VOA慢速英语2016 美国动物园枪杀大猩猩引争议

AS IT IS 2016-06-01 Killing 1 of Gorilla 2 at US Zoo Causes Uproar 美国动物园枪杀大猩猩引争议

Critics were outraged 3 after zoo officials shot and killed a gorilla that held a 4-year-old boy at an American zoo this weekend.

周末，美国一家动物园因枪杀抱住4岁男孩的大猩猩而引发了众怒。

Harambe, a male western lowland gorilla, was shot and killed Saturday by Cincinnati Zoo officials. The boy had fallen into the gorilla’s exhibit. Officials feared the animal would hurt the four-year-old.

哈兰贝是一只雄性西部低地大猩猩，本周六被辛辛那提动物园的工作人员射杀。一名4岁男孩不慎跌落到大猩猩的展区。工作人员担心大猩猩会伤害孩子。

The boy climbed over a 3-foot-tall railing, walked through bushes and fell 15 feet into the moat of the gorilla exhibit.

男孩爬过3英尺高的防护栏，穿过灌木丛，然后掉到了15英尺以下的大猩猩展区的壕沟里。

Zookeepers called to the gorillas 4 to come out of the exhibit. Two female gorillas complied, but Harambe did not. Instead, he was attracted to the child. At times, he seemed protective. At others, he dragged the boy through the water of the moat violently.

动物管理员呼叫大猩猩退出展区。两只雌性大猩猩被成功叫了回去，但是哈兰贝没有听从。它被孩子吸引了。刚开始，它看起来没有攻击性。但是它突然粗暴地把男孩从壕沟里拖到别处。

Zoo officials say Harambe was visibly agitated 6 by the screams and panic of the crowd around the exhibit.

They decided 7 to shoot the gorilla.

动物管理员说，哈兰贝显然是受到围观人群的惊慌和喊叫声刺激。

Zoo Director Thane Maynard said there was no doubt that the boy's life was in danger. He said the gorilla could crush a coconut 8 in one hand.?

于是，他们决定射杀那只大猩猩。动物园园长西恩·梅纳德说，毫无疑问那孩子有生命危险。那只大猩猩单手就能捏碎一个椰子。

Tranquilizing Harambe was not an option, Maynard said.

梅纳德说，用麻醉枪麻醉哈兰贝并不是个好主意。

“The impact from the dart 9 could agitate 5 the animal and cause the situation to get much worse,” Maynard said. If they had to make the same decision over again, they would do the same thing, he said.

梅纳德说，“麻醉的冲击会激怒大猩猩，情况会变得一发不可收拾。”他还说，如果让他们重新选择，他们还会这样做。

Critics are furious about the killing of Harambe. Many on social media are blaming Michelle Gregg, the mother of the boy. They say she did not watch her son closely enough where there were many dangerous animals.

公众对射杀哈兰贝一事表示愤怒。网友们在社交媒体上谴责孩子的母亲——米歇尔·格兰格。指责其在如此危险的地方没有尽到照看好孩子的责任。

An online petition has been created, called Justice for Harambe, that says “the situation was caused by parental 10 negligence 11” and that Gregg should be held accountable. The petition already has more than 350,000 signatures.

网友发起了“为哈兰贝寻求公正”的网上请愿活动，他们称“这场悲剧是由于家长疏忽所致”，格兰格应该对此负责。超35万人已经在此请愿书上签名。

People have been active on Twitter and Facebook, too. The hashtags #RIPHarambe and #JusticeForHarambe express their anger.

推特和脸书的网友们也为猩猩鸣不平。“哈兰贝请安息”、“为哈兰贝寻求公正”等热门标签表现了他们的愤怒情绪。

Jack 12 Hanna, host of “Jack Hanna's Into the Wild,'' said the zoo was correct by shooting the gorilla. Hanna said he saw video of the gorilla jerking the boy through the water.

“I'll bet my life on this, that child would not be here today,'' Hanna told television station WBNS in Columbus, Ohio.

不过，也有人站在格兰格和动物园的一方。“杰克·汉纳的野外之旅”节目主持人杰克·汉纳表示，动物园射杀大猩猩是正确之举。汉纳称看过大猩猩在壕沟拖动孩子的视频。“我敢拿生命担保，（如果没射杀大猩猩）那个孩子就活不到今天了。”汉纳在俄亥俄州哥伦布市WBNS电视台接受采访时表示。

Words in This Story

moat – n. a deep, wide ditch that is usually filled with water and that goes around the walls of a place (such as a castle) to protect it from being attacked?

exhibit – n. an object or a collection of objects that have been put out in a public space for people to look at : something shown in an exhibition?

agitated – v. to disturb, excite, or anger (someone)?

tranquilizing – v. to use a drug to cause (a person or animal) to become very relaxed and calm?

furious – adj. very angry?

negligence – n. failure to take the care that a responsible person usually takes: lack of normal care or attention

jerking – v. to push, pull, or twist (something) with a quick movement