VOA标准英语2011--Big Cats at Home on the Range
时间：2019-01-14 作者：英语课 分类：VOA标准英语2011年(六月)
Big Cats at Home on the Range
Five years ago, U.S. conservation biologist Josh Donlan got some people howling with a controversial article in the scientific journal Nature. Almost literally 1 howling, since the subject was his proposal to "re-wild" the Great Plains.
Re-wild, meaning to re-locate wild animals, including predators 2 such as lions and cheetahs 4 - from Africa to vast, fenced "ecological 5 history parks" on the American prairie.
The goal would be to save species that are endangered because of their ever-shrinking habitat in Africa and to re-invigorate the predator-prey pecking order on the plains.
The Nature article noted 6 that 13,000 years ago, at the end of the Pleistocene geological era, the North American prairie teemed 8 with big vertebrates such as woolly mammoths, five species of horses and an early version of the cheetah 3. They were all hunted to extinction 9 when humans arrived.
Saber-tooth tigers and the like are gone for good. But those who favor the re-wilding idea say today's threatened elephants, camels, and big cats could avoid the same fate on the American plains. And what fabulous 10 photographic safari 11 attractions they would make for tourists.
Critics had fun with all this. One writer envisioned elephants in the driveway throughout the Midwest. Someone else pictured camels frozen solid in prairie winter snowdrifts.
But other conservationists said re-wilding deserved a fair look. The Nature Conservancy, for instance, gave it a "hats off" salute 12 for being provocative 13, though it added, "If you want to think big, why not think big in Africa?"
So it goes without saying that there are no elephants outside of circuses and zoos in Kansas or Oklahoma. But small steps have been made. Former television magnate Ted 7 Turner is modestly re-wilding his New Mexico ranch 14, where he has brought back a giant, nearly extinct, breed of tortoise.
Fine, say sheep and cattle ranchers. But inviting 15 hungry lions to roam America's grasslands 16 would be insane, they say - fence or no fence.
- He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
- Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。
- birds and their earthbound predators 鸟和地面上捕食它们的动物
- The eyes of predators are highly sensitive to the slightest movement. 捕食性动物的眼睛能感觉到最细小的动静。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- The cheetah is generally credited as the world's fastest animal.猎豹被公认是世界上跑得最快的动物。
- The distribution of the cheetah ranges from Africa to Central Asia.印度豹的足迹遍及从非洲到中亚的广大地区。
- Unlike lions or cheetahs, leopards are secretive, solitary cats. 花豹不像狮子或印度豹，是属于较神秘而隐居的大猫。 来自互联网
- Among this lot are cheetahs, lions, leopards, rhinoceroses, spotted hyenas and elephants. 印度豹、狮子、花豹、犀牛、斑点土狼、大象等，都是此地的居民。 来自互联网
- The region has been declared an ecological disaster zone.这个地区已经宣布为生态灾难区。
- Each animal has its ecological niche.每种动物都有自己的生态位.
- 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。
- The invaders gut ted the village.侵略者把村中财物洗劫一空。
- She often teds the corn when it's sunny.天好的时候她就翻晒玉米。
- The pond teemed with tadpoles. 池子里有很多蝌蚪。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- Ideas of new plays and short stories teemed in his head. 他的脑海里装满了有关新的剧本和短篇小说的构思。 来自辞典例句
- The plant is now in danger of extinction.这种植物现在有绝种的危险。
- The island's way of life is doomed to extinction.这个岛上的生活方式注定要消失。
- We had a fabulous time at the party.我们在晚会上玩得很痛快。
- This is a fabulous sum of money.这是一笔巨款。
- When we go on safari we like to cook on an open fire.我们远行狩猎时，喜欢露天生火做饭。
- They went on safari searching for the rare black rhinoceros.他们进行探险旅行，搜寻那稀有的黑犀牛。
- Merchant ships salute each other by dipping the flag.商船互相点旗致敬。
- The Japanese women salute the people with formal bows in welcome.这些日本妇女以正式的鞠躬向人们施礼以示欢迎。
- She wore a very provocative dress.她穿了一件非常性感的裙子。
- His provocative words only fueled the argument further.他的挑衅性讲话只能使争论进一步激化。
- He went to work on a ranch.他去一个大农场干活。
- The ranch is in the middle of a large plateau.该牧场位于一个辽阔高原的中部。
- An inviting smell of coffee wafted into the room.一股诱人的咖啡香味飘进了房间。
- The kitchen smelled warm and inviting and blessedly familiar.这间厨房的味道温暖诱人，使人感到亲切温馨。
- Songs were heard ringing loud and clear over the grasslands. 草原上扬起清亮激越的歌声。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
- Grasslands have been broken and planted to wheat. 草原已经开垦出来，种上了小麦。 来自《简明英汉词典》