VOA常速英语2007年-More Human Casualties in India's Urban War on M

By Steve Herman
New Delhi
12 November 2007

The latest of India's ongoing¹ monkey attacks has resulted in as many as 25 people being injured in a Delhi slum. VOA Correspondent Steve Herman reports from the Indian capital.

Monkeys and human are having an increasingly difficult time co-existing in India

Police say one woman was critically injured and as many as two dozen other people were hurt, many of them children, when a lone² monkey terrorized slum dwellers³ in an east Delhi neighborhood.

Witnesses told reporters that the monkey tried to drag away some of the children during the attack, which lasted several hours late Saturday and early Sunday.

The capital is home to thousands of rhesus macaque monkeys, creating a growing nuisance in recent years.

The director of the Indian Veterinary Research Institute, S.P.S. Ahlawat says the frequency and intensity⁴ of attacks is likely the result of people encroaching on simian⁵ territory.

"They live in the jungle, not in the cities," said Ahlawat. "So, erratic⁶ behavior of the monkeys may be because of displacement⁷ from their own habitat."

The fight against the monkeys has become a legal issue. Courts have ordered city authorities to do more to prevent such attacks.

The menace became front-page news again last month when Delhi deputy mayor S.S. Bajwa fell to his death, apparently⁸ while trying to fend⁹ off a troop of marauding monkeys on his terrace.

Dr. Ahlawat says reinforcements are needed from rural experts.

"There are many people who catch these monkeys," he added. "They are professionals. The professionals should be gi ven a contract for catching¹⁰ hold of these monkeys."

Authorities have hired some monkey catchers and even tried to use langurs, a fiercer monkey the macaques fear, but with little success..

Some devout¹¹ Hindus feed the city monkeys, believing they are manifestations¹² of the god Hanuman. Some have opposed efforts to catch and relocate the animals.

1 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

2 lone   

adj.孤寂的，单独的；唯一的

参考例句：

• A lone sea gull flew across the sky.一只孤独的海鸥在空中飞过。
• She could see a lone figure on the deserted beach.她在空旷的海滩上能看到一个孤独的身影。

3 dwellers   

n.居民，居住者( dweller的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City dwellers think country folk have provincial attitudes. 城里人以为乡下人思想迂腐。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They have transformed themselves into permanent city dwellers. 他们已成为永久的城市居民。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 intensity   

n.强烈，剧烈；强度；烈度

参考例句：

• I didn't realize the intensity of people's feelings on this issue.我没有意识到这一问题能引起群情激奋。
• The strike is growing in intensity.罢工日益加剧。

5 simian   

adj.似猿猴的；n.类人猿，猴

参考例句：

• Ada had a wrinkled,simian face.埃达有一张布满皱纹、长得像猿猴的脸。
• Curiosity is the taproot of an intellectual life,the most valuable of our simian traits.好奇是高智生命的根源，也是我们类人猿特征中最有价值的部分。

6 erratic   

adj.古怪的，反复无常的，不稳定的

参考例句：

• The old man had always been cranky and erratic.那老头儿性情古怪,反复无常。
• The erratic fluctuation of market prices is in consequence of unstable economy.经济波动致使市场物价忽起忽落。

7 displacement   

n.移置，取代，位移，排水量

参考例句：

• They said that time is the feeling of spatial displacement.他们说时间是空间位移的感觉。
• The displacement of all my energy into caring for the baby.我所有精力都放在了照顾宝宝上。

8 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

9 fend   

v.照料（自己），（自己）谋生，挡开，避开

参考例句：

• I've had to fend for myself since I was 14.我从十四岁时起就不得不照料自己。
• He raised his arm up to fend branches from his eyes.他举手将树枝从他眼前挡开。

10 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。

11 devout   

adj.虔诚的，虔敬的，衷心的 (n.devoutness)

参考例句：

• His devout Catholicism appeals to ordinary people.他对天主教的虔诚信仰感染了普通民众。
• The devout man prayed daily.那位虔诚的男士每天都祈祷。

12 manifestations   

n.表示，显示（manifestation的复数形式）

参考例句：

• These were manifestations of the darker side of his character. 这些是他性格阴暗面的表现。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• To be wordly-wise and play safe is one of the manifestations of liberalism. 明哲保身是自由主义的表现之一。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》