国家地理-2008-05-29 Panda Sensed Earthquake 熊猫预感地震

Did the pandas in China’s Wolong Reserve know that Monday’s earthquake was coming before it hit? A British tourist watching the pandas as the quake struck offered a keen observation.
 
"They had been really lazy and just eaten a little bit of bamboo and, and all of a sudden they were sort of parading around their pen. And, looking back[1],  they must have sensed something was wrong."
 
Some scientists say animals can sense impending¹ danger by detecting subtle or abrupt² shifts in the environment. When the tsunami  hit in 2004, there were reports that elephants in Sri Lanka fled to higher ground well before the waves crashed into the coastline. National Geographic³ grantee and Panda researcher Marc Brody says some animal species, such as elephants who are known to hear low frequency sound waves, hear things sonically and may get an early warning.
 
Some animal species have a greater awareness⁴ than humans of vibrations⁵ in the ground. And they may sense smaller tremors⁶ prior to a big earthquake. A group of tourists was airlifted to safety from Wolong and taken to the provincial⁷ capital of Chengdu on Thursday morning.
 
"We were looking forward then to moving onto the larger  panda, where we were not sure whether that panda was going to come out of the enclosure or whether that someone was goinginto  an  enclosure just to be with thatpanda. So we were waiting for that to happen and then suddenly we had this horrendous⁸ noise which is just what you can't describe out what it’s like, it’s just a huge huge noise and the land shaking underneath⁹, you[2]… "
 
Twelve Americans, part of a World Wildlife Fund-sponsored tour of China, were visiting the Panda Reserve in Wolong when the earthquake struck.
 
"Certainly it was a  surreal  experience to be standing¹⁰ there going through a, whatever was 7.9 Richter earthquake surrounded by 25 pandas all sort of[3] reacting to that as well. "
 
Wolong’s 86 pandas were reported safe on Tuesday. The 7.9 magnitude earthquake hit on Monday with the epicenter near Wolong Reserve. Rescuers are still making their way to the more remote areas affected¹¹. So far the death toll¹² stands at almost 20,000 and is expected to climb higher as rescue efforts progress.
 
Notes:
[1] looking back 是惯用构型，属独立主格结构。可译为：现在回过头去看。
[2] 省略内容为: ...and the first thing that we all thought to do was to run.”
[3] sort of=somewhat.
 
Vocabulary Mix:
pen: small piece of land surrounded by a fence for keeping pandas in
surreal:  unlike reality, esp in having combinations or strange distortions of things, as in a dream; fantastic; bizarre

1 impending   

a.imminent, about to come or happen

参考例句：

• Against a background of impending famine, heavy fighting took place. 即将发生饥荒之时，严重的战乱爆发了。
• The king convoke parliament to cope with the impending danger. 国王召开国会以应付迫近眉睫的危险。

2 abrupt   

adj.突然的，意外的；唐突的，鲁莽的

参考例句：

• The river takes an abrupt bend to the west.这河突然向西转弯。
• His abrupt reply hurt our feelings.他粗鲁的回答伤了我们的感情。

3 geographic   

adj.地理学的，地理的

参考例句：

• The city's success owes much to its geographic position. 这座城市的成功很大程度上归功于它的地理位置。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Environmental problems pay no heed to these geographic lines. 环境问题并不理会这些地理界限。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

4 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。

5 vibrations   

n.摆动( vibration的名词复数 )；震动；感受；（偏离平衡位置的）一次性往复振动

参考例句：

• We could feel the vibrations from the trucks passing outside. 我们可以感到外面卡车经过时的颤动。
• I am drawn to that girl; I get good vibrations from her. 我被那女孩吸引住了，她使我产生良好的感觉。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 tremors   

震颤( tremor的名词复数 )； 战栗； 震颤声； 大地的轻微震动

参考例句：

• The story was so terrible that It'sent tremors down my spine. 这故事太可怕，它使我不寒而栗。
• The story was so terrible that it sent tremors down my spine. 这故事太可怕，它使我不寒而栗。

7 provincial   

adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人

参考例句：

• City dwellers think country folk have provincial attitudes.城里人以为乡下人思想迂腐。
• Two leading cadres came down from the provincial capital yesterday.昨天从省里下来了两位领导干部。

8 horrendous   

adj.可怕的，令人惊惧的

参考例句：

• He described it as the most horrendous experience of his life.他形容这是自己一生中最可怕的经历。
• The mining industry in China has a horrendous safety record.中国的煤矿工业具有令人不安的安全记录。

9 underneath   

adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面

参考例句：

• Working underneath the car is always a messy job.在汽车底下工作是件脏活。
• She wore a coat with a dress underneath.她穿着一件大衣，里面套着一条连衣裙。

10 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

11 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

12 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。