VOA慢速英语2014 大象和河马袭击喀麦隆的村庄

 

AS IT IS 2014-12-12 Elephants, Hippos Attack Villages in Cameroon 大象和河马袭击喀麦隆的村庄

Some of the world’s biggest animals are harming villagers in far north Cameroon. The people say hundreds of elephants and hippopotamuses¹ have caused major damage to farms and destroyed their villages. They say all this took place during the past three months.

Cameroon’s government says the elephants and hippopotamuses have killed several people. But officials and wildlife organizations warn against killing² the animals. Both are protected species.           

Ledou Ahmadou of Bougay Village says he has lost all of his crops to the animals. He says the elephants and hippos have destroyed all his sorghum³ and onions, and continue to attack people in their villages. And he says the elephants are destroying property in at least five villages in his area every day.

The animals are leaving the overcrowded 4,000 hectares of Kalfou Wildlife Park for areas with more food.

Nkwenti Simon Doh is the most senior administrative⁴ official in the area. He says increased human population is responsible for changing parts of the park to farms and villages. That means reduced natural resources.

Mr. Doh says the elephants and hippos from Gere Lake, near the park, have already killed several people. He says wildlife officials have killed three hippos that carried out raids. He says he called on villagers not to kill the animals. He notes they will enjoy huge social and economic benefits if they help protect the enormous animals. 

Alexandre Brecher is with the World Wildlife Fund for Nature. He says the elephant population in the rainforest has decreased by 60 percent in the past 10 years. He says people must understand that if they do not stop killing the elephants, there might not be wildlife in the forest in 10 or 20 years

“Cameroon and the wider Congo basin is one of the world’s natural treasures. It is the second largest rain forest in the world and we are losing our big mammals, our great emblematic⁵ mammals like the elephants.”

Sone Koke is with Trade Response Assessment⁶ and Priority Setting, a non-governmental organization. He rejects claims that international organizations prefer protecting animals to attending to the needs of the people.

 “Well, you know that here is always this misconception that structures, organizations or even some government agencies are more interested in animals than people. Of course not! We are talking of global resources. Maybe in the next 20 years we will not have elephants in Cameroon. So how are we going to act on that?   Black rhinos⁷ are almost extinct.  So that is what we are talking about. If nothing is being done, we are going to lose all our resources.”

Wildlife groups have been urging Cameroon to declare a policy of absolutely no killing of animals to prevent their possible disappearance⁸ from Earth. I’m Jeri Watson.

Words in This Story

species - n. a group of animals and plants that are similar

resources – n. things a country has that can increase its wealth

benefits – n. a good or helpful result or effect

prefer – v. to like better than someone or something else

absolutely - adj. completely or totally

1 hippopotamuses   

n.河马（产于非洲）( hippopotamus的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Hippopotamuses teem in this river. 这条河里有很多河马。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

3 sorghum   

n.高粱属的植物，高粱糖浆，甜得发腻的东西

参考例句：

• We can grow sorghum or maize on this plot.这块地可以种高粱或玉米。
• They made sorghum into pig feed.他们把高粱做成了猪饲料。

4 administrative   

adj.行政的，管理的

参考例句：

• The administrative burden must be lifted from local government.必须解除地方政府的行政负担。
• He regarded all these administrative details as beneath his notice.他认为行政管理上的这些琐事都不值一顾。

5 emblematic   

adj.象征的，可当标志的；象征性

参考例句：

• The violence is emblematic of what is happening in our inner cities. 这种暴力行为正标示了我们市中心贫民区的状况。
• Whiteness is emblematic of purity. 白色是纯洁的象征。 来自辞典例句

6 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？

7 rhinos   

n.犀牛（rhino的复数形式）

参考例句：

• There are many reports of people taming and even training Indian rhinos. 有许多关于人们驯养甚至训练印度犀牛的记载。 来自辞典例句
• The rhinos had fed during the night in the rice fields of these villagers. 犀牛夜里在这些村民的庄稼地里也已吃饱了。 来自辞典例句

8 disappearance   

n.消失，消散，失踪

参考例句：

• He was hard put to it to explain her disappearance.他难以说明她为什么不见了。
• Her disappearance gave rise to the wildest rumours.她失踪一事引起了各种流言蜚语。