposal Facilities.TSDF是处理，储存和处置设施的一个缩写。