2007年VOA标准英语-‘Extinct’ Bird Species Lives

By George Dwyer
Washington
30 May 2007
 

Ivory-billed woodpecker

A North American bird believed to have become extinct in 1944 has apparently¹ re-appeared. The Ivory Billed Woodpecker was rediscovered in February 2004 when it was reportedly spotted² twice by witnesses that many bird experts consider highly reliable. But other wildlife professionals are not so sure. And now – as VOA's George Dwyer reports – a new film is under production that examines the controversy³ surrounding the mysterious creature known as "The Lord God Bird."

Rare film footage – shot in 1935 – shows two Ivory Billed Woodpeckers, a species that was thought to have gone extinct.

"This is, of course, the iconic endangered species in North America. There is no more famous endangered species than this bird," says John Fitzpatrick, Director of the Cornell University Laboratory of Ornithology⁴ in New York. Back in 2005 he addressed reporters at a U.S. government sponsored news conference announcing the re-discovery of the Ivory Billed Woodpecker.

"The ivory billed woodpecker has been rediscovered,” he said. “It lives in the big woods region of Eastern Arkansas, and perhaps other places around the Southeast still as well."

No confirmed sighting of the bird had been reported for decades, when suddenly in February 2004 two sightings were reported in a remote area of the southeastern United States.

In April of that same year an amateur naturalist⁵ shot images of a bird believed to be an "Ivory Billed."  But opinions vary on whether the bird caught on tape is really the elusive⁶ woodpecker.

"This is a bird that ornithologists and birdwatchers have been searching for over a century,” explains Fitzpatrick. “It went through several periods of time where it was declared extinct, then re-discovered again, then disappeared again."

Photographer Bob Harrison says he has no doubt the bird exists. "The controversy over whether this bird is out there or not – it is no controversy. I have seen the bird. I have seen the bird five times. I know it is there."

Whether it actually is – or not – is the subject of a recently previewed documentary by noted⁷ America film director George Butler.

"The film is about the tension between the people who love the bird and believe it exists and the coolly objective ornithologists who say it can not possibly exist –- it is extinct,” says Butler. "Any way you look at the story it has got interesting angles."

Butler's film, titled "The Lord God Bird," is still in production. But the filmmaker provided VOA with scenes of the work in progress.

"And it is called, amongst other names, 'The Lord God Bird,' because when someone sighted the bird they would shriek⁸ out, 'Lord God, what was that that flew by?’ "

All of a sudden it seems a lot of people are asking that question once again.

1 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

2 spotted   

adj.有斑点的，斑纹的，弄污了的

参考例句：

• The milkman selected the spotted cows,from among a herd of two hundred.牛奶商从一群200头牛中选出有斑点的牛。
• Sam's shop stocks short spotted socks.山姆的商店屯积了有斑点的短袜。

3 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

4 ornithology   

n.鸟类学

参考例句：

• He found his vocation in ornithology.他发现自己适于专攻鸟类学。
• His main interests are botany and ornithology.他主要对植物学和鸟类学感兴趣。

5 naturalist   

n.博物学家(尤指直接观察动植物者)

参考例句：

• He was a printer by trade and naturalist by avocation.他从事印刷业，同时是个博物学爱好者。
• The naturalist told us many stories about birds.博物学家给我们讲述了许多有关鸟儿的故事。

6 elusive   

adj.难以表达(捉摸)的；令人困惑的；逃避的

参考例句：

• Try to catch the elusive charm of the original in translation.翻译时设法把握住原文中难以捉摸的风韵。
• Interpol have searched all the corners of the earth for the elusive hijackers.国际刑警组织已在世界各地搜查在逃的飞机劫持者。

7 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

8 shriek   

v./n.尖叫，叫喊

参考例句：

• Suddenly he began to shriek loudly.突然他开始大声尖叫起来。
• People sometimes shriek because of terror,anger,or pain.人们有时会因为恐惧，气愤或疼痛而尖叫。