【英语趣味课堂】加拉帕戈斯群岛-The Galapagos

Todd: OK, Jose, you just said you went to the Galapagos Islands.

 

Jose: Yes

 

Todd: Can you talk about the Galapagos?

 

Jose: Yes, the Galapagos, as everybody knows is such a unique place and I went there and by chance I was in the same tour like with President Carter.

 

Todd: Really!

 

Jose: Yeah!

 

Todd: Wow! He's my favorite president.

 

Jose: Well, it's so interesting because you know the guy was, I mean when went there, all of a sudden I had this strange people looking at me. I say, "What happened? What's wrong?" There were 8 bodyguards¹ with the guy.

 

Todd: No kidding!

 

Jose: Yes! He was with his wife and his daughter and the child. Yeah it was interesting. You know that's just one anecdote² but still, I'm , the Galapagos Islands, what I can tell you is that, it's a unique place, but you have to go there, sooner than later is better because I think the whole ecosystem³ will collapse⁴.

 

Todd: Oh, no!

 

Jose: Yeah! The situation is very complicated because lack of ---- of the government. The poor fisherman, and they don't have any kind of way to actually make a living by destroying the system. And all the money just goes to the big tourist companies that are taking tourists and you go to the capital, to Quito, but the people on the Islands, they don't have money, so they are, there's no control, for fishing, I mean, sharks and lobsters⁵ and tuna and so on, so everything is terrible. I was very very upset with the situation, and also you know, it's a kind of tourism for rich people and I was the only Ecuadorian in the group

 

Todd: Really! That's not good.

 

Jose: Yes, that's not good. You know we were just servers and waitresses and waiters and Ecuadorians so, for me it was, I was 5 days there. You know it's very beautiful to see the animals and birds but me being an Ecuadorian I had a completely different point of view. I was very disappointed frankly⁶. 

 

1 bodyguards   

n.保镖，卫士，警卫员( bodyguard的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Brooks came to Jim's office accompanied—like always—by his two bodyguards. 和往常一样，在两名保镖的陪同下，布鲁克斯去吉姆的办公室。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Three of his bodyguards were injured in the attack. 在这次袭击事件中，他有3名保镖受了伤。 来自辞典例句

2 anecdote   

n.轶事，趣闻，短故事

参考例句：

• He departed from the text to tell an anecdote.他偏离课文讲起了一则轶事。
• It had never been more than a family anecdote.那不过是个家庭趣谈罢了。

3 ecosystem   

n.生态系统

参考例句：

• This destroyed the ecosystem of the island.这样破坏了岛上的生态系统。
• We all have an interest in maintaining the integrity of the ecosystem.维持生态系统的完整是我们共同的利益。

4 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

5 lobsters   

龙虾( lobster的名词复数 )； 龙虾肉

参考例句：

• I have no idea about how to prepare those cuttlefish and lobsters. 我对如何烹调那些乌贼和龙虾毫无概念。
• She sold me a couple of live lobsters. 她卖了几只活龙虾给我。

6 frankly   

adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说

参考例句：

• To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说，我一点也不赞成这个主意。
• Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。