国家地理:A man among wolves 与狼共舞

This is Shaun Ellis. He's done something few would dare and even fewer understand. His passion for these animals has led him to live life as a wolf.

For me personally, it's cost family, home, security, financial commitment. Everything is gone. But you have to believe in what you did. I wouldn't be doing this if I didn't think I could make a difference.

Shaun has no formal scientific training, but for 15 years, he's studied and written about wolves in Poland and America. He spent 2 of those years in the United States, studying with a native American-wolf expert. He's also been a wolf advisor¹ in zoos and wildlife parks around the world. By being accepted into a wolf pack, Shaun hopes to prove that man can live in harmony with wolves as long as he respects their ways.

I felt by doing that I would then be trusted enough for these guys to share their secrets with me, the same secrets there that we can use to help safeguard them and their cousins in the wild.

Day in and day out, Shaun puts his life on the line to be accepted as a member of the pack. At any moment, these wolves could seriously injure him, even kill him. But he's spent 15 years studying wolf language and behavior, and that knowledge is what keeps him alive.

Everyday is a battle for survival, harsh existence coming under nature's laws, their rules.

Shaun and his pack of North American timber wolves live here, at the Combe Martin Wildlife Park in England, about 200 miles southwest of London. This is a unique experiment. By living with these wolves, Shaun hopes to gain insight into their behavior. And though he is teaching them how to survive in the wild, they are also teaching him a thing or two.

Think some of the closest secrets these guys shared with me is their intricate language, the way they communicate with each other. Above all else, their respect they have for one another makes them, that family unit, supreme².

Wolves can be vicious predators³, and yet, this pack has allowed Shaun to enter their world and live as one of their own. They've even accepted him in a dominant⁴ role. So how did this man become the leader of a wolf pack? The short answer is he fit the bill. In this case, the best wolf for the job wasn't a wolf at all.


fit the bill: be what is needed or be good enough for what is required 适合

1 advisor   

n.顾问，指导老师，劝告者

参考例句：

• They employed me as an advisor.他们聘请我当顾问。
• The professor is engaged as a technical advisor.这位教授被聘请为技术顾问。

2 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

3 predators   

n.食肉动物( predator的名词复数 )；奴役他人者（尤指在财务或性关系方面）

参考例句：

• 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》

4 dominant   

adj.支配的，统治的；占优势的；显性的；n.主因，要素，主要的人(或物)；显性基因

参考例句：

• The British were formerly dominant in India.英国人从前统治印度。
• She was a dominant figure in the French film industry.她在法国电影界是个举足轻重的人物。