英语听力：自然百科 肯尼亚：过百大象非正常死亡

 In hot and dry conditions, Kenya's elephants are forced to forage¹ for food and water along dry river beds. These majestic² mammals are now under threat from the country's worst drought in twelve years. Despite desperate attempts to stay alive, many elephants end up like this--dead. Iain Douglas-Hamilton is the founder³ of Save the Elephants.

 

The drought we are seeing this year in Northern Kenya is the worst we've seen in 12 years while we've been working there. It may be related to climate change, and the effect is that elephants, particularly the young and the old, have begun to die.

 

Conservationists say around a hundred elephants in Northern Kenya have died in similar conditions, or through poaching in the past year.

 

So lack of food is a real problem. Elephants are dying of malnutrition⁴. When they don't have enough food, they also seem to be vulnerable to disease, their immune system weakens and they catch all sorts of diseases and die.

 

Kenya's wildlife attracts around a million tourists a year. It also attracts poachers who target the elephants for ivory. Douglas Hamilton blames the reopening of the ivory trade. Last year, the international regulatory body CITES decided⁵ to allow Botswana, Namibia and South Africa to conduct one-off sales of their confiscated⁶ ivory stockpiles. The body had previously⁷ banned such sales. Conservationists fear illegal ivory may find its way into those stockpiles - making the poachers' illegal trade worthwhile. Douglas Hamilton says any ivory sales immediately push up global demand, since elephants could be killed in Kenya and their tusks⁸ smuggled⁹ into a foreign stockpile. Around 23,000 elephants live in Kenya, but populations can be devastated¹⁰ by poaching within a couple of years. A recent survey in Chad showed its elephant population had declined from 3,800 to just over 600 in the past three years.

 

This year in Samburu surrounding areas, well over 100 elephants have died and it is way up on last year and it's from these twin main causes, which is poaching and drought.

 

And with the drought continuing, conservationists will be closely monitoring its impact on Kenya's other wildlife.

1 forage   

n.(牛马的)饲料，粮草；v.搜寻，翻寻

参考例句：

• They were forced to forage for clothing and fuel.他们不得不去寻找衣服和燃料。
• Now the nutritive value of the forage is reduced.此时牧草的营养价值也下降了。

2 majestic   

adj.雄伟的，壮丽的，庄严的，威严的，崇高的

参考例句：

• In the distance rose the majestic Alps.远处耸立着雄伟的阿尔卑斯山。
• He looks majestic in uniform.他穿上军装显得很威风。

3 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

4 malnutrition   

n.营养不良

参考例句：

• In Africa, there are a lot of children suffering from severe malnutrition.在非洲有大批严重营养不良的孩子。
• It is a classic case of malnutrition. 这是营养不良的典型病例。

5 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

6 confiscated   

没收，充公( confiscate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Their land was confiscated after the war. 他们的土地在战后被没收。
• The customs officer confiscated the smuggled goods. 海关官员没收了走私品。

7 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

8 tusks   

n.（象等动物的）长牙( tusk的名词复数 )；獠牙；尖形物；尖头

参考例句：

• The elephants are poached for their tusks. 为获取象牙而偷猎大象。
• Elephant tusks, monkey tails and salt were used in some parts of Africa. 非洲的一些地区则使用象牙、猴尾和盐。 来自英语晨读30分（高一）

9 smuggled   

水货

参考例句：

• The customs officer confiscated the smuggled goods. 海关官员没收了走私品。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Those smuggled goods have been detained by the port office. 那些走私货物被港务局扣押了。 来自互联网

10 devastated   

v.彻底破坏( devastate的过去式和过去分词)；摧毁；毁灭；在感情上（精神上、财务上等）压垮adj.毁坏的；极为震惊的

参考例句：

• The bomb devastated much of the old part of the city. 这颗炸弹炸毁了旧城的一大片地方。
• His family is absolutely devastated. 他的一家感到极为震惊。