新西兰英语 232 Whaling protest in Antarctica

　　A protest boat, with a crew of six people, was damaged by a Japanese whaling ship in Antarctic waters yesterday. The boat, the Ady Gil, is registered in New Zealand but is part of a protest group – the Sea Shepherd – which has an Australian captain. The protest group is trying to stop the Japanese catching¹ Minke whales. Every summer, Japan sends whaling ships to the Antarctic and every year, the Sea Shepherd tries to stop them. This is the first time there has been a collision between a protest boat and a Japanese ship. Nobody was killed although one member of the protest crew was slightly injured.
The International Whaling Commission, which wants to stop countries catching whales, has allowed Japan to catch 1,000 Minke whales each year. Japan says this is for scientific reasons. However, the whale meat is sold in fish markets in Japan.
The Sea Shepherd group says that whales are endangered and Japan should not catch any whales. The protesters have been using a number of different ways to stop Japanese ships such as throwing acid bombs, using ropes to damage the propeller² of the ship and using water cannon³. The Japanese ship used water cannon to try to stop the Ady Gil. It is not clear what happened next. Did the Ady Gil move towards the ship or did the ship move towards the Ady Gil?
The governments of three countries – Australian, New Zealand and Japan – will try to find out what happened.
Accidents in Antarctic waters can be very serious because of the cold and the distance to travel for help.
Questions to think about
? Are there better ways to protest about Japanese whaling ships?
? Some people say there are plenty of Minke whales in the ocean. If this is true, what is wrong with killing⁴ them? Is it the same as fishing?
? Some countries, such as Norway, Iceland and Japan, say that whale meat is part of their traditional food. Should they be allowed to kill whales for food?
? Should the Australian and New Zealand governments send ships to support the Sea Shepherd group?

1 catching   

adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住

参考例句：

• There are those who think eczema is catching.有人就是认为湿疹会传染。
• Enthusiasm is very catching.热情非常富有感染力。

2 propeller   

n.螺旋桨，推进器

参考例句：

• The propeller started to spin around.螺旋桨开始飞快地旋转起来。
• A rope jammed the boat's propeller.一根绳子卡住了船的螺旋桨。

3 cannon   

n.大炮，火炮；飞机上的机关炮

参考例句：

• The soldiers fired the cannon.士兵们开炮。
• The cannon thundered in the hills.大炮在山间轰鸣。

4 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。