VOA标准英语2012--African Sanctuaries Rescue Endangered Chimpanzees

African Sanctuaries¹ Rescue Endangered Chimpanzees

It's a typical day at Sweetwaters Chimpanzee Sanctuary² in Kenya’s Ol Pejeta Conservancy. Two of its 41 residents are scrapping³ over food, while a third looks on and yelps⁴ in protest.
Kenya is their adopted homeland, having come from traumatic situations in West and Central Africa. Many were orphaned⁵ when their parents were killed for food, were imprisoned⁶ in cages, or were part of circus or other entertainment acts. The first chimps⁷ came to Sweetwaters from Burundi in 1993, following the outbreak of civil war there.
Rehabilitation⁸ and shelter
Veterinarian George Paul, senior supervisor⁹ at Sweetwaters Chimpanzee Sanctuary, said because of the abuse, many have serious behavioral problems.
“If they get distress¹⁰, then they tend to more-or-less have self-inflicting behavior: either eating of feces, or hitting people with feces, or they even tend to have over-aggression within the populations,” explained Paul.
The veterinarian added that Sweetwaters’ goal is to rehabilitate¹¹ the traumatized animals and provide them with a stimulating¹², stress-reducing environment that best mimics¹³ their natural environment. For instance, he said, caregivers will scatter¹⁴ food around the 250-acre plot rather than put it in one place.
“It may take the form of food. It may take the form of having complex, either ropes, either swings, either hammocks, sometimes also just trying to make the environment into a way that is not so obvious, so that they may not be able to utilize¹⁵ the whole environment, but they may be able to concentrate, so the day moves [faster],” said Paul.
Growing need for protection
Sweetwaters is one of 18 chimpanzee sanctuaries in 12 African countries caring for about 800 chimpanzees. They operate under the auspices¹⁶ of the U.S.-based Pan African Sanctuary Alliance, which works toward primate¹⁷ protection and rehabilitation.
Executive director of the Jane Goodall Institute in South Africa, David Oosthuizen, said the number one threat against chimpanzees is the bushmeat trade, where chimps and other animals are killed for food. He said the trade is being fueled by overpopulation, and the resulting competition for food is particularly intense in Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, and Central African Republic.
Baby chimps clinging to their dead parents often become pets or end up in entertainment acts.
“We have had chimps coming in to us wearing a t-shirt and pants and a Rolex watch, having been a family pet his entire life, knows not a single thing about what it means to be a chimpanzee, to live in trees, swing around and across on his feet, make a nest in the tree,” said Oosthuizen.
He said a close second in threats to the chimpanzee is massive deforestation all across the continent, wiping out their natural habitat, something he noticed while on a recent rescue mission to Central African Republic.
“The level of deforestation has been so apparent. I keep referring it to, ‘God has shaven the earth with a big razor,’ because there is just no more forest left. You know, what was probably 20 or 30 years ago an absolute lush prime primate habitat has now made way to massive deforestation where the forest has just given way to smaller local towns and communities,” said Oosthuizen.
Shrinking natural habitat
Chimpanzees, classified as being an endangered species, are protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, or CITES. It is estimated that there are 175,000 chimps remaining on the continent, mostly in West and Central Africa, with some in East Africa. Ol Pejeta Conservancy quotes scientists as predicting chimpanzees will be extinct in 50 years if current rates of decline continue.
Oosthuizen said that despite the CITES agreement, an increasing number of chimpanzees are being trafficked to China and other countries, where they often end up in laboratories as research experiments.
The combination of illegal trafficking, massive deforestation, and the bushmeat trade makes it difficult for rehabilitated¹⁸ chimpanzees to be released back into the wild. Conservationists would rather play it safe and protect the animals from all these additional dangers.
At Sweetwaters Chimpanzee Sanctuary, for instance, the animals are there for life. Paul said this is a mixed blessing¹⁹.
“We are happy to have the chimps within. They do provide us with a constant, I can say, a source of joy watching them, looking at the kind of ethological similarities between them and humans,” said Paul.
He said the animals at his facility play an important role as “ambassadors,” educating visitors on the many dangers facing them and the importance of chimpanzee conservation.

1 sanctuaries   

n.避难所( sanctuary的名词复数 )；庇护；圣所；庇护所

参考例句：

• The designation of special marine reserves and marine sanctuaries shall be subject to the State Council for approval. 海洋特别保护区、海上自然保护区的确定，须经国务院批准。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• After 1965 he acquiesced when they established sanctuaries on that soil. 1965年以后，他默认了他们在那块土地上建立庇护所。 来自辞典例句

2 sanctuary   

n.圣所，圣堂，寺庙；禁猎区，保护区

参考例句：

• There was a sanctuary of political refugees behind the hospital.医院后面有一个政治难民的避难所。
• Most countries refuse to give sanctuary to people who hijack aeroplanes.大多数国家拒绝对劫机者提供庇护。

3 scrapping   

刮，切除坯体余泥

参考例句：

• He was always scrapping at school. 他在学校总打架。
• These two dogs are always scrapping. 这两条狗总是打架。

4 yelps   

n.（因痛苦、气愤、兴奋等的）短而尖的叫声( yelp的名词复数 )v.发出短而尖的叫声( yelp的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The woman emitted queer regular little snores that sounded like yelps. 她那跟怪叫差不多的鼾声一股一股地从被里冒出来。 来自汉英文学 - 家（1-26） - 家（1-26）
• As the moments passed the yelps grew closer and louder. 一会儿，呼叫声越来越近、越来越响了。 来自互联网

5 orphaned   

[计][修]孤立

参考例句：

• Orphaned children were consigned to institutions. 孤儿都打发到了福利院。
• He was orphaned at an early age. 他幼年时便成了孤儿。

6 imprisoned   

下狱，监禁( imprison的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was imprisoned for two concurrent terms of 30 months and 18 months. 他被判处30个月和18个月的监禁，合并执行。
• They were imprisoned for possession of drugs. 他们因拥有毒品而被监禁。

7 chimps   

（非洲）黑猩猩( chimp的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Chimps are too scarce, and too nearly human, to be routinely slaughtered for spare parts. 黑猩猩又太少，也太接近于人类，不可以作为人器官备用件说杀就杀。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 医学的第四次革命
• And as nonprimates, they provoke fewer ethical and safety-related concerns than chimps or baboons. 而且作为非灵长类，就不会产生像用黑猩猩或狒狒那样的伦理和安全方面的顾虑。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 医学的第四次革命

8 rehabilitation   

n.康复，悔过自新，修复，复兴，复职，复位

参考例句：

• He's booked himself into a rehabilitation clinic.他自己联系了一家康复诊所。
• No one can really make me rehabilitation of injuries.已经没有人可以真正令我的伤康复了。

9 supervisor   

n.监督人，管理人，检查员，督学，主管，导师

参考例句：

• Between you and me I think that new supervisor is a twit.我们私下说，我认为新来的主管人是一个傻瓜。
• He said I was too flighty to be a good supervisor.他说我太轻浮不能成为一名好的管理员。

10 distress   

n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛

参考例句：

• Nothing could alleviate his distress.什么都不能减轻他的痛苦。
• Please don't distress yourself.请你不要忧愁了。

11 rehabilitate   

vt.改造(罪犯)，修复；vi.复兴，(罪犯)经受改造

参考例句：

• There was no money to rehabilitate the tower.没有资金修复那座塔。
• He used exercise programmes to rehabilitate the patients.他采用体育锻炼疗法使患者恢复健康。

12 stimulating   

adj.有启发性的，能激发人思考的

参考例句：

• shower gel containing plant extracts that have a stimulating effect on the skin 含有对皮肤有益的植物精华的沐浴凝胶
• This is a drug for stimulating nerves. 这是一种兴奋剂。

13 mimics   

n.模仿名人言行的娱乐演员，滑稽剧演员( mimic的名词复数 )；善于模仿的人或物v.（尤指为了逗乐而）模仿( mimic的第三人称单数 )；酷似

参考例句：

• Methods:Models were generate by CT scan,Mimics software and Abaqus software. 方法：采用CT扫描，Mimics软件和Abaqus软件的CAD进行三维有限元模型的创建。 来自互联网
• Relaxing the mind and body mimics the effect that some blood-pressure pills would have. 放松身心会产生某些降压药才能产生的效果。 来自辞典例句

14 scatter   

vt.撒，驱散，散开；散布/播；vi.分散，消散

参考例句：

• You pile everything up and scatter things around.你把东西乱堆乱放。
• Small villages scatter at the foot of the mountain.村庄零零落落地散布在山脚下。

15 utilize   

vt.使用，利用

参考例句：

• The cook will utilize the leftover ham bone to make soup.厨师要用吃剩的猪腿骨做汤。
• You must utilize all available resources.你必须利用一切可以得到的资源。

16 auspices   

n.资助，赞助

参考例句：

• The association is under the auspices of Word Bank.这个组织是在世界银行的赞助下办的。
• The examination was held under the auspices of the government.这次考试是由政府主办的。

17 primate   

n.灵长类（目）动物，首席主教；adj.首要的

参考例句：

• 14 percent of primate species are highly endangered.14%的灵长类物种处于高度濒危状态。
• The woolly spider monkey is the largest primate in the Americas.绒毛蛛猴是美洲最大的灵长类动物。

18 rehabilitated   

改造（罪犯等）( rehabilitate的过去式和过去分词 )； 使恢复正常生活； 使恢复原状； 修复

参考例句：

• He has been rehabilitated in public esteem. 公众已恢复对他的敬重。
• Young persons need to be, wherever possible, rehabilitated rather than punished. 未成年人需要受到尽可能的矫正而不是惩罚。

19 blessing   

n.祈神赐福；祷告；祝福，祝愿

参考例句：

• The blessing was said in Hebrew.祷告用了希伯来语。
• A double blessing has descended upon the house.双喜临门。