VOA慢速英语-- '章鱼语者'感觉与海洋生物有着密切的联系

 

You might have heard of a “whisperer” – a person who has special skills to calm and train animals. Some of the most well-known whisperers work with horses or dogs.

American Wilson Menashi discovered long ago that he too had this kind of gift. However, the animal he feels closely connected to, the octopus¹, rarely has contact with people.

But that never stopped Menashi, now 84, from continuing to help aquarium² workers who call him the octopus whisperer.

Menashi retired³ from a career as a chemical engineer 25 years ago. Shortly thereafter⁴, he began volunteering at the New England Aquarium in Boston. Since then, the aquarium says he has spent 7,800 hours working there with octopuses⁵. The time is equal to nearly four years of full-time⁶ work.

“I’ve been able to interact⁷ with them from the beginning,” Menashi told the Associated Press (AP) about his involvement with octopuses. “I do not know why. I cannot explain it, but I can connect with them,” he added.

Menashi spoke⁸ to the AP while working with the octopuses. As he put his arm into a large tank, a giant Pacific octopus named Freya stretched out her arms to meet him, almost like a friend.

Freya immediately began putting some of her 2,240 suction cups onto Menashi’s arm. An octopus uses the suction cups to taste and smell as it gathers information about its surroundings and other living things.

“She’s just contacting me and she’s saying, ‘You come to me,’” Menashi says of Freya. The 3-year-old octopus weighs about 18 kilograms. Her arms stretch about four meters in length and contain enough strength to kill sharks and other enemies.

But the interaction at the aquarium shows Menashi’s special skills dealing⁹ with such dangerous sea animals. Looking happy and playful, he keeps touching¹⁰ the octopus.

He explains to the AP the sea creatures have left life-long impressions on him. But along with that, the octopuses also leave physical marks. “I will come back home sometimes with hickeys all over my arm and my neck,” he said.

He is asked how he explains such marks to his wife. “Not too difficult when you have about 10 or 15 marks next to each other,” he answers. “It did not take much. She also knew where I was, anyway.”

Bill Murphy works at the aquarium. He told the AP Menashi’s eye for detail, patience and willingness to experiment makes him the perfect octopus whisperer. “Every octopus is different. So then you can’t use the same rules for every octopus,” Murphy said. “You need to change it up. And Wilson does that.”

Menashi says spending time with octopuses and other animals has given his life a whole new purpose in retirement¹¹.

“Just being here has been, to me, a lifesaver,” he said. “Gave me something to do. Gave me different interests and showed me the world is a wonderful place to be,” he added.

I’m Bryan Lynn.

Words in This Story

whisperer – n. a person who can tame and train a type of animal just by using the voice and gentle body movements

aquarium – n. building people can visit to see water animals and plants?

suction cup – n. round piece often made of rubber material that sticks to surfaces when pressed against them

impression – n. an effect or influence on the way someone feels or thinks

hickey – n. a temporary red mark on someone's skin, often the neck, that may be caused by kissing

puzzle – n. a game or activity in which places have to put pieces together or answer questions using skill

patience – n. being able to stay calm and not get angry, especially when something takes a long time

1 octopus   

n.章鱼

参考例句：

• He experienced nausea after eating octopus.吃了章鱼后他感到恶心。
• One octopus has eight tentacles.一条章鱼有八根触角。

2 aquarium   

n.水族馆，养鱼池，玻璃缸

参考例句：

• The first time I saw seals was in an aquarium.我第一次看见海豹是在水族馆里。
• I'm going to the aquarium with my parents this Sunday.这个星期天，我要和父母一起到水族馆去。

3 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

4 thereafter   

adv.此后，以后

参考例句：

• Thereafter they did not speak.此后他们就不再讲话了。
• On the opening day all tickets are a dollar, thereafter,they'll be two dollars.开张那天票价一元，以后两元。

5 octopuses   

章鱼( octopus的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Snails and octopuses are molluscs. 蜗牛和章鱼是软体动物。
• Limpets, snails and octopuses are mollusks. 帽贝、蜗牛和章鱼都是软体动物。

6 full-time   

adj.满工作日的或工作周的，全时间的

参考例句：

• A full-time job may be too much for her.全天工作她恐怕吃不消。
• I don't know how she copes with looking after her family and doing a full-time job.既要照顾家庭又要全天工作，我不知道她是如何对付的。

7 interact   

vi.相互作用，相互影响，互通信息

参考例句：

• All things are interrelated and interact on each other.一切事物互相联系并相互作用。
• The policeman advised the criminal to interact with the police.警察劝罪犯与警方合作。

8 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。

9 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

10 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。

11 retirement   

n.退休，退职

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。