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(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
They leap from helicopters(直升机) or speeding boats, bringing aid to swimmers who get into trouble off Italy's popular beaches.
For these canine1 lifeguards, the doggie paddle does just fine.
Hundreds of specially2 trained dogs form Italy's corps3 of canine lifeguards(救生员). They are deployed4 each summer to help swimmers in need of rescue.
These "lifedogs" wear a harness or tow a buoy5 that victims can grab, or a raft they can sit on to be towed back to shore, and unlike their human counterparts, they can easily jump from helicopters and speeding boats to reach swimmers in trouble.
With millions flocking to Italy's crowded beaches each summer, the Italian Coast Guard says it rescues about 3,000 people every year - and their canine helpers are credited with saving several lives.
It takes three years for the canines6 to reach expert rescue status, and currently 300 dogs are fully7 trained for duty, said Roberto Gasbarri, who coordinates8 the Italian School of Canine Lifeguards program at a center outside of Rome in the seaside town of Civitavecchia.
"Dogs are useful in containing the physical fatigue9 of the lifeguard, to increase the speed at which casualties are retrieved10, to increase the security of both the casualty and of the lifeguard," Gasbarri said.
The Civitavecchia center is one of a dozen around the country for the school founded more than 20 years ago in the northern province of Bergamo by Ferruccio Pilenga, whose first trainee11 was his own Newfoundland.
The school will train any breed, as long as they weigh at least 30 kg (66 pounds), but Labradors, Newfoundlands and golden retrievers are most commonly used because of their natural instinct for swimming. Each dog works in tandem12 with a human lifeguard, who also acts as the animal's trainer.(本文由在线英语听力室整理编辑)
1 canine | |
adj.犬的,犬科的 | |
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2 specially | |
adv.特定地;特殊地;明确地 | |
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3 corps | |
n.(通信等兵种的)部队;(同类作的)一组 | |
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4 deployed | |
(尤指军事行动)使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 ); 施展; 部署; 有效地利用 | |
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5 buoy | |
n.浮标;救生圈;v.支持,鼓励 | |
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6 canines | |
n.犬齿( canine的名词复数 );犬牙;犬科动物 | |
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7 fully | |
adv.完全地,全部地,彻底地;充分地 | |
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8 coordinates | |
n.相配之衣物;坐标( coordinate的名词复数 );(颜色协调的)配套服装;[复数]女套服;同等重要的人(或物)v.使协调,使调和( coordinate的第三人称单数 );协调;协同;成为同等 | |
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9 fatigue | |
n.疲劳,劳累 | |
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10 retrieved | |
v.取回( retrieve的过去式和过去分词 );恢复;寻回;检索(储存的信息) | |
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11 trainee | |
n.受训练者 | |
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12 tandem | |
n.同时发生;配合;adv.一个跟着一个地;纵排地;adj.(两匹马)前后纵列的 | |
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