VOA标准英语2013--Poachers Kill Elephant Family in Kenya

 

 

Poachers Kill Elephant Family in Kenya

A manhunt has been underway since the weekend in Kenya for a gang of poachers that killed a family of elephants. The Wildlife Service says 12 of the animals were slaughtered¹. Poaching is on the rise across Africa as demand grows in Asia for ivory and rhino² horns.

Kenya Wildlife Service spokesman Paul Mbugua said at least 10 poachers entered the northern side of Tsavo East National Park. It’s a remote area with little infrastructure³. He said the elephants were killed Saturday.

“We learned about the incident about an hour or so later. We mobilized our aircraft and we covered the area, located the carcasses. Realized they had already taken off with the tusks⁴. And so we deployed⁵ our men in the general area and we have been combing the area ever since. We are confident they are still hold up within that area because - from the time they killed to the time when we landed in the general area - they could not have left the park,” he said.

Tracking is being hampered⁶ somewhat by occasional heavy rainfall.

“But we are still following and we are confident we are going to get to them,” he said.

The Wildlife Service is also confident it knows how many poachers are involved.

“The area is sandy and you can actually count footprints of people walking away. And of course the footprints are of different sizes, so it was easy to tell. Actually, the number was perhaps more than 10. There were not less than 10,” he said.

Mbugua said poaching used to occur only in certain corners of Kenya. Now it’s happening across the country.

“With the lucrative⁷ business that is poaching – that is ivory trade – we are having lots and lots of groups of poachers. At any one time, we are aware of various groups of poachers trying to access various parts of the parks and various areas where we have elephants. So, we have an uphill task in containing these groups. We are not dealing⁸ with one particular group. There are many,” he said.

In the past, much of the poaching in Kenya was done by Somali militias⁹. Mbugua said the proliferation of firearms has only made matters worse.

He said anti-poaching operations should be increased; and parliament needs to pass proposed legislation handing down tough penalties for poaching. Currently, wildlife crime, he says, is treated as a misdemeanor with small fines.

“Everybody realizes the importance of wildlife as an economic factor. Tourism depends on wildlife and everybody knows that tourism is one of the industries that brings in a lot of foreign exchange to the country,” he said.

Ivory and rhino horns sell for very high prices in Asia. They’re used in traditional medicines and potions.

The Kenya Wildlife Service is calling on China, Vietnam and other Asian countries to do more to end the poaching trade. It said raising awareness¹⁰ would help – telling people that for every piece of ivory they buy an elephant has died.

Mbugua said, “Citizens of the world have a duty of conserving¹¹ these graceful¹² animals for the benefit of current and future generations.” 

The World Wildlife Fund estimates that in 2011, more than 23 metric tons of ivory were seized by authorities. That figure, it said, represents 2,500 dead elephants.

 

1 slaughtered   

v.屠杀，杀戮，屠宰( slaughter的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The invading army slaughtered a lot of people. 侵略军杀了许多人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Hundreds of innocent civilians were cruelly slaughtered. 数百名无辜平民遭残杀。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 rhino   

n.犀牛，钱, 现金

参考例句：

• The rhino charged headlong towards us.犀牛急速地向我们冲来。
• They have driven the rhino to the edge of extinction.他们已经令犀牛濒临灭绝。

3 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

4 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）

5 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。

6 hampered   

妨碍，束缚，限制( hamper的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The search was hampered by appalling weather conditions. 恶劣的天气妨碍了搜寻工作。
• So thought every harassed, hampered, respectable boy in St. Petersburg. 圣彼德堡镇的那些受折磨、受拘束的体面孩子们个个都是这么想的。

7 lucrative   

adj.赚钱的，可获利的

参考例句：

• He decided to turn his hobby into a lucrative sideline.他决定把自己的爱好变成赚钱的副业。
• It was not a lucrative profession.那是一个没有多少油水的职业。

8 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。

9 militias   

n.民兵组织，民兵( militia的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The troops will not attempt to disarm the warring militias. 部队并不打算解除战斗中的民兵武装。 来自辞典例句
• The neighborhood was a battleground for Shiite and Sunni militias. 那里曾是什叶派和逊尼派武装分子的战场。 来自互联网

10 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。

11 conserving   

v.保护，保藏，保存( conserve的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Contour planning with or without terracing is effective in conserving both soil and moisture. 顺等高线栽植，无论做或不做梯田对于保持水土都能有效。 来自辞典例句
• Economic savings, consistent with a conserving society and the public philosophy. 经济节约，符合创建节约型社会的公共理念。 来自互联网

12 graceful   

adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的

参考例句：

• His movements on the parallel bars were very graceful.他的双杠动作可帅了!
• The ballet dancer is so graceful.芭蕾舞演员的姿态是如此的优美。