2-27

 

27.

Towards the end of that summer I went to Botswana, met up with Teej and Mike. They’d recentlydone masterwork on the David Attenborough series Planet Earth, and a few other BBC films, andnow they were shooting an important film about elephants. Several herds¹, stressed by habitatencroachment and drought, were stampeding into Namibia in search of food, running straight intothe arms of poachers—hundreds, armed with AK-47s. Teej and Mike hoped their film might shinea light on this rolling massacre².

I asked if I could help. They didn’t hesitate. Course, Spike³.

In fact, they offered to hire me as a credited, though unpaid⁴, cameraman.

From Day One they talked about how different I seemed. Not that I wasn’t always a hardworker, but clearly I’d learned from the Army how to take direction. They never had to tell meanything twice.

Many times during that shoot we’d be riding around the bush in their flatbed truck and I’d gazeoff and think: How bizarre. My whole life I’ve despised photographers, because they specialize instealing your freedom, and now I’m a working photographer, fighting to preserve the freedom ofthese majestic⁵ animals. And feeling freer in the process.

More ironic⁶, I was filming veterinarians as they put tracking devices on the animals. (Thedevices would help researchers better understand the herd’s migration⁸ patterns.) Until now, Ididn’t have the happiest associations with tracking devices.

One day we filmed a vet⁷ dart⁹ a big bull elephant, then wrap a tracking collar around his neck.

But the dart only nicked the elephant’s tough skin, so he was able to gather himself and chargeaway.

Mike yelled: Grab the camera, Spike! Run!

The elephant was tearing through thick bush, mostly along a sandy path, though sometimesthere was no path. The vet and I tried to stay in his footprints. I couldn’t believe the animal’sspeed. He went eight kilometers before slowing, then stopping. I kept my distance, and when thevet caught up, I watched him put another dart into the elephant. Finally the big fella went down.

Moments later Mike came roaring up in his truck. Good job, Spike!

I was panting, hands on my knees, bathed in sweat.

Mike looked down in horror. Spike. Where are your shoes?

Oh. Yeah. Left them on the truck. Didn’t think there was time to grab them.

You ran eight kilometers…through the bush…in no shoes?

I laughed. You told me to run. Like you said, the Army taught me how to take direction.

 

1 herds   

兽群( herd的名词复数 )； 牧群； 人群； 群众

参考例句：

• Regularly at daybreak they drive their herds to the pasture. 每天天一亮他们就把牲畜赶到草场上去。
• There we saw herds of cows grazing on the pasture. 我们在那里看到一群群的牛在草地上吃草。

2 massacre   

n.残杀，大屠杀；v.残杀，集体屠杀

参考例句：

• There was a terrible massacre of villagers here during the war.在战争中，这里的村民惨遭屠杀。
• If we forget the massacre,the massacre will happen again!忘记了大屠杀，大屠杀就有可能再次发生！

3 spike   

n.长钉，钉鞋；v.以大钉钉牢，使...失效

参考例句：

• The spike pierced the receipts and held them in order.那个钉子穿过那些收据并使之按顺序排列。
• They'll do anything to spike the guns of the opposition.他们会使出各种手段来挫败对手。

4 unpaid   

adj.未付款的，无报酬的

参考例句：

• Doctors work excessive unpaid overtime.医生过度加班却无报酬。
• He's doing a month's unpaid work experience with an engineering firm.他正在一家工程公司无偿工作一个月以获得工作经验。

5 majestic   

adj.雄伟的，壮丽的，庄严的，威严的，崇高的

参考例句：

• In the distance rose the majestic Alps.远处耸立着雄伟的阿尔卑斯山。
• He looks majestic in uniform.他穿上军装显得很威风。

6 ironic   

adj.讽刺的，有讽刺意味的，出乎意料的

参考例句：

• That is a summary and ironic end.那是一个具有概括性和讽刺意味的结局。
• People used to call me Mr Popularity at high school,but they were being ironic.人们中学时常把我称作“万人迷先生”，但他们是在挖苦我。

7 vet   

n.兽医，退役军人；vt.检查

参考例句：

• I took my dog to the vet.我把狗带到兽医诊所看病。
• Someone should vet this report before it goes out.这篇报道发表之前应该有人对它进行详查。

8 migration   

n.迁移，移居，（鸟类等的）迁徙

参考例句：

• Swallows begin their migration south in autumn.燕子在秋季开始向南方迁移。
• He described the vernal migration of birds in detail.他详细地描述了鸟的春季移居。

9 dart   

v.猛冲，投掷；n.飞镖，猛冲

参考例句：

• The child made a sudden dart across the road.那小孩突然冲过马路。
• Markov died after being struck by a poison dart.马尔科夫身中毒镖而亡。