英语听力精选进阶版 7132

Background: 澳大利亚当局决定对一大批蜂拥而至的野生骆驼采取驱赶行动。多达六千头骆驼横冲直闯进入该国北部一个小居民区，践踏了民宅的篱笆，污染了水源，让当地居民吓得不敢出门。现在民众要反击了。

A dusty outpost in the Aussie outback, Docker River has a population of 355... humans that is. But in recent weeks thousands of wild camels have descended¹ on the town in search of water. The result has been chaos² according to the head of the local authority Graham Taylor.

''Water supplies have been broken and damaged, sewers³ under the ground have been trampled⁴ and crushed, the airport is actually virtually unusable."

A million wild camels are thought to roam the red, sandy plains of Australia's Northern Territory but a drought has made natural water scarce, driving the thirsty beasts to head into populated areas. In Docker River their overwhelming numbers have forced residents to stay indoors. Now the state government has authorised a cull⁵. Rob Knight⁶ is a spokesman.

"Docker River is under siege by 6,000 marauding, wild camels."

We'll be pushing them out 15km and shooting them and letting them decay into the desert.''

Animal rights campaigners say using helicopters to round up the camels for shooting them en masse is barbaric but Docker's River human residents say they are determined⁷ to get their town back.

GLOSSARY⁸ 词汇表

dusty outpost 尘土飞扬的前哨 

outback 内地的 

descended on the town 蜂拥入城 

chaos 混乱 

sewers 下水道 

trampled 践踏/摧残 

virtually unuseable 几乎无法使用的 

roam 漫游/闲逛 

drought 干旱 

beasts 野兽 

populated areas 人口稠密地区 

overwhelming numbers 无计其数的 

cull 剔除/杀戮 

under siege 受到袭击 

marauding 劫掠 

decay 腐烂 

animal rights campaigners 动物权益倡导人士 

round up 搜捕 

en masse 大群的 

barbaric 野蛮的

Questions and Answers

True or false. Docker River is in an urban area. 

False. It is in the Australian outback.

Which things have the camels changed? 

They have damaged water supplies, sewers and the airport.

Why did the camels enter the town of Docker River? 

They were thirsty because of a drought and looking for water.

How will the camels be killed? 

They will be forced into the desert and shot.

1 descended   

a.为...后裔的，出身于...的

参考例句：

• A mood of melancholy descended on us. 一种悲伤的情绪袭上我们的心头。
• The path descended the hill in a series of zigzags. 小路呈连续的之字形顺着山坡蜿蜒而下。

2 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

3 sewers   

n.阴沟，污水管，下水道( sewer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The sewers discharge out at sea. 下水道的污水排入海里。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Another municipal waste problem is street runoff into storm sewers. 有关都市废水的另外一个问题是进入雨水沟的街道雨水。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

4 trampled   

踩( trample的过去式和过去分词 )； 践踏； 无视； 侵犯

参考例句：

• He gripped his brother's arm lest he be trampled by the mob. 他紧抓着他兄弟的胳膊，怕他让暴民踩着。
• People were trampled underfoot in the rush for the exit. 有人在拼命涌向出口时被踩在脚下。

5 cull   

v.拣选；剔除；n.拣出的东西；剔除

参考例句：

• It is usually good practice to cull the poorest prior to field planting.通常在实践上的好方法是在出圃栽植前挑出最弱的苗木。
• Laura was passing around photographs she'd culled from the albums at home.劳拉正在分发她从家里相册中挑选出的相片。

6 knight   

n.骑士，武士；爵士

参考例句：

• He was made an honourary knight.他被授予荣誉爵士称号。
• A knight rode on his richly caparisoned steed.一个骑士骑在装饰华丽的马上。

7 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

8 glossary   

n.注释词表；术语汇编

参考例句：

• The text is supplemented by an adequate glossary.正文附有一个详细的词汇表。
• For convenience,we have also provided a glossary in an appendix.为了方便，我们在附录中也提供了术语表。