临灭绝的大猩猩

55 临灭绝的大猩猩

DATE=6/22/01 
TITLE=ENVIRONMENT REPORT - Apes Endangered
BYLINE=Cynthia Kirk

(Start at 0'59") This is Bill White with the VOA Special English ENVIRONMENT REPORT.
(1) Great apes are the animals most like humans. Experts say that great apes in the forests of Africa and Asia will disappear within ten years if nothing is done to save them. The United Nations Environment Program has begun a campaign called the Great Ape (2) Survival¹ Project.
Its members are working with wildlife groups and non-governmental organizations. Their goal to prevent the disappearance² of (3) gorillas³, (4) bonobos, (5) chimpanzees and (6) orangutans. The project targets areas in Africa and southeast Asia where apes are threatened by war, environmental (7) destruction and hunting.
Ten years ago, there were more than six-hundred mountain gorillas in eastern and central Africa. Today, there are only about three-hundred. They are disappearing from forests in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda and Uganda. Many of them are being killed for food as part of the growing (8) illegal bush-meat trade.
(9) Congo was once a safe area for gorillas. But years of war and forest destruction have made the gorillas easier targets for hunters. Miners searching for minerals also hunt the great apes. The gorillas that are left have to be protected by armed soldiers in national parks.
Bonobos are small apes found only in the forests of Congo. Twenty years ago, there were about one-hundred-thousand bonobos. There are only about three-thousand today. Some bonobos have fled to nearby countries. Most of them are being hunted for food.
Many chimpanzees have died out in countries where they once lived. Fifty years ago, there were millions of chimpanzees across western and central Africa. Today, only about one-hundred-fifty-thousand chimpanzees remain.
The orangutan is endangered in Indonesia's (10) rainforests. The rainforests are shrinking because of farming, cutting down trees and gold mining in protected areas.
Environmental experts say apes need more protection in national parks. They say (11) local people need to be educated about the value of apes and their importance to the environmental system. Experts say the apes are important for scientific study because they are so closely related to humans.
United Nations officials say they need one-million dollars to support the Great Ape Survival Project. They want private companies to (12) assist in the campaign.
This VOA Special English ENVIRONMENT REPORT was written by Cynthia Kirk. This is Bill White.

(1)       great ape [eip] n. 大猩猩
(2)       survival [sE`vaiv[l] n.生存, 幸存
(3) gorilla [gE`rilE] n.大猩猩
(4) bonobo [`bEUnE9bEU] n.(产于非洲刚果河以南的)倭黑猩猩
(5) chimpanzee [` tFimpEn`zi:] n.[动]非洲的小人猿, 黑猩猩
(6) orangutan [ErANU:`tAN] n.猩猩
(7) destruction [dis`trQkFEn] n.破坏, 毁灭
(8) illegal [i`li:gEl] adj.违法的, 不合规定的
(9) Congo [`kRngEU] n. 刚果
(10) rainforest [`rein`fRrist] [生态]雨林
(11) local [`lEUkEl] adj.地方的, 当地的
(12) assist [E`sist] v.援助, 帮助

1 survival   

n.留住生命，生存，残存，幸存者

参考例句：

• The doctor told my wife I had a fifty-fifty chance of survival.医生告诉我的妻子，说我活下去的可能性只有50%。
• The old man was a survival of a past age.这位老人是上一代的遗老。

2 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。

3 gorillas   

n.大猩猩( gorilla的名词复数 )；暴徒，打手

参考例句：

• the similitude between humans and gorillas 人类和大猩猩的相像
• Each family of gorillas is led by a great silverbacked patriarch. 每个大星星家族都由一个魁梧的、长着银色被毛的族长带领着。 来自《简明英汉词典》