英语听力：自然百科 蝙蝠医院

 It’s nestled in the tropical landscape of north Queensland, the Tolga Bat Hospital. Here volunteers hand-raise up to 500 baby spectacled flying foxes each year. These young bats have lost their mothers to a disease caused by ticks.

 

"The bat hospital started because tick paralysis¹ was discovered in spectacled flying foxes in 1990. And each year hundreds of spectacled flying foxes get tick paralysis, and unfortunately it’s the same time of year that they have their babies. So we end up with hundreds of orphan² babies to look after as well as the, the adults. "

 

When Jenny Maclean started the hospital at the beginning of the tick epidemic³, she only looked after two babies. Now there are hundreds.

 

"Last year was our biggest tick paralysis year. We had 500 babies to look after. I think we probably treated about 150 adults with tick paralysis at that same time. And at the moment we've got about 100 permanent cave bats. So it’s become quite large. "

 

Flying foxes pick up ticks while foraging⁴ a wild tobacco close to the ground.

 

When the insect bites, they’ll release a powerful toxin⁵ that paralyses the bat, beginning in their legs. This is especially lethal⁶ for bats which use their lower bodies to hang from trees. Researchers could have administered any toxin if only they could reach the animals. They roost high up in the tree canopy⁷ where they’re inaccessible⁸. Eventually, infected bats will fall onto the ground with their babies still clinging to their fur.

 

"The bats have to fall to the ground before we can rescue them. So a lot of them are actually too far gone by the time we find them. We euthanize quite a lot, um, but we can always save the babies virtually, as long as we find the babies within a day or two of mom-falling. The babies are quite easy to save. "

 

Once the orphans⁹ are about four months’ old, they’re released back into the environment, where they provide a vital service by dispersing¹⁰ pollen¹¹ and seeds into the forest. Ticks aren’t the only hazard facing these animals. The Tolga Hospital also cares for bats that have damaged their wings by flying into barbed wire--big problem of Australia.

 

Educating the public about the hazards bats face and their importance to help the eco-system is an important goal of the Tolga Bat Hospital. An educational center based at the hospital allows visitors to see the babies and learn about the many types of bats that inhabit Australia.

 

"Bats, through a lot of cultures, suffer from a really poor image(在许多文化中，蝙蝠一直是声名狼籍), and yet most people, given that opportunity to meet a bat, up-close and personal, can’t believe that they are such engaging animals. "

 

These lucky little orphans will someday return to the wild. In the meantime, they offer people a glimpse at their beleaguered¹² species with a bad rap [口碑不好(但其实很可爱)] and an engaging face.

 

Sponsored by National Geographic¹³ Mission Programs, taking science and exploration into the new millennium¹⁴.

1 paralysis   

n.麻痹(症)；瘫痪(症)

参考例句：

• The paralysis affects his right leg and he can only walk with difficulty.他右腿瘫痪步履维艰。
• The paralysis affects his right leg and he can only walk with difficulty.他右腿瘫痪步履维艰。

2 orphan   

n.孤儿；adj.无父母的

参考例句：

• He brought up the orphan and passed onto him his knowledge of medicine.他把一个孤儿养大，并且把自己的医术传给了他。
• The orphan had been reared in a convent by some good sisters.这个孤儿在一所修道院里被几个好心的修女带大。

3 epidemic   

n.流行病；盛行；adj.流行性的，流传极广的

参考例句：

• That kind of epidemic disease has long been stamped out.那种传染病早已绝迹。
• The authorities tried to localise the epidemic.当局试图把流行病限制在局部范围。

4 foraging   

v.搜寻（食物），尤指动物觅（食）( forage的现在分词 )；（尤指用手）搜寻（东西）

参考例句：

• They eke out a precarious existence foraging in rubbish dumps. 他们靠在垃圾场捡垃圾维持着朝不保夕的生活。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The campers went foraging for wood to make a fire. 露营者去搜寻柴木点火。 来自辞典例句

5 toxin   

n.毒素，毒质

参考例句：

• Experts have linked this condition to a build-up of toxins in the body.专家已把这一病症与体内毒素的积累联系起来。
• Tests showed increased levels of toxin in shellfish.检验表明水生有壳动物的毒素水平提高了。

6 lethal   

adj.致死的；毁灭性的

参考例句：

• A hammer can be a lethal weapon.铁锤可以是致命的武器。
• She took a lethal amount of poison and died.她服了致命剂量的毒药死了。

7 canopy   

n.天篷，遮篷

参考例句：

• The trees formed a leafy canopy above their heads.树木在他们头顶上空形成了一个枝叶茂盛的遮篷。
• They lay down under a canopy of stars.他们躺在繁星点点的天幕下。

8 inaccessible   

adj.达不到的，难接近的

参考例句：

• This novel seems to me among the most inaccessible.这本书对我来说是最难懂的小说之一。
• The top of Mount Everest is the most inaccessible place in the world.珠穆朗玛峰是世界上最难到达的地方。

9 orphans   

孤儿( orphan的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The poor orphans were kept on short commons. 贫苦的孤儿们吃不饱饭。
• Their uncle was declared guardian to the orphans. 这些孤儿的叔父成为他们的监护人。

10 dispersing   

adj. 分散的 动词disperse的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• Whereas gasoline fumes linger close to the ground before dispersing. 而汽油烟气却靠近地面迟迟不散。
• Earthworms may be instrumental in dispersing fungi or bacteria. 蚯蚓可能是散布真菌及细菌的工具。

11 pollen   

n.[植]花粉

参考例句：

• Hummingbirds have discovered that nectar and pollen are very nutritious.蜂鸟发现花蜜和花粉是很有营养的。
• He developed an allergy to pollen.他对花粉过敏。

12 beleaguered   

adj.受到围困[围攻]的；包围的v.围攻( beleaguer的过去式和过去分词)；困扰；骚扰

参考例句：

• The beleaguered party leader was forced to resign. 那位饱受指责的政党领导人被迫辞职。
• We are beleaguered by problems. 我们被许多困难所困扰。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 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

14 millennium   

n.一千年，千禧年；太平盛世

参考例句：

• The whole world was counting down to the new millennium.全世界都在倒计时迎接新千年的到来。
• We waited as the clock ticked away the last few seconds of the old millennium.我们静候着时钟滴答走过千年的最后几秒钟。