2007年VOA标准英语-Exotic Animals Invading Habitats of Domestic Am

By Steve Mort
Homestead, Florida
20 September 2007
 

Wildlife experts are accusing the U.S. government of failing to adequately control the imports of exotic pets sold online. A Cornell University study shows that these animals cost the U.S. economy $138 billion a year in spending to manage invasive species, lost agriculture and forestry¹ production, and declining tourism revenues in impacted areas. Steve Mort reports from the Everglades National Park in Florida, which has seen a dramatic rise in one particular invasive species.

It is a Burmese python that Albert Killian from the Everglades Outpost wildlife refuge is showing off. He says these snakes can reach six meters long, weigh as much as 90 kilograms and live up to 25 years. "South Florida is a perfect habitat for them. The conditions here simulate the conditions of their natural habitat so the snakes will thrive here in south Florida".

The local Fish and Wildlife Commission believes pet importers introduced Burmese pythons to the U.S.  Many were abandoned, joining hundreds of non-indigenous² species already in Florida.

Albert Killian says Burmese pythons are now firmly entrenched³ among the 50 reptile⁴ species found in the Everglades, and it is now simply a case of trying to manage them. "The problem extends to the point where you can't fix it -- all you can do is control it -- meaning, the snakes are out there to stay. There's no way they're ever going to get rid of them."

Although the South Florida Water Management District says 170 Burmese Pythons were killed in 2006, the snakes can lay as many as 100 eggs at a time, so their numbers continue to rise.

Conservationists say the snakes threaten many indigenous animals.

And scientists have found numerous species inside Burmese Pythons, including endangered bobcats. In 2005, the National Park Service released a picture of a snake that exploded while swallowing an alligator⁵.

Wildlife biologist and alligator expert, Joe Wasilewski, says the snakes are the first real threat to Florida's alligators⁶. "If these pythons get a good taste of alligator -- small alligators -- and like it, they can certainly, in the future, put a good dent⁷ in the alligators' population. That's certainly feasible."

Wasilewski, says up to 500 Burmese pythons have been captured in south Florida in the last two years, and the U.S. National Park Service estimates there are roughly 5,000 in the Everglades.

State lawmakers passed a bill in April making it a crime to release pythons into the wild. University of Florida scientists are using radio transmitters to track the snakes, and nine local agencies have formed a working group to tackle their spread.

1 forestry   

n.森林学；林业

参考例句：

• At present, the Chinese forestry is being at a significant transforming period. 当前, 我国的林业正处于一个重大的转折时期。
• Anhua is one of the key forestry counties in Hunan province. 安化县是湖南省重点林区县之一。

2 indigenous   

adj.土产的，土生土长的，本地的

参考例句：

• Each country has its own indigenous cultural tradition.每个国家都有自己本土的文化传统。
• Indians were the indigenous inhabitants of America.印第安人是美洲的土著居民。

3 entrenched   

adj.确立的，不容易改的(风俗习惯)

参考例句：

• Television seems to be firmly entrenched as the number one medium for national advertising.电视看来要在全国广告媒介中牢固地占据头等位置。
• If the enemy dares to attack us in these entrenched positions,we will make short work of them.如果敌人胆敢进攻我们固守的阵地，我们就消灭他们。

4 reptile   

n.爬行动物；两栖动物

参考例句：

• The frog is not a true reptile.青蛙并非真正的爬行动物。
• So you should not be surprised to see someone keep a reptile as a pet.所以，你不必惊奇有人养了一只爬行动物作为宠物。

5 alligator   

n.短吻鳄(一种鳄鱼)

参考例句：

• She wandered off to play with her toy alligator.她开始玩鳄鱼玩具。
• Alligator skin is five times more costlier than leather.鳄鱼皮比通常的皮革要贵5倍。

6 alligators   

n.短吻鳄( alligator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Two alligators rest their snouts on the water's surface. 两只鳄鱼的大嘴栖息在水面上。 来自辞典例句
• In the movement of logs by water the lumber industry was greatly helped by alligators. 木材工业过去在水上运输木料时所十分倚重的就是鳄鱼。 来自辞典例句

7 dent   

n.凹痕，凹坑；初步进展

参考例句：

• I don't know how it came about but I've got a dent in the rear of my car.我不知道是怎么回事，但我的汽车后部有了一个凹痕。
• That dent is not big enough to be worth hammering out.那个凹陷不大，用不着把它锤平。