英国卫报：肯尼亚的学校有河马和鳄鱼出没(8)

In Loruk, a town next to Lake Baringo, I had met a man named Wesley Jeptumo, who complained that apart from a Red Cross team that had arrived to take photos of the flooding, no one had come to help.

在巴林戈湖旁边的洛鲁克（Loruk）镇，我遇到了一个叫韦斯利-杰普图莫（Wesley Jeptumo）的人，他抱怨说，除了一个前来拍摄洪水照片的红十字小组外，没有人前来帮忙。

Near Lake Victoria, the motorbike taxi driver had told me that residents had seen my car and thought I was Raila, a popular Kenyan politician – someone here to help them at last.

在维多利亚湖附近，摩托车出租车司机告诉我，居民们看到我的车，以为我是肯尼亚受欢迎的政治家拉伊拉--终于有人来帮助他们了。

Their disappointment on discovering that I was a freelance journalist must have been deep.

当他们发现我是一名自由职业记者时，一定感到非常失望。

The morning after my initial meeting with Okeyo in Marigat, I'd taken a boat ride at Kampi Ya Samaki, a fishing centre on the shores of Lake Baringo.

在马里加特与奥凯奥初次见面的第二天早上，我在Kampi Ya Samaki乘船，这是巴林戈湖畔的一个渔业中心。

The sun, just risen, filtered its rays through thin grey clouds.

刚刚升起的太阳透过薄薄的灰色云层透出光芒。

Everywhere, there were birds.

到处都是鸟。

From the top of one tree, an eagle dived into the water and emerged with a fish in its beak¹.

从一棵树的顶端，一只老鹰潜入水中，嘴里叼着一条鱼出来。

On the tips of other trees, long-tailed cormorants², Madagascan bee-eaters and kingfishers perched, looking for food.

在其他树尖上，长尾鸬鹚、马达加斯加食蜂鸟和翠鸟栖息着，寻找食物。

The boat operator, Evans Limo, pointed³ out buildings that were in the water.

船长埃文斯-利莫指着水中的建筑物。

Here, some houses.

这里是一些房屋。

There, the local health centre.

那里，是当地的卫生中心。

Some churches.

一些教堂。

Ostriches⁴, which had been kept as pets by a hotel that was now half-submerged, roamed around the dry parts of the hotel's grounds.

鸵鸟是一家酒店的宠物，现在已经被淹没了一半，它们在酒店场地的干燥部分游荡。

Most disturbing were the tall trees that stood inside the lake, brown and leafless.

最令人不安的是那些矗立在湖里的高大树木，褐色的，没有叶子。

Almost everywhere I went, it was the dead trees that haunted me.

几乎我所到之处，都是枯树在萦绕着我。

Inside Dunga Hill Camp, a popular picnic site next to Lake Victoria, pools of water surrounded jacaranda trees that were planted in the colonial era.

邓加山营地是维多利亚湖旁边的一个受欢迎的野餐地点，水潭环绕着殖民时代种植的蓝花楹树。

When alive and in bloom, these trees are crowded with heavy cones⁵ of purple blossom, each flower a violet bell.

这些树在活着和开花的时候，长满了沉重的紫色花锥，每朵花都是一个紫色的铃铛。

Now, though, they were drab and brown.

但现在，它们是单调的棕色。

Seagulls and herons took off from their dying branches.

海鸥和苍鹭从它们垂死的树枝上飞过。

About 110 miles east of Lake Victoria, in Lake Nakuru national park, I saw a forest that had been swallowed by the lake.

在维多利亚湖以东约110英里的纳库鲁湖国家公园里，我看到一片被湖水吞没的森林。

Its once-green acacia trees were being slowly suffocated⁶ by the water, which has pushed beyond the bounds of the park and into Nakuru city.

它曾经绿色的刺槐树正在被水慢慢窒息，水已经冲出了公园的范围，进入纳库鲁市。

A decade ago, in an earlier visit, I had climbed to the top of the Menengai Crater⁷ that overlooks the city, and peered down at Lake Nakuru.

十年前，在一次较早的访问中，我爬上了俯瞰该市的梅嫩盖火山口的顶部，俯视纳库鲁湖。

Then, all around, the green of a lush forest that hid lions, buffalo⁸, leopards⁹ and other animals.

然后，四周是郁郁葱葱的森林，隐藏着狮子、水牛、豹子和其他动物。

But by the time of my most recent visit, the lake had pushed its way through the forest.

但在我最近一次访问时，湖水已经流过森林。

The animals had moved to still-dry parts of the forest, but if the water continued to move, their habitats were doomed¹⁰.

动物们已经搬到了森林中干燥的地方，但如果水继续流动，它们的栖息地就注定要毁灭。

I looked down at the drowned giant acacias and Babu, a ranger¹¹ who accompanied me, pointed out to me the houses of the Kenya Wildlife Service staff.

我俯视着被淹没的巨大刺槐树，陪同我的护林员巴布向我指了指肯尼亚野生动物管理局工作人员的房屋。

I couldn't see anything.

我什么都看不到。

"Where?" I asked him.

"在哪里？" 我问他。

He pointed again.

他又指了指。

They were completely submerged.

它们已经完全被淹没了。

1 beak   

n.鸟嘴，茶壶嘴，钩形鼻

参考例句：

• The bird had a worm in its beak.鸟儿嘴里叼着一条虫。
• This bird employs its beak as a weapon.这种鸟用嘴作武器。

2 cormorants   

鸬鹚，贪婪的人( cormorant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The birds are trained cormorants. 那些鸟是受过训练的鸬鹚。
• The cormorants swim down and catch the fish, and bring them back the raft. 鸬鹚又下去捉住鱼，再返回竹筏。

3 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

4 ostriches   

n.鸵鸟( ostrich的名词复数 )；逃避现实的人，不愿正视现实者

参考例句：

• They are the silliest lot of old ostriches I ever heard of. 他们真是我闻所未闻的一群最傻的老鸵鸟。 来自辞典例句
• How ostriches could bear to run so hard in this heat I never succeed in understanding. 驼鸟在这样干燥炎热的地带为什么能疾速长跑，我永远也理解不了。 来自辞典例句

5 cones   

n.（人眼）圆锥细胞；圆锥体( cone的名词复数 )；球果；圆锥形东西；（盛冰淇淋的）锥形蛋卷筒

参考例句：

• In the pines squirrels commonly chew off and drop entire cones. 松树上的松鼠通常咬掉和弄落整个球果。 来自辞典例句
• Many children would rather eat ice cream from cones than from dishes. 许多小孩喜欢吃蛋卷冰淇淋胜过盘装冰淇淋。 来自辞典例句

6 suffocated   

（使某人）窒息而死( suffocate的过去式和过去分词 )； （将某人）闷死； 让人感觉闷热； 憋气

参考例句：

• Many dogs have suffocated in hot cars. 许多狗在热烘烘的汽车里给闷死了。
• I nearly suffocated when the pipe of my breathing apparatus came adrift. 呼吸器上的管子脱落时，我差点给憋死。

7 crater   

n.火山口，弹坑

参考例句：

• With a telescope you can see the huge crater of Ve-suvius.用望远镜你能看到巨大的维苏威火山口。
• They came to the lip of a dead crater.他们来到了一个死火山口。

8 buffalo   

n.(北美)野牛；(亚洲)水牛

参考例句：

• Asian buffalo isn't as wild as that of America's. 亚洲水牛比美洲水牛温顺些。
• The boots are made of buffalo hide. 这双靴子是由水牛皮制成的。

9 leopards   

n.豹( leopard的名词复数 )；本性难移

参考例句：

• Lions, tigers and leopards are all cats. 狮、虎和豹都是猫科动物。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• For example, airlines never ship leopards and canaries on the same flight. 例如，飞机上从来不会同时运送豹和金丝雀。 来自英语晨读30分（初三）

10 doomed   

命定的

参考例句：

• The court doomed the accused to a long term of imprisonment. 法庭判处被告长期监禁。
• A country ruled by an iron hand is doomed to suffer. 被铁腕人物统治的国家定会遭受不幸的。

11 ranger   

n.国家公园管理员，护林员；骑兵巡逻队员

参考例句：

• He was the head ranger of the national park.他曾是国家公园的首席看守员。
• He loved working as a ranger.他喜欢做护林人。