美国国家公共电台 NPR 3-legged porcupine, Quill 'Porky' Smith, finds new home at Amarillo Zoo

3-legged porcupine¹, Quill² 'Porky' Smith, finds new home at Amarillo Zoo

Transcript³

A North American porcupine arrived at the Amarillo Zoo in Texas late last month, after suffering a gunshot wound. He's now a star attraction, both for the zookeepers and the Texas panhandle public.

A MARTINEZ, HOST:

All right. This next story will make you want to hug a porcupine. A North American porcupine recently became a resident of the Amarillo Zoo in Texas. Zookeepers call him Quill "Porky" Smith. He's only about 4 or 5 years old but has already been through a lot.

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Berkeley Hilliard is the zoo's curator. She says Quill was found on a ranch⁴ suffering from a gunshot wound.

BERKELEY HILLIARD: He did end up having to have his leg amputated due to the injury. We were actually contacted to give him a permanent home because one of his biggest defense⁵ mechanisms⁶ is now taken away, which is to climb.

MARTINEZ: Dylan Long is the zoo's visitor service specialist. He says without his leg, Quill would have had trouble eating and staying safe from predators⁷.

DYLAN LONG: Mostly coyotes would be the biggest one for him for wildlife. The next one would actually be humans just for hunting purposes.

MARTIN: Now that he's at the Amarillo Zoo, Quill lives in a temporary enclosure where visitors can see him. He also gets to hang out with the staff.

HILLIARD: He kind of bosses our keepers around inside, tells them how to make his diets, and he'll go and sit in front of the fridge to beg for food.

LONG: He loves to eat sweet potatoes, as well as blueberries and carrots. He likes it in big chunks⁸ so he can chew on it, hold on it, and then he closes his eyes in bliss⁹. He's so happy eating that we sometimes think he might fall asleep while he's eating.

MARTINEZ: Quill, he's just like all of us. Long says Quill also likes to surprise the zookeepers with attention.

LONG: He's usually on one side of the room, and then we turn our back and then he's right next to us.

HILLIARD: We've had him for quite a little bit now, so we're learning what each little behavior is for him. You know, is he coming to just kind of check out what we are doing, or is he about to give my kneecap a nibble¹⁰?

MARTIN: Who knows? Work is now being done to build Quill a permanent home at the Amarillo Zoo, where all his new adoring fans can visit on a regular basis. Sorry, A, you still can't hug him, though.

MARTINEZ: Oh.

MARTIN: I know (laughter).

(SOUNDBITE OF WERLIE'S "WOODLAND")

1 porcupine   

n.豪猪， 箭猪

参考例句：

• A porcupine is covered with prickles.箭猪身上长满了刺。
• There is a philosophy parable,call philosophy of porcupine.有一个哲学寓言，叫豪猪的哲学。

2 quill   

n.羽毛管；v.给（织物或衣服）作皱褶

参考例句：

• He wrote with a quill.他用羽毛笔写字。
• She dipped a quill in ink,and then began to write.她将羽毛笔在墨水里蘸了一下，随后开始书写。

3 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

4 ranch   

n.大牧场，大农场

参考例句：

• He went to work on a ranch.他去一个大农场干活。
• The ranch is in the middle of a large plateau.该牧场位于一个辽阔高原的中部。

5 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

6 mechanisms   

n.机械( mechanism的名词复数 )；机械装置；[生物学] 机制；机械作用

参考例句：

• The research will provide direct insight into molecular mechanisms. 这项研究将使人能够直接地了解分子的机理。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He explained how the two mechanisms worked. 他解释这两台机械装置是如何工作的。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 predators   

n.食肉动物( predator的名词复数 )；奴役他人者（尤指在财务或性关系方面）

参考例句：

• birds and their earthbound predators 鸟和地面上捕食它们的动物
• The eyes of predators are highly sensitive to the slightest movement. 捕食性动物的眼睛能感觉到最细小的动静。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 chunks   

厚厚的一块( chunk的名词复数 )； （某物）相当大的数量或部分

参考例句：

• a tin of pineapple chunks 一罐菠萝块
• Those chunks of meat are rather large—could you chop them up a bIt'smaller? 这些肉块相当大，还能再切小一点吗？

9 bliss   

n.狂喜，福佑，天赐的福

参考例句：

• It's sheer bliss to be able to spend the day in bed.整天都可以躺在床上真是幸福。
• He's in bliss that he's won the Nobel Prize.他非常高兴，因为获得了诺贝尔奖金。

10 nibble   

n.轻咬，啃；v.一点点地咬，慢慢啃，吹毛求疵

参考例句：

• Inflation began to nibble away at their savings.通货膨胀开始蚕食他们的存款。
• The birds cling to the wall and nibble at the brickwork.鸟儿们紧贴在墙上，啄着砖缝。