VOA标准英语2008年-Fight to Save Cambodian Dolphin Continues

Once upon a time, the Mekong River from Laos to Vietnam was teaming with thousands of freshwater dolphins, before more than thirty years of warfare¹ and over-fishing nearly killed them off. But a recent study by the World Wildlife Fund found just 71 left, living in a short stretch of river from northern Cambodia to southern Laos. An effort to protect the endangered species by way of an eco-tourism project was begun several years ago, but as Rory Byrne reports for VOA from Kratie, Cambodia, is it too little, too late?

This small boat chugging up the Mekong River in Cambodia represents one of the last hopes for saving the endangered Mekong Irrawaddy Dolphin. The boat is carrying so-called "voluntourists" to the isolated² fishing village of Sambor in northern Cambodia, which is close to an important breeding ground for some of the last remaining Mekong freshwater dolphins.

The foreign tourists will live and work in the impoverished³ village on the banks of the river in an effort to help protect the dolphin's natural habitat, while at the same time helping⁴ to improve the lives of some of the world's poorest people.
　
Or Channy, Executive Director of the Cambodia Rural Development Team

Or Channy is Executive Director of the Cambodia Rural Development Team (CRDT), in Kratie, Cambodia.

"We are developing agriculture in the area, improving the health care system and digging wells and toilets. But most importantly we are trying to save the dolphins by providing local fishermen with an alternative way to earn a living through tourism," he said.

Tourists pay about $60 for their three day stay in the village most of which goes directly into the pockets of local people.

In a country where almost almost half the people earn about a dollar a day, villagers here can earn $3 per tourist per night for sleeps overs, plus $2 for every meal.

In return for earning an income from tourism, the villagers work to conserve⁵ the Irrawaddy dolphin's natural habitat. They have constructed fish farms in the village to help conserve the dolphin's dwindling⁶ food supply. Fishing with nets and explosives in the river has been banned while at the same time villagers are being encouraged to view the dolphins as an important natural asset that can help attract growing numbers of tourists.
　
Sok Sim, local historian

In the past, people cared little for the mammals, says local historian Sok Sim:

"In the early 1970's there was a lot of bombing in this area and many dolphins were killed. Others died later at the hands of the local people who considered them to be useless fish because they could not eat them. They just shot them for fun."

While staying in the village, the tourists help to develop the local economy by working on development projects such as digging toilets or planting rice to help alleviate⁷ the villager's over-reliance on fishing.
　
Srey Bern, the President of the local Development Committee

When the sun gets too hot for outdoor work, tourists can teach the local children some words of English. Local people say they are delighted with the scheme. Srey Bern is the President of the local Development Committee:

"There are a lot of benefits to having foreigners stay in our village. In the first place we can learn a lot from them - they give us new ideas and we can learn about their culture. The extra money helps a lot but for me it is not the most important thing," he said.

Grace Byrnes, a tourist from Melbourne Australia, says the experience is invaluable⁸ for everyone.
　
Australian tourist Grace Byrnes says 'It's a really great experience'

"It's a really great experience and something that you're not going to do everyday. You can see that any type of help that you offer is really appreciated and it's something that I'd definitely recommend for anyone who wants to come over to Cambodia," said Byrnes.

Despite an initial spike⁹ in dolphin numbers reported in the months after the scheme was introduced, it remains¹⁰ unclear whether it will have any lasting¹¹ impact in saving the remaining dolphins.

Scientists say a deadly new mystery disease seems to be killing¹² off the dolphin's babies which is threatening to undo¹³ much of the projects good work.

There are real fears that the disease, which some blame on chemicals from gold-mining in the area, could soon wipe out the species completely.

But whether the dolphins can be saved or not, the conservation project is at least helping to improve the lives of some of the world's poorest people while at the same time offering tourists, and local people, a glimpse at completely different way of life.

 

1 warfare   

n.战争(状态)；斗争；冲突

参考例句：

• He addressed the audience on the subject of atomic warfare.他向听众演讲有关原子战争的问题。
• Their struggle consists mainly in peasant guerrilla warfare.他们的斗争主要是农民游击战。

2 isolated   

adj.与世隔绝的

参考例句：

• His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
• Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。

3 impoverished   

adj.穷困的，无力的，用尽了的v.使（某人）贫穷( impoverish的过去式和过去分词 )；使（某物）贫瘠或恶化

参考例句：

• the impoverished areas of the city 这个城市的贫民区
• They were impoverished by a prolonged spell of unemployment. 他们因长期失业而一贫如洗。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

5 conserve   

vt.保存，保护，节约，节省，守恒，不灭

参考例句：

• He writes on both sides of the sheet to conserve paper.他在纸张的两面都写字以节省用纸。
• Conserve your energy,you'll need it!保存你的精力，你会用得着的！

6 dwindling   

adj.逐渐减少的v.逐渐变少或变小( dwindle的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The number of wild animals on the earth is dwindling. 地球上野生动物的数量正日渐减少。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He is struggling to come to terms with his dwindling authority. 他正努力适应自己权力被削弱这一局面。 来自辞典例句

7 alleviate   

v.减轻，缓和，缓解(痛苦等)

参考例句：

• The doctor gave her an injection to alleviate the pain.医生给她注射以减轻疼痛。
• Nothing could alleviate his distress.什么都不能减轻他的痛苦。

8 invaluable   

adj.无价的，非常宝贵的，极为贵重的

参考例句：

• A computer would have been invaluable for this job.一台计算机对这个工作的作用会是无法估计的。
• This information was invaluable to him.这个消息对他来说是非常宝贵的。

9 spike   

n.长钉，钉鞋；v.以大钉钉牢，使...失效

参考例句：

• The spike pierced the receipts and held them in order.那个钉子穿过那些收据并使之按顺序排列。
• They'll do anything to spike the guns of the opposition.他们会使出各种手段来挫败对手。

10 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

11 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。

12 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。

13 undo   

vt.解开，松开；取消，撤销

参考例句：

• His pride will undo him some day.他的傲慢总有一天会毁了他。
• I managed secretly to undo a corner of the parcel.我悄悄地设法解开了包裹的一角。