VOA文化艺术2022--卡塔尔五星级猎鹰医院

The Souq Waqif medical center sits in the historic center of Doha, the capital of Qatar.

It appears to be a hospital with the latest equipment for medical care. Workers move about while beeping sounds and blinking lights come out of operating rooms. Specialists look at X-rays as doctors prepare for surgery.

There is just one thing: The rooms are filled with falcons².

Veterinarians at the Souq Waqif Falcon¹ Hospital work on a patient in Doha, Qatar, March 15, 2022. Souq Waqif Falcon Hospital cares for the feathered patients in Qatar, which will host the upcoming 2022 FIFA World Cup. (AP Photo/Lujain Jo)

Veterinarians at the Souq Waqif Falcon Hospital work on a patient in Doha, Qatar, March 15, 2022. Souq Waqif Falcon Hospital cares for the feathered patients in Qatar, which will host the upcoming 2022 FIFA World Cup. (AP Photo/Lujain Jo)

In the small, wealthy country of Qatar, falcons are among the nation's most prized residents. Long respected across the Arabian Peninsula for their hunting abilities, falcons are now used to show a person's wealth or social standing³.

Although less common now than in ancient times, the art of falconry is still passed down from one generation to the next in Qatar and other Persian Gulf⁴ states. In recent years, groups that teach the sport have started up across the area.

Falcons compete in an increasing number of races and beauty events. The finest falcons sell for at least a few thousand dollars and Qataris are willing to pay to keep them healthy.

Dr. Ikdam Al Karkhi is Souq Waqif hospital director. He told The Associated Press, "The establishment of the hospital was to support the hobby and heritage of raising falcons." He added, "Keeping them alive and well is an essential duty."

Public hospitals like Souq Waqif offer care to about 30,000 sick and wounded birds a year. The hospital is often full of owners and trainers bringing their birds in for check-ups, medical tests, feather replacements⁶, and surgeries.

The falcon's hunt may be a respected tradition, but it is also difficult and dangerous work. At times, the cornered animal fights back, injures the falcon, and damages its wings.

Each of a falcon's feathers is important for its ability to fly, necessitating⁷ careful feather replacement⁵ after fights. Doctors pull from a collection of feathers to find one that perfectly⁸ matches the wounded bird. "If these damaged feathers remain, it can cause loss or reduction of the bird's fitness," Al Karkhi said. "They must be treated."

Hamad Al Mehshadi runs events for falconry. He took his falcon for a regular medical checkup at the center, saying "If a person is neglecting their bird, it's a huge problem."

I'm John Russell.

Lujain Jo reported on this story for the Associated Press. John Russell adapted it for VOA Learning English.

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Words in This Story

beep -- n. a short usually high-pitched sound (as from a horn or an electronic device) that serves as a signal or warning

blink -- v. to go on and off repeatedly

surgery -- n. medical treatment (as of disease, injury, or physical abnormality) that involves cutting into the body usually to expose internal parts

resident -- n. someone who lives in a particular place

falconry -- n. the sport of hunting with hawks⁹

hobby – n. an activity that a person does for pleasure when not working

heritage – n. the traditions, achievements, beliefs, etc., that are part of the history of a group or nation — usually singular

essential -- adj. extremely important and necessary

regular -- adj. usual or normal

match -- v. to be the same or suitable to one another

neglect -- v. to fail to take care of or to give attention to (someone or something)

1 falcon   

n.隼，猎鹰

参考例句：

• The falcon was twice his size with pouted feathers.鹰张开羽毛比两只鹰还大。
• The boys went hunting with their falcon.男孩子们带着猎鹰出去打猎了。

2 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

3 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

4 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

5 replacement   

n.取代，替换，交换；替代品，代用品

参考例句：

• We are hard put to find a replacement for our assistant.我们很难找到一个人来代替我们的助手。
• They put all the students through the replacement examination.他们让所有的学生参加分班考试。

6 replacements   

n.代替( replacement的名词复数 )；替换的人[物]；替代品；归还

参考例句：

• They infiltrated behind the lines so as to annoy the emery replacements. 他们渗透敌后以便骚扰敌军的调度。 来自辞典例句
• For oil replacements, cheap suddenly looks less of a problem. 对于石油的替代品来说，价格变得无足轻重了。 来自互联网

7 necessitating   

使…成为必要，需要( necessitate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Multiple network transmissions overlapping in the physical channel, resulting in garbled data and necessitating retransmission. 多个网络传输重迭发生在同一物理信道上，它导致数据被破坏，因而必须重传。
• The health status of 435 consecutive patients with sleep disturbances necessitating polysomnography was investigated. 435个患有睡眠紊乱的病人进行多导睡眠描记法对其健康状况进行调查。

8 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

9 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。