VOA标准英语2011--Elephant Study Reveals Social Bonds, Com

Elephant Study Reveals Social Bonds, Communication Skills

Those who think of elephants as solitary¹, gentle giants lumbering² quietly in their zoo enclosures might be surprised by the range and force of their distinctive³ calls to each other in the wild.
Shermin de Silva, a University of Pennsylvania biologist, identifies that as a “trumpet” sound, one of 14 distinct vocalizations she and her colleagues have recorded in Sri Lanka’s Uda Walawe National Park over the past six years.
“Trumpets⁴ are produced actually in situations of distress," says de Silva. "So they are not particularly happy vocalizations. They are either excited or distressed⁵. But in addition to the trumpets, Asian elephants produce a very peculiar⁶ kind of sound that I call ‘squeaks.’"
“Squeaks tend to be produced also in situations of alarm and in situations of submission⁷. So when an elephant is backing away from an opponent or backing away from in some cases, people, and alarmed by people or jackals or perceived threats, they also produced an elongated⁸ form of that called 'squeals⁹.' ”
Asian elephant calves¹⁰ often emit a sort of prolonged roar when they’re nursing or when they want attention.
“They also give long versions of the roar when they are separated," De Silva says. "And you see animals roaring as they are trying to find their social companions. What do we mean when we say an animal is ‘social?’ And that is a very big question.”
According to De Silva, elephant social life is based on a variety of female bonding behaviors. While some female elephants flit from one favored companion to another, others may visit a group of companions for days or even weeks, but always return to favored friends.
De Silva observed an elephant pair they named Kamala and Kanthi who were nearly inseparable.
“When I say that females are friends with one another, they actively¹¹ have choices in where they go. So they can choose to be with somebody or not. Even though that choice is not apparent to us because all we see them doing is eating and moving. In the classic understanding of animal behavior, when two individuals are together spatially¹² and they are together more often than you’d expect by coincidence, you are reasonably justified¹³ in thinking they prefer one another.”
In contrast, older male elephants tend to go it alone. Young males often seek to be in the rough vicinity of older males, even though little or no bonding takes place.
"African elephants...derive¹⁴ some kind of knowledge by following around these older males," De Silva says. "They learn their place in the hierarchy¹⁵, and there are unfortunately even incidents where young males who are deprived of this kind of guidance from older males - or females - become boisterous¹⁶ and psychologically traumatized."
De Silva says another focus of her research was how the elephants impacted the Sri Lankan environment. Elephants till the soil with their tusks¹⁷ and dig large holes where water can collect. They also uproot¹⁸ trees, and plant seeds through their droppings.
Although elephants can come into conflict with humans if they raid or trample¹⁹ crops, de Silva says their activities can indirectly²⁰ benefit humans too.
“If there aren’t elephants walking around dispersing²¹ seeds, there aren’t going to be any trees, and if there aren’t going to be trees of a particular kind that grow up to suck up water and create clouds, then that affects the water table. These are all indirect and long timescale interactions, but they are very important interactions.”
De Silva notes that poaching, habitat encroachment²², climate change and other factors threaten wild Asian elephant herds²³, such as those in Uda Walawe.
According to the Wildlife Conservation Society, the population of Asian elephants has declined significantly in recent decades, and their survival in the wild is endangered.
De Silva says that is why it is essential to work with local people to find ways to live alongside these impressive creatures, in a way that will allow both human and elephant groups to thrive.

1 solitary   

adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士

参考例句：

• I am rather fond of a solitary stroll in the country.我颇喜欢在乡间独自徜徉。
• The castle rises in solitary splendour on the fringe of the desert.这座城堡巍然耸立在沙漠的边际，显得十分壮美。

2 lumbering   

n.采伐林木

参考例句：

• Lumbering and, later, paper-making were carried out in smaller cities. 木材业和后来的造纸都由较小的城市经营。
• Lumbering is very important in some underdeveloped countries. 在一些不发达的国家，伐木业十分重要。

3 distinctive   

adj.特别的，有特色的，与众不同的

参考例句：

• She has a very distinctive way of walking.她走路的样子与别人很不相同。
• This bird has several distinctive features.这个鸟具有几种突出的特征。

4 trumpets   

喇叭( trumpet的名词复数 )； 小号； 喇叭形物； （尤指）绽开的水仙花

参考例句：

• A wreath was laid on the monument to a fanfare of trumpets. 在响亮的号角声中花圈被献在纪念碑前。
• A fanfare of trumpets heralded the arrival of the King. 嘹亮的小号声宣告了国王驾到。

5 distressed   

痛苦的

参考例句：

• He was too distressed and confused to answer their questions. 他非常苦恼而困惑，无法回答他们的问题。
• The news of his death distressed us greatly. 他逝世的消息使我们极为悲痛。

6 peculiar   

adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的

参考例句：

• He walks in a peculiar fashion.他走路的样子很奇特。
• He looked at me with a very peculiar expression.他用一种很奇怪的表情看着我。

7 submission   

n.服从，投降；温顺，谦虚；提出

参考例句：

• The defeated general showed his submission by giving up his sword.战败将军缴剑表示投降。
• No enemy can frighten us into submission.任何敌人的恐吓都不能使我们屈服。

8 elongated   

v.延长，加长( elongate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Modigliani's women have strangely elongated faces. 莫迪里阿尼画中的妇女都长着奇长无比的脸。
• A piece of rubber can be elongated by streching. 一块橡皮可以拉长。 来自《用法词典》

9 squeals   

n.长而尖锐的叫声( squeal的名词复数 )v.长声尖叫，用长而尖锐的声音说( squeal的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• There was an outburst of squeals from the cage. 铁笼子里传来一阵吱吱的叫声。 来自英汉文学
• There were squeals of excitement from the children. 孩子们兴奋得大声尖叫。 来自辞典例句

10 calves   

n.(calf的复数)笨拙的男子，腓；腿肚子( calf的名词复数 )；牛犊；腓；小腿肚v.生小牛( calve的第三人称单数 )；（冰川）崩解；生（小牛等），产（犊）；使（冰川）崩解

参考例句：

• a cow suckling her calves 给小牛吃奶的母牛
• The calves are grazed intensively during their first season. 小牛在生长的第一季里集中喂养。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 actively   

adv.积极地，勤奋地

参考例句：

• During this period all the students were actively participating.在这节课中所有的学生都积极参加。
• We are actively intervening to settle a quarrel.我们正在积极调解争执。

12 spatially   

空间地，存在于空间地

参考例句：

• A well-defined array of stable fringes results and the field is spatially coherent. 结果得到一组完全确定的稳定条纹，而光场是空间相干的。
• The units are collaged together by a serial tectonic spatially and temporally. 这些构造单元是由构造原因，依一定的时空序列拼贴在一起的。

13 justified   

a.正当的，有理的

参考例句：

• She felt fully justified in asking for her money back. 她认为有充分的理由要求退款。
• The prisoner has certainly justified his claims by his actions. 那个囚犯确实已用自己的行动表明他的要求是正当的。

14 derive   

v.取得；导出；引申；来自；源自；出自

参考例句：

• We derive our sustenance from the land.我们从土地获取食物。
• We shall derive much benefit from reading good novels.我们将从优秀小说中获得很大好处。

15 hierarchy   

n.等级制度；统治集团，领导层

参考例句：

• There is a rigid hierarchy of power in that country.那个国家有一套严密的权力等级制度。
• She's high up in the management hierarchy.她在管理阶层中地位很高。

16 boisterous   

adj.喧闹的，欢闹的

参考例句：

• I don't condescend to boisterous displays of it.我并不屈就于它热热闹闹的外表。
• The children tended to gather together quietly for a while before they broke into boisterous play.孩子们经常是先静静地聚集在一起，不一会就开始吵吵嚷嚷戏耍开了。

17 tusks   

n.（象等动物的）长牙( tusk的名词复数 )；獠牙；尖形物；尖头

参考例句：

• The elephants are poached for their tusks. 为获取象牙而偷猎大象。
• Elephant tusks, monkey tails and salt were used in some parts of Africa. 非洲的一些地区则使用象牙、猴尾和盐。 来自英语晨读30分（高一）

18 uproot   

v.连根拔起，拔除；根除，灭绝；赶出家园，被迫移开

参考例句：

• The family decided to uproot themselves and emigrate to Australia.他们全家决定离开故土，移居澳大利亚。
• The trunk of an elephant is powerful enough to uproot trees.大象的长鼻强壮得足以将树木连根拔起。

19 trample   

vt.踩，践踏；无视，伤害，侵犯

参考例句：

• Don't trample on the grass. 勿踏草地。
• Don't trample on the flowers when you play in the garden. 在花园里玩耍时,不要踩坏花。

20 indirectly   

adv.间接地，不直接了当地

参考例句：

• I heard the news indirectly.这消息我是间接听来的。
• They were approached indirectly through an intermediary.通过一位中间人，他们进行了间接接触。

21 dispersing   

adj. 分散的 动词disperse的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• Whereas gasoline fumes linger close to the ground before dispersing. 而汽油烟气却靠近地面迟迟不散。
• Earthworms may be instrumental in dispersing fungi or bacteria. 蚯蚓可能是散布真菌及细菌的工具。

22 encroachment   

n.侵入，蚕食

参考例句：

• I resent the encroachment on my time.我讨厌别人侵占我的时间。
• The eagle broke away and defiantly continued its encroachment.此时雕挣脱开对方，继续强行入侵。

23 herds   

兽群( herd的名词复数 )； 牧群； 人群； 群众

参考例句：

• Regularly at daybreak they drive their herds to the pasture. 每天天一亮他们就把牲畜赶到草场上去。
• There we saw herds of cows grazing on the pasture. 我们在那里看到一群群的牛在草地上吃草。