2006年NPR美国国家公共电台四月-Large Sea Lion Population Threatens Fishi

Renée Montagne: And here on the West Coast, the sea lion population has quadrupled since hunting stopped some 30 years ago. But fishermen are lobbying for a return of those days. Tom Banse explains.

Tom Banse: A clump¹ of California sea lions is soaking up the fleeting² sun on a floating dock in the Port of Gold Beach, Oregon. Their barking sounds almost like taunts⁴ in the fishing offices along the shore. A third generation river guide Sean Carpenter says sea lions have taken to stealing fish right off his customers' lines.

Sean Carpenter: There have been days where maybe a hundred fish were caught, hooked all day, and 25 landed, 75 go to the sea lions.

Tom Banse: Guides like Carpenter have gotten nasty emails and letters from clients who vow⁵ never to return. Maybe you would feel the same way if you paid $125 per person for a fruitless half-day fishing trip.

Sean Carpenter: People get very angry, and there's not a lot I can do. I mean, other than the paint ball, the banging around, trying to scare them, none of that works any more.

Tom Banse: So, Gold Beach is set to become the first West Coast community to hire its own civilian⁶ sea lion warden⁷, they'll patrol the bay this summer, going to the limit of what's legal to drive off the flippered fish fiends. Squirting them, making noise is ok, hurting them is not. Volunteers also plan to nail plywood barricades⁸ around favored sea lion haul outs. But Sean Carpenter figures the only long-term solution is resumed hunting.

Sean Carpenter: They are very ugly when they've got your fish in their mouth. But they are a beautiful animal and I don't know how people are going to react to hunting them. But that's what really needs to be done.

Tom Banse: Open season on California sea lions isn't as far-fetched as it would have been a few yeas ago. The animals have been highly protected since the early 1970's, at that time hunting had depressed⁹ their numbers to 1/4 or 1/5 of what we see today. Scientists have documented a tremendous recovery---the sea lion population seems to have rebounded¹⁰ all the way to its natural peak. That according to marine¹¹ mammal specialist Brent Norberg of the Federal Fishery Service:

Brent Norberg: Now the population growth rate appears to be slowing or leveling off, which would give us an indication that it's reaching its balance point.

Tom Banse: Once these findings are published, states can apply to quote, "manage their sea lions". Columbia River Indian tribes are all for it, they want more aggressive control of sea lions that feast on week salmon¹² runs and precious sturgeon. Oregon and Washington State have started a new offensive. This is human versus¹³ animal combat on the Columbia River. State Wild Life officers are firing salvos of fire cracker¹⁴ shells, rubber bullets and underwater charges to drive off a herd¹⁵ of about 100 sea lions. They're feasting below the first dam. The states bordering the big Western River are applying for federal permission to permanently¹⁶ remove the most voracious¹⁷ offenders¹⁸. Removal could entail¹⁹ capture and relocation or killing²⁰, starting next year. But killing even a few of the charismatic sea lions is bound to stir passions in the animal rights community.

Tom Banse: For NPR news, I'm Tom Banse.

Note------------
soak up (the sun/rays/sunshine etc): to sit outside for a long time enjoying the sun;吸收
floating dock: 浮动船坞
taunt³: a remark or joke intended to make someone angry or upset;辱骂, 嘲弄
haul out: a 'haul-out' is a place on land where sea lions congregate²¹. It's usually a massive rock formation.(From Laowai2006)
far-fetched: extremely unlikely to be true or to happen;牵强的, 不自然的
level off: to stop rising or falling and become steady;平整, 变平, 稳定
sturgeon: a large fish, from which caviar is obtained, or the meat of this fish;鲟鱼
voracious: having an extremely strong desire to do or have a lot of something;狼吞虎咽的, 贪婪的
charismatic: having charisma;神赐能力的, 超凡魅力的

1 clump   

n.树丛，草丛；vi.用沉重的脚步行走

参考例句：

• A stream meandered gently through a clump of trees.一条小溪从树丛中蜿蜒穿过。
• It was as if he had hacked with his thick boots at a clump of bluebells.仿佛他用自己的厚靴子无情地践踏了一丛野风信子。

2 fleeting   

adj.短暂的，飞逝的

参考例句：

• The girls caught only a fleeting glimpse of the driver.女孩们只匆匆瞥了一眼司机。
• Knowing the life fleeting,she set herself to enjoy if as best as she could.她知道这种日子转瞬即逝，于是让自已尽情地享受。

3 taunt   

n.辱骂，嘲弄；v.嘲弄

参考例句：

• He became a taunt to his neighbours.他成了邻居们嘲讽的对象。
• Why do the other children taunt him with having red hair?为什么别的小孩子讥笑他有红头发？

4 taunts   

嘲弄的言语，嘲笑，奚落( taunt的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He had to endure the racist taunts of the crowd. 他不得不忍受那群人种族歧视的奚落。
• He had to endure the taunts of his successful rival. 他不得不忍受成功了的对手的讥笑。

5 vow   

n.誓(言)，誓约；v.起誓，立誓

参考例句：

• My parents are under a vow to go to church every Sunday.我父母许愿，每星期日都去做礼拜。
• I am under a vow to drink no wine.我已立誓戒酒。

6 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

7 warden   

n.监察员，监狱长，看守人，监护人

参考例句：

• He is the warden of an old people's home.他是一家养老院的管理员。
• The warden of the prison signed the release.监狱长签发释放令。

8 barricades   

路障，障碍物( barricade的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The police stormed the barricades the demonstrators had put up. 警察冲破了示威者筑起的街垒。
• Others died young, in prison or on the barricades. 另一些人年轻时就死在监牢里或街垒旁。

9 depressed   

adj.沮丧的，抑郁的，不景气的，萧条的

参考例句：

• When he was depressed,he felt utterly divorced from reality.他心情沮丧时就感到完全脱离了现实。
• His mother was depressed by the sad news.这个坏消息使他的母亲意志消沉。

10 rebounded   

弹回( rebound的过去式和过去分词 )； 反弹； 产生反作用； 未能奏效

参考例句：

• The ball rebounded from the goalpost and Owen headed it in. 球从门柱弹回，欧文头球将球攻进。
• The ball rebounded from his racket into the net. 球从他的球拍上弹回网中。

11 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

12 salmon   

n.鲑，大马哈鱼，橙红色的

参考例句：

• We saw a salmon jumping in the waterfall there.我们看见一条大马哈鱼在那边瀑布中跳跃。
• Do you have any fresh salmon in at the moment?现在有新鲜大马哈鱼卖吗？

13 versus   

prep.以…为对手，对；与…相比之下

参考例句：

• The big match tonight is England versus Spain.今晚的大赛是英格兰对西班牙。
• The most exciting game was Harvard versus Yale.最富紧张刺激的球赛是哈佛队对耶鲁队。

14 cracker   

n.（无甜味的）薄脆饼干

参考例句：

• Buy me some peanuts and cracker.给我买一些花生和饼干。
• There was a cracker beside every place at the table.桌上每个位置旁都有彩包爆竹。

15 herd   

n.兽群，牧群；vt.使集中，把…赶在一起

参考例句：

• She drove the herd of cattle through the wilderness.她赶着牛群穿过荒野。
• He had no opinions of his own but simply follow the herd.他从无主见，只是人云亦云。

16 permanently   

adv.永恒地，永久地，固定不变地

参考例句：

• The accident left him permanently scarred.那次事故给他留下了永久的伤疤。
• The ship is now permanently moored on the Thames in London.该船现在永久地停泊在伦敦泰晤士河边。

17 voracious   

adj.狼吞虎咽的，贪婪的

参考例句：

• She's a voracious reader of all kinds of love stories.什么样的爱情故事她都百看不厌。
• Joseph Smith was a voracious book collector.约瑟夫·史密斯是个如饥似渴的藏书家。

18 offenders   

n.冒犯者( offender的名词复数 )；犯规者；罪犯；妨害…的人（或事物）

参考例句：

• Long prison sentences can be a very effective deterrent for offenders. 判处长期徒刑可对违法者起到强有力的威慑作用。
• Purposeful work is an important part of the regime for young offenders. 使从事有意义的劳动是管理少年犯的重要方法。

19 entail   

vt.使承担，使成为必要，需要

参考例句：

• Such a decision would entail a huge political risk.这样的决定势必带来巨大的政治风险。
• This job would entail your learning how to use a computer.这工作将需要你学会怎样用计算机。

20 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。

21 congregate   

v.(使)集合，聚集

参考例句：

• Now they can offer a digital place for their readers to congregate and talk.现在他们可以为读者提供一个数字化空间，让读者可以聚集和交谈。
• This is a place where swans congregate.这是个天鹅聚集地。